As a shy, timid child of thirteen, I was content to stay out of the limelight and live a quiet, peaceful life. Unfortunately, my father had other plans for me. Kroonstad, a small town two hours out of Johannesburg, was looking for a rabbi and cantor to lead their High Holiday services. The job entailed blowing the shofar, a skill I had yet to acquire, as well as leading the Shacharit and Mussaf prayers, and, of course, delivering the sermon. My father thought it the perfect opportunity to initiate me into the Rabbinate. I begged to differ.
Even at that tender age, I understood that no amount of grumbling would get me my way. My father would ultimately win, because for him, there was no such thing as “I cannot do it”, only, “how will I do it.” Indeed, my father immediately set out to give me a crash course in shofar blowing. When I complained that I had no idea how to write a sermon, I was handed several neatly written pages-- one of my father’s best speeches of the year—and memorized it verbatim.
Of course the material was too complicated for my inexperienced mind, but I confidently belted it out to the fifty strong crowd. I had not the foggiest idea what I was saying; I only knew this was one of my father’s best sermons of the year. When it was over, the congregation came over to congratulate me on my magnificent delivery...and then proceeded to ask questions! I don’t remember what I answered that day, I just recall mumbling my way through the first thing that came to mind.
Turns out my father had been right in his calculation- because ever since that fateful Rosh Hashanah, for the last twenty years, I have lead services in countless communities worldwide. And I have only his belief in me and my abilities to thank for that.
The Torah portion of Shelach records the tragic tale of the twelve spies sent by Moshe to spy out the Holy Land. Ten returned with unfavourable reports, with catastrophic results. G-d was livid at His people, condemning them to forty years of redundant wandering in the desert.
The effects of G-d’s wrath are felt until today...the original plan was that the Israelites would enter the land, Moshe would build the Temple, assume title of Moshiach, and everyone would live happily ever after. Unfortunately, the spies’ sin not only gained the people an additional forty years of wandering, but more importantly, over 3000 torturous, blood-stained years of exile.
Where exactly did the spies go wrong?
When Moshe detailed the spies’ mission to them, he made it clear that they were to investigate how to conquer the land, not if to conquer it. G-d had already declared Bnei Yisrael would prevail; there was no cause to query His promise. The spies erred when they returned and informed the people that the land was hostile and undesirable. No-one had asked for their opinion, yet they generously supplied it.
In our lives as well, G-d constantly throws hurdles and challenges in our path. But when experiencing a rough patch in any area of our lives, it’s important to remember that G-d never submits one to a test he cannot beat-- just as in the story of the spies, G-d assured the nation they would conquer the land. Each person is equipped with the character traits, the means and the capabilities to overcome all his obstacles. Questioning G-d’s plan equates us with the spies, an act which invites disastrous consequences. Our job, therefore, is to figure out how to get out of the situation, now if to get out of it.