Kalev and Yehoshua said that they attained that realization and knew there was nothing to fear. צלם סר, they uncovered the shadow and revealed that there was nothing to take seriously.
The Sfas Emes (5638) elaborates, "The yetzer hara's strength is merely an illusion, like a shadow with no substance. Someone who battles with the yetzer hara properly will see that it’s nothing more than a mirage. The meraglim's test was certainly a great test, but after Yehoshua and Kalev uncovered that it was just a shadow, as they said צלם סר... the other meraglim should have believed them and strengthened themselves with trust in Hashem. [They should have taken Yehoshua and Kalev's conclusion seriously and recognized that there was nothing to fear.] But they remained stuck with their first impression and they were therefore punished. Similarly, when we see tzaddikim overcoming the yetzer hara, we must [learn from them to] be strong and believe that the yetzer hara is just a shadow. With emunah and reliance on tzaddikim, one can overcome the yetzer hara."
In this week's parashah, the nation was afraid to go up to Eretz Canaan. They cried, they protested, and they were certain that if they went up to Eretz Canaan, they would be killed by the nations living in the land. As it states (14:1-3) הזאת הארץ אל אתנו מביא 'ה ולמה לבז יהיו וטפנו נשינו בחרב לנפל, "Why does Hashem bring us to this land to fall by the sword; our wives and children will be as spoils."
The next morning, some people had a change of heart. They were ready to go to Eretz Canaan. (14:40) ההר ראש אל ויעלו בבקר וישכמו חטאנו כי 'ה אמר אשר המקום אל ועלינו הננו לאמר, "They arose early in the morning and ascended to the mountain top, saying, 'We are ready to go up to the place of which Hashem spoke, for we have sinned.'"
Moshe warned them that they won't succeed. Moshe said, 'ה פי את עברים אתם זה למה תצלח לא והוא, "Why do you transgress Hashem's word? It will not succeed." Despite Moshe's warning, אל לעלות ויעפלו ההר ראש, "They defiantly ascended to the mountain top..."
Suddenly, they weren't afraid. They were ready to go to Eretz Canaan, even after Moshe warned them not to go. What happened to their fear?
The answer is that the yetzer hara wins over us by making us imagine things. When they should have had bitachon, the yetzer hara incited them to be afraid to go to Eretz Canaan. Afterwards, when it was an aveirah to go to Eretz Yisrael, the yetzer hara placed in their hearts that there was nothing to fear.
Since the yetzer hara is a dimyon, an illusion, it’s helpful to push off acting upon the yetzer hara's whims, even if just for a short while, as the person might come to the realization that it’s just an imagination and not worth pursuing.
Therefore, the Torah says (13:30) את כלב ויהס העם, "Kalev silenced the nation" and he encouraged the nation to believe they could conquer Eretz Canaan.
It doesn’t seem that Kalev accomplished anything at that time. The meraglim and the nation were still afraid. But the pause was important because when one stops in the middle of pursuing his imagination, there’s a possibility that he’ll catch himself and realize that it’s all a mistake.
Self-Image
We wrote above that the Jewish nation thought that Hashem didn't love them due to their aveiros, and therefore, they were afraid to enter Eretz Yisrael. This is an example of when one has a false dimyon, imagination, that prevents him from serving Hashem. We have to know the truth of how precious we are to Hashem at all times.
It states (Tehillim 119:59) רגלי ואשיבה דרכי חשבתי עדותיך אל, "I considered my ways and returned my feet to Your Torah."
The Beis Aharon explains that דרכי חשבתי means that he should consider his deeds to be חשוב, important רגלי ואשיבה, and then he will be able to return his רגילות, his standard routine and habits, עדותיך אל, to keep the Torah. He will be able to leave his bad habits and change his ways because he considers all of his deeds special. But if he doesn't value himself and his ways, he won't be able to change his ways.
We quote the Beis Aharon:
"Even if a person is at a very low level, he should consider everything he does for avodas Hashem to be very important. He must believe that every good deed he does will go up very high. With this perception, he can change his regilus and his life patterns. עדותיך אל רגלי ואשיבה דרכי חשבתי, when your deeds are חשוב in your eyes, then רגלי ואשיבה, you can change your רגילות and change your life patterns to serve Hashem."
