Shelach: Rav Moshe Wolfson on the Essential Lesson From the Meraglim

Parshas Shlach, what's the essential lesson of the episode of the Meraglim? You have 12 tzaddikim. Kulam anashim, people of chashivus. If the Torah says they were chashuv, these were tzaddikim and gedolei Elyon. 10 out of 12 stumbled and sinned egregiously. But two were spared, Yehoshua and Kalev. What was the commonality between Yehoshua and Kalev? What saved Yehoshua and Kalev? Koach haTefillah. Yehoshua, Moshe davened for ko yeshiacha me'atzas Meraglim. Kalev davened for himself. Vayavo Yarech Avraham Rashi says he was mishtate'ach on Kivrei Avos. Says Harav Moshe Wolfson zt"l Emunah Sheleimah page kuf lamed tes. The main takeaway of Parshas Shlach and the story of the Meraglim is to be mechazek biTefillah. Success in ruchniyus is contingent on tefillah. We don't find that Yehoshua and Kalev before the story were greater than the other 10. What they had going for them was the koach of tefillah, either the tefillah of Moshe for Yehoshua or the tefillah of Kalev for himself. Whatever we're able to accomplish in ruchniyus, to be spared from the yetzer hara, to be spared from aveirah, not to be pulled down by sin, by machshavah, is only through koach haTefillah. A very essential limud of the story of the Meraglim is lehischazek the koach haTefillah. Through koach haTefillah, we could be saved even from the most tempting aveiros. May we all have siyata d'Shmaya to take advantage of koach haTefillah and Hakadosh Baruch Hu should save us from mistakes. A gute vach.