On Wednesday evening, the New York Knicks made a record-breaking comeback against the San Antonio Spurs in Game 4 of the NBA Finals! People celebrated at Madison Square Garden, on the streets of New York, and throughout the tri-state area—in sports bars and in people’s homes.

How fascinating it was to watch how gracefully the players on both teams moved around the court. You almost forget that the average height of an NBA player is 6 feet 7 inches.

That is roughly eight inches taller than the average American male and probably about ten inches taller than the average Jewish American male.

Yet I don’t think that when encountering such a “giant” we feel intimidated. On the contrary, if we came across a Knicks player, we would probably be very excited. Most likely, we would ask for a selfie and an autograph.

On the other hand, if you were walking through a rough neighborhood and someone of that height were walking toward you, you might be frightened. That reaction would be natural because, typically, when we encounter someone of great size, we feel apprehensive.

That is exactly how ten of the twelve spies whom Moses sent to scout the Land of Canaan (modern-day Israel) felt upon seeing the Anakites (which literally translates to “giants”) and the Nephilim. Once they saw those enormous inhabitants of the Promised Land, the land did not look so promising to them!

Hence, when they returned with their report, they tried to dissuade the Israelites from moving forward by........

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