Shlach

(1) The LORD spoke to Moses, saying, (2) “Send men to scout the land of Canaan, which I am giving to the Israelite people; send one man from each of their ancestral tribes, each one a chieftain among them.” (3) So Moses, by the LORD’s command, sent them out from the wilderness of Paran, all the men being leaders of the Israelites.

שלח לך אנשים SEND THOU MEN — Why is the section dealing with the spies put in juxtaposition with the section dealing with Miriam’s punishment? To show the grievousness of the spies’ sin: because she (Miriam) was punished on account of the slander which she uttered against her brother, and these sinners witnessed it and yet they did not take a lesson from her (Midrash Tanchuma, Sh'lach 5).

שלח לך SEND THEE (more lit., for thyself) — i.e. according to your own judgement: I do not command you, but if you wish to do so send them. — God said this because the Israelites came to Moses and said. “We will send men before us etc.”, as it is said, (Deuteronomy 1:22): “And you approached me, all of you, [saying, We will send men, etc.]”, and Moses took counsel with the Shechinah (the Lord), whereupon He said to them, I have told them long ago that it (the land) is good, as it is said, (Exodus 3:17): “I will bring you up out of the affliction of Egypt … [unto a land flowing with milk and honey]”. By their lives! I swear that I will give them now an opportunity to fall into error through the statements of the spies, so that they should not come into possession of it (the land) (Sotah 34b; cf. also Rashi on Sotah 34b:8 מדעתך and Midrash Tanchuma, Sh'lach 5).

