Parshas Shlach - Unlocking Divine Assistance & Overcoming Obstacles

By now you probably know the story. There are some spies. They failed to pick up on a lesson that they should have from a previous episode. They go on a mission and they come back with a report filled with flesh and horror and fear about the Holy Land of Eretz, yisrael. A national hysteria, some crying for no reason, angering of the Almighty, a group of people that seek to du'chuva to repent and then go back into the land that end up being destroyed by the Amalekians, destroyed by those that are inhabiting the land. Currently It fails miserably. The parasha eventually culminates with the parasha of tzitzis, which seemingly gives off the understanding that Hashem has gifted us with this cloak that we can look at to inspire ourselves to refrain from sin. So suruachel vavchem is the point of tzitzis. That's pretty much parasha's shalach in a nutshell, skipping over a couple of different mitzvos that Akash Baruchu gave to us. But today I'd like to deal with a very irking point, a point of seems like injustice. It seems it was unfair. You see, the mission of these spies, shalach, lecho an'noshem, was a mission that was doomed from the start And if we, but the Almighty's help, can succeed in citing this problem, building up this issue, to show why it's really hard to understand. But then to grab a magnifying glass and clarify the topic, to zoom in and understand this fundamental truth, well then we will discover, as Vyuchem tells us, this idea, this fundamental yisoid, that is the difference between winning and losing successful avaitis Hashem and failing to maximize our kochos. The idea is a bit of a ripping off of a bandaid that can be uncomfortable. It's not exactly immediately inspiring but, as we shall soon see, it is indeed the most inspiring and motivating idea. The irking issue, the problematic problem, is as follows. Part of Shlach begins with Vaidabh er shem ma waishalay maur. Shlach licha, send for yourself. Send, if you please. Anoshim men la yassuru as eret kinana shere ani nai seh levne Israel ish echod, ish echod maat ay avaisav tish lachu kol nasi vahem. I have told you that it's a good land, but Send spies. After all. Rashi tells us that Shlach licha means send, because the Jewish people wanted spies. The Almighty had no interest in sending spies. In fact He promised to His chosen people that the land is going to be good. They would succeed in this battle with the current inhabitants. Shlach licha, says Rashi l'daitcha, according to what you want, you want spies. Ani any medzav licha. I have not commanded you as such, interzah. If you would like Shlach, then send Shlach licha for you. Lev'ishabh yisrael el Rashi continues with the story. Some background information The Jewish people they surrounded Moshe. Vraamru nish licha, anoshim lefoneno. We would like to send people in front of us to do a recon mission. Kima shenemar vatikavun eilaikul khem um Moshe nimlach peshchina. So Moshe went to talk to Hashem. Is this the right thing to do or not? Omar Hashem responded Ani omarti lohem shi hitayvah. I told you that the land is good. Shenemar aale eschem me oni mitzrayim. I took you out of Egypt and I'm going to bring you to a good land. So concludes Rashi. Concludes I call this borachu Chayayhem. By your lives. Sh'ani nosein lohem makom lit'oos. I am going to give you a place to error, a spot to make a mistake. Bedevray ha'maraglem, lam'an lo'irashua, to become confused, to be tricked, to err because of the words of the spies, in order that you do not conquer the land. End quote mejrsh tan khuma anigamara insota. The mission was doomed. Hashem said I'm going to give you a spot to error. And the problem, at least it feels like, is it doesn't feel right. It's almost like how everyone asks on paro how could Hashem take away his free will? Yet here you don't really see that question. It almost seems like Hashem gave them a makom lit'oos. He gave them spots to error. It's almost altering Bechira a little bit Chayayhem, by your lives There's going to be spots that you're not going to be able to inherit the land, to take the land by force. And when you listen to the Rimbabans question on Rashi, now you have some sources for the question. Rashi says that the sin of Shalach was the fact that they shouldn't have sent spies. They should have trusted in HaKadash Baruch, when the fact that Hashem said it's a good land seems like they were felt it was missing and betokhon in trust of Hashem. But the Rimbabans asks on him some brutal questions And most notably that we find that great people have sent spies. Moshe Rabbeinu himself. Yahushua, if you look in Naach, we've sent spies at times And it seems like it's within the practical and normal Hestadlus What you're supposed to do. You send some soldiers ahead to check if it's a good place to travel to. So Rimbabans asks on Rashi this can't be the sin of Parashash Shalach. So now, what exactly did the Jewish people do? that was so bad that Hashem said I'm going to give you spots, almost seems like on purpose. Spots to error, spots to mess up. They didn't even do anything wrong. What was the sin that led them? Hashem's response of chayayhem sh'ani no sin. Lohem makom litos. The answer, the ripping off of the bandaid, the exposure of the truth that can hurt at the beginning but gives us everything that we need to know. Is That really, in life Down here on planet Earth, there is no real shot at success by ourselves? victory is not in our cards. The game is coded and wired Against us. The Gamora and Kedushin says on page 30b Lamed Ahmed Bayes, yitzirai Shal Adam misgaber, alav bechol, yoyim umevakish Hamiso the Yateser Harah. He strengthens himself on a person every single day with new tactics. And when you think about practical life, you're