The Jewish people had been camped at Mount Sinai since the 1st of Sivan. Almost a full year later, on the 20th of Iyar, ten days short of the anniversary of their arrival at Mount Sinai, the special cloud that hovered over the Tabernacle lifted, indicating that it was time to go. During the time spent at the foot of Mount Sinai, the Jewish people had received the Torah and all its commandments, including those that would soon be relevant in the land of Israel. The tribe of Judah took its place at the head of the column leading the Jewish nation to their final destination, the promised land, Israel.
They travelled three days to the Desert of Paran, and, after a 30-day sojourn there and a short stop in Chatzerot, they reached Kadesh Barnea on the 29th of Sivan. From there, it would be only a three-day journey to Israel. In the first chapter of Deuteronomy, Moshe later describes what happened (19-22):
ספר דברים פרק א
יט) וַנִּסַּע מֵחֹרֵב וַנֵּלֶךְ אֵת כָּל הַמִּדְבָּר הַגָּדוֹל וְהַנּוֹרָא הַהוּא אֲשֶׁר רְאִיתֶם דֶּרֶךְ הַר הָאֱמֹרִי כַּאֲשֶׁר צִוָּה יְדֹוָד אֱלֹקֵינוּ אֹתָנוּ וַנָּבֹא עַד קָדֵשׁ בַּרְנֵעַ
כ) וָאֹמַר אֲלֵכֶם בָּאתֶם עַד הַר הָאֱמֹרִי אֲשֶׁר יְדֹוָד אֱלֹקֵינוּ נֹתֵן לָנוּ
כא) רְאֵה נָתַן יְדֹוָד אֱלֹקֶיךָ לְפָנֶיךָ אֶת הָאָרֶץ עֲלֵה רֵשׁ כַּאֲשֶׁר דִּבֶּר יְדֹוָד אֱלֹקֵי אֲבֹתֶיךָ לָךְ אַל תִּירָא וְאַל תֵּחָת
כב) וַתִּקְרְבוּן אֵלַי כֻּלְּכֶם וַתֹּאמְרוּ נִשְׁלְחָה אֲנָשִׁים לְפָנֵינוּ וְיַחְפְּרוּ לָנוּ אֶת הָאָרֶץ וְיָשִׁבוּ אֹתָנוּ דָּבָר אֶת הַדֶּרֶךְ אֲשֶׁר נַעֲלֶה בָּהּ וְאֵת הֶעָרִים אֲשֶׁר נָבֹא אֲלֵיהֶן
19) We journeyed from Horeb (Mount Sinai), and we went through that entire great and awesome Wilderness that you saw, by way of the Amorite mountain, as Hashem our God commanded us, and we came until Kadesh Barnea. 20) Then I said to you, “You have come until the Amorite mountain that Hashem our God gives us, 21) See – Hashem your God has placed the land before you; go up and possess it, as Hashem, God of your forefathers, has spoken to you. Do not fear and do not lose resolve.”
22) All of you approached me and said, “Let us send men ahead of us and let them spy the Land and bring word back to us: the road on which we should ascend and the cities to which we should come.”
The people approached Moshe to send spies into Israel to spy the land before their arrival. Thus begins the story of the מרגלים (the Spies) whose sin of badmouthing the land of Israel caused them and their generation to die in the desert instead of entering the land. Their sin impacts us today as well, for had the same people who left Egypt entered Israel, exile from the land would not have been possible. The occupation of the land of Israel would then have been as much a part of our nationhood as is the Exodus from Egypt, for It would have been the anticipated conclusion of the Exodus. The death of that entire generation in the desert created a disconnect between the Exodus and entry into the Land such that our presence there was no longer guaranteed.
