The following is a thought I saw in the name of Rav Yerucham Levovitz (1873-1936), the Mashgiach of the Mir Yeshiva. The spies were originally all outstanding individuals (kulam anashim). And yet they were lacking in faith. They did not think the Ribono shel Olam would protect the Jewish people if they entered the Land of Canaan. Whatever explanations might explain why they thought this; what was their agenda, etc. – the bottom line is that there was something lacking in their level of faith.
Rav Yerucham pointed out the following noteworthy contrast. The haftorah of Parshas Shlach is the story of the spies sent out by Yehoshua some forty years later when the Jews had already entered Canaan. The spies went to the city of Yericho and stayed in the house of an “isha zona,” Rachav. Even though some commentaries interpret the word “zona” to mean she was an innkeeper (who provided mazon – food – to her guests), the simple reading is that she was a harlot. She certainly was a Gentile woman. And yet we see the amazing level of Emunah (Faith) that she possessed. She was willing to risk her life and hide the spies on the pain of death (from local Canaanite rulers). She later converted to Judaism.
Amazing: The spies that Moshe sent out – kulam anashim – yet they did not have emunah. And Rachav the harlot risks her life for Klal Yisrael because of her Emunah that the Ribono shel Olam who took them out of Egypt and killed the pursuing Egyptians at the Red Sea, will also deliver the 31 Kings of Canaan into their hands.
How do we understand this?
Rav Yerucham says something that Rav Ruderman (the founding Rosh Yeshiva of Ner Israel Rabbinical College) would say from time to time: The way to judge a person is not by where he is, but rather by what direction he is headed. Is he headed up or is he headed down? It is possible to find a person who is very distinguished, but is headed in the wrong direction. He may be either stagnating or beginning to fray at the edges.
On the other hand, someone else may be nowhere near the level of the first person, but is inspired. He is working. He is headed up rather than down. That person’s potential is much greater than that of the first person, who is headed in the other direction.
He gives an example: A person is considering going into a business venture and he has two choices. He can go into business with a well-established financier. He has been quite successful and has a lot of money. But this individual, who has made a lot of money in the past, has failed in his last few ventures. The other option is to join with a young person, a go-getter. He has not done anything yet in his life, but he has fire in his belly. With whom should you enter a partnership?
Rav Yerucham says that sometimes it makes more sense to go with the young untested fire-in-his-belly, raring-to-go, type of person. He is headed up. He is headed in the right direction, while the well-established, wealthy person has been-there-and-done-that. He has suffered some recent setbacks. You do not know how committed he is going to be. You are better off with “Rachav hazonah” than you are with the “Kulam anashim meraglim.”
Rabbi Yissochar Frand
