Parshas Shlach - The Secret of the Tzaddik's Eternity and the Sin of the Spies

"And he came to Chevron" - "Calev went there alone and prostrated himself on the graves of the Patriarchs" (Rashi 13:22).

The entire Jewish nation heard the prophecy of Eldad and Meidad: "Moshe will die, and Yehoshua will bring them in." The whole nation heard this awesome prophecy, and it spread throughout the entire camp. Eldad and Meidad said, "You should know that Moshe is going to die. The moment we reach the border of the Holy Land, our Moshe will die! Yehoshua will be the leader, and he will bring the nation into the Land." The entire nation was in a panic, seized with terror. The whole nation wept, saying, "If we enter the Land, then Moshe will die!"

Reb Nosson explains that the dispute between the spies and Yehoshua bin Nun was that the spies argued: "We love Moshe Rabbeinu, we want Moshe Rabbeinu, and we will not leave him. We are for Moshe; we want him to live and not die. We do not want to enter the Land for one reason only: so that Moshe will continue to live and continue to lead us. We do not care if we remain in the desert, as long as Moshe lives."

The holy Arizal says in Shaar HaPesukim on Parshas Shlach that this was the terrible dispute between the spies and Yehoshua. The spies said to Yehoshua bin Nun, "You heard the prophecy that Moshe will die and Yehoshua will bring them in, and therefore you want to enter the Land of Israel so that your teacher will die. You are simply a murderer! You simply want your teacher's death, you want to inherit your teacher's position, you want to be the leader." However, Yehoshua argued, "Moshe is alive! Moshe is alive and enduring. There is no such thing as Moshe dying; Moshe cannot die." Yehoshua bin Nun explained to the spies that Moshe Rabbeinu is eternal.

The Secret of the Tzaddik's Eternity

The tzaddikim are forever alive and enduring. There is no such thing as Moshe Rabbeinu dying, there is no such thing as Rashbi dying, there is no such thing as the Arizal dying, and there is no such thing as the Baal Shem Tov dying. Tzaddikim never die. Moshe Rabbeinu is alive and enduring; he descends and spiritually infuses all the tzaddikim of the generations. Moshe can spiritually infuse anyone. The more pure and holy a person is, the more he can merit the revelation of Moshe, that the soul of Moshe will spiritually infuse him.

The spies argued, "We love Moshe, we will not give up on Moshe. Yehoshua wants to be the leader... fine, so let him go himself and take the Jewish nation with him. We will not leave Moshe alone; we are loyal to Moshe." So what was the spies' mistake here? Reb Nosson explains that the spies disgraced Moshe Rabbeinu with the greatest disgrace in the world.

Not only did they not listen to his voice when he told them to enter the Land, but Rebbe Nachman says that they also did not believe in the eternity of Moshe Rabbeinu. They did not believe that Moshe Rabbeinu is eternal, and that his words and his ways are alive and enduring for all eternity, and that he can spiritually infuse anyone at any given moment. By wanting the living Moshe Rabbeinu, by wanting the physical body of Moshe Rabbeinu to be with them, they materialized him. They materialized the concept of Moshe; they turned Moshe Rabbeinu into a mere physical body.

The Hidden Motive of the Spies

Reb Nosson explains that through the spies' claim that they wanted to remain with Moshe, they actually revealed the exact opposite—that they were waiting for Moshe's passing. They revealed that they wanted to be rid of Moshe already, to be free from Moshe's demanding spiritual practices. Moshe served Hashem with all his strength; Moshe would wake up for Chatzos (midnight lament over the Temple), pray Vatikin (at sunrise), practice Hisbodedus (secluded personal prayer), learn Torah day and night, and so on.

And they said, "We will stay with Moshe Rabbeinu in the desert for another ten years, another twenty years in the desert, and eventually we will be rid of him. Then we will be able to wake up at 10:00 or 12:00 and have a good time. We have no choice but to suffer a little longer; we already fell into Moshe Rabbeinu's trap, what can we do?" In truth, they knew that Yehoshua bin Nun would continue the path of Moshe Rabbeinu, the spiritual practices of Moshe Rabbeinu. They did not want Yehoshua bin Nun; they wanted Moshe. They wanted to stay with Moshe only to wait for his passing.

Reb Nosson asks: What did Calev ben Yefuneh do? Where was he in the midst of this dispute? Calev remained silent. Calev did not know who was right—whether Yehoshua was right or the spies were right. The spies claimed that they wanted Moshe Rabbeinu to live and did not want to enter the Land, and they said Yehoshua bin Nun is a murderer! They claimed Yehoshua bin Nun wanted to enter the Land and was waiting for Moshe's passing.

