Perashat Shelah 5778

Perashat Shelah 5778

In this week's perasha we read about the episode of the Meraglim, the spies. Before the nation entered the Land of Canaan, Moshe sent one leader from each of the twelve tribes to survey the land and report back. Of the twelve spies, ten returned with mixed and disheartening news. In their report they described the Holy Land as such, "Indeed it flows with milk and honey, but the people who inhabit the land are mighty, and the cities are extremely huge and fortified, and there we saw even the offspring of the giants." They were later punished and condemned for their Lashon Hara, slander, about the land.

On the surface, what was so terrible about their report? What was untrue about what they said regarding the land that they were judged so harshly? Moshe Rabenu himself described the Land in the Book of Debarim similarly, "Hear, O Israel: Today you are crossing the Jordan to come in to possess nations greater and stronger than you, great cities, fortified up to the heavens, great and tall people, the children of the Anakim, whom you know and of whom you have heard said, 'Who can stand against the children of Anak?'" What is the difference between Moshe's words and the report of the spies?

The Ramban points out that the primary transgression of the spies was their use of the word, efes, meaning but or however, when describing the potentially more challenging aspects of the land. Had this been a purely factual report, it would not have been included. The Meraglim mixed the facts with opinions. If they gave an accurate report, they would have fulfilled their mission dutifully. Instead the spies added their judgement and suggested it would be impossible to conquer the land, thus demoralizing the nation.  

This is often true in matters of Lashon Hara. We are obligated to separate facts and opinions. Human nature, being as it is, does not allow us to portray the facts alone when we describe certain incidents. Rather we frequently feel the need to insert our own observation and commentary about what happened into the narrative. Without really knowing another's motives, we ascribe our own thoughts about their actions. Sometimes we jump to conclusions based on prior experience with others and project a pattern of behavior. This is commonly the case in both private and public conversations and especially in the media.

There is no prohibition for us to assume and to find certain behavioral patterns in people. Man is created with the ability to discern and categorize. However, when we blur the facts with opinions and speak with so much certainty about what are merely opinions, we cross the border into the realm of Lashon Hara.

If we are not careful about this, we sin twice. First, we commit the sin of falsity when we assert opinions that are solely subjective and of which there is no way to know if they are truthful. Second, we commit the sin of Lashon Hara when we defame another without any justification. 

The importance of being truthful and learning to make these key distinctions are among the great lessons we discern from the incident of the Spies.

Shabbat Shalom,
Rabbi Mimoun Miller