Rabbi Zvi SobolofskyPerception and Reality

The mission of the spies sent to Eretz Yisroel was a simple one involving two tasks. Firstly, the spies were to observe different aspects of Eretz Yisroel including the geography, the agriculture, and the people. Upon returning, they were to report their observations. These seemingly simple assignments were not performed correctly and the results were catastrophic. Why were spies unable to observe correctly what they saw in Eretz Yisroel?

During the forty days through which the spies traveled in Eretz Yisroel they witnessed bizarre events. Chazal tell us that wherever they went they saw people burying their dead. The spies observed fruit which was so large that it could ba rely be brought back with them. Each of these two events could have been interpreted in two opposite ways. From one perspective, the hand of Hashem could have been perceived clearly. Hashem had brought a plague throughout the land to divert the inhabitant s' attention from the spies in their midst. The tremendous fruit could have been viewed as being representative of the overwhelming physical blessing Eretz Yisroel had been endowed with. Alternatively, these two observations could have been made an d then interpreted in a completely different way. Eretz Yisroel could be seen as a land that is deadly (hence the wide spread funerals), and just as its fruits are abnormally large, so too must its inhabitants be too powerful for us. Logically, eit her one of the aforementioned approaches could have been equally employed. That is, the events themselves were neutral, and it was the choice of the spies to interpret what they had seen in such a negative light.

Upon returning, the spies reported that they had appeared as grasshoppers in the eyes of the giants who lived in Eretz Yisroel. The Torah relates the dual phrase the spies used to describe the feeling of inferiority. "We were like grasshopp ers in our own eyes and we appeared as grasshoppers in their eyes"(Bamidbar 13:33). Their negative image of themselves was the source of their tragic mistake; they viewed themselves as "grasshoppers". If in their own eyes they were i nferior they immediately projected that self image onto the perception others must have of them. A person who is pessimistic about himself will view the whole world as full of potential disasters. Rather than seeing the wonderful protection and blessing f rom Hashem they saw in the people and the fruit a foreboding of horrible consequences if they would attempt to enter the land.

The downfall of the spies was their inability to observe correctly. Parshas Shlach concludes with the mitzvah of tzitzis. The purpose of tzitzis is to teach us how to correctly interept what we see. Tzitzis instructs us not to follow the frailties of our hearts when we look at things; tzitzis tells us not to see things with incorrect preconceived notions. Rather, tzitzis teaches us to look at the world searching for the hand of Hashem. Looking at the string of blue on the tzitzis, which reminds us of the heavens above, we are instructed to look at the world around us as a blessing from Hashem. Let us constantly look at ourselves, others, and the entire world, in an optimistic light, searching to find all of the good that Hashem has given us. May Hashem bless us with the clear vision to find Him.