Shelach

Our Parsha contains one section of the Shema in which is written ולא תתורו אחרי ‏לבבכם ואחרי עיניכם, and you shall not spy after your heart & after your eyes, Rashi says that the eyes & heart are like spies for the body: the eyes see; the heart desires; then the body commits the sin. 

While the words of Rashi make sense ‎in a practical manner, his explanation  doesn't follow the wording of the posuk.  The posuk first says, don't go after your heart & only then don't go after your eyes. Rashi’s explanation mentions that first the eyes see & then the heart desires whereas the posuk seems to say that the heart desires first. How is it possible for the heart to desire before the eyes see?

Answers הגר"א מישקובסקי  that really the words of Rashi & the words of the posuk go hand in hand. Practically speaking, the eye sees first & then the heart wants like Rashi says.  However, the posuk is telling us that the eye will only see what the heart wants it to see.  

With this, he explains the whole posuk beautifully.  Initially, the posuk states 'וראיתם אותו וזכותם את כל מצוות ה, talking about the Tzitzis which you will see & remember the mitzvos of Hashem - the seeing of the tzitzis will remind you of the mitzvos.  The posuk then continues, ועשיתם אותם, you will do the mitzvos which will guide your heart.  Doing the mitzvos will have the effect on you that לא תתורו אחרי לבבכם you will not follow your heart.  The power which the mitzvos have on a person is that they will train the heart not to desire so that the eyes won’t see what they shouldn't.  

Now this seems like a lofty unattainable goal. How do we try to attain this level?

The preceding posuk says, ונתנו על ציצת הכנף פתיל תכלת and you will put on the corner a thread of turquoise wool. The gemara explains that it was turquoise wool since the color is similar to the color of the sea which is similar to the color of the sky which is similar in color to the heavenly throne. All that will remind us of Hashem so that we won’t sin. 

Reb Moshe Feinstein asks, “‎Why did Hashem choose a color that was similar to the sea because it was similar to the sky & so on until he came to the one that was like the heavenly throne? Why didn't Hashem just pick a color that was the same as the throne to begin with instead of going through so many steps?”

He answers that the Torah is teaching us a very important lesson. In spiritual matters one can't just jump all the way to the top in one leap. Rather, one has to take one small step at a time until slowly one reaches the top. It's impossible to reach it in one step which eliminates toil and effort.  One who puts in the effort & works hard going from one level to the next will be able to reach the top. So, too, with us, if we work slowly taking one step at a time, reducing the number of times we look where we shouldn't, then slowly we can train ourselves & our hearts not to desire what we shouldn't.  This will enable us to purify our hearts & mind!