Keep Your Eyes on the Ball

Each and every one of us was chosen by G-d to perform a mission to refine and sanctify the world. Our talents notwithstanding, we were chosen to represent the interests of G-d, Moses and the people that we were chosen to serve, not our own personal ones.

Moses Idea, Not G-d’s

Many explanations have been offered as to how ten of the twelve spies Moses sent to scout the Land of Israel could have sinned so egregiously. With the exception of Joshua and Caleb, the spies returned from their mission with a slanderous report about the Promised Land, thereby deterring the Jewish nation from their desire to continue on towards their divinely ordained destination.

One explanation is rooted in one Hebrew word (lecha-unto you) that the Torah employs in G-d’s instruction to Moses about the scouting mission:

“Send unto you people who will scout the Land of Cana’an. Commentators grapple with the word(s) “lecha-unto you.”

Rashi comments that this was G-d’s way of saying: “This is your idea; I do not endorse it.”

Subservient to Moses

There can be another way of explaining the attribution of the mission to Moses as G-d’s way of setting forth the condition for one’s eligibility to be a proper spy: The people selected to this mission must be “unto you.” They must be totally subservient to the leadership of Moses, never forgetting that they are not “independent contractors,” but agents of their generation’s leader, Moses.

To be sure, they were also chosen because of their intellectual capabilities, their conscientiousness, and their position in the Jewish community. But, all of those qualities meant nothing if they forgot who they were representing.

And this is where the ten spies went wrong. They reflected on the honor that was accorded to them, and turned the mission around as another stepping stone in the advancement of their careers. They forgot that they were sent by Moses (G-d’s most devoted, humble and selfless servant) to represent him and the interests of G-d and the Jewish nation.

The lesson for us is obvious. Each and every one of us was chosen by G-d and His chosen leaders to perform a mission to refine and sanctify the world. It is also obvious that we are chosen because of the qualities we possess that enable us to be successful. But we must never forget that our talents notwithstanding, we were chosen to represent the interests of G-d, Moses and the people that we were chosen to serve, not our own personal ones.

Interplay between Talents and Our Mission

Where does the error that the spies made originate?

It may be suggested that their downfall began with an erroneous understanding of the interplay between a person’s talents and the G-d given mission they have in life.

One could imagine that G-d selects those who possess certain talents and potentials to fulfill a certain mission. In this scenario, the talents and the mission are two distinct things, which were brought together for a specific mission.

Upon deeper reflection we should realize that our talents and our mission are not two distinct matters. The very reason we have the talents and resources in the first place is so that we can fulfill the Divine mission.

In other words, when G-d sent (the Hebrew word for sending is the name and theme of this week’s parsha- Shlach) our souls into this world, He sent it here for it to realize a specific goal. To facilitate the successful execution of the goal, He endowed our souls with the necessary talents.

Equipped with this attitude, we will never deviate from our mission, or squander our resources on matters that have nothing to do with the very purpose that we are here.

Mission Statement

Our mission, much like the mission of the spies then, is to prepare ourselves and the entire world for the final Redemption.

Our generation has also been endowed with unprecedented capabilities and resources because our generation is charged with the role of making the dream and hope of thousands of years become a tangible reality.

It is axiomatic in Judaism that G-d does not demand anything from a person they were not empowered to do. If our mission is to bring the Jewish people into the Promised Land with Moshiach, then we have the requisite resource to accomplish this daunting mission.

The fact that we, and only we, will have succeeded in bringing an end to Galus and ushering in the Age of Redemption suggests that our generation possesses unique and unprecedented capabilities.

This premise may not sit well with many who think that we can never match up with our forebears. Yet, it is we who will bring Moshiach and not our predecessors!

Our Generation’s Uniqueness

Our generation is unique in many ways:

Among others, we have the collective experience and accumulated energy of all of our forebears.

We have the technology it takes to acquire and disseminate the eternal knowledge of Torah to the world.

We enjoy unprecedented prosperity and freedom to translate our aspirations into reality.

We have unfettered access to our Holy Land.

Our generation had, and continues to be blessed with, the leadership, foresight, and inspiration of the Lubavitcher Rebbe, who has alerted us to our unique status as “the last generation of exile and the first generation of Redemption,” so that we can translate the latter part of that declaration into reality.

And the Rebbe also taught us that our generation is unique because it has demonstrated that it can keep its Jewish identity alive even in the most difficult circumstances.

When a survivor of the Holocaust marries, starts a business, establishes a synagogue and Jewish school, and keeps Judaism alive for the next generation; that is unique.

When a Jew from the former Soviet Union, who was never allowed a formal Jewish education, agrees to be circumcised as an adult; that is unique.

When an American Jew from an assimilated family seeks his or her roots and starts to do one Mitzvah at a time; that is unique.

The lesson of this week’s parsha is to never forget that we were given all of these incredible resources so that we should utilize them to help prepare ourselves and the entire world for the coming of Moshiach and the ultimate Age of Redemption.

From the book Light from the Future: Parshas Shlach by Rabbi Heschel Greenberg, published by the Jewish Discovery Center.