Miller's Musings Parshas Shelach Lecho: Environmental Protection

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בס''ד

                         

Irrespective of the eventual report that was brought back by the spies, the very permission to go and perform a reconnaissance mission on a land given by G-d is rather perplexing. How could Moshe condone an act that fundamentally called into question the Jewish people’s faith in Hashem and the good that He would bestow upon us? By allowing this delegation to go forward to ascertain whether the land was indeed blessed, he was seemingly acknowledging the possibility of the Holy Land not being the tremendous gift Hashem had declared that it was!
When risks are high the only thing that can make taking them worthwhile are the great gains that would potentially be secured. Moshe knew that the Jewish people entering a land formerly inhabited by people steeped in paganism carried its own dangers. So as not to be effected steps had to be taken to protect them from this potent atmosphere of impurity. The Nesivos Sholom explains that the Jews in Egypt were not influenced by the pervasive depravity of the Egyptians because Soroh’s refusal to give herself to Pharaoh and Yosef’s persistent rejection of his master’s wife’s advances introduced elements of holiness and purity into this land devoid of morality. This protected the Jews despite the decadence of the natives. Moshe’s intention in allowing the spies to enter the land was similarly to imbue the land with some preliminary holiness so as to protect the Jews from the contamination of the idolatrous environment.
The concepts we have just spoken about are perhaps a tad esoteric, but in truth they contain a very practical application. All would acknowledge that creating the right atmosphere goes a long way to determining the success or failure of any occasion. This is something that must be planned prior to the event, with the particulars arranged beforehand to ensure the required effect is achieved. If this is true of relatively trivial matters, how much more so must we consider incredibly carefully the atmosphere we want to create within our homes and family and the steps that must be taken to ensure it is how we would want it to be. This will entail consciously incorporating what we believe will contribute to the required effect and precluding whatever will not be conducive to creating the environment we seek. But if we do nothing and just allow nature to run its course, we will be resigning ourselves and our loves ones to whatever winds may pass through at any give time.

*May the influence of Shabbos protect us from harm*

    לעילוי נשמת לאה בת אברהם

 

לרפואה שלימה:  שרה יעל בת ברכה אסתר