Self-perception shapes outer reality

בפסוק כי לחמנו הם דאיתא ברש"י וכן היינו בעיניהם שהיו אומרים נמלים יש בכרמים כו'.

On the pasuk "for they are our bread" — as Rashi brings, "and so were we in their eyes," that they would say, "there are ants in the vineyards," and so on.

The meraglim (spies) reported that the inhabitants of the land saw Bnei Yisrael as tiny and insignificant, like ants — a perception the spies themselves had internalized.

ובמד' איתא החטא שלהם כי מי הגיד להם שמא היו אצלם כמלאכים ע"ש.

And in the Midrash it is brought that this was their sin — for who told them that they were not regarded by them as angels? Look there.

The Midrash faults the spies for assuming how they were viewed; perhaps the nations actually held them in awe, like malachim.

אבל הכל אמת כי ע"י שהיו שפלים בעצמם כחגבים לכן כן היו בעיניהם כי הכל תלוי בעבודת האדם כמ"ש במ"א בפסוק ולאום מלאום יאמץ.

But it is all true: because they were lowly in their own eyes, like grasshoppers, that is exactly how they appeared in the eyes of others — for everything depends on a person's avodah, as is written elsewhere on the pasuk "and one nation shall prevail over the other."

How others perceive us mirrors how we perceive ourselves. A person's inner self-assessment shapes outer reality, just as the verse "one nation shall prevail over the other" (Bereishis 25:23) shows that ascendancy shifts according to one's avodah.

וז"ש כי כל כחות הסט"א רק כדי שיהי' לישראל במי להלחם וכדי שיהי' בזכותם כמ"ש בספרים שהכל מרוב טובות הבורא.

And this is the meaning: that all the powers of the sitra achra (the "other side") exist only so that Bnei Yisrael should have someone to wage war against, and so that they earn merit through it, as the seforim write that it all stems from the abundant goodness of the Creator.

The forces of evil are not an independent reality; Hashem set them up only to give us something to overcome, so that our victory is earned and to our credit.

ואיתא דמאן דאכיל דלאו דילי' בהית לאסתכולי באפי' לכן עשה השי"ת שיזכו בנ"י בכח מעשיהם ונק' לחמנו שלנו.

And it is brought that one who eats what is not his is ashamed to look the giver in the face; therefore Hashem arranged that Bnei Yisrael should earn it through the strength of their own deeds, and it is called "our bread" — ours.

To spare us the shame of receiving "bread of disgrace" (nahama d'kisufa), Hashem made our portion something we earn through our own avodah, so it is truly "ours."

ובודאי הי' בידו ית' לתת מיד א"י לבנ"י רק נתנו מקודם לכנען כדי שיקחו בנ"י בכח מעשיהם ומעשה אבותיהם.

And surely it was within His power to give Eretz Yisrael to Bnei Yisrael immediately; rather, He first gave it to Canaan so that Bnei Yisrael should take it through the strength of their own deeds and the deeds of their fathers.

Hashem deliberately delayed the gift of the land so that Bnei Yisrael would acquire it through their own effort and the zechus avos.

לכך נק' ארץ ישראל על שמם כי זכו במעשיהם לכך.

Therefore the land is called "Eretz Yisrael," after their name, since they merited it through their deeds.

The land bears their name precisely because they earned it, making it truly theirs.

וז"ש לחמנו הם רומז גם על המלחמה שכל כחם רק שיהי' לנו להלחם עמהם.

And this is what "they are our bread" means — it also hints at the war (milchamah), that all their strength exists only so that we should have something to fight against.

The word "lachmenu" (our bread) plays on "milchamah" (war): the enemy's whole purpose is to be the arena of our struggle and growth.

סר צלם פי' שאין להם בעצמותם סדר וציור וקיום באמת רק כמו אחיזת עינים כמ"ש במ"א מזה.

"Their shadow has departed from them" means that in their own essence they have no order, no form, and no true permanence — only something like a sleight of the eyes, as is written elsewhere about this.

The pasuk (Bamidbar 14:9) teaches that the powers of evil have no inherent substance; their apparent strength is an illusion with no real standing.

וי"ל עוד בפסוק וכן היינו בעיניהם.

And one may further explain the pasuk "and so were we in their eyes."

The Sefas Emes now offers an additional layer of meaning in the spies' words.

כי כל זה הרגישו המרגלים וגם זה לא הוטב בעיניהם שעל ידי קצת שפלות שהי' להם והיינו כחגבים מיד וכן היינו בעיניהם וגם ע"ז הוציאו דבה.

For the spies sensed all of this, and even this did not sit well with them — that on account of a bit of lowliness they had ("and we were like grasshoppers"), immediately "so were we in their eyes" — and about this too they brought forth an evil report.

The spies resented the very principle that a moment of feeling small instantly made them appear small to others, and they spoke slander about even this dynamic.

אבל באמת כך הוא המדה וכמ"ש בדברי קדשו של אא"ז מו"ר ז"ל בפרשה זו בענין והתחזקתם כו':

But in truth, this is the way it works (the middah), as is written in the holy words of my grandfather, my teacher and master, of blessed memory, on this parsha regarding "and you shall strengthen yourselves," and so on.

This is no flaw but the very rule of avodah — which is why the Torah commands "v'hischazaktem" (be strong): a person must strengthen himself inwardly, for his self-perception determines how he stands in the world.

Summary: The way Bnei Yisrael appear to others mirrors how they regard themselves, for everything follows a person's inner avodah. Hashem arranges enemies and obstacles only so that we earn our portion and our land through our own effort, never as a "bread of shame" — and the antidote is "v'hischazaktem," strengthening our inner sense of who we truly are.