Defeating the Defeatist Attitude

aaron — Sun, 21 Jun 2009 05:18:20 +0000

This Shabbos we read the story of the spies and how they reported back from their tour of the land how impossible it is to capture Eretz Yisroel from its inhabitants. Of course, they were severly punished for their misdeed, and along with them they brought down the rest of the Jewish nation.

What did they do wrong? After all, they were just reporting back the facts that they saw. Were they supposed to sugar coat the reality?

(See how the Chafetz Chaim at the end of Shmiras Halashon resolves this question. My comments are based off of his words.)

Its very safe and easy to say no. “No, I can’t possibly get that good job. It is beyond my capabilities. Yes, I know so and so was able to get it, but he has the __________(fill in the blank with some excuse).”

If you don’t ever try, you won’t ever stand a chance. Yes, it may seem hard from afar, but only when you have the defeatist attitude to start with. The 10 spies felt hopeless. The 600,000 people that listened to them felt hopeless. Not Kalev, he saw an entirely different picture. “We can conquer them – it is not nearly as difficult as it may seem.” That guy who started his own business and was successful had Kalev’s attitude.

You can get up and give it a try even though success seems so out of reach. Or you can just give up before you even begin. But just remember in whose company you will be in if you do so.

Bookmark and Share

Lost in Kollel » spies

Defeating the Defeatist Attitude