Parashat Shelaj Lejá – El líder vs el popular

English translation found below

Ningún otro libro nos habla tan claro de la naturaleza humana como la Torá. En nuestra Parashá, el desafortunado evento de los espías nos deja tantas lecciones, que podríamos escribir un libro completo solo sobre esta.

Recapitulemos: Moshé envía 12 líderes del pueblo, hombres ilustres y justos, a espiar Éretz Israel para reconocerla justo antes del inicio de la conquista; los espías recorren la Tierra y la describen como una tierra que ciertamente mana leche y miel, pero desalientan al pueblo diciendo que es imposible de conquistar; solamente Yehoshúa y Caleb dan un informe optimista lo cuál casi les cuesta la vida a manos del vulgo; al final el pueblo llora desconsoladamente toda esa noche sin razón y consecuentemente son castigados con no entrar a la Tierra y vagar 40 años en el desierto.

Hay demasiados temas que tocar aquí, pero nos concentraremos en la reacción del pueblo ante el informe positivo y optimista de Yehoshúa y Caleb. Fueron ellos los únicos de los 12 espías que motivaron a los judíos a creer y entrar a conquistar la Tierra con fe y seguridad, fueron los optimistas, los únicos que realmente vieron la verdad completa y no a medias; aún así casi fueron apedreados por eso. El pueblo decidió oír las voces de la negatividad y el pesimismo, lloraron sin razón toda la noche, porque a fin de cuentas eso deseaban escuchar.

Los 10 espías traidores fueron sumamente populares, el pueblo los amo y aceptó su informe, después de todo eran mayoría ¿no? Y además estaban diciendo lo que ellos querían escuchar; porque estaban paralizados de miedo ante la inminente guerra y su fe era tan flaca que ni los grandes milagros que habían visto les ayudaban ahora. Por eso lloraron, lloraron y lloraron.

Yehoshúa y Caleb en cambio, representaban la fe, la autoestima, el optimismo, el compromiso y el espíritu de entrega por la causa; y así, eran tremendamente impopulares, porque decían lo que nadie quería escuchar, ¿cómo estos dos insolentes se atrevían a sacarlos de su zona de confort? Por eso quisieron matarlos. No obstante, en el futuro Yehoshúa fue el sucesor de Moshé, Caleb uno de los principales de Israel, y ambos fueron los únicos de aquella generación de esclavos que entraron a Éretz Israel, la conquistaron y comieron de su fruto.

La diferencia de Yehoshúa y Caleb, entre muchas que podríamos señalar, es que ellos eran líderes a pesar de ser impopulares. La naturaleza humana es reacia a la crítica y a la contradicción, a nadie le gusta oír que está equivocado o que debe hacer algo distinto a lo que está acostumbrado. Queremos oír lo que deseamos escuchar, de lo contrario lo rechazamos instintivamente. Se requiere madurez y objetividad, hacer a un lado el orgullo y el ego, para escuchar las voces de Yehoshúa y Caleb.

Ojalá nosotros mismos podamos convertirnos en ellos, líderes verdaderos, aunque terminemos siendo impopulares.

Shabat Shalom umevoraj!

Rab. Sem. Dr. Yaakov Rodríguez

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The Leader vs. the Popular One

No other book speaks so clearly about human nature as the Torah. In our parashah, the unfortunate episode of the spies leaves us with so many lessons that we could write an entire book about it alone.

Let us recap: Moses sends twelve leaders of the people, distinguished and righteous men, to scout the Land of Israel just before the conquest begins. The spies travel through the land and describe it as a land that truly flows with milk and honey, yet they discourage the people by claiming that it is impossible to conquer. Only Joshua and Caleb deliver an optimistic report, which nearly costs them their lives at the hands of the crowd. In the end, the people weep bitterly throughout the night for no reason, and as a consequence, they are punished by being denied entry into the Land and forced to wander in the wilderness for forty years.

There are far too many themes to address here, but let us focus on the people’s reaction to the positive and optimistic report of Joshua and Caleb. They were the only two among the twelve spies who encouraged the Israelites to believe and enter the Land with faith and confidence. They were the optimists, the only ones who truly saw the whole truth rather than just part of it. Yet they were nearly stoned because of it. The people chose to listen to the voices of negativity and pessimism. They cried all night without reason because, ultimately, that was what they wanted to hear.

The ten unfaithful spies were extremely popular. The people loved them and accepted their report. After all, they were the majority, were they not? Moreover, they were saying exactly what the people wanted to hear. The nation was paralyzed by fear of the coming war, and their faith was so weak that even the great miracles they had witnessed could no longer sustain them. That is why they wept, and wept, and wept.

Joshua and Caleb, on the other hand, represented faith, self-confidence, optimism, commitment, and devotion to a cause. As a result, they were tremendously unpopular because they were saying what nobody wanted to hear. How dare these two insolent men try to pull them out of their comfort zone? That is why they wanted to kill them. Yet in the future, Joshua became the successor of Moses, Caleb became one of Israel’s foremost leaders, and the two of them were the only members of that generation of former slaves who entered the Land of Israel, conquered it, and ate of its fruit.

One of the key differences between Joshua and Caleb, among many others we could point out, is that they were leaders despite being unpopular. Human nature resists criticism and contradiction. No one likes being told that they are wrong or that they should do something different from what they are accustomed to. We want to hear what we want to hear; otherwise, we instinctively reject it. It takes maturity and objectivity, setting aside pride and ego, to listen to the voices of Joshua and Caleb.

May we ourselves become like them—true leaders, even if it means becoming unpopular.

Shabbat Shalom uMevorach!

Rab. Sem. Dr. Yaakov Rodriguez