What is the Secret of Respect?

The Rabbi’s wife called a psychiatrist and said, “My husband thinks he’s the new Moses - almost like a reincarnation!”

The doctor assured her that these delusions of grandeur were only a passing fancy.

“Okay,” she responded. “But in the meantime, how do I keep him from parting the waters in the hot-tub?”

***

“In our eyes, we seemed like grasshoppers, and so we were in their eyes.” Who said those words? Who would say such a thing?

To answer that, we have to go back in history to the year 2448 since creation. There we meet the newly-freed Hebrews, traveling in the desert towards the Promised Land.

Nearing their final destination, many Jews began to question their seeming naiveté.

“How do we know what lies in store for us in the ‘promised land?’” some wondered aloud.

“It might not be as magical as we think,” others echoed their concerns.

So they implored on Moses to send spies who could validate G-d’s promise of a land flowing with milk and honey. Moses reluctantly agreed and sent twelve of Israel ’s finest on a forty day tour of the land.

Arriving in the land, the spies met some giants with frightening appearances. Upon their return to their impatient brethren, the spies described the scene, painting a picture of fear, danger and overwhelming obstacles.

“In our eyes, we seemed like grasshoppers, and so we were in their eyes.” That’s what they told the People of Israel.

This verse, its seemingly simple point addressed from two angles, begs for a deeper explanation. Perhaps in classic literary works or poetry, repetition is taken at face value. Not so in the Torah. So compared to the giants they were like grasshoppers – and obviously both saw it! Why the redundancy?

Yet the depth in this verse is striking. Clearly, the first half of the statement reveals the cause for the second. A bad public image stems from low self-image. If a person sees himself as small, then that is how he will be seen. An insecure person comes across as, well, insecure!

If you want respect, you have to respect yourself; if you want people to believe in you, first you had better believe in yourself.

To explain Israel’s P.R. problem, you don’t have to be Kissinger. Unfortunately, yet inevitably, a country which sees itself in a negative light, that is forever questioning its right to exist and is constantly apologetic for defending itself, can hardly expect respect in the global forum. Painful as this is, as Jews we must recognize our weakness. It is just costing us too much.

How can a country offer land for peace? Does America offer land to Al-Qaeda? Does Russia give in to Chechnya? No! If a nation is confident in its right to exist, there is no room for appeasement, especially not to terror.

But if you think of yourself as a grasshopper, don’t blame the world for spelling it out.

Do something about it:

Hold your head high: You are a Jew, a representative of G-d in this world!