In Parshat Shelach we read about the episode of the spies.
Upon hearing the evil report from most of the spies, the Torah tells us the
reaction of the nation:
Vatisa kol Ha’eidah Vayitnu et Kolam, vatyivku ha’am
balayla hahu” (14:1)
“The entire assembly raised up and issued its voice, the
people wept that night”
The bolded words above seem strange. What does it mean that
the people literally “gave their voice”, and not just “raised their voice”?
Perhaps the Torah is alluding to one of the major mistakes
perpetrated by the Jewish People in regards to the Meraglim affair. Instead of
maintaining their own judgment, they “gave their voice” to the spies with the
evil report. They chose not to think independently, but rather to blindly
follow what the gang was saying.
We must be careful to never blindly give our voices to others.
We must keep our voices so that our voices reflect who we are and what we believe.
Our voice is too important and too
powerful to give over to someone else. We can lend our voices to others and on
behalf of others, but the story of the meraglim teaches us to be very
wary about giving our voices to someone or something else.
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