—Numbers 13:32, 14:1
There was once a deeply pious man, a tzaddik so absorbed
in spiritual matters that the world barely touched him. When he heard of a
suitable match for his son, he couldn’t just trust the matchmaker’s word. No,
he would go and see for himself.
So, off he went, traveling to meet the bride and her
family. Highly satisfied with the match, he arranged the financial terms for
the wedding. He returned home to report back what he had seen: the piety and
erudition of the father, the modesty and fine character traits of the mother.
“And what about the girl?” asked one of his more
perceptive friends. “What’s she like?”
Hearing this question, the man’s wife also came close to
hear what her husband would say.
“As for the bride,” he replied, “I don’t have much to say.
She is certainly a fine catch. Her worth is beyond pearls.”
At this, the son, who’d been quietly standing nearby,
burst into tears.
“Why are you crying?” asked the mother. “Didn’t you hear
your father praise the girl?”
The young man wiped his eyes, his face a picture of dread
and resignation. “His praise,” he groaned, “just makes it worse! Did he say
anything about her grace, her beauty, her charm? Of course not! No, if she had
any of those traits, Father would have considered them flaws. ‘Grace is false
and beauty is vain,’ you know!”
“If Father likes her,” he added, “she’s probably
plain-looking and simple-minded, devoted to endless fasting and prayers.”
Milk, Honey, and Mistrust
God called the Land of Israel a “good land.” The spies
saw it and agreed. Still, the people panicked. “God brought us out of Egypt
because He hates us,” they said (Deut. 1:27).
What made them doubt God’s judgment?
The Israelites assumed that if God praised the Land, it
must be for its spiritual qualities, for its holiness and potential for
prophecy. But its physical state? Surely, it was barren and harsh, a place
where survival demanded a spartan existence. A place where their diet would be
meager and their accommodations rugged. A land stripped of comfort, luxury, and
distractions.
No wonder the Israelites grumbled. They feared the worst:
a bleak land of deprivation.
What they missed completely was that the land is not only
holy, but hospitable. A land flowing with milk and honey. Spiritually rich,
yes. But also physically sweet. A land where crops grow, herds thrive, and
people eat well.
Like a bride who is both virtuous and beautiful, the Land of Israel is blessed in spiritual and physical gifts.
