A married couple with one child came to me recently with a dilemma. As ba’alei teshuvah, they pondered whom they should list as a guardian for their child should something happen to them. Their immediate family are loving and kind, but not Torah-observant. On the other hand, some close friends are observant. But what takes priority? We talked at length until they were clear with their decision: they chose friends, because they wanted their child to be raised to be shomrei Torah and mitzvos. A decision like this takes inner strength and conviction. Such inner conflict and its resolution is a theme in parshas Shelach.

I’m always amazed to see new ideas and understandings when I review the parsha. This week was no different. I always thought that the spies—who brought the gigantic fruits back with them to show to Bnei Yisrael—were acting of their own accord to justify their bad report about the land of Eretz Yisrael. The Gemara says that Calev and Yehoshua refused to be part of this evil plot and, therefore, did not help with carrying the fruit.

However, I noticed that the pasuk states that Moshe clearly instructed the meraglim (spies) before they left, “V’hischazzaktem ulkachtem mipri ha’aretz—You should strengthen yourselves and bring back some fruit of the land.” The spies were actually carrying out the direction of Moshe, and it seems that Calev and Yehoshua were not! How could Calev and Yehoshua ignore the command of Moshe? The question is compounded by the choice of wording Moshe used in his instructions: “V’hischazzaktem ulekachtem … —You should strengthen yourselves and take from the land.”

Moshe emphasized that a level of strength would be needed to take back the fruit. The Ramban and Seforno explain that taking fruit in broad daylight could potentially blow their cover as merchants. Carrying the fruit would give them the appearance of spies. Accordingly, the 10 spies were bold, and placed their lives in danger to follow the instructions of Moshe. What gave license to Calev and Yehoshua to ignore the directions of Moshe?

The Gerrer Rebbe—Rav Pinchas Menachem Alter—explains that Calev and Yehoshua understood from the word Moshe chose to instruct them, “V’hischazzaktem,” that the purpose of taking the fruit was to be mechazzek—to strengthen the nation’s resolve to enter Eretz Yisrael. However, the spies’ intent was to bring back a bad report that would discourage Bnei Yisrael from going into Eretz Yisrael. Therefore, Calev and Yehoshua refused to bring back any of the fruit, so they would not be involved with the other 10 spies’ evil intent of showing the enormous fruit as proof that the people in Eretz Yisrael are giants and too mighty to overcome.

The parsha demonstrates that Calev and Yehoshua were faced with an inner conflict: Should they follow the direct command of Moshe, and join their peers in bringing back fruit as Moshe instructed? Or, should they follow their own interpretation of Moshe’s directive, and, therefore, not bring back fruit that the other spies would use to dissuade the nation from going to Eretz Yisrael? They chose to follow what they determined was the true intended meaning of Moshe’s instruction, and not just the literal words.

The conclusion of our parsha’s story shows that the truth came out: the spies who followed the literal words of Moshe were severely punished. However, Calev and Yehoshua—who seemingly ignored the directive of Moshe—were the only ones who entered Eretz Yisrael and got to benefit from the fruits of the land.

At times, we find ourselves in situations in life in which one course of action might be correct by the “letter of the law,” yet be contradictory to the intent, meaning and spirit of the law. These situations require us to demonstrate real honesty and moral strength in our decisions. As the ba’alei teshuvah cited above decided regarding the appointment of frum guardians for their child, and as Calev and Yehoshua decided regarding their interpretation of Moshe’s instructions, may Hashem help us to always follow the proper course of action when we make important decisions in our lives.

Rabbi Baruch Bodenheim is the associate rosh yeshiva of Passaic Torah Institute (PTI)/Yeshiva Ner Boruch. Rabbi Bodenheim can be reached at [email protected]. For more info about PTI and its Torah classes, visit www.pti.shulcloud.com