Everybody remembers how, when the twelve meraglim came back to Moshe Rabbeinu from spying out Eretz Canaan, Yehoshua and Kalev opposed their compatriots. The other ten, the majority, had made a decision that it would be irresponsible to enter Canaan now. They understood of course that eventually Hakadosh Baruch Hu would give them the land; but to come now and make a frontal attack on a country that was fortified with cities bristling with armaments, with big walls and a powerful populace, would be suicide.
Yehoshua and Kaleiv had other ideas, however. They were of the bent of mind that it wasn’t up to the meraglim to give advice. “We were sent to report on what we see and leave it up to Moshe Rabbeinu to decide, al pi Hashem, how to proceed. But to give our two cents, that’s not our job.”
Now, you have to know that at that time Yehoshua was relatively young. And Kaleiv too; he was also a relatively young man compared to the others. He was only about forty years old at that time; forty, forty-five. The others however, the rest of the meraglim, were elderly people. And they were very respected people: י≈ׁ ̆‡ָר יםƒׁ ָ̆נֲ‡ םָּלֻּכ הָּמ≈ה ל≈‡ָר¿ׂ ̆ƒי י≈נ¿ב – They were all distinguished men; heads of the children of Yisroel (Bamidbar 13:3). And more than anything else, they were the majority. Yehoshua and Kaleiv were outnumbered.
Arguing for Life
You can be sure on the way back they were arguing and they were scolding Yehoshua and Kaleiv: “Where do you get your boldness? You’re only a minority. You’re two against ten and we have decided to give a negative report and to warn the people against the dangers. Don’t you see how powerful the people of the land are, how fortified are the cities? How can you have the audacity, just two people, to oppose a majority who have ten?”
And they offered good arguments. “Don’t you care about the people? You want to take the nation into a trap? It’s a suicide mission!”
The Suicide Mission
So you’ll say – now that you know already the end of the story so it’s easy to say – “Oh, but what about bitachon? What about trusting in Hashem?”
It’s like telling a man that he should jump off a roof ten stories high and trust in Hashem; that’s how it was to conquer Canaan. The Canaanites had armies. One of the kings, the King of Chatzer, had six hundred chariots, iron chariots. We on the other hand had nothing, no chariots. They would plow into us. They would kill us.
And so when the meraglim came back and they all spoke to the people and said that it’s not worthwhile now to attempt to battle their way into Eretz Canaan, that’s what the people accepted. Most of the people – it doesn’t mean all – most of the people were impressed by their arguments. After all, majority rules. If you have a beis din, you follow the majority.
The Tough Two
Now Yehoshua and Kaleiv – don’t think it was so easy. Yehoshua and Kaleiv did not find it easy to oppose them. It was very embarrassing, very uncomfortable, for them. You can be sure that if we were there, even if we had thought like Yehoshua and Kaleiv, we would have folded quite quickly. Even if we thought we were right, but the strength of the majority, the desire to weaken before the rabim, is not easy to overcome.
And yet these two men, individuals, spoke up against the rest and they battled for what they thought was the right approach. They remained strong against the majority, their detractors, and maintained their allegiance to what they knew was the ratzon Hashem.
Extra Credit
Now what was the verdict of Hashem? Those ten died in a plague before Hashem, and Yehoshua and Kaleiv lived from among those men who spied out the land (ibid. 14:38). It means that the spies who spoke against going into Eretz Canaan perished there in the Wilderness, while Yehoshua and Kaleiv remained alive.
But that’s not all. It’s true that they were the only ones who remained alive and came into Eretz Canaan, but the Gemara in Bava Basra (118b) says it means more than that. What does it mean that they ‘lived from’ the others? So the Sages say they lived in the portion of others. ‘They lived from those who spied out the land’ means that all the land that the meraglim would have gotten had they come into Eretz Canaan, Yehoshua and Kaleiv received in their stead.
Benefitting From Others
So you’ll ask, why did they get a bigger share? It's enough that they get their share. Why should they get the share of the others who didn’t deserve their share? The others should lose their share, that’s all. Why should Yehoshua and Kaleiv receive more than they deserve?
