In the Chafetz Chaim’s Sefer Shemirat HaLashon, ( Guard the Tongue), he has a piece (in chapter 19) on Parashat Shelach, with a beautiful Bitachon message.
He says that the Yetzer Hara has many techniques and tactics. One such approach is apparent in the episode of the spies. He says that the Yetzer Hara put into the mind of the spies to say, “In order for us to beat these giants, we need a tremendous zechut/merit. People like us to not have that zechut. We just sinned with the golden calf, we sinned in the desert with our desires.....Look at these Giants! We can’t take them on. Moshe Rabbenu will not be around anymore, as we just heard from Eldad and Medad. And without Moshe, we won’t be able to do it. Of course, God performed miracles for us up until now, so it’s not that we don’t believe in God, but we don’t think it’ll happen for us, not without Moshe. To take these people on, we need to big of a merit.”
Calev tried to calm the people down. The pasuk says,
וַיַּ֧הַס כָּלֵ֛ב אֶת־הָעָ֖ם אֶל־מֹשֶׁ֑ה
He calmed them down toward Moshe.
The Meshhech Chochma says that he told them, “Do you think that Hashem will only perform miracles with Moshe around? Hashem has been performing miracles for us, the Jewish people, even without Moshe. Moshe is the messenger, but don’t accept this tactic that we cannot do it without Moshe.
Furthermore, he added , as Rashi says, “Is that the only thing that He did for us? Moshe split the sea for us. He brought the manna down for us.”
The Chafetz Chaim explained that when the sea was split, there were idol worshipers there. There were complaints. When the manna came down, there were complaints. Throughout the entire time they had complaints, and God forgave them. And continued to carry us through. The clouds of glory took them through, even with their sins and complaints.
When the spies saw that Caleb‘s words had an impact on the people, and the people started to be convinced that they could win without Moshe, even though they might have sinned, the spies then added that people were dying in the land. They indicated that this land had tremendous Middat HaDin- it was a land of judgement. It was extremely holy.
They told them that there was a big difference sinning in the king’s palace (which is Israel) versus outside of the king’s palace. They said that you have to be a complete Sadik to survive there.
“When we saw those Giants, we were afraid. And if you’re afraid, you lose your protection, because God‘s protection is according to the level of Bitachon. And we melted, so we won’t have protection when we get there.”
These were the various Yetzer Hara tactics, to take away their emunah and Bitachon. They weren’t saying that they didn’t believe in God, but these were their negative tactics. It’s called Atzat Yetzer Hara- The ideas and tactics of the Yetzer Hara. That is why Moshe prayed that Hashem should save them from that advice.
Yehoshua and Calev then responded to the spies by saying
“That would you say that God’s guarantee to give us the land is only if we are Sadikim is a total mistake.
And they added following important line, which refuted the claim of the spies:
הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא אֵינוֹ מְדַקְדֵּק עַל הָאָדָם לוֹמַר
God is not exacting with a person to say,
אוֹשִׁיעֲךָ רַק בְּאֹפֶן שֶׁתִּהְיֶה צַדִּיק
“I’ll save you, but only if you’re a sadik.”
רַק אוֹמֵר לוֹ, לֹא אוֹשִׁיעֲךָ אִם תִּהְיֶה מוֹרֵד
He only says, “If you’re a rebel, I won’t save you.”
People sin. And Yehoshua and Calev ended there argument with, אַךְ בַּה' אַל תִּמְרֹדוּ
Don’t rebel against God. As long as you’re not rebelling or uprooting His Mitzvot with kavana/intent, you can hope for all good.
Whatever the spies were doing to try and instill fear was a falsehood.
We have to realize that. Nobody is perfect.
A big impediment to people having Bitachon is that they think they don’t deserve it. God never said, “I am only saving you if you deserve it.” As long as you are not a rebel, as long as you aren’t intentionally uprooting the Mitzvot- if you fell, if you have a Yetzer Hara, if you are human, that is okay.
The Chafetz Chaim says that the Yetzer Hara uses these same claims today. He makes us think that the Torah and religion is only for the perfect Sadikim. As the saying goes, “Perfect is the enemy of good.”
It’s all the Yetzer Hara talking. We have to realize that we are good people.
אַךְ בַּה' אַל תִּמְרֹד
Don’t be a rebel.
We are not rebels. Therefore, we have full rights to rely on God, to count on Him, and not to listen to any of the Yetzer Hara’s speeches that bitachon is not for us.
Have a wonderful day.