You are What You See
The people of Israel needed to see for themselves. They needed to
check out Israel with their own eyes before they would agree to the Land
of Israel as their homeland. This little due diligence that they
performed, however, had catastrophic consequences which seemed totally
out of proportion. “One year of Golus for each day”. “And the carcasses
of all those that spoke about Me will fall in this wilderness.” Said
G-d.
Rashi points out that this transgression was especially distasteful
being that it came on the heels of Miriam and others ruminating about
Moshe. They should have learned from the story of Miriam but instead
they fell into the trap of the spies.
The two stories have much in common. Moshe gave up royalty in Egypt to
protect a Jew. He became a nomad; he risked his life to free the Jewish
people. As their leader he held back nothing. He gave away every comfort
to serve the Jewish people. He became a Prophet and spoke with Hashem.
In the words of the Torah: “Why aren’t you afraid to talk about Moshe?!”
How could you bring yourself to say a word about the man who has given
his life for you?
And now! You are a down trodden people. You are a nation without a home.
You have no place to plant a garden or to build a school for your
children. G-d tells you that he found the most beautiful spot on Earth.
He chose a land that is green and flowing with beautiful brooks, hills
and livestock. You say “let’s take a look and see if it is for us and if
it is to our liking!” The Jewish response is absurd. “Let’s see for
ourselves!” After all He has done for you - how can you question Him?
How can you doubt Hashem after He has done so much?
In both of these stories there is a lacking in the same basic quality. Hakarat HaTov. Usually Hakarat HaTov
is translated as gratitude. The correct translation, however, refers to
the ability of man to recognize good that was done and to never lose
sight of that good. Without this ability it is impossible to be a
sincere Jew. It is impossible to maintain a relationship with man or
with G-d. It is impossible to have a successful marriage. It is also
impossible to find the truth in life because one is always blinded by
the specks of fault even in the face of a multitude of goodness.
I remember having numerous discussions with a friend of mine who was
involved in outreach. He shared with me his great joy when he succeeded
in sending one of his students off to Yeshiva. He described how he had
stayed up nights with this boy philosophizing about Yiddishkeit, how he
debated with the boys parents regularly about the benefits of Judaism
and finally raised the necessary funds for the boys trip to Israel. I
was so impressed with the work my colleague had put in. While in Israel I
happened to bump into this boy who by that time had become a full
Yeshiva Bochur and was doing well. I struck up a conversation with him
and wanting to hear more about my friend’s good work I asked him how he
had come to Yiddishkeit. Imagine my disappointment when he told me that
it was just something he had come to on his own!
The Jews forgot about all the good of Moshe and G-d and became obsessed
with minutia and G-d’s disappointment in us was very great.
I’m very fond of quoting the previous Gerer Rebbe, the Bais Yisroel.
Often when he would hear that one of his Chasidim were upset at him he
would ask, “Why is he upset? I never did anything for him!” There is
something psychological about us not having Hakorat HaTov. We do say
thank you, we may show gratitude, but recognizing and appreciating a
good that was done is for some reason a difficult task.
It may be difficult but the older I get the more I realize that
recognizing the good that G-d does for us in life and thanking Him
regularly may be the secret to life. It may also be the essential point
of Judaism; a point that underlies all points. Everything in Judaism
begins with saying thank-you.
A new resolution: When we get up in the morning let’s make a mental list
of just three things that are good in our lives and thank G-d for them.
This will change our prayers, change our day and in a short time it
will change our lives.
Link: http://www.torahlab.org/calendar/article/you_are_what_you_see_2013/