The Midrash gives us the background information as to the Spies’ purpose:
ילקוט שמעוני במדבר – פרק יג – המשך רמז תשמב
אמרו ישראל למשה רבינו: נשלחה אנשים לפנינו אמר להם, “למה?” אמרו לו, “שכבר הבטיחנו הקב”ה ואמר לנו שאנו נכנסים לארץ כנען ויורשין כל טוב, שנאמר ‘ובתים מלאים כל טוב,’ והרי שמעו שאנו נכנסים והם עושין בהן בתי מטמוניות אם מטמינים הן את ממונם ואנו נכנסין ולא נמצא כלום נמצא דברו של הקב”ה בטל, אלא ילכו מרגלים לפנינו, ויראו לנו את הארץ אין כתיב כאן אלא ויחפרו לנו ילכו ויעמדו על מה שחפרו בארץ, כיון ששמע כן נלכד בידן שנאמר וייטב בעיני הדבר, זהו שאמר הכתוב וישימו באלהים כסלם
The Jewish people said to Moshe, “We want to send spies to spy out the land.” Moshe asked, “What for?” They answered, “Because Hashem promised that when we enter the land of Canaan, we will inherit houses full of riches and wealth… but they have heard that we are coming, and they have hidden away all their wealth. If we enter and don’t find anything, Hashem’s promise will be falsified. The spies will see where they are hiding their wealth and show us, thus Hashem’s promise will be fulfilled.” This sounded good to Moshe and he presented their request to Hashem.
The Midrash then explains that this was a ruse, and Moshe fell for it.
With the almighty’s permission, Moshe chose one righteous leader from each tribe to spy the land. He instructed them to observe the people who live there, are they strong or are they weak? If they live in walled cities, it’s a sign that they are weak since they need the protection of the walls. If, however, they live in open cities, it’s a sign that they are strong since they are confident in their might. Are they many or few? How is the land? Is it fertile or lean? Are there any righteous people whose merit may protect them from our attacks? Bring back samples of the indigenous fruits to show us.
The spies toured Israel for 40 days and returned with, ultimately, a very disturbing report. Ten of the twelve spies said that it would be impossible to conquer the land. “The people whom we encountered there are so mighty and powerful that we stand no chance against them. There are giants there, too, and ’the land itself devours its inhabitants.’ Everywhere we went they were burying their dead! It looks like the food that they’re eating is what’s doing it.” They said this because the fruits there were so big! It took eight people to carry the sample cluster of grapes they brought back with them, and a fig took two men. Their report concluded that there is no possible way that we can live there!
The two spies who disagreed were Yehoshua the son of Nun, and Kalev the son of Yefuneh. They tore their garments and countered by saying, “The land is extremely good! Don’t fear the people, they are a piece of cake! Remember what Hashem did to the Egyptians! When Hashem is with us, there is nothing to fear!”
The people accepted the testimony of the ten and threatened to stone Yehoshua and Kalev.
Of course, Yehoshua and Kalev were right. Hashem became angry with the spies and with the Jewish people who believed their false report. The 10 errant spies died a gruesome death, and the punishment to the rest of the people for rejecting the Land of Israel was that for every day that the spies spent in Israel, the Jewish people would serve a year in the wilderness. During those 40 years, the men between the ages of 20-60 would die. The Midrash tells us that when a man reached the age of 60, on the 9th of Av, the anniversary of the return of the spies from Israel and the day of the decree, he would dig his grave and lie in it. He did not awaken in the morning.
This, in short, is the story of the spies and their sin. We need to ask ourselves, “what went wrong here? What prompted these 10 hand-picked righteous men to ruin Hashem’s plan for the Jewish people in the promised land?” Although their report was truthful in that they reported accurately only what they saw, why was their assessment of the facts so negative?
The Sages answer these questions, and there is much for us to learn from their answers.
Our Sages teach us that each of us has a private aspiration that lies deep within us. The Hebrew word for this is רצון – ratzon. The root of this word is רץ , which means to run. This private aspiration ––רצון – is the deepest source of what motivates us to pursue what we seek. This רצון is what influences all of our life decisions.
Most people start out motivated by the most primitive of all desires, pleasure. From the time that we are little babies, we seek to satisfy our רצון for what will make us feel good right now. Whether it is the gratification from a tasty food, or a colorful or clanging toy that belongs to someone else, all that a child knows is, “I want it!!” As one matures, however, he realizes that living solely for pleasure is a selfish and unworthy goal in life. He also realizes that there are many forbidden pleasures that he cannot give in to; he cannot satisfy every desire. When a person’s wants conflict with what is legal and correct, he may seek to ignore the law, or find a way to circumvent it to fulfill his רצון. This is most often where people run into trouble: they must immediately have what they want no matter what and will permit nothing to stop them from fulfilling their innermost desire, even the law.