So you’ll say it was a knas, a punishment. Because the ten spoke against the land, they were punished by losing their shares; and in order to emphasize the sin, it makes sense that those who spoke for the land should get it instead.
It’s not that simple however – there’s a much bigger principle here. Because actually the extra reward was a measure of the test that they survived! Yehoshua and Kaleiv had a stronger test just because of the opposition – ten against two made it much more difficult to stick to their principles. Each one of the ten was another thorn in the side and it was difficult to stand against all those other personalities.
Extra Work, Extra Credit
Why is that? Because it’s natural that a person wants to be good with people, not to fight against people and stand on one side against others. It’s easier to yield to the majority than to be an outcast. And so it’s not just a matter of battling against others, of fighting for what’s right – you’re battling against yourself, against your desire to conform even when you know you’re in the right.
And yet, Yehoshua and Kaleiv maintained their clarity of vision and their loyalty to the purpose for which they were sent, and they persisted against the opposition. And just because the opposition was so great – not three, not four or five or six; it was ten! – that’s why their reward was greater. They took the chelek of their detractors because it was their detractors who made it much harder.
Appreciate the Opposition
That’s included in the principle we learn in Pirkei Avos, a mishna, ‡ָר¿‚ַ‡ ‡ָרֲﬠַˆ םּפו¿ל – that the reward is always according to the difficulty (5:23). The more difficult it is to do a certain thing, the greater is the reward. And therefore when an individual chooses the right thing against opposition, and his opposition is big, so the tzaar, the difficulty of opposing them is so much bigger; and so ‘according to his difficulties so too will be his reward’.
Let’s say a boy grows up in a family where his older brothers and sisters ridicule him. They say ‘you’re frum, you’re a fanatic’ and they laugh at him and they discourage him. And when he puts on tefillin they make faces at him.
But it’s not only his siblings. Sometimes even his father says, “If you’re such a frum boy, why don’t you also do this or that?” They always use his frumkeit as leverage to blame him. “Why do you get angry if you’re a frum boy?” All kinds of accusations.
Ignore the Red Herring
Here’s a favorite you hear always: “Why don’t you do more chores in the house? Why don’t you help out more in the house? You’re so busy with the Gemara! Doesn’t the Torah tell you about helping, about being a mentch?”
Now, I’m all for children helping in the house. I think that they should be put to work, much more than they do today. Every child should wash his own dishes. You finish breakfast, wash your own plate; wash your own knife and spoon. Take down the garbage. Other things too. Of course children must have chores in the house. But I’m talking about when it’s an accusation used as a canard, the red herring of why don’t the frummeh do this or that.
What’s Bothering You?
I’ll tell you a story. Years ago, I was speaking to a group about the importance of supporting the yeshivahs, the kollelim.
So one gentleman said, “Why are there so many yeshivah men? They should be out on the streets doing kindness, not sitting on the benches in the beis medrash. There are needy people, people who need your help; how can you sit and learn?”
So I said to him, “Look outside, look out the window on Ocean Parkway. You see men sitting on the benches playing chess. All day long sitting and doing nothing. Now, did you ever tell them that they shouldn’t be sitting on benches on Ocean Parkway, that they should be out on the streets doing chessed, helping people?”
No, it never even crossed your mind. It’s only when you see the yeshivah man sitting and learning, that’s when you remember all the kindness that must be done.
So it’s not the sitting on the benches that is bothering you; it’s the sitting on the benches in the beis medrash.
Beloved From Opposition
But go tell that to this boy’s father or to his siblings. They harass him always and it’s not easy to weather the storm. But this boy does it. A lot of boys have done it. We have in the yeshivahs many who became great by means of their opposition. And they are the ones who are the most beloved.
That’s one of the lessons of Yehoshua and Kaleiv: יםƒׁ ָ̆נֲ‡ָה ןƒמּיוָח¿ו – They gained more life, more reward because of those who made it difficult for them. But not in just a happenstance way or a punishment. It’s because opposition makes a person that much greater. A person’s character is sharpened by means of that struggle; and therefore the reward that his detractors lost out on is acquired by the one who became greater just because of those detractors.