walking home from Shulon Shabbos new Some new installed installed light-sensing new Contraption that when you walk past it, the light turns on To protect yourself from sin constantly Shabbos and it's really impossible . Think about it. If you're to daven at a minion, you'd love to pray to Hashem. You're reliant on the fact that you need a minion you you have other scenarios —generally unique unique scenarios we we minion a minion of the Almighty, for our Tafilos. To reach up to the Keseyach Kovach, You need ten men. What if you live in a town there aren't ten men? It's not totally in our control to be matzliyach in all a safer way. The authored authored to keep Pesach in a place that The Russian soldiers could not obtain, matzah. At times in history, it was impossible certain to certain With mitzvos, the and his knowledge of us; it, it his ability to set traps, this willing of various foes. You have no hope. Psychologists often say that an Individual isn't actually in control of his thoughts. The Morwan tries not to think about a pink elephant. The Morwan grabs on to the thought of a pink elephant and At times some things pop into our heads because of things that we have seen or thought about previously. But really, are we in total control of our thoughts? Can we be asked, commanded To do something that seems impossible? This is what Khazal are getting at That. The Eittahara is standing there in Mavakesh Lahami so setting traps, and he seeks to destroy us. The game is not fair. The enemy does not play by the rules and all seems hopeless. There is one way, the path, the Hatsolokha, the only route of success. It actually comes from the end of that Maimer Chazal, that Kimourin Kedushim, that says Yitzre Shalod I'm a scholar, i love the whole Yajmum of Akish Lahami so that the Yaitza, or the Satan, he wants to destroy a Person. How does that Kimourin conclude? The elema lay ha'kodesh boruch, who owes Roe in Yachulow, and if not, that the Almighty Helps a person? it is an effort in futility. It's hopeless Washteta. What do we see? what does it say? that if Hashem helps us, we have a chance. If we can enable some siyatah Dishmayah, some divine aid and assistance, then we got a shot, there's hope. So now what's left for us to discover is How to bring down the siyatah Dishmayah. How do we get the help We need? Hashem's aiding and abetting of our avaitah Hashem. It is impossible without it. So what to do? Chazal, inform us of the only way to in fact bring down divine assistance from heaven and, thank God, chazal, indeed, give us the answer. They tell us how to bring the divine assistance. It comes from a Gamorro. In multiple places You can find the entire T of the Gamorro Mesaachtah, yuma, da'f, lamid, ches, amid A'al of 38A. The Gamorro says Amor Chazal B'olitaheir, someone who comes to purify himself, messiahen also in some gear. So it says ha'boolitaheir, one who comes to purify himself in his life, messiahen also, the Almighty helps him, they help him in heaven to enable this purification process. Ha'boolitaheir, one who comes to purify himself, to make himself impure, post-chinlo, and they open those doors as well. What do we see? We see a way, we see the light at the end of the tunnel. If we can become ha'boolitaheir People who are coming to purify, hashem helps us. And when we zoom in and we peel apart and do surgery on this, maimer Chazal for every word is precious and gold We find that the words used for the person coming to sin, leta may himself, and the word used for when a person is coming to purify himself are different. The one who came to purify himself is ha'boolitaheir, then it is Messiahen, they help. But when it comes to the sin, then it's just post-chinlo. God does not enable, he does not Help a person to sin. No, post-chinlo, god opens those doors. It's well known. We live in a free world. Bed'erach, sh'adam roitze, le'lech mo'i leach in oslo, in the path to the place that a person wants to get to, one can go. They guide you, that's just. You have free will down here, behiro. That's what it's all about. So if one does choose to look for sin, those doors will be opened for him. And even just so, you should know Some extra chesed from Hashem. At times He does even deter you and prevent you from sinning, as we find by Billam who was going to sin, but Hashem still sent impediments and stumbling blocks to prevent the sin. Even for somebody That's not Jewish, hashem does not desire sins, even by the Gentiles. Post-chinlo God opens those doors, but Messiahen lo lechah, but helping the sin? No, no, no. That is only for someone Who is ha'boolitaheir, who is coming to purify himself, who is a steiger, who wants to grow Rebbe. I want to learn. That's the guy who gets the much needed. The only way. Messiahen lo divine assistance from above, and listen to this. Rebeinu Yonah, perik Dalid mission, a base. The mission tells us, and masech to all of us rats or mitzvah, caller kebach ha'mura. A manja person, an individual, should run After a light mitzvah, a mitzvah that we see to be you not holding the same significance as one of those super heavy, intense, serious mitzvahs. You should run after the light one is the same way that he runs after the way we see serious ones. Rabbenu Yonah goes off Telling us how the reason is is because when a person decides to do a mitzvah, that's a bachina, that is a small manifestation of Habboa Letaher. He's coming to do good and that brings down residual and self-building, a snowball effect of divine assistance. And One mitzvah it leads to another mitzvah. This realm and world of The impossible which we cannot control, the place where we could walk into Motion-sensor set lights on Shabbos. There is the flip side of that, which is that we just stumble upon mitzvahs. A Mace mitzvah you could stumble. I mean, god