Shelach: Rabbeinu Bachya on the Meraglim, Mishlei, and the Current War With Iran

I don't know who needs a Bitachon 101 (Trust in God) refresher course for this war with Iran, but Rabbeinu Bachya provides one in his intro to Parashas Shelach.

This week’s Torah content is sponsored by Chaim and Rifka Peck, the awesome parents of two of my NEJA students, in honor of the marriage of my dear talmidim, Chayim Zifkin and Shira Stein. Though they don’t know the couple personally, the Pecks chose to dedicate their sponsorship to their simchah—a beautiful gesture in a time when Israel and Jews around the world are under attack. “Let there soon be heard in the cities of Judah and the streets of Jerusalem the sound of joy and gladness, the voice of the groom and the voice of the bride.”

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Shelach: Rabbeinu Bachya on the Meraglim, Mishlei, and the Current War With Iran

Note: I hadn’t planned on writing a new dvar Torah article this week, but when I came across this passage in Rabbeinu Bachya and saw how relevant it is to current events, I felt obligated to share it, even if only by translating it. Some Rishonim are hard to unpack, but sometimes they speak for themselves.

On June 13th, 2025, Israel carried out a preemptive strike on Iran, just weeks before Iran would have developed nuclear weaponry. Since then, the two nations have been at war. It’s incredible that it’s only been one week.

While I'd love to believe that every Jew in Israel instinctively understands the need to do everything possible to protect innocent lives and eliminate the threat of this evil regime, I'm sure someone, somewhere, will give a dvar Torah this Shabbos about how Bnei Yisrael (the Children of Israel) sinned by sending the Meraglim (Spies) to scout the Land instead of trusting in in Hashem, and how we should follow their lead and not rely on our own efforts. I tend to think of this as the “Jewish” version of what Christian bumper stickers across America proclaim: “Jesus, take the wheel”—a deeply flawed approach to driving, for anyone who gives it even a moment’s thought.

I'm not going to dispute that the Cheit ha'Meraglim (Sin of the Spies) is connected to bitachon (trust or security in God); there’s certainly a solid basis for that claim. But I do want to challenge the shallow assertion that the sin lay in sending the Meraglim instead of “letting Hashem take the wheel.”

Each week, Rabbeinu Bachya ben Asher prefaces his commentary with a drashah (discourse) on a verse from Mishlei which connects to a major theme in the parashah. Here is a translation of his entire drashah for Shelach:

סוּס מוּכָן לְיוֹם מִלְחָמָה וְלַיְיָ הַתְּשׁוּעָה (משלי כא:לא)

“A horse is ready for the day of war, but salvation is Hashem’s” (Mishlei 21:31)

Shlomo ha’Melech warns every person in this verse to do everything he needs to do, and everything within his power according to the natural order, and to entrust the rest to Heaven. For a miracle only occurs when there is a deficiency in nature, and the very foundation of human creation is built upon the natural mode. Therefore, a person must carry out actions and engage activities that serve as preparations through which he may attain his desire and fulfill the wishes of his heart.

It is like someone who wishes to go to war against his enemies: it is proper for him to prepare weapons, horses, and chariots for the day of battle. For if he does not prepare and instead relies on a miracle, he will be delivered into the hands of his enemies. Or like someone who has a sick person [in his household]: it is proper for him to provide supportive treatments and medicinal herbs for his food, to feed him beneficial foods and to withhold harmful ones.

After he has done everything within his ability, exerted all his strength, and made all his preparations according to the natural order, he should not place his trust in reaching his goal through those preparations, but only in Hashem (exalted is He). For there are people who perish in war despite all preparations, and others are saved without them; there are sick individuals who die despite being given beneficial foods, and others who recover despite eating harmful and damaging ones. Therefore, the essence of salvation—whether in warfare or healing—is not in the preparations, but only in Hashem (exalted is He). As it is written: “He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds” (Tehilim 147:3); and it is written, “He desires not the strength of the horse, nor does He take pleasure in the legs of a man” (ibid. 147:10); and it is written: “The horse is a false [hope] for salvation” (ibid. 33:17).

This is the intent of the Torah, and many verses support it. Accordingly, the Torah commands Israel to make these preparations: to go out armed when going up to war against their enemies, to set ambushes, and to send spies into the enemy cities. All these matters are preparations—actions that lie within human capacity in accordance with conventional practice and the natural order. Only afterward does the miracle act upon all these natural efforts.

Even though Israel did not truly need this, since their victory did not come by way of convention or nature, but rather according to merit and punishment—such that if they possessed even a small amount of merit, they would defeat many nations, and if they were guilty, even a few of the enemy would defeat many of them—nevertheless, the Torah commanded Israel to exert all their effort in these preparations, and afterward to entrust the matter to the One to Whom salvation belongs. For the Torah never relies on miracles.

It is for this reason that Hashem commanded Noach to build the ark. For it is clear that Hashem (exalted is He) had the power to cause Noach and his sons to traverse the waters of the Flood on foot, without Noach needing to act in accordance with the natural order by constructing an ark from a specific type of wood and of specific dimensions in length and width. But the Torah commands us to exert ourselves in preparation in all matters—and together with all our efforts, our belief must remain that the essence of deliverance is not in those efforts, but in Hashem (exalted is He). This is what Shlomo said here: “A horse is ready for the day of war, but salvation is Hashem’s” (Mishlei 21:31).

Similarly, we find with David, of blessed memory: when he asked through the Urim ve’Tumim, Hashem answered him, “Circle around behind them and come upon them opposite the balsam trees” (II Shmuel 5:23)—commanding him to act according to conventional strategy and the natural order, as is the practice of other nations who prevail by natural means. Likewise, in the battle of Ai, Hashem said to Yehoshua, “Set an ambush for the city behind it” (Yehoshua 8:2). And it is for this same reason that Moshe Rabbeinu, of blessed memory, sent the spies from the wilderness of Paran—because it was Hashem Himself who commanded it. And this is what is written.

Although I truly believe Rabbeinu Bachya’s comments speak for themselves, I’ll take the liberty of formulating some takeaways with an eye to the current war:

1. Hashem’s will is that we do whatever is in our power according to the laws of nature in all circumstances.

2. The principle of “ein somchin al ha’neis” holds true even in cases where a miracle is expected. Since “a miracle only occurs when there is a deficiency in nature,” even those who know through prophecy that miracles will occur are still required to carry out all the practical preparations and precautions.

3. We must not fall into the “hishtadlus fallacy”: the childish belief that these actions are a magical formula for bypassing cause-and-effect by proving to Hashem that we tried our hardest. Rather, they are real preparations that actually engage the natural order created by Hashem during the Sheishes Yemei Bereishis (Six Days of Creation). I wrote about this at length in Shemos: Two Views of Hishtadlus (a.k.a. “the Hishtadlus Rant”).

4. Bitachon consists in recognizing that our efforts are only preparations and never guarantees. The results are always in Hashem’s hands.

5. According to Rabbeinu Bachya, it was Hashem Who commanded us to send the spies, as implied by the literal meaning of the opening verses: “Hashem spoke to Moshe, saying: ‘Send men, that they may spy out the land of Canaan’” (Bamidbar 13:1-2). He commanded this to teach us these very lessons.

May we engage in the right preparations for success, and may Hashem grant us salvation on this day of war.

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What lessons with applications to the current war would YOU draw from this Rabbeinu Bachya, or this parashah in general?

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