Shlomo was on the New York Subway reading a KKK newspaper, when his friend David walks in to the train.
David is shocked and says, "Shlomo, why on earth are you reading a KKK newspaper?"
So Shlomo responds, "When I read the Jewish papers, all I find is Jews under attack, synagogues under attack, Israel under attack, assimilation rates, Jewish engagement is going down and a whole lot more. But when I read the KKK papers, I read about how Jews control the media, Jews control the government, Jews rule Hollywood, Jews Control the Banks, Jewish Communities are gaining in strength and a whole lot more. So David, which newspaper would you read?!"
In this week’s Torah portion we read about a similar episode as we discover the tragic mistake of the spies who went to spy out the Land of Israel before the Jews were about to enter it. The Jews had begun to doubt their ability to succeed in capturing the Land of Israel despite G-d’s promises of assistance, who at that time had a pretty good track record. The spies went and ten of the twelve spies make an epic mistake and bring back scary and ominous reports about the people of the Land, about the country itself, and about how impossible it will be to succeed. Only two of the spies, Joshua & Caleb succeed in staying true to their mission and providing an honest perspective about the land they had just seen.
At one point the ten spies who messed up state to the Jews, “we were like grasshoppers in our eyes (compared to the powerful warriors that they saw), and so were we in their eyes”. While they were simply saying how they felt, at the same time this conveys an important truth, that as a result of their own meek perspective on their abilities, the result was that the enemy looked at them with the same view and perspective.
Perspective matters tremendously as it impacts both how we approach challenges, and also how others we work with might approach the very same challenges or view and work with us as we attempt to navigate a successful path. The Jews had every reason to feel confident as they had G=d’s blessings that they will succeed and G-d was asking them to take on this challenge, yet instead they forget about G-d, and ending up panicking and giving up hope.
In Chassidic thought it is explained, that anytime we are placed in a situation or environment, it is not a random event, rather it is because we have what to accomplish and achieve there in that situation. This does not mean it will be easy and simple, but it does mean, that we have been empowered to succeed and overcome and our purpose is to figure out how to make this situation or challenge into a positive and successful experience.
Keeping in mind this perspective is not just a nicety, rather, it is the perspective itself that can remind us and empower us to be the successes that we need to be in our purposes in life. Reading KKK newspapers does not need to be the means we go by, but being confident in our G-d given abilities to succeed is definitely a great starting point.