Date: August 19th 2022

After the sin of the Spies, the Jews who had left Egypt were overcome with fear and lost faith in Hashem. As a result, they lost the merit to enter the Land of Israel and were to die in the desert over a 40 year period. When the 40 years of wandering the Sinai desert ended, the next generation made ready to enter Israel. In 7:17-18 Hashem then openly addressed their fears. “When you will say in your heart, these nations are more numerous then I, how will I be able to drive them out? Do not fear them! Remember what Hashem your G-d did to Pharaoh and all of Egypt”. According to Rashi, the words ‘when you will say in your heart’ are figuratively referring to a fear that the Jews would naturally feel and He was enjoining then to avoid being in any way afraid of the conflict they were about to embark upon.

The commentary of the Sforno explains these words of Hashem’s Message in a more literal sense. According to the Sforno the words ‘when you say’ refer to the actual speech that the Jews verbalize when discussing the upcoming events. Hashem was instructing the Jews about the proper way to discuss their fears. It might be true from an objective standpoint that the military picture was vastly skewed in favor of the Canaanite nations, nevertheless, Hashem was not telling the Jews not to verbalize the obvious facts of the situation. Instead, He instructed them not to speak in terms of fear of the overwhelming odds they faced but to verbalize the recognition that the upcoming hurdles would be impossible if not for the help of Hashem. Their words should be suffused with a calming acknowledgment of the miracles Hashem performed to free them from Egypt and that without the help of Hashem, that past salvation would have been utterly impossible.

People facing a crisis might react in a number of different ways. For some, the realities of their plight could lead to a paralyzing state of anxiety and a focus on the impossible challenges they are faced with. Being in this state of mind could hamper all of their endeavors in life, including dealing with the problems that they are facing.

Another person may take a spiritual approach and serenely declare that all is in Hashem’s Hands, and even if they do little but simply trust in Him, all will be well.

A third approach would be to acknowledge the seriousness problem at hand and the need to engage the issues to attempt to find workable solutions but to deal with it in the context of trusting Hashem. This person continuously remembers the great power of Hashem and all of the times in the past he has been supported by Him.
The Sforno is explaining that Hashem directed the Jews not to react like either the first or the second manner when facing their terror of waging war in Israel. They were not told to avoid the reality that “These nations are more numerous then us, so how will we be able to drive them out?” Voicing this apprehension was appropriate, for when facing a situation of great peril, it is necessary to pragmatically confront the danger. Yet, even while dealing with an existential life-threatening crisis, their every word and action was influenced by an unshaken attitude of bitachon.
An additional point can be learned from the Sforno. The Jews of that generation are referred to as the ‘Dor Deah’ the generation of knowing. Above all future and past generations, they are considered the greatest in knowledge and understanding. They had the singular experience of living through the Exodus and Revelation at Sinai and witnessing these events firsthand. It was apparently not enough for Hashem to command them not to fear and always bear in mind the open miracles they and their parents experienced 40 years before. He specifically addressed the manner of speech when talking about their circumstances. We see from here the incredible impact of our manner of speech and impact it has on us and those around us. We see from here that no only do our internal feelings need to match our speech but that our speech must also communicate that which we have inside.

This serves as a model for how Jews should approach all of life’s tests and crises – small and large.




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