It’s a universal feeling, that sense of being overwhelmed. But what if that feeling warped your perception of reality itself? That's precisely what happened in the story of the spies sent to scout the Land of Canaan.
After the Exodus from Egypt, Moses dispatched twelve spies, one from each tribe, to explore the land promised to them by God. They were supposed to bring back a scouting report – the lay of the land, the strength of the inhabitants, the quality of the fruit. A chance to prepare for what lay ahead.
But what they brought back was fear.
Only two of the spies, Joshua and Caleb, offered a hopeful perspective, urging the people to trust in God and seize the opportunity. The others? They painted a terrifying picture, exaggerating the strength of the Canaanites and their own weakness. Caleb, bless his heart, tried to rally the people with his strong voice, but it was drowned out by the chorus of fear.
The other spies didn’t just say the Canaanites were strong. Oh no, they went much further. As we read in Legends of the Jews, they claimed, "We be not able to go up against the people; for they are stronger than we, they are so strong that even God can not get at them." (Ginzberg). Can you imagine? They were so consumed by fear that they questioned God's own power!
And the embellishments kept coming. "The land through which we had gone to search it is a land that eateth up the inhabitants thereof through disease; and all the people that we saw in it are men of wicked traits," they claimed. It's worth remembering that this account, as told in Legends of the Jews by Ginzberg, builds upon the Biblical narrative itself. It is an interpretation and expansion of the story as it appears in the Book of Numbers.
They went on: "And there we saw giants, the sons of Anak, which come of giants: and we were in our own sight as grasshoppers, and so we were in their sight." This, it turns out, was the straw that broke the camel's back.
According to the narrative, these spies, paralyzed by their own fear, assumed they knew how the Canaanites perceived them. They saw themselves as insignificant, and so they projected that insignificance onto the enemy.
And God? Well, God took issue with that. "I have no objection to your saying, 'We were in our own sight as grasshoppers,' but I take it amiss if you say, 'And so we were in their sight,' for how can you tell how I made you appear in their sight? How do you know if you did not appear to them to be angels?"
The Zohar, the foundational text of Jewish mysticism, offers rich interpretations of biblical stories like this one. While the Zohar itself doesn't specifically comment on this passage, its emphasis on the power of perception and the divine presence in all things casts a new light on this story.
It’s a powerful reminder, isn't it? That our perception of ourselves can warp our reality. That fear can blind us to the truth. And that maybe, just maybe, we are stronger and more capable than we think we are. It's a lesson that echoes through the ages, reminding us to question our fears and to trust in something bigger than ourselves. How often do we limit ourselves, not because of external obstacles, but because of our own internal narratives?