Calev said to Yehoshua bin Nun, "Yehoshua, what are these rumors? Look at what they are saying here—ten righteous men with beards down to the ground, thick peyos—look at what they are saying about you! How are you not afraid to enter the Land, knowing that Moshe Rabbeinu will die?" Yehoshua said to Calev, "I know that Moshe is eternal! Moshe is not dependent on a physical body. I do not see Moshe's body; I see his soul. His soul is eternal, it is present everywhere. It can spiritually infuse you, it can spiritually infuse the princes, Eldad ben Kislon, Gaddi ben Susi. Whoever Moshe's soul spiritually infuses, I will listen to his voice. If there is a passing, I know that immediately the soul of Moshe will spiritually infuse someone else, because Moshe is alive and enduring!"

And Calev did not know who was right, Yehoshua or the spies. He was caught between a rock and a hard place. How could he know who was right? How could he clarify such a thing? So what did Calev do? He traveled to Chevron and arrived at the graves of the holy Patriarchs, and there the truth was revealed to him. What was revealed to him? The moment he prostrated himself on the graves of the Patriarchs, he saw that the Patriarchs are alive and enduring! He saw that Avraham is alive! That Yitzchak is alive! That Yaakov is alive!

It was revealed to him that what Yehoshua said is the truth: a tzaddik never passes away, he does not die. Rashbi is alive, the Arizal is alive, the Baal Shem Tov is alive. It was revealed to him that Avraham Avinu, 400 years after his passing, was speaking with him and telling him: "Yehoshua is right, Moshe will live forever." Yitzchak told him, "Moshe will live forever." Yaakov told him, "Moshe will live forever." Reb Nosson says that this is what was revealed to Calev at the graves of the Patriarchs: that tzaddikim are not a physical body, they are not what you see with your eyes. The tzaddik is an eternal soul, for all eternity.

A Prayer of the Afflicted - The Merit of the Tzaddikim

Master of the Universe, please accept all the awesome prayers that we recite at the holy and awesome gravesites of the holy Patriarchs, the Prophets, the holy Tannaim, and the holy Amoraim. For it is only upon them that we have staked our support, and only upon them have we relied, for only they have the power to elevate our prayers before the Throne of Glory, and only they can advocate for us before Your Throne of Glory. Please, Merciful and Gracious One, hear the sound of our cry, our supplication, our groaning, and our screams. Save us in the merit of these tzaddikim in the blink of an eye, and may we merit to see, in the blink of an eye, the coming of Yinon (Mashiach), and the rebuilding of our Holy Temple in the blink of an eye. Amen, Netzach, Selah, Va'ed.

In the Light of the King's Countenance - Every Person's Unique Path

Every person has a path that connects him to Heaven. It does not matter at all what the other person's path is. "Oh, the other person has already arrived..." What business is that of yours? Why should it bother you at all? After all, you need to reach your own point in Heaven, your own palace, and he is reaching his palace. These are two completely separate paths, and in any case, he cannot take your palace away from you. This is yours and that is his. Hashem has an abundance in His world; Hashem loves you, and Hashem loves him too. Hashem wants him to have, and if he has, it will not detract from you.

There are endless things to be jealous of, and if we recognize that we are jealous, we must go and cry over it: "Please Hashem, help me remember that my path to You is an exclusive path, and no one can touch my path. I will reach You according to my own way and at the pace that You set for me. I must not let my spirit fall, even if others have already advanced much further, whether in material matters or in spirituality."

If it concerns materiality, then it is certainly forbidden to be jealous, because materiality is absolute nothingness; it is merely a burden on our entire existence preventing us from achieving anything real. When a person is attached to materiality, his children become attached to materiality. When he grows older, they will not respect him because they only think about themselves. They feel they need everything, and they think, "If I respect you and give to you, I won't have everything for myself." A person must do his own part completely independent of others. He must do his part for the sake of Heaven.

He must act for his own spiritual purpose, not for the sake of others. He has no reason to look at others, even if they appear to be more successful. They are going through their own tikkun (rectification), and on their path, they are held accountable for whatever they are held accountable for. On their path, they also have a tremendous and daunting spiritual work, even if they have been serving Hashem for generations. Everyone has internal work to do; everyone has their own unique path.

Insights on Parashat Shlach

"Only do not rebel against Hashem, and do not fear the people of the land" (Numbers 14:9)

Rabbeinu Bachya ben Asher notes here: From these words of Yehoshua and Calev, we learn that fearing flesh and blood is considered a rebellion against Hashem. Since the Children of Israel expressed fear and dread of the giants and the fortified Canaanite cities, Yehoshua and Calev called out to them: "Only do not rebel against Hashem." Similarly, King David says: "Hashem is with me, I shall not fear; what can man do to me?" (Psalms 118:6). This is because emunah (faith) and bitachon (trust) in Hashem strengthen a person against any enemy or avenger, whereas anxiety and fear of a mortal cause one to forget the Creator, which is tantamount to heresy and rebellion against the King of the Universe.

