I am very excited for the opportunity to share words of Torah with you. Each week, in this spot, I look to share an idea I've found that speaks to me and that I think will resonate with you as well. This week, I share with you an excerpt from an article by Rabbi Yehonasan Gefen entitled "The Connection Between Calmness and Trust in God" that draws a lesson from opening of Moshe's speech to help us with our relationship with HaShem.
The Torah Portion begins with Moses rebuking the Jewish people for the various sins that they committed in the desert. One of the first sins that he addresses is that of the spies. Moshe recalls the events that led to this tragic occurrence. "And you all approached me and said, 'let us send men ahead of us who will spy out the land for us, and they will tell us the way which we should go in it, and which cities we should come to.' " Given that all of Moses' words involve some kind of rebuke, the question arises, what exactly is the criticism found in these words? Rashi explains that the way in which they approached Moses was inappropriate. "You all approached me in an irbuvi (disorganized muddle), the children pushing ahead of the elderly, and the elderly pushing ahead of the leaders."
The simple understanding of this criticism is that Moses was rebuking them for a lack in derech eretz (respect) and kavod HaTorah (respect for Torah). Rav Yaakov Kamenetsky writes that it is difficult to say that this was the focus of Moses' reproof. It is clear from the account of the spies in the Torah Portion of Shelach, that the main failing of the spies was a lack of bitachon (trust in God). This caused them to be fearful of the mighty people living in Israel, and to mourn their perceived inability to conquer the land. Accordingly, what is the connection between the fact that the people approached Moshe in an inappropriate manner, with the lack of bitachon that was the true cause of the sin?
Rav Kamenetsky explains that indeed, the lack of bitachon was the cause of the sin of the spies; the lack of derech eretz displayed was merely a symptom of that lacking. Had they had the appropriate level of trust, then they would have calmly approached Moses, in the correct order. However, since they felt a great deal of anxiety about entering the land, they acted in an agitated fashion, and broke the conventions of who should approach Moses first. In this way, their lack of bitachon was the cause of their agitated behavior. [...]
We have learnt from the principle of Rav Kamenetsky that when a person acts in an agitated or hurried fashion, there is a strong possibility that his behavior stems from a lack of trust in God. A person who has such trust, will feel no sense of panic when he needs to do something, and will have no sense of impatience when events do not take place as quickly as he would like them to. Rather, he recognizes that God is constantly guiding him, and any tests that he undergoes are God's way of giving him opportunities to grow. However, when a person does not have the security that bitachon provides, he feels no sense of calmness (menucha), and may feel eager to make events happen quicker than they should. [...]
Hoping and praying for a Shabbat Shalom,
Rabbi Davies
Rabbi@SOICherryHill.org
