By Rabbi David Greenspoon

This week’s Torah portion is Shelach: Numbers 13:1 — 15:41

The story of the 12 chieftains sent by Moses to explore the Promised Land has proven one of the most enduring in the Jewish imagination. The image of two men carrying an Eshkol of grapes suspended from a pole is so striking that it was even issued on an Israeli stamp in 1954. To this very day it is part of the Israeli Ministry of Tourism’s logo.

At the same time, it is in part a story of deep failure. The panic the majority report inspired in the people revealed a community not yet ready to embrace the opportunities and uncertainties that freedom presented. A community born as slaves was incapable of fully breaking their chains. The need became clear for a generation born wild and unfettered to willingly accept the obligations of life in the Promised Land.

I cannot really blame the tribal chieftains who were overwhelmed by their mission findings. They quickly appreciated the Promised Land for what it presented. It was indeed a land oozing with milk and date honey. At the same time, it was a land filled with veritable giants, offspring of ancient, mythical demigods called the Nephilim and identified as part of the Refaim. A sampling of grapes that typically could be held with one’s thumb and one finger needed to be carried by two men suspended from a beam. The majority report brought irrefutable, empirical evidence that the land itself operated on a superhuman scale.

They claimed mere humans were like insects in comparison. Here’s some supporting context. We are told in Deuteronomy 3:11 that Og of Bashan was the last of the Refaim and had a bedstead that was 9×4 cubits. Presuming the standard cubit length of around 18 inches, we’re talking about a body needing a bed 13.5 feet long and 6 feet wide. The majority in our story reported a land replete with these super-sized beings. The future was one of doom.

While their evidence was irrefutable, their analysis was not. Joshua and Caleb stood firm and fast in their conviction that God’s presence made everything else irrelevant. Yet despite their pleas, the Israelites had already given in to panic. The need for a new generation capable of fulfilling its destiny was starkly clear. The “punishment” meted ensured that it would happen. Later, Joshua would annihilate the remaining Refaim.

How did a society manipulated by populism transform over a generation to ever accomplish that feat? I think the answer is focused on Joshua and is described in the Haftarah for Shelach. He learned from Moses’ actions. When it came time for Joshua to determine the landscape ahead of them, and particularly Jericho, he did not repeat the prior effort and detail political appointees, e.g., the tribal chieftains. He sent out trained scouts who needed no instructions on what intelligence needed gathering. The ultimate results could not have been more dramatically different. Jericho fell, and the triumphant Israelites would move forward in their quest with the Promised Land. It was not simply Joshua’s personal sense of integrity, faith and conviction that made the difference. It was his willingness to make a course correction in policy and approach. Rejecting populism and relying on professional input allowed Joshua to lead the people into the Promised Land where Moses couldn’t.

May this combination of integrity, faith and conviction, coupled with the wisdom to make decisions based on data unaffected by agenda-driven populism, continue to be a lesson that inspires leaders everywhere.

Rabbi David Greenspoon is the founder and president of Jewtique Concierge Rabbinic Services.