Even just a few words can produce a major impact. An insult or embarrassing rumor can destroy a human life, if not physically, then certainly emotionally. On the other hand, a brief expression of kindness, a compliment, or an offer of hope or encouragement – can revitalize the human spirit.

Quite literally, words are the building blocks of creation. In the morning prayer service, we recite each day: barukh she'amar v'hayah ha'olam – Blessed is the One who spoke and the world came to be. The Torah's description of Creation is as simple as that – through mere words God forms the world, and also through words human beings have the opportunity to add to God's Creation or to detract from it.

This week's parshah addresses this challenge directly. Moshe sends 12 men, one from each tribe, to scout out Canaan. Upon their return, the scouts begin with a fact-based, objective description of the land. When Caleb, one of the scouts, declares his confidence in Israel's ability to conquer the Promised Land: "Let us by all means go up (to Canaan), and we shall gain possession of it; 10 of the other scouts respond: "We cannot attack that people, for it is stronger than we." (Numbers 13:30–31)

What appears at first to be a simple debate, a mere difference of opinion among individuals, is so much more. After hearing the pessimistic report of the 10 scouts, we then read:

"The whole community broke into loud cries, and the people wept that night. All the Israelites rallied against Moses and Aaron. 'If only we had died in the land of Egypt' ... And they said to one another, 'Let us head back for Egypt.'" (Numbers 14:1–4)

It is the words of a few which lead a whole community to a state of panic. As a result of utter lack of faith in God, this entire generation is denied entry into the Promised Land.

The Mishnah (Ta'anit 26b) teaches that this event occurred on the Ninth of Av, the same date that would later be associated with the destruction of the First and Second Temples in Jerusalem.

Therefore, the simple message of 10 scouts, "We can't do it;" and the ensuing reaction, result in a situation comparable to the destruction of the Holy Temple.

Contrast the addictive pessimism of the 10 scouts to the optimistic short phrase of Theodore Herzl (from his Altneuland-The Old New Land): im tirtzu ein zo agaddah – if you will it, it is no dream.

With a small number of words, hope in a Jewish state in Israel was jeopardized. With a different brief set of words, that hope was restored and became a reality.