The Difference between a Spy and a Tourist

The above Dvar Torah appeared in the Maariv, it was written by Harav Gloiberman who  is the  Torah contributor to the newspaper!

In Chutz Le'aretz the parsha read in all shuls is Parshas Be'Haloischa, but in the State of Israel, the parsha this week is Shlach, the parsha that describes the tragedy of the "meraglim," the spies!

Translation by DIN:

R' Gloiberman writes that in  Parshas Shlach, the Torah talks about the 12 spies that Moshe sent to "tour" Eretz Yisroel and to inspect if the land is good or bad. 

The meraglim spent 40 days touring the length and width of the entire land and brought back a bad and gloomy report.

Let's imagine, business people, sending a messenger  on their behalf to visit a new country,to see if it pays to establish an industrial plant in that country. The messenger decides that there is absolutely no chance that this plant would succeed. 

Can it be  possible that the business people would punish the messenger because he brought back a derogatory report?

Doesn't this go against logic?

This question can be asked about the meraglim as well. Didn't the meraglim complete their mission? And if they did, why the horrible punishment? 

The answer, writes Harav Gloiberman, was that the meraglim weren't just satisfied with a description of what was happening and what they observed in the land, they added their very own conclusions  that  frightened the Jewish people,and brought them to despair!

The meraglim veered off Moshe's understanding of the mission. Moshe sent them to "tour" L'sur and not to spy, Merageil!

There is a major difference between a spy and a tourist! 

A spy is required to operate in a way that is cunning and must operate with deception, to be able to expose weaknesses of the enemy.

The tourist, on the other hand, just observes and is impressed and admires the land without any chicanery or having to be cunning!

Eretz Yisroel was and is currently a promise from G-D, a land of milk and honey, but the meraglim didn't operate from a point of trust in Hashem, only Calev and Yehoshua proclaimed "Oleh Naaleh" "we will go up and we will conquer and subdue  and breach the walls of the enemy."

They knew that Hashem's promise will be come true in its fullest way, and therefore they were not impressed with the enemy's strength.

It is incumbent on all of us to do, whatever we do, with trust and hope in Hashem and to  believe that the good G-D will keep his promise to the Jewish people, as He has done throughout our history

PLAIN & SIMPLE

If our Chazal said to the wise that it is a good thing to keep quiet, how much more does it apply to fools?.

Din:

There are Rabbonim with big beards, some of whom,  were moiser nefesh to keep those beards in "Bergen Belsen" concentration camp, but refused to be moser nefesh for Klall Yisroel to make Aliyah! 

They even discouraged Jews Pre WW2 who had visas in their hands to Palestine begging them,instead, to stay in Europe, dooming them to their horrible deaths!  

They even described those Gedoilim who advocated Aliyah as ...."Apikorsim and Meenim" 

They twisted the words of Chazal that say in Tractate Kesubois that "anyone living in Chutz L'aaretz is as if he has no G-d," Chas Ve'sholom..

Like the meraglim, Big Beards living in the comforts of Chutz L'aaretz, discourage Jews from making Aliyah,frightening them, proclaiming instead, as did the leader of a fanatical sect in Orange County .... the words of the meraglim:

"  Amalek dwells in the area of the south, the Hittite, the Jebusite, and the Amorite dwell on the mountain; and the Canannite dwells by the sea and on the bank of the Jordan"

Let us all listen to the genuine Gedoilim, who like the Ari Hakodosh, The Bais Yosef, the Ohr Hachyim Hakodosh, the Ramban etc ...  sacrificed to  live in the land that Hashem promised  us .... a land of milk and honey ..a country with such beauty...

 let us correct the great sin of the Meraglim that brought despair and gloom to the Jewish people....

Do not listen to those Gedoilim that encourage you to stay in Chutz L'aaretz, remember the meraglim were also "gedoilim!"