Evil is an illusory shadow; cleave to the tzaddik

בפסוק אל תיראו את עם הארץ כי לחמנו הם כו'.

On the pasuk: "Do not fear the people of the land, for they are our bread etc." (Bamidbar 14:9)

The Sefas Emes opens with Yehoshua and Kalev's plea to Bnei Yisrael not to fear the inhabitants of Canaan, for "they are our bread."

כי קיום נפשות בנ"י בעוה"ז הוא רק ע"י ההסתר שיש בעולם וצריכין לתקן העשי' עי"ז יש להם קיום בעוה"ז.

For the existence of the souls of Bnei Yisrael in this world is only by means of the concealment (hester) that is in the world, and they must repair the realm of action (asiyah); through this they have existence in this world.

The very reason a Jew's soul remains in this physical world is the concealment that fills it. The soul is here to refine and elevate the physical realm of action — and that task of repair is what justifies its presence here.

כי עיקר חלק בנ"י בעולם העליון.

For the essential portion of Bnei Yisrael is in the upper world.

A Jew's true home and portion are in the higher, spiritual world, not in this one.

לכן כשתיקן הכל הולך אל עולמו.

Therefore, once he has repaired everything, he goes to his world.

When a person has completed his work of repairing the physical realm, he departs to his true world above — his task here being finished.

נמצא שאין לאדם למאס ברוב היגיעות שעוברין עליו בעוה"ז.

It follows that a person should not despise the many toils he undergoes in this world.

Since these labors are precisely the avodah of repair that keeps the soul connected here, one should not resent or recoil from life's hardships — they are the very purpose of being here.

וכעין זה שמעתי מפי קדשו של מו"ז ז"ל.

And something like this I heard from the holy mouth of my grandfather, of blessed memory.

The Sefas Emes notes that he heard a similar idea from his grandfather, the Chiddushei HaRim.

וז"ש לחמנו הם.

And this is the meaning of "they are our bread."

The inhabitants — the concealment and challenges of the world — are "our bread": they are the very nourishment through which Bnei Yisrael grow, by overcoming and refining them.

[סר צלם כו' כי כל כח הסט"א הוא רק דמיון כמו הצל שאין בו ממש.

["Their shadow has departed etc." (Bamidbar 14:9) — for all the power of the sitra achra (the side of evil) is only imagination, like a shadow that has no substance.

The pasuk says the protection ("shadow") of the Canaanites has departed. The Sefas Emes reads it deeper: the entire power of evil is illusory — like a shadow, which has no real substance of its own.

ולכן מי שיפה כחו לגשת למלחמה כראוי רואה כי הוא רק צל.

Therefore one whose strength is sound enough to approach the battle properly sees that it is only a shadow.

Whoever has the courage to confront the yetzer hara head-on discovers that its apparent power was never real — it was only a shadow with no true force.

והנה חטא המרגלים הי' מה שלא הכניעו עצמם ליהושע וכלב.

Now the sin of the meraglim (spies) was that they did not subordinate themselves to Yehoshua and Kalev.

The essence of the spies' sin was a failure of bittul — they refused to humble themselves and accept the truth spoken by Yehoshua and Kalev.

כי ודאי הי' נסיון גדול.

For it was surely a great test.

The Sefas Emes acknowledges that what the spies faced was a genuine and difficult nisayon.

אבל כיון שראו שהם גברו זה ההסתר ואמרו סר צלם כו' הי' להם להתחזק ולהבין כי הצדק אתם.

But since they saw that these two had overcome the concealment and declared "their shadow has departed etc.," they should have strengthened themselves and understood that the truth was with them.

Once the spies witnessed Yehoshua and Kalev pierce through the concealment and proclaim that the enemy was only a shadow, they should have drawn strength from this and recognized that these two tzaddikim held the truth.

והם החזיקו בדבריהם הראשונים לכן נענשו.

But they clung to their original words; therefore they were punished.

Instead, the spies stubbornly held to their initial fearful report rather than yielding to the truth — and for this refusal of bittul they were punished.

וכמו כן צריך כל אחד להתחזק ולהאמין כי הוא רק צל ע"י שרואה שהצדיקים גוברים נגד היצה"ר.

And likewise, each person must strengthen himself and believe that it is only a shadow, by seeing that the tzaddikim prevail against the yetzer hara.

Every person must learn the same lesson: by observing how tzaddikim overcome the yetzer hara, one should reinforce his emunah that the evil inclination is nothing but an empty shadow.

וע"י האמונה והביטול להצדיק יכולין לדבק במעשיהם כנ"ל]:

And through emunah and bittul to the tzaddik, one is able to cleave to their deeds, as above.]

By having faith in the tzaddik and nullifying oneself before him, a person can attach himself to the tzaddik's victories and accomplishments — overcoming the illusory shadow of evil through that connection.

Summary: A Jew's soul remains in this world to repair the realm of concealment and action, so its toils should be embraced, not despised — "they are our bread." The power of evil is only an illusory shadow, with no real substance, as Yehoshua and Kalev declared. The meraglim sinned by refusing bittul to these tzaddikim and clinging to their fear; each person must instead strengthen his emunah, recognize evil as a mere shadow, and cleave to the tzaddik to share in his victories.