Ohr HaChaim Yomi: Yitzhak Levi’s weekly question and answer on Parashat Sh'lach, drawing on the Ohr HaChaim HaKadosh, Rabbi Chaim ibn Attar.
Question
The spies return from the Land of Israel and deliver their report.
The land is beautiful. The fruit is enormous. The opportunity is incredible.
One problem. The nations living there are strong.
And suddenly the entire nation panics. “We can’t do it.”
Which is a strange thing to say after:
- Ten Plagues
- The splitting of the sea
- Manna from heaven
- Clouds of Glory
At some point you want to ask: “Have you people been paying attention?”
The Answer: The Problem Was Never the Giants
The spies didn’t make a military mistake. They made a spiritual mistake.
They looked at the giants and asked: “Can we defeat them?” The correct question was: “Can Hashem defeat them?”
And after everything they had witnessed, the answer should have been obvious.
Hashem didn’t take the Jewish people out of Egypt just to leave them in the desert. The Land of Israel was the entire point.
Reality Check
Let’s be honest. The spies weren’t afraid of giants. They were afraid of change.
Egypt was awful. But it was familiar. The desert was difficult. But at least they knew what tomorrow looked like.
The Land of Israel meant responsibility. Ownership. Building something. And that can be scary.
Then Things Get Even Stranger
Hashem tells the nation: “Fine. You don’t think I’ll bring you into the Land? Then you won’t enter. Your children will.”
And suddenly a group of people say: “Actually… we changed our minds!” Now they want to go. Now they’re ready. Now they’re confident.
And they immediately get defeated.
Pick A Lane!
This is what makes the whole episode so tragic.
When Hashem said “Go”—they said “No.” When Hashem said “Don’t go”—they said “We’re going.”
It’s almost comical. Like the person who ignores his doctor’s advice for twenty years and then decides to become healthy the night before surgery.
The issue was never entering the Land. The issue was listening to Hashem.
Lesson: Faith Is Not Doing What You Want
Sometimes people think faith means: “I feel strongly about this, therefore it must be right.”
The spies felt strongly. The nation felt strongly. The group that charged into the Land afterward felt strongly. They were all wrong.
Faith is not doing what feels right. Faith is trusting Hashem’s timing.
Modern Application: The Fear of the Next Chapter
Most people don’t struggle with Egypt. They struggle with leaving Egypt.
The new job. The new city. The new stage of life. The new responsibility.
We pray for growth. And then growth arrives and we start negotiating. Sound familiar?
Final Thought
The rest of the spies saw the same Land as Yehoshua and Kalev. The difference wasn’t what they saw. It was what they believed.
The spies believed in the giants. Yehoshua and Kalev believed in Hashem.
And that’s the question every Jew eventually faces:
When the opportunity is standing right in front of you— what looks bigger? The obstacle? Or the One Who put it there?