Parshat Shelach Lechah 5767
Parshat Meraglim: Hashem’s response to Moshe’s prayer
Your image as your personal amplifier
Concern about one’s “image” is not always a sign of ego and insecurity: it can also be a necessary strategy to amplify a person’s effectiveness.
Often the most profound truths go unheeded because the waves that transmit them are too feeble to be detected. Despite, or in many cases as a result of a world of increasing communication, bombarded as we are with email, the ubiquity of printed materials, the internet and a dissemination of knowledge and opinion greater and faster than ever before in history, we remain often unable to interpret, sift and research essential truths in this mass of material. These often undiscovered or unheeded truths are sometimes in the form of books not well publicized, articles not well circulated or oral statements heard by too few. Each second, millions of messages, some very valuable, hurtle through our personal space, taking many different guises. Lacking the correct equipment for reception, amplification or interpretation, we may not “hear” and certainly may not “heed” them. Even when Hashem spoke to Moshe from the Aron(the Ark), there were people standing right next to Moshe who could not hear G-d’s voice[1]: they lacked the ability to “amplify” the sound waves of His voice, in whatever form they took place, and “translate” them. The reason we do not experience prophecy today is not because there is no prophecy, but because we lack those prophets capable of amplifying G-d’s voice. While G-d continues to communicate in a myriad ways all the time, we are generally not geared to receive His messages.
Similarly, although in a lesser sense, there are countless precious human beings, wise and authentic, whose message may never be heard because their voices are never amplified. The capability to influence effectively is more than a function of an individual’s self worth; it is also a function of that individual’s capacity to amplify his message. People use a variety of tools to amplify their message: they use their personal authority by drawing on their experience, knowledge and achievements; they use their charisma and their presence; and they use their powers of persuasiveness. They are also able to use a tool that gives them amplified impact even among people who have never met them: their reputation and image.
Consider what happens when Alan Greenspan makes a predictive comment about the global economy. Even though he no longer holds an official position nor wields any power, an utterance from him can shake world markets, causing gains and losses of billions of dollars in an instant. Yet if you or I, or even someone as knowledgeable as Mr. Greenspan but without his image, made those same comments, no one would take much notice. His image and the public’s assumptions and expectations of him amplify his every word on issues of economics .
The image others have of us amplifies our impact even before they have direct experience of who we are or what we can achieve. Image plays a vital role in the crucial moments of first impressions. Companies spend a fortune on branding. Women- and men!- spend huge amounts of money and time on their appearance, following the trends of fashion and personal care. They invest in expensive status symbols. These are all tools for image building from which manufacturers of clothing, makeup and hair- and skincare make their fortunes.
Galut – a place where you arrive with no image
It is for this reason that it is proper (also from an Halachik perspective) to introduce strangers appropriately to a circle of people who have not made their acquaintance. Some people are masters at this “art of introduction”: Without lying or exaggerating they build an aura around a stranger that gives them presence and that amplifies their impact.
Personally, as I am sure is the case with anyone who has emigrated from their country of origin, my family and I found diminished impact to be the most challenging element of emigration. We were prepared for most of the things people find difficult when they emigrate, and with the help of friends much of that was relatively easy. However I was totally unprepared for the fact that, used to a level of authority and impact based on my achievements in South Africa, I would come to the US with absolutely no relevant track record. I would need to influence people and be heard, without being able to draw from the well of reputation, past achievements and previous contacts as tools for amplification. I had virtually no brand, no image. My children too, well known in South Africa for who they were and what they had accomplished, entered a schooling system that had no experience of them at all. At first, we simply were not heard. We all had to rebuild our presence, build authority and create a new “brand” to help amplify the effectiveness of our communication, our messages and our gestures. Imagine how Moshe, a prince in his own nation as well as in Egypt, felt when he is described by Yitro’s daughter as “some Egyptian man”! For him, as well as for us, this is the challenge of ourGalut (exile), being in a place in which you are unknown. That is whygalut builds humility and serves as kaparrah (atonement).