forbid, no one should stumble on a mace mitzvah. But if you do, the mitzvah is no, you're of the ayum and takes a lot of quote-unquote luck from above To stumble upon a mitzvah of that caliber. So ruts the mitzvah call, it could be a murmur to build this residual divine assistance. Habboa Letaher is the avaida of a manch. This all comes from the great mirror maschia, for be ruch on the bovets Call avaida's, how all them leos. The entire service of a man, of a manch, of an individual, is to be someone who is said about him How boa Letaher he knows about himself. I'm coming to purify myself. I want to get better for Rebbe. I want to learn. So we have ripped the bandit off. Life is impossible without divine aid. Seattle, this Shmaya, and how can that be used be a Way that we can start to pull more of it from above, by being people who are Habboa Letaher, that are purifying themselves. And now we can take this yes I'd and apply to this Rashi. We can understand. Everything now sings like a song that when Hashem said to the Jewish people that Chaiyeh and by your lives, shani, no sayin lahmuk on lethose. God is not Hardening anyone's heart, taking away bechira. It's exactly what the words say That there are spots to error, because life itself is impossible to be matzliach unless you have Seattle, this Shmaya. And I said don't go. You should have trusted me. If you would have gone with the Almighty, things would have been peachy cane and hunky Doria, would have been a seamless takeover, weapons would not have even been needed. But you decided So, laa chlecha. So yeah, send if you please. But if you go without Hashem, then you're going on a bumpy, cobblestone road. You're going to hit every single pothole on the way and Chaiyeh him by your lives. Of course it's Posh it. It's obvious. Shani, no sayin lahmuk on lethose. There's gonna be spots to make a mistake. Without Seattle, this Shmaya, we are doomed. What's truly eye-opening is that the Ramban tells us that these are not him, these spies where Clalius Rael's most robust, spiritually charged and healthy Tal Midei, chachomemen, righteous rabbis, the men who were fit for the job, our greatest soldiers, and yet still we see that without Syiata de Shmaia, indeed, they fell prey to all of the Mokomos Letoos, all the different spots to err. It's really inspiring, though We have our marching orders, we know that we are not commanded on results. Results are impossible, sometimes things are out of our control, but what we can do, what we are responsible and a chroy for in our avaitis Hashem, is to be habalitahere people who are seeking to purify themselves, to become better and more kadosh. And you know, there's a famous line we say in Yeshivos and Yeshivos around the world, i'll know it It's that it's not enough to want to want. You can't be someone that says I wish that I wanted to learn Torah. You have to be someone that really wants to learn Rebi. I want to learn That person. When that desire it transfers into action, to will, to real opening up of the books and opening up of one's mind to the Torah concepts. You see this when you look around. There are individuals that they graduate from the regular level of wanting to want and turn themselves into habalitahere. They're actually acting and coming towards Kedusha. They actually throw something away that they wish that they could throw away, as opposed to just wanting to want to get rid of it. They actually schedule a study session with the Rav, with the Chavrusa. They actually start to learn Choybes, halavavos, shahabitahon, to learn about trust in the Almighty. Or they actually start to learn Chopets, chaim, shamirah's, haloshin, to learn about Lush and Hara. They actually take the step and stag into habalitahere And you know what happens. Then We all see it. Something weird happens. They become inspired, infused, they turn into superheroes of Kedusha because they have been infected, they have been completely overtaken by Kedusha, by divine intervention of spiritual and heavenly assistance. Missaian lo, help from heaven. Chazal, tell us, if Rashi and Ramban didn't say this, then we could never say such a thing. But it comes out that the Maradlam, the spies, they went on this recon mission by themselves. Shalach, lecho, send, if you please. They went without HaKadash Baruchel, so they were doomed. It's just eventually going to happen, because life without Siyatah Dishmayah is hopeless. Our job, our lesson is to be mentioned to be people, to be individuals that are habalatahir, that are coming constantly, evermore, to search for purity, to be matahir our lives, to then be zoha to the assistance that we need that will help us to cut through the red tape of life in the impossible traps of the Yetzahara, to be springboarded, to have a fast pass, to become the first person who gets to jump on board of the life, of Syatah deshmaya, of help from heaven, to be zoha with this only way that we can possibly fulfill our job in life. Just remember habalatahir, messiah noso, habalatahmeh poshkhono, if you're coming to purify yourself, to live a good life, to become an ebed Hashem and to do what is morally right and just, you will get help, it will work, you will get the assistance you need. But if you come looking for sin, not interested in what is proper, then many different, not good, inappropriate doors will open for you. Yitzra shall, adam eskaber, alav bechol yom the Yetzahara. He sets traps, he tries to overpower us every single day, yumevakish hamiso, and he wants to kill us, to destroy us. However, the ilmole haqadishboreh hu oizroyayn yahu lo, but if not for the Almighty's divine assistance in Syatah deshmaya, we would never make it. But if we are habalatahir, we are seeking purity. We then merit the Syatah deshmaya and the divine assistance that we so badly need.