Translation by Yehoshua Siskin
One verse in the Shelach Lecha Torah portion reveals an important secret:
Spies are sent out to survey the Land of Israel and most of them return to their people in the desert with a negative report. After encountering the residents of the Land, they say it makes no sense to journey there. In the course of their discussion, they utter these significant words: "And we seemed like grasshoppers in our eyes, and so we were in their eyes."
In other words, first we saw ourselves as grasshoppers, as weak individuals, and therefore that was how those we encountered saw us too. After we saw ourselves as small and meek, lacking self-confidence, without hope -- we were similarly evaluated by those we met in the Land of israel.
Yet wasn't it God who told Moshe Rabbeinu to send the spies on this mission and also promised that it would be successful? So what was the source of the spies' weakness?
What was true in the desert is true today as well: Our self-image is the foundation of our attitude, of how we see ourselves and of how others see us. If we see ourselves as self-confident, if we go out into the world with optimism, faith, and a vision for the future, others will see us that way too.
The first day of the week is the ideal time to decide who we want to be. Shavua tov.