The Beis Aharon teaches that, therefore, a person should daven that Hashem should help him forget all the foolish things he did in the past. Then he will be able to consider himself and his ways special before Hashem, and then he can change his ways.
Chazal say, חוץ עשה הבית בעל לך שאומר מה כל מצא, "Whatever the baal habayis (host) tells you to do, you must do, except if he tells you to leave."
The Shlah teaches: The baal habayis is Hashem, the baal habayis of the world. You must listen to all His dictates, except when He tells you צא, to leave, that you can't do teshuvah. You must believe that no matter what you did in the past, you can do teshuvah.
The Gemara says, "Don't believe in yourself until the day you die." It seems that on the day one dies, he may believe in himself.
The Sfas Emes zt'l says that "the day one dies" means the days one falls from his levels (It isn't referring to the day that one literally dies; rather, it means the day that one falls from his levels). On the days that one falls from his levels, he must believe in himself. He must think about his greatness and specialness because that will help him overcome the yetzer hara.
Yosef HaTzaddik used this tactic when he was tested by aishes Potiphar. He said to her (Bereishis 39:9) ממני הזה בבית גדול איננו, "There is no one greater in this house than I." It is explained that he was building up his ego to believe in his greatness because that is how one can overcome his challenges.
It states (Rashi Bamidbar 1:49) מלך של לגיון הוא כדאי לבדו נמנה להיות, referring to Levi not being counted together with all Yidden. They were counted separately because "It is proper that the King's close servants should be counted separately." What made the Levi'im so precious and special? It is because they didn't sin by the eigel.
However, for the most part, Klal Yisrael also didn't sin! All in all, only three thousand people made the eigel. Out of 600,000 Yidden (and more), three thousand people are a tiny percentage. So, what makes Levi so special?
The Sfas Emes answers that it is because Moshe called out (Shemos 32:26) אלי 'לה מי, and Levi came forward. The ability to pick oneself up after falling is what makes him precious in Hashem's eyes.
What Others Think
The meraglim told Klal Yisrael about the giants who lived in Eretz Canaan. They said (13:33), כחגבים בעינינו ונהי, “We felt like grasshoppers, בעיניהם היינו וכן, and that is how they perceived us.”
The Midrash states, “Hakadosh Baruch Hu forgave them for saying ‘We felt like grasshoppers,’ but Hashem didn’t forgive them for saying בעיניהם היינו וכן, ‘that’s how they perceived us.’ Hakadosh Baruch Hu told them, ‘How do you know which impression I had them think of you? Perhaps they thought you are angels?’”
This is a crucial lesson. Many people have a low self-image and think everyone looks down on them. Other people’s opinions are very important to them, and when others think negatively of them, it hurts them immensely. But one never knows what others are thinking. Perhaps Hashem put into the hearts of others to look up to you and to consider you special. Maybe they even think you are like a malach. Why do you think so poorly of yourself?
Thinking good about yourself is essential because this will encourage you to act in a proper way. If you think lowly of yourself, you will likely fall to sin and bad middos.
The Chidushei HaRim zt’l explains that the negative image of the people in the desert was their primary sin, which caused them to sin with the meraglim. Therefore, Moshe told the meraglim, והתחזקתם, “strengthen yourselves...” Moshe understood that they have negative self-esteem, and they have to strengthen themselves and think better of themselves.
The Sfas Emes (מ"תר) asks that the Gemara (Sotah 35.) states that the meraglim heard the Canaanites say, “We see people; they look like ants, crawling in the vineyards.” It seems that it wasn’t only the meraglim's imagination. They actually heard the Canaanites looking down at them, thinking of them like insects.
The Sfas Emes answers that the problem began with their negative self-perception. This influenced others to look at them. “Since they were small in their own eyes, and they consider themselves like grasshoppers, this caused others to see them that way.”
This happens often. The way one views himself is what he portrays to others. Since they considered themselves small, this caused others to see them as small.
Had they believed in themselves, the Canaanites would have respected them more. Perhaps they would even consider them like malachim. But they looked down at themselves, which is how others viewed them, too.
