THE TRUE PATH TO SUCCESS

We read in this week's haftarah that the actions of the meraglim sent
by Yehoshua to spy on Yericho prior to Klal Yisrael's entry into Eretz
Yisrael differed sharply from those of the spies sent by Moshe.
The Midrash heaps unparalleled praise on Yehoshua's messengers: "No
one is as dear to Hashem as a shaliach mitzvah ( a messenger sent to
perform a mitzvah) who sacrifices himself to ensure that he is
successful in his mission, and no messengers sacrificed themseleves
for the success of their cause as much as the two spies sent by
Yehoshua ben Nun."
Chazal obviously established the reading of the story of the meraglim
sent by Yehoshua as the Haftarah of Parshas Shelach so that we should
take note of the contrast between the actions of the two sets of
spies, and learn to emulate the actions of the second set. What made
them so successful?
Perhaps we can attribute their success to the midrashic explanation
of a word used to describe the messengers as they were dispatched. The
navi tells us that Yehoshua sent the spies, "cheresh."
The Midrash explains that the spies disguised themselves in order to
enter and exit Yericho undetected. What disguise did they use? Either
they feigned deafness ( the word cheresh means "deaf" ), or they
dressed up as peddlers selling earthenware vessels ( a keli cheres is
an earthenware vessel.)
If a person wants to succeed as a shaliach mitzvah ,he has to learn
to emulate cheres, earthenware, and cheresh, a deaf person.
Earthenware objects acquire tumah in a distinctively different manner
from all other utensils. Most utensils acquire tumah by coming into
direct contact with a piece of food, a liquid, an object, or a person
who is tamei, no matter which part of the utensil touches the tumah.
If a metal pot came into contact with a corpse, for instance, the pot
becomes tamei, even if only the bottom of the pot touched the corpse.
Earthenware vessels cannot acquire tumah from the outside; only form
the inside. There is a stringency in halachos of earthenware as well,
however. All other utensils must come into direct contact with tumah
in order to become tamei. Earthenware vessels can become tamei even if
the tumah is merely suspended into the airspace within the walls of
the vessel. What is the rationale behind this difference?
The Kotzker Rebbe explains that in the times of Chazal, most utensils
had external value as well as internal value. Vessels and utensils
fashioned out of metal or wood had some kind of design to make them
attractive. Since the outer surface had value, the object could
acquire tumah on the outer surface.
Earthenware vessels were the "disposable dishes" of ancient times.
They were exclusively functional: the outsides of the vessels were
unsightly, but the inside was very useful. Since the only function of
earthenware was to cook or eat from vessel by placing something inside
it, it could only become tamei from the inside.
Sometimes we are sent to perform mitzvah, and the "externals" of the
mitzvah are not to our liking. When was the last time you were asked
to collect tzeddakah for a family in need? It is not the most
enjoyable task. We are proud individuals, and we feel uncomfortable
asking other people for money- even if it is not for ourselves.
In order to succeed as a shaliach mitzvah, one must be willing to
give up on the externals. We have to be willing to focus on the
function of the mitzvah, and look beyond the external comfort.
The other key to success in mitzvah observance is to act like a deaf
person.
All efforts on behalf of worthwhile causes will be met with
criticism: " You want to start a Yeshivah? Why do we need it? No one
is going to send their children to yeshivah here."
"Why do we need to build a new mikveh? We already have one"
"You want to open a new shul- forget it, it's never going to happen"
A proper shaliach mitzvah must be willing to be deaf to such
reactions, to ignore all the negative comments, and to forge ahead on
the path to success.
- Rabbi Yissocher Frand