When we more maturely realize that pleasure in and of itself is not a worthy goal to pursue, we are able to develop a worthier and more altruistic רצון. In the world we live in, ideas for aspiration abound. How exactly we arrive at theרצון that makes us tick is the result of many factors. But one thing is certain: when evaluating what course of action to take in any situation, the options will either consciously or subconsciously be scrutinized by the question: “Will this fulfill, or not, my deepest רצון , my strongest aspiration?” If the goal is appropriate and worthwhile, the decision will always favor of the option that ultimately brings forth my deepest aspiration, my רצון.
Our Sages explain that the 10 spies were under the impression that upon entering the Land of Israel they would lose their jobs as the leaders of their tribes. Because they wanted to remain leaders for as long a possible, their goal was to delay the Jewish people from entering the land. What was their rationalization? They said that the timing is not right, that it is too early to enter. How so?
Based on the teaching of the Shelah Hakadosh, the Be’er Yosef, Rabbi Yosef MiSalant explains it like this.
When Avraham Avinu was 70 years old, Hashem made the “Covenant of the Pieces” with him. At that time, Hashem told Avraham that his children would be slaves in a foreign land, but that the fourth generation of those who were exiled would return to Israel to inhabit it. An additional stipulation was added to the Jewish people’s return to the Land of Israel.
Here is the verse (Genesis 15:16).
(טז) וְדוֹר רְבִיעִי יָשׁוּבוּ הֵנָּה כִּי לֹא שָׁלֵם עֲוֹן הָאֱמֹרִי עַד הֵנָּה
16) And the fourth generation will return here (Israel) for the iniquity of the Amorites will not yet be full until then.
What does the Jewish people’s return have to do with the iniquity of the Amorites? Rashi explains that Hashem gives every nation its heyday, allowing them to do as they please. However, Hashem sets a limit as to how much sin He will tolerate, and when they reach the limit, Hashem destroys them, never to be heard from again. So, Hashem was telling Avraham that by the time the Jews are ready to enter Israel, the indigenous Amorites will have already reached their limit of sin and would be ready to be ejected from Israel to make room for the Jewish nation.
Upon their return, the spies told the Jewish people (Numbers 13:22,23):
(לב) וַיֹּצִיאוּ דִּבַּת הָאָרֶץ אֲשֶׁר תָּרוּ אֹתָהּ אֶל בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל לֵאמֹר הָאָרֶץ אֲשֶׁר עָבַרְנוּ בָהּ לָתוּר אֹתָהּ אֶרֶץ אֹכֶלֶת יושְׁבֶיהָ הִוא וְכָל הָעָם אֲשֶׁר רָאִינוּ בְתוֹכָהּ אַנְשֵׁי מִדּוֹת:
(לג) וְשָׁם רָאִינוּ אֶת הַנְּפִילִים בְּנֵי עֲנָק מִן הַנְּפִלִים וַנְּהִי בְעֵינֵינוּ כַּחֲגָבִים וְכֵן הָיִינוּ בְּעֵינֵיהֶם:
32) They brought forth to the Children of Israel an evil report on the land that they had spied out saying, “The Land through which we have passed, to spy it out, is a land that devours its inhabitants! 33) All the people that we saw there had good character traits. There we saw the Nephilim (giants); we were like grasshoppers in our eyes, as so we were in their eyes.”
The land that we saw devours its inhabitants if they are evil and not worthy of living in such a holy land. But these people who have endured have done so because they are fine people.
The interpretation of the words “אנשי מדות” – “men of measure” – is usually translated to mean men of great size, huge people. However, the Shelah Hakadosh interprets it to mean, “men of fine character.” Everywhere we went, we saw only the finest people, righteous and just. The Talmud tell us (Sotah 35) that everywhere they went, they encountered funerals. Burying a dead person is the purest form of kindness, since one doesn’t expect any benefit in return from the deceased; so here they were preoccupied with bestowing kindness. They also saw to the needs of the mourners, making sure they had what they needed. Since they are such fine people, their sins have not reached their limit, and Hashem won’t throw them out.
What did they mean when the spies said, “And we were like grasshoppers?” According to this approach, they meant that they felt like locusts who devour the crops of the farmers who worked so hard to produce them. They were saying, “Since these are such fine people who belong in the land, we felt that in that taking the land from them we would be like locusts- thieves – who plunder farmers’ crops unjustly.
Unfortunately, because of their bias, the spies misinterpreted everything they saw.
The Sages explain that the reason that inhabitants were dying all over the place was to preoccupy and distract them and keep them from taking issue with their unwanted “guests” (the spies).