On a National level too the Jewish people were thrown from a home-base filled with political power, status and stature into a Galut where we were seen as nothing more than homeless slaves. They transitioned from worldwide recognition as leaders in thought, religion, and ethics, occupying the land that served as home to Batei Mikdash and the palaces of kings, into an exile in which they lived a powerless life in a secular world that did not recognize them.
Positive and negative image
Of course, image can be used destructively too, and can easily undermine trust and integrity. When one’s image and one’s identity are congruent, image is a positive tool which amplifies one’s impact. When there is a gap between image and identity, one begins to confuse the two terms, and one loses one’s authenticity. The elements of “image” are then used to compensate for a lack of identity and substance, camouflage insecurity, and reinforce ego. The outcome is mistrust and diminished impact. Leaders whose image is out of line with their identity resort to manipulation, bullying and fear to have impact. Image is meant to be an authentic amplification of who we really are, not a veneer used to cover our flaws and make us appear something that we are not.
We are Hashem’s image builders in the world
Our role in the world is not only to have impact and make a difference by the things we do, but also to amplify Hashem’s impact in the world. Just as great people might have little impact because of lack of amplification, so G-d Himself can have diminished impact if we do not amplify His presence in the world. This is our role; this is our only true Avodah (spiritual practice and life work), articulated perfectly in the Aleinu prayer at the end of every service “In that time, G-d will be one and His name will be One”.
In times or places where G-d is not recognized and His power not acknowledged, His miracles are seen as scientific norms, and his messages are passed off as sheer coincidences. If we promote G-d’s presence and His image properly, we and those around us will Hear His amplified messages with much greater clarity. We will have enhanced G-d’s impact in the world. That is the Mitzvah ofKidushHashem (Sanctifying G-d’s name). We sanctify G-d’s name through our actions, our words and the ways we interact with others. We sanctify His name by our bearing, our reputations, our values and our ethics.
Using G-d’s image as a tool of effective Tefillah
When G-d decided in this week’s Parsha to exterminate almost all of the Jewish nation as a result of His disappointment with them over the episode with the spies, what tool does Moshe use to appeal to Him? That of image! Moshe doesn’t argue for the merits of his people, nor against the harshness of G-d’s decree. He argues: “What will the nations say? You will be seen as too weak to bring the Jewish people into Israel! You were strong enough to vanquish one king in Egypt but couldn’t handle the 31 kings of Cana’an! You wiped out this weak nation because you couldn’t wipe out their enemies!”[2]And his prayer is answered. G-d caves in to the pressure of Moshe, His PR agent! G-d still kills every adult Jew (other than Yehoshua and Kalev) before they get to Israel, but he does so over forty years so as not to cause a public scandal!
The Nefesh Hachayim[3] teaches us to use this approach in ourTefillah. We ask G-d to improve the world not for our own personal benefit, but to increase KidushHashem, to bring more satisfaction to Him, and to make it easier for us to amplify His message in the world. We see the value of image reflected in Halachah too, where we are instructed to avoid Chashad (causing people to suspect us of wrongdoing). Even if we have done nothing wrong, Chashaddiminishes our image and reduces our effectiveness in Kidush Hashem.
Is G-d that insecure? Is He that conscious of His public image? Did he really reverse his decision because Moshe persuaded Him that the nations would think poorly of Him if He proceeded? Indeed, G-d did respond to this. But He did not do so from any position of insecurity. Rather, G-d accepted that He would make Moshe’s mission of amplifying His presence in the world impossibly difficult if He destroyed His all-mighty image among the kings of the world. He reversed His decision out of consideration for His trusted servant, Moshe Rabeinu, not out of any “personal” weakness, ego or remorse. Concern about image is not always a sign of ego and insecurity: it can also be a necessary strategy to amplify one’s effectiveness.
Have you ever heard people say, “I don’t care what others think of me, so long as I know I am doing the right thing”? Perhaps you have said it yourself at times. I certainly have. But it is wrong. We do care what others say and think about us and so we should. We call it “image”. Positive and authentic image positions us to deliver effective messages. It amplifies our gestures and adds value to our viewpoints. Image is important.
[1] Rashi; Vayikra 1;1
[2] Bamidbar, 14:16
[3] 2:11-13
