Someone sent me a clip of Rav Elimelech Biderman shlit”a speaking about this week’s parsha, Parshas Shlach. I found it so powerful and just what I needed to hear.
After the meraglim (spies) came back from spying Cana’an, they described the sights they had seen and told how impossible it would be to conquer the land. Calev answered, “Aloh na’aleh – we will surely go up” (Bamidbar 13:30). Rashi says that Calev told Bnei Yisroel, “Even if Hashem told us to build ladders and go up to the heavens to conquer it, we would surely be successful.” How is Calev’s statement reassuring? How does it address the concerns raised by the meraglim, about the giants, the fortified cities, etc?
During the Holocaust, the Piacezner Rebbe told his followers, “Emunah is not believing in salvation when you can think of the solution. Emunah is believing in salvation when you cannot think of the solution.” Calev was telling Bnei Yisroel, “It’s true that the situation is very scary; I can’t tell you otherwise to mitigate your fears. But it’s not our job to figure out what to do. Hashem is not limited by our problem-solving abilities. Even if He asked us to do something impossible, we would be able to do it because He would make it possible.”
What a powerful and timeless message. Just like kriyas Yam Suf happened out of nowhere, just like the mohn ( 😉 ), which had never been seen before, literally fell from the sky, yeshuas Hashem k’heref ayin. He doesn’t need our ideas, not then and not now. We would always do well to remember that.
Have a great Shabbos!