The spies reported that the land’s inhabitants were so powerful that it is impossible to conquer them. Although this was true, the spies missed the boat.
The Ramban explains that the correct conclusion would have been that, “Only Hashem can defeat them. There is no possible way that in a conventional battle we will be able to conquer them.” Instead of shrinking from entering the land because of the might of its inhabitants, they should have charged “gung ho!” knowing that Hashem would be the One doing battle for them.
Even in terms of their feeling like thieves for taking the land away from its inhabitants (sound familiar?) they made a grave error.
Rashi begins his Torah commentary on the Torah’s first word “Bereshit”, with Rabbi Yitzchak’s famous question:
Why did Hashem begin the Torah with a description of Creation? Isn’t the Torah’s purpose to convey to man his obligations in the form of the commandments that he must fulfill? So why didn’t Hashem begin the Torah with the very first mitzvah given to the Jewish people – the mitzvah of sanctifying the new moon – which does not appear until the Book of Exodus?
Rabbi Yitzchak answers with Psalms 111, Verse 6.
(ו) כֹּחַ מַעֲשָׂיו הִגִּיד לְעַמּוֹ לָתֵת לָהֶם נַחֲלַת גּוֹיִם:
He (Hashem) declared the strength of His deeds to His people, to give them to inherit the nations.
For if the world’s nations should tell the Jewish people, “You are thieves for having conquered the seven nations dwelling in the land of Israel and taken the land from them,” we can respond, “The whole earth belongs to Hashem since He created it. Until now, He let you have it; but now He has chosen to give it to us.”
Had the Jewish people conquered the Land of Israel through normal warfare strategies and tactics, it would be easy to allege that they are marauders and thieves like any other nation seeking to broaden its borders by usurping other countries. But, with the indigenous nations being so powerful, and the Jewish nation being so weak and untrained for battle, it would have been crystal clear that Hashem had miraculously defeated them to give their country to His chosen people. This is the pat answer to the claims of the world against the Jews. But, unfortunately, when the spies did not understand that the impossible odds of victory were exactly the point and that they were expected to say, “It is impossible for us to conquer them, but Hashem who can do anything and He will take care of everything,” they turned the whole matter upside down. This is one of the ways that we suffer until today from the sin of the Spies; we are still being accused of being thieves.
Even in the matter of the character of the Amorites, the Spies could not have been more wrong.
In Leviticus (18:3) Hashem warns the Jewish people.
(ג) כְּמַעֲשֵׂה אֶרֶץ מִצְרַיִם אֲשֶׁר יְשַׁבְתֶּם בָּהּ לֹא תַעֲשׂוּ וּכְמַעֲשֵׂה אֶרֶץ כְּנַעַן אֲשֶׁר אֲנִי מֵבִיא אֶתְכֶם שָׁמָּה לֹא תַעֲשׂוּ וּבְחֻקֹּתֵיהֶם לֹא תֵלֵכוּ:
3) Do not perform the practice of the land of Egypt in which you dwelled; and do not perform the practice of the land of Canaan to which I bring you, and do not follow their traditions.
The Sages comment on this verse that the Canaanites were the most depraved of all the nations, that is why it is singled out as the paradigm of what the Jewish people should not do. Additionally, the last generation of Canaanites were the most depraved of all who preceded them, which is why they were worthy of being jettisoned out of Israel. The Spies, of course, could not have been more wrong.
In summary, the Spies saw everything backwards. When they thought that the people were fine people involved in acts of kindness, it was really Hashem occupying them so they would not pay attention to the spies. In reality, they were the most depraved of all the nations. Hashem wanted them to see that it was impossible to conquer the nations through regular warfare so that it would be clear that Hashem gave the Land of Israel to the Jewish nation. Yet they shrank from the challenge and didn’t think of involving Hashem in the equation. How could they be so wrong? Because they had a bias to remain leaders, and they wanted to delay the entry to Israel so that they could remain leaders longer.
The lesson is very clear. A bias can change a person’s view of matters from one extreme to the other. We experience this today in all those who say that Israel is practicing genocide. How absurd. Under Israeli “domination,” the so-called Palestinian population has increased many fold. But, because certain groups have a bias against Jews, they reach this conclusion without any qualms.
Everyone has biases, and we must be very careful to not let them influence our clear, objective judgment.
