Parshiyos Shelach and Korach reveal Jewish leaders who fell from greatness to infamy. The Torah’s portrayal of the downfall of these leaders teaches us that no one is immune to failure, and even the most spiritually elevated must always be vigilant. One must scrutinize every change in behavior, in attitude, however minute, before it becomes a blatant flaw. Our parshah begins with the story of the meraglim, Nesiim, princes of the tribes, handpicked by Moshe Rabbeinu. Yet, their fear and self-destructive perception of Eretz Yisrael led to their personal downfalls, causing an entire generation to lose its opportunity to enter Eretz Yisrael. They were not wicked; they erred due to a flawed perspective, and it went downhill after that.
The higher a person rises, the greater and the more intense are his challenges in maintaining humility and the lens of truth. Spiritual distinction is not static. One must always grow and constantly strive to remain on the right path. We must always be circumspect to ensure that our motivations are l’shem Shomayim, for Heaven’s sake, and not self-serving. We must examine every action that we take to ensure that it is aligned with Hashem‘s will. Had the meraglim stopped to do that, the course of our history would have been positively altered.
If the Torah writes that the meraglim were on an exalted spiritual plane-when they were selected — then they unquestionably were. What happened? Fear, which resulted in convincing themselves that they, as Nesiim, could not handle the physical/material issues which they would undoubtedly confront when they were no longer under the protective aura of the wilderness. Here they were sustained on manna and water from the Miriam’s well. Life was great. They could spend the entire day learning. In Eretz Yisrael, they would have to remove their “Nesiim hats” and be like everyone else. This frightened them and, as a result, their perspective was distorted. They quickly forgot that Hashem, Who was addressing their needs thus far, was quite capable of doing the same in Eretz Yisrael.
Life is filled with challenges. Our only way to confront and triumph over challenge is with faith and trust in Hashem. The Torah was given to the ochlei manna, Jews who lived in the wilderness who were sustained by the manna that descended daily. Why could they not have received a large shipment once a month or once a week? Hashem wanted them to have faith that tomorrow there would be that day’s meals for the entire family. After “dinner,” it was all gone; they went to bed with the hope and belief that Hashem would “come through” for them tomorrow- as He had done today and every day.
It was a great plan, but, for some, as was the case with the Nesiim, it provided them with the misguided notion that one learns and davens all day when life is idyllic, as it was in the midbar. The challenging aspects of life, which are completely normal, were not taken into account. This is where the Nesiim went wrong and their spiritual status imploded, leaving them worse off than had they not been used to having their meals delivered daily to their door.
Horav Rav Aryeh Levin, zl, the Tzaddik of Yerushalayim, exemplified such faith. He was known for his visits to the sick, downtrodden, and even the condemned martyrs of the British Mandate. During one of his visits with the underground resistance, fighters whom the British had imprisoned, he encountered a young man awaiting execution. The boy (he was a very young man) was tormented, grappling with the injustice of his fate. [This is not the forum to discuss the terrible treatment to which these martyrs were subjected.] “Rebbe,” he pleaded, “how can I believe in Hashem when I see no hope of salvation? How can I hold onto faith when Hashem appears to be so distant?”
Rav Aryeh placed a comforting hand on his shoulder and said, “My dear son, faith does not mean that we will always understand Hashem’s ways. It means that we trust Him even when His Divine plan eludes us. True emunah is not about believing that everything will go the way you wish — it is about knowing that everything Hashem does is for the ultimate good, even when we are unable to see it.” The young man wept copious tears, but he nodded in acquiescence. Though his fate remained unchanged, the Tzaddik had given him a precious gift: the strength to face his final moments with faith.
When Horav Shimon Shkop, zl, was a talmid at Volozhin, he was the most celebrated bachur in the yeshivah. He was close with the Netziv, zl, as well as with Horav Chaim Soloveitchik, zl, who impacted his derech halimud, approach to learning. It was obvious to all that he was destined to greatness in the Torah world. When he reached the age to enter into matrimony, the Netziv proposed a shidduch, match, with a fine young lady whose father was a talmid chacham, Torah scholar, and was also blessed with a successful business which would provide the necessary dowry to allow the young Rav Shimon to learn for many years. In this way, he would grow into a giant of Torah which was expected of him. As has happened before, the people made the mistake of ignoring Hashem’s Divine Providence. Making plans are always with the stipulation of Im yirtzeh Hashem, If the Almighty agrees. Apparently, the Divine plan was not for Rav Shimon to marry into a wealthy family. His future father-in-law, who was one of the wealthiest Jews in the area, almost overnight lost his fortune. While he could still provide his daughter with a wedding, (without the accoutrements that were part and parcel of an extravagant wedding), he was certainly no longer able to offer the support that he had promised.
Rav Shimon’s close friends encouraged him to withdraw from the shidduch. If he had no money, he would not be able to learn. It was as simple as that. Rav Shimon was destined to become a gadol b’Yisrael, and gedolei Yisrael: A) keep their word; B) do not embarrass an innocent young woman; and C) most importantly, rely on Hashem to provide them with sustenance. The young couple married, and Rav Shimon’s Rebbetzin opened a small store which they hoped would provide them with a livelihood. Alas, growing up in a wealthy house did nothing to prepare his Rebbetzin for successfully running a business. Rav Shimon, having spent every waking minute learning in the yeshivah, knew even less. Further, they suffered from constant theft. They were forced to close the store. A few months passed, and their payables were too much to ignore. Rav Shimon was compelled to close his Gemorah to seek an avenue for providing material support.
All of the naysayers were there to say: “I told you so.” This did not deter Rav Shimon who understood that what Hashem expected of him was to withstand the challenges, maintain his faith and continue doing what he was best suited for: learning Torah.
A short while had passed when his Rebbetzin’s uncle, the venerable Horav Eliezer Gordon zl, Rosh Yeshivah of the nascent Telshe Yeshivah, asked him to join the hanhalah, administration, as a maggid shiur and Rosh Yeshivah. He served with distinction for eighteen years and impacted the hearts and minds of thousands of talmidim. When Hashem presents challenges to individuals, we must remember their Source, and this alone will provide us with the ability to triumph over them.
