Written by Uriel Vahdey

Parashat Shelach recounts the story of the spies scouting out the land of Israel. Moshe sends twelve spies from the twelve tribes into the land, and all of them go to see the same land. However, ten come back terrified, saying that the land is dangerous and filled with giants, but two people, Yehoshua and Kaleb, come back saying that the land is “very, very good.” The question is: how can they see the same land but give over such different views? The spies weren’t just seeing the land through the same perspective; they saw different views which were projected from their mindset. The ten spies were scared and insecure, whereas Yeshua and Kalev looked at the situation with emunah and bitachon. The ten saw themselves as mere ants and assumed others saw them like that as well. On the other hand, the two remembered the miracles Hashem performed to take them out of Egypt, as well as the splitting of the sea and the giving over of the Torah. We often “spy” on our own lives by looking at our challenges and goals. How we perceive things in our lives relies on how we see ourselves. On one side, if we feel fear and insecurity, even the best opportunities will seem bad and impossible. However, if we have faith and belief that Hashem is always with us, then even big tasks become possible. When facing challenges, see with emunah and not fear.