By: Rabbi Seth Grauer
Graduates, every year I write a new message to deliver at our graduation ceremony. This year – I am staying very simple – but as I reflected back on some previous years, I think this is perhaps the most critical and important I have ever delivered. I know you are so incredibly excited to get your diplomas, but please give me a few minutes for what I hope will be an impactful message.
I would like to explore with you the psychology and thinking behind the way in which the meraglim acted.
Yes, in this week’s parsha the spies that Moshe sent to search the land of Israel acted in almost an irrational way when they returned to the Jewish People. What in the world got into them? These are the same Jews who had experienced incredible miracles at the hands of Hakadosh Baruch Hu. They saw the splitting of the Yam Suf. They saw the Makkot. They saw the power of Hashem against Amalek. They knew that with Hakadosh Baruch Hu behind them – they were unstoppable.
They had been promised to be redeemed from Egypt and it happened. They had also been promised to be taken into the land of Israel and guess what – it was about to happen. All they had to do was stick with the plan and keep moving forward.
What happened? They say “seeing is believing” – eino dome shemiya mereiya – yet the Jewish People accepted the report of the spies and seemingly totally ignored the miracles that they had seen with their own eyes as Hashem took them out of Mitzrayim.
How can we explain this?
In the world of Chasidut – our saintly rabbis explain that in reality the spies were not at all afraid of physical defeat. They knew that they would destroy the nations currently settled in the land of Israel. The Canaanites didn’t stand a chance. They had no doubts around their military superiority over their enemies. And they knew that Hashem would provide the miraculous support that they counted upon.
What were they afraid of? Spiritual defeat.
Traveling through the desert the Jewish People had been living in a spiritual sanctuary devoid of any real religious challenges. They had a direct line to Hakadosh Baruch Hu through the daily miracles that Hashem performed for them:
- They did not work for their food.
- Their bread was Manna from Shamayim – that literally fell on their doorstep.
- Their water came from Miriam’s well.
- Their clothing did not rip.
- They were guided by an ananei hakavod that could tell them when to travel and when to stop.
- They practically didn’t have to make any decisions at all in life.
Now they were going to have to travel to Israel, fight for the land, posses the land, set up a government, farm and work the land – and you know what they were really, really scared. Bread and their parnasa would only come from their toil.
In the words of Rabbi Sacks quoting from the Lubavitcher Rebbe (a better tag team one cannot find):
The spies were no ordinary men. They were princes of their tribes, especially selected by Moshe for the mission… their fear was that a concern to work the land and make a living might eventually leave the Israelites with progressively less time and energy for the service of G-d. They said, “it is a land which eats up its inhabitants,” meaning that the land and its labor and the preoccupation with the materialistic world, would “swallow up” and consume all their energies.
Their opinion was that spirituality flourishes best in seclusion and withdrawal, in the protected peace of the wilderness where even the food was from the heavens.
But my dear graduates – guess what? The spies were wrong, and you are the ones who I believe are going to prove them wrong. You are going to show everyone that the purpose of a Torah life is to bring kedusha and sanctity down to this world.
At the beginning of this year, I was privileged to start an intense and very focused chavruta with one of the most special individuals I have ever met, Rabbi Zalman Leib Markowitz. He has been taught me much including that a critical goal of every mitzvah is to make a dwelling place for G-d and His Torah in this world in everything that we do. A mitzvah is about finding G-d in the natural, mundane activities that we engage in – each and every day – not in the supernatural.
The meraglim and the Jewish People simply didn’t yet understand this. They didn’t understand that each of us has our own Shelichut or Shelichus – depending on your hashkafa. The pronunciation might be different, but the purpose and goal is the same.
Parshat Shelach is the Parsha of being a Shaliach. We are all Shelichim. Some of us are on Shelichut and some of us are on Shelichus – but we have the same purpose and same goal.
This is my tenth graduation I am presiding over as Rosh Yeshiva. I am ten years into my Shelichut here in Toronto and Im Yirtze Hashem I hope and pray that I will be blessed that the next ten will be as successful and filled with as much mazel and bracha as the first ten have been.
We have families such as the Burkis and Aviner family who are going back to Israel this summer after finishing five years of their shelichut here in Toronto. Notwithstanding that someone on shelichut is not supposed to leave their shelichut ever – we wish them well and we thank them immensely for everything they have done for us.
Rabbi Torczyner and his wife Caren are going back to New York after spending 14 years here in Toronto on their shelichut.
The shelichut of Mr. Rapp from Israel and Mr. Parker from Buffalo continue – but so does the shelichut from Mrs. Fixler, Mrs. Lipner, Mrs. Klein and Ms. Bessin – all of whom are Ulpana graduates – so to some extent they never left – but they are also shelichim.
Mrs. Shari Weinberg is getting ready to start her fourth decade of teaching and advising young ladies at Ulpana and her shelichut is going strong.
Mr. Lazar and Rabbi Sonenberg grew up in Toronto, they didn’t attend Or Chaim (not everyone always makes the right decisions in life) – but based on Mrs. Weinberg’s standard and years they have a few decades still to go in their shelichut here.
