When the meraglim returned from their excursion through Eretz Yisrael, they warned the people about the frightening military power of the inhabitants of Canaan. Benei Yisrael began crying, asking why HKB"H was bringing them into the land only to be killed. HKB"H punished them by keeping them in the desert for forty years, and the punishment for this sin continues to this very day, as the Gemara (Ta'anis 29a) states: אתם בכיתם בכיה של חינם ואני קובע לכם בכיה לדורות – "You cried an unnecessary crying, and I will establish for you crying for generations."
After the miracle of קריעת ים סוף, Benei Yisrael sang a song praising HKB"H for this great miracle, and they exclaimed: אז נבהלו אלופי אדום, אילי מואב יאחזמו רעד, נמוגו כל יושבי כנען – "Then the chieftains of Edom were terrified; the mighty leaders of Moav were seized with trembling; all the inhabitants of Canaan melted away" (Shemos 15:15). Upon hearing of this great miracle, the people of Canaan were gripped with fear. And we know from Sefer Yehoshua that this fear remained even forty years later. Yehoshua sent two spies who stayed in the home of Rachav, and she told them:
ידעתי כי נתן ה' לכם את הארץ וכי נפלה אימתכם עלינו וכי נמוגו כל ישבי הארץ מפניכם. כי שמענו את אשר הוביש ה' את מי ים סוף מפניכם... ונשמע וימס לבבנו ולא קמה עוד רוח באיש מפניכם כי ה' אלוקיכם הוא אלוקים בשמים ממעל ועל הארץ מתחת.
I know that G-d has given you the land, that the dread of you has fallen upon us, and that all the inhabitants of the land have melted away before you. For we have heard how G-d dried up the waters of the Red Sea before you... When we heard it, our hearts melted, and no spirit remained in any man because of you, for Hashem your G-d—He is G-d in heaven above and on the earth below. (Yehoshua 2:9-11)
Forty years after the miracle, the inhabitants of Canaan were still frightened, their hearts "melting in fear," sitting at home trembling because of Benei Yisrael. Yet, Benei Yisrael themselves, who personally witnessed and experienced the unprecedented miracles of Yetzias Mitzrayim and the splitting of the sea, just several months later broke down in tears out of fear of the Canaanite nations. Astonishingly, the people of Canaan were petrified of Benei Yisrael – even forty years later! whereas Benei Yisrael were petrified of the people of Canaan. How could this be?
This anomaly shows us the workings of the yetzer ha'ra, which instills fear and dread within people's hearts, sowing discouragement and despair.
The Gemara in Maseches Shabbos (Shabbos 75a) raises the question of שוחט משום מה מיחייב – which of the thirty-nine melachos is transgressed by one who slaughters an animal on Shabbos. Two opinions are brought - that one he is guilty of צובע (coloring, as the area around the neck is stained with blood), and the other that he is guilty of נטילת נשמה (taking a life). The Toldos Yaakov Yosef זיע"א (toward the end of Ben Poras Yosef) cites his mentor – my illustrious ancestor, the Ba'al Shem Tov זיע"א – as explaining that the Gemara is asking why the שוחט – the yetzer ha'ra – will be punished at the end of time, as the Gemara teaches in Maseches Sukka (52a). After all, it was created specifically for the purpose of luring people to sin. Why, then, does it deserve to be punished? The Gemara answers,משום צובע – it will be punished for misleading people by "coloring," by making sin look virtuous, by disguising as the yetzer ha'tov – and this is how it succeeds in נטילת נשמה, in destroying people's souls.
The yetzer ha'ra's method is to distort reality, to make us see things the wrong way. And thus while the people in Canaan lived in fear of Benei Yisrael, the yetzer ha'ra illustrated for Benei Yisrael a much different picture, showing them a dark reality, thereby instilling baseless fear within their hearts. This is how the yetzer ha'ra works – making the shadow of the mountain appear as a frightening mountain, deceiving us by showing us that things which we have the ability to accomplish are too difficult. He causes us to feel discouraged and intimidated, to conclude that we have no hope - specifically in the areas regarding which Hashem has given us great strengths and capabilities.
This is a crucial lesson for every person – with regard to himself, and with regard to others, particularly to one's children and students. We need to emphasize the great value and significance of each and every positive act. A person must recognize the inestimable worth of his mitzvos, of every bit of progress in refining his character, every word of tefilla that he recites and every word of Torah that he learns. As the yetzer haʼra tries to make him afraid, to knock him down with feelings of discouragement and despair, he must retain his confidence and his belief in himself. Every young man needs to know that the forces of impurity stand in awe and amazement before his actions, and praise his accomplishments. He must pay no attention to the yetzer haʼra that tries to generate feelings of darkness and dreariness, as though he is a failure. He should recognize the beauty of his good deeds, how much they are loved and cherished by HKB"H, and that he has the strength needed to defeat the yetzer haʼra.