"Send for yourself men" (Numbers 13:2)

"Why is the section of the spies juxtaposed to the section of Miriam? Because she was punished over the matter of slander that she spoke against her brother, and these wicked ones saw it but did not learn a moral lesson" (Rashi)

It appears from these words of Rashi that the juxtaposition is not merely because Miriam was punished for lashon hara (evil speech) and the spies were also punished for lashon hara. Rather, the juxtaposition comes to teach us that the grievance against the spies is not only that they sinned with lashon hara—for anyone, even the greatest person, can stumble in sin, and who is greater than Aharon and Miriam? Rather, the primary grievance is that they saw something happen right in front of them and did not delve into its meaning. They saw Hashem's punishment but did not contemplate the sin that brought it about, and consequently, they stumbled into the very same sin.

This is a profound demand placed upon a person who does not think about what occurs before his eyes and fails to learn from it. He lacks the capacity to learn life's lessons, which is a major flaw in his path of spiritual ascent. There is also an element of ingratitude toward Hashem, who gave man the power of thought, elevating and exalting him above all creation, yet he fails to utilize these faculties and virtues bestowed upon him by Hashem. A person is influenced by his environment; every event and action impacts him, whether he wants it to or not. Every occurrence can influence him either for the bad or for the good. It all depends on how one looks at things and with what kind of eyes one views them.

However, it is clear that if one views everything without depth and without thought, it will certainly influence him negatively, Heaven forbid. This is because a negative influence requires no effort; the initial impact naturally hits a person's base instincts, which are drawn toward the negative side of desires. But for an event to influence a person for the good, it only happens if he delves deeply into the matter and seeks to reach its root and essence. For this to happen, it must impact his spiritual faculties; it must reach the inner depths of his soul and the root of his neshamah (soul). (HaGaon Rabbi Baruch Sorotzkin zt"l, manuscript).

Stories for the Parashah - The Vilna Gaon

"And you shall look upon it"

On the third day of Chol HaMoed Sukkot, the Gaon Rabbi Eliyahu of Vilna (the Vilna Gaon) felt that the time of his histalkus (passing away) from the world was near. Even though he felt extreme weakness at that moment, he grasped the four corners of his tzitzis with his remaining strength and said: It is written in our holy Torah, "And you shall look upon it and remember all the commandments of Hashem." We learn in the Jerusalem Talmud (Berachos 1:2): It does not say "and you shall look upon them" (the tzitzis), but rather "and you shall look upon Him" (Hashem)—to tell us that anyone who fulfills the mitzvah of tzitzis merits to see the face of the Shechinah (Divine Presence) at the time of his passing.

The Gaon burst into bitter tears, and his lips whispered: How difficult it is for me to part from this world. For here, with the cost of mere pennies (the price of a "tzitzis katan"), a person merits to greet the Shechinah. Yet in the World of Truth, to which I am now passing, even if a person harnesses all his strength, he will not be able to achieve the reward of the mitzvah of a "tzitzis katan" that exists in this world.

"And you shall not wander after your hearts and after your eyes"

Our Sages say: "The eyes see, the heart desires, and the organs of action complete the deed..." (this is how one comes to commit an actual sin). Therefore, a person should lower his eyes downward. This is hinted at in the holy Torah (Genesis 38:21): "Where is the kedeshah (prostitute) that was at Enaim on the road?" Read homiletically: Where is the kedushah (holiness) of a person? "It is in the eyes on the road"—when he guards his eyes while walking on the road...

It is told about the Gaon Rabbi Eliyahu zt"l that a yeshiva student once approached him and asked for permission to travel to a relative's wedding. Rabbi Eliyahu asked him, "Do you know if modesty will be maintained there, and that there will be no mixing of men and women?" The young man began to stammer and said, "My father, my mother, and I will sit at a separate table, and it won't harm me..." Rabbi Eliyahu was shocked upon hearing the student's words and immediately answered him: "I am already over eighty years old, and I am blind in one eye. Despite this, when I walk down the street, I am filled with fear lest I stumble in a forbidden gaze. And you, a young man with two fleshly eyes, tell me 'it won't harm me...'?!"

There is no such thing as Moshe dying; the tzaddik lives and endures. Moshe can impregnate his soul (ibbur) into anyone. He lives and endures; he descends and impregnates his soul into all the tzaddikim of the generations. Tzaddikim do not die. There is no such thing as Rashbi dying, there is no such thing as the Arizal dying, there is no such thing as the Baal Shem Tov dying.