Friends – not only are the members of our administration, faculty and staff all shelichim from Hakadosh Baruch Hu – all carrying out a holy mission – but so are so many of you sitting here today. To our board members, lay leaders, donors, supporters and anyone involved in anyway in the betterment of our wonderful Yeshiva and Ulpana – you have an incredible responsibility and shelichut as well.
There is no more important tzedakah in the world than Jewish education because look at these graduates sitting here today and marvel at what we have accomplished together.
To your parents who have sacrificed so much to send you to over 12 years of Jewish day school – thank you. You have given your children a lifelong gift of truly immeasurable value that will pay dividends for generations to come.
But graduates – now the responsibility lies with you. It is a big deal.
Your Meshaleach – Hakadosh Baruch Hu – needs you. The world needs you. Hakadosh Baruch Hu believes in you.
Graduates – you can fulfill your shelichut by coming back to teach at Ulpana or Or Chaim. (Remind me – who was voted most likely to come back and teach at Or Chaim or Ulpana at your senior dinner?) Or you can fulfill your shelichut as doctors, investment bankers, actuaries, scientists, Jewish communal professionals or in a myriad of other ways.
Chazal teach us: יָפָה שָׁעָה אַחַת בִּתְשׁוּבָה וּמַעֲשִׂים טוֹבִים בָּעוֹלָם הַזֶּה, מִכָּל חַיֵּי הָעוֹלָם הַבָּא. Fulfilling a mitzvah in this world is greater than all of Olam Haba, because when you fulfill a mitzvah here and now you connect to Hashem on a higher level than what would otherwise be possible even in Olam Haba.
Each of you – our graduates – are becoming shelichim and we need you to fulfill your shelichut through a life of Torah and Mitzvot here and now.
Just this past week, we had an administration meeting in which among other things we used the time to reflect a bit on last year and plan for next year. We went around the room, and we asked everyone to answer the following questions for either Or Chaim, Ulpana or both:
- What was one personal success you had this year?
- What was one schoolwide success you observed this year?
- What is one personal area for growth and goal for next year?
- What is one schoolwide area for growth and goal for next year?
For the question of schoolwide successes from this past year – one of the members of the administrative team said: Grade 12 – they really came a long way over four years and they really did amazing. Every single person sitting at that table started to nod their heads in agreement at how well you have all done. We are all so very proud of all of you!
One final idea and then straight to our Siyum HaTanach and your diploma:
This past Shabbat, Parshat Beha’alotcha discussed the mitzvah of Pesach Sheini – in many ways the ultimate second chance. G-d gives us an opportunity to make up for a missed Korban Pesach. Keeping within our Chasidic masters, the Lubavitcher Rebbe asks, why this mitzvah of Pesach Sheini wasn’t built into the system of Korban Pesach from the outset. It makes it seem like this was an afterthought. Why not start lechatchila by teaching the mitzvah of Korban Pesach and then include Pesach Sheini?
The Rebbe answers because Hashem wanted the Jewish People to ask for it. Hakadosh Baruch Hu wanted the Jewish People to express a longing. He wanted them to show that they desired this, they were missing something.
This language of lama nigara shows how much they wanted to fulfill this mitzvah. Hakadosh Baruch Hu recognized their deep desire and innate longing to fulfill this mitzvah and it was that desire that carried the day.
Let’s close coming back full circle to our meraglim. When Kalev hears their words and reacts, his reaction is so strange. Kalev doesn’t argue a single point they make. He could have picked apart their arguments one by one and shown how misguided they were, but instead Kalev simply responds:
וַיֹּ֗אמֶר – עָלֹ֤ה נַֽעֲלֶה֙ וְיָרַ֣שְׁנוּ אֹתָ֔הּ – כִּֽי־יָכ֥וֹל נוּכַ֖ל לָֽהּ
We can surely go up and take possession of it, for we can indeed overcome it.
Kalev says to the Jewish People – I believe in you. You can do it. We can do it.
With our newfound chasidic understanding – you can overcome the religious and spiritual challenges of the outside world, outside the walls of our spiritual sanctuary – our beloved Ulpana and Or Chaim – and you can infuse this world with Kedusha.
Rabbi Jonathan Sacks once said referring to the Lubavitcher Rebbe:
The Rebbe believed so profoundly in hashgachah pratit, in Divine Providence, that he knew that each one of us has a role, a tachlit, a tafkid, a mission in this life. And that is why we have the gifts we have. And that is what we are here to do.
The Rebbe understood that the real antidote to secular society is not segregating yourself behind ghetto walls…
He understood that the more you share your Judaism with others, the stronger your Judaism will be.
Someone once said: “Whether you think you can, or you think you can’t – you’re right.” To our dear graduates, בּוֹגְרוֹת וּבוֹגְרִים יְקָרִים וַאֲהוּבִים:
עָלֹ֤ה נַֽעֲלֶה֙ – go up from here. You can do it!
Much change will begin to happen in your life as you exit those doors back there – but not everything should change. Hold onto Mitzvot observance and don’t ever let go. Remain anchored to everything you have learned – both in school and at home. You are all shelichim – you all have a purpose in life. An incredible purpose specific and unique to each of you that you now need to find!
You are all graduating from Or Chaim or Ulpana – and as you know – we are so much more than a school! None of you can remain in the protective midbar watching the annanei hakavod guide you but you Baruch Hashem have the tools needed.
Mazel Tov to you all!
