“The entire assembly said to pelt them with stones …” (Bamidbar 14:10)
Upon hearing the report of the Spies after their return from Eretz Yisrael, the Jewish Nation became fearful and hysterical. When Yehoshua and Calev tried to reassure them that Hashem would save them, the people were far from pacified – instead, they decided to kill Yehoshua and Calev by stoning them.
It is difficult to fully understand all of the experiences of the Generation of the Desert. Indeed, the Talmud states: “If the early generations are characterized as sons of angels, then we are the sons of men. And if the early generations are characterized as sons of men, we are like donkeys” (Shabbos 112b).
Yehoshua and Calev were leaders of their time and were designated to speak to the Jewish People on behalf of Moshe Rabbeinu, yet Bnei Yisrael were ready to stone them. Despite the absence of a trial or court proceeding, they unanimously determined that Yehoshua and Calev merited death by the harshest means in Jewish law and they were ready to proceed with the punishment. Miraculously, they sensed Hashem’s presence and they did not execute their plan.
Towards the end of the parsha we find a diametrically opposed situation.
We are introduced to the mekoshesh eitzim: an individual who publicly profaned the Shabbos and gathered wood, even though he had been warned against the desecration of the Shabbos. This was an egregious transgression that definitely warranted punishment, but Moshe and Aharon deferred any immediate penalty. The wrongdoer was placed in confinement to await the judgment of Hashem.
The contrast is stark. On one hand, we have Yehoshua and Calev, who were certainly innocent, yet the people passed immediate judgment on them and were ready to kill them. On the other hand, we have the desecrator of Shabbos, who knew that he would definitely merit punishment but was treated with circumspection.
Rav Aharon Katzenelenbogen tells us that by studying this parsha we can get a glimpse of how the Evil Inclination operates, taking advantage of one’s state of mind. When a person maintains clarity of mind and the Torah is the basis of his rationale, the Evil Inclination will not be able to mislead him to go against the will of Hashem; but a person is not thinking rationally, he is easily led astray – even to the extent that he believes the aveirah is a mitzvah.
It is clear to anyone with a basic Torah knowledge that Yehoshua and Calev were both righteous individuals. Following the narrative of the Spies, however, there was a state of turmoil among the people similar to the circumstances that instigated the Sin of the Golden Calf, another manifestation of momentary irrationality on the part of the Jewish Nation.
When the mekoshesh eitzim intentionally sinned, it is difficult to say that he did not know the consequences of his actions; after all, he had been warned about the laws. Still, the Evil Inclination was able to sway him to do something that was wrong and punishable by death.
Rabbi Gamliel Rabinovich says we can learn from this that in times of challenge or hardship one must be extra vigilant, because in a state of distress one becomes more susceptible to sin.
Rabbi Aryeh Levine points out that Hashem calls the Jewish Nation a “stiff-necked people” (Shemos 32:9). We know that ona’as devarim – hurtful words or name-calling – is a Torah prohibition, and Hashem keeps every one of the mitzvos just as we do. How could Hashem use such seemingly harsh words?
He expounds that the label is not meant to be derogatory but rather complimentary. Our task in exile is to maintain our composure. Indeed, the Jewish People have the qualities it takes to stand strong in the face of adversity and challenge because we are “stiff-necked.” That is why our sages tell us, “If not for the fact that Hashem assists each person in battling his Evil Inclination, he could not overcome it” (Kiddushin 30b). We pray to Hashem for Divine Assistance to be able to view the world always through the Torah perspective.
In truth, it is especially challenging to make decisions under pressure or in anxiety-ridden situations.
One evening, I received a frantic call from a parent I know. He urgently requested an appointment for me to meet with his daughter concerning her upcoming marriage. I agreed to meet with her at 11:00 that night while her father waited in the car.
I was shocked when the kallah explained to me that her wedding was scheduled for the next day but she intended to call it off because she thought the chosson was not “the one.”
We discussed the situation from many different angles, and I did not hear any compelling reason for this irrational decision. We spoke about the apprehension and anxiety of many couples at the last moment. We also reviewed her chosson’s family background, how long she had known him, and their dating history. Yet despite my best efforts to convince her otherwise, she remained adamant about canceling the wedding.
It was already 1:00 in the morning and I had still not dissuaded her from taking this drastic step.
Finally I said to her, “What do you mean you are canceling the wedding? I have the invitation here, and I already replied that I will attend the wedding. Regardless of what you’re telling me, I have to go to the wedding. I always keep my word.”
She began to respectfully argue. “How can you come to the wedding if there is no wedding?”
“I don’t really understand how there is no wedding,” I said. “The invitation explicitly invites me to a wedding, and I have to go.”
“What happens if you come to the hall and nobody is there?” she said.
“If nobody is at the hall, I’ll take the train and go back home,” I calmly replied.
And so we circled, again and again. She was very bothered. She couldn’t get over the fact that I was talking about going to a wedding that she was canceling. We went back and forth on this until she stood up and ended the meeting. She went out to the car where her father sat waiting all this time.
At 3:00 in the morning, I received a call from her father.
“Rebbi, I will not ask you what you told her, because I know it’s confidential, but I will always wonder how you convinced her to go ahead with the wedding. May Hashem bless you forever.”
The wedding went off without a hitch. The couple is extremely happy and are blessed with a son as well.