SEND ‘LECHA’ (THEE) MEN. “As you see fit. I do not command you [to send them], but if you wish [to do so], send them. [G-d said this] because the Israelites came [to Moses] and said, Let us send men before us, as it is said, And ye came near unto me every one of you, and Moses inquired [what to do] of the Divine Presence, whereupon G-d said: ‘I told them [at the time of the exodus] that it is a good [Land], as it is said, I will bring you up out of the affliction of Egypt … [unto a Land flowing with milk and honey]. By their lives! I will give them an opportunity to fall into error through the incident of the spies, so that they should not come to possess the Land.” This is Rashi’s language, from the words of Agadah.
Here one may ask, if this is so, then Moses himself sinned in this matter, as it is said, And the thing pleased me well! And furthermore why did he tell [the spies] to find out about the Land, whether it is good or bad, since he had already been told at the beginning that it is a good Land, and a large one? Moreover, what did the spies do [wrong], since Moses told them, And see the Land what it is; and the people that dwelleth therein, whether they are strong or weak, whether they are few or many, and he said to see about the cities [that they dwell in] whether in camps, or in strongholds, and at the least they had to give him an answer to [the questions] that he commanded them [to find out about]! And what was their trespass, and what was their sin when they told Moses, Nevertheless the people that dwell in the Land are fierce, and the cities are fortified, and very great? Did he then send them on the understanding that they would give him a false report! And do not think that their trespass consisted only in their report that it is a Land that eateth up the inhabitants thereof, for prior telling this to the people, Caleb already quarrelled with them! And likewise it is written, [that the people said], Our brethren [i.e., the spies] have made our heart to melt, saying: The people is greater and taller than we etc., and here it is written, to fall by the sword; our wives and our little ones will be a prey. And yet Moses our teacher [himself] said similar things to the children [of the generation of the spies], and he emphasized to them the power of the people and the strength of their cities, and the might of the giants to a much greater extent than what the spies had told their fathers, as it is written, Hear O Israel: thou art to pass over the Jordan this day, to go in to dispossess nations greater and mightier than thyself, cities great and fortified up to heaven, a people great and tall, the sons of the Anakim, whom thou knowest, and of whom thou hast heard say: ‘Who can stand before the sons of Anak!’ Now if the trespass of the spies and their sin consisted of this [discouraging report that they gave about the strength of the people in Canaan], why did he [Moses] dismay the heart of their children in the same way that the spies dismayed the heart of their fathers? Moreover, what reason was there for Moses our teacher to send this mission? If [they would report that] the Land is good, and its inhabitants are weak — well and good; but if [they would say that] it is bad, or that the people are strong — would it enter his mind to take them back to Egypt!
But the explanation of this subject is as follows: The Israelites wanted [to act] in the way that all those who come to wage war in a foreign country do, namely to send out men to become acquainted with the roads and entrances to the cities; so that when they return [from their mission], the scouts will go at the head of the army, to show them the way, in a similar manner to that which it says, Show us, we pray thee, the entrance into the city. Thus [the Israelites wanted the reconaissance party] to advise them which city they should attack first, and from which direction it would be easy to capture the Land. This is what they said explicitly, and they [the spies] shall bring us back word of the way by which we must go up, and the cities unto which we shall come, that is to say, the cities into which we shall come first, and from which we will enter the whole country. Now this is the correct guidance [to give] to anyone who [plans to] conquer a country. And so did Moses himself do, as it is said, And Moses sent to spy out Jazer, and Joshua the son of Nun also [sent] two spies. It was for this reason that [the people’s request to send out scouts] pleased Moses, for Scripture does not [allow man] to rely on a miracle in any of its affairs. Instead, it commands those who go out to battle to arm themselves, to take [all necessary] precautions, and to set ambushes [if needed], as Scripture relates in connection with the battle for [the city of] Ai, which was by command of G-d, and similarly in many places. Then Moses consulted the Divine Presence and G-d gave him permission, saying, “Send thee men, that they may spy out the land of Canaan and become acquainted with it, and bring back a report to you, and according to their information you should take counsel regarding the conquest.” Now Moses told the spies, Get you up here into the south, meaning: “Go up by this road into the south so that you will get to know the people who live in the land of the south — [this being] the direction from which Israel was [approaching] — [and see] whether they are strong and [the Israelites] when dealing with them will need to be very much on their guard and well-armed; similarly, [see] the cities, and whether they are fortified so that [the inhabitants] are well-entrenched, and it will therefore be necessary to build forts and ramps, or [even] to come against them from another direction.” Moses further told them that they should get to know the Land itself, whether it is good or bad, and if it is bad, they should first conquer other parts [of it]; for they spied out the hill-country of the Amorites from the side of Hebron, and even Joshua did not conquer all [areas of the Land], — this being the meaning of the expression and what the Land is that they dwell in, meaning the people who live in the land of the south.
[Furthermore] it is possible that it was because Moses knew that it is a fertile and good land, — as he was told, unto a good Land and a large one, unto a Land flowing with milk and honey, — that he told them to set their minds ascertaining this [fact], so that [upon their return] they would tell the people about it, and they would rejoice and gain renewed strength to go up there in joy. Therefore he told them, And be ye of good courage, and bring of the fruit of the Land, so that they [the people] would see with their own eyes the goodness of the Land. Now it is well-known that Egypt is not very far from Hebron — approximately a seven-days’ journey distant — and the border of the land of Canaan comes close to Egypt, and it is therefore impossible that people who live in Egypt should not know about the land of Canaan whether it is good or bad. And indeed Moses’ intention was to find out the way by which he should go up, and the cities which he was to capture first, as I have explained. However, since the Israelites in Egypt were slaves doing most rigorous work, they did not know, neither did they understand [the nature of the Land], therefore Moses wanted the spies to tell them all the particulars of the Land in order to cause them to rejoice in its qualities, since he [himself] knew of them [as explained above.].
Now it appears to me from the language of Scripture that Moses did not [in fact] consult the Divine Presence [as to whether he should send spies at all], but the meaning of Send thee men is that they [the people] had decided [already] to send spies, and it was customary to send two spies secretly, saying: [‘Go view the Land’], and that they be taken [only] from some [tribes of the people]; but G-d Who knows the future commanded Moses [here] to send one man from each of the tribes of Israel, every one a prince among them. [This is because] G-d wanted all the great men to be [represented] equally in this matter, so that perhaps they would remember and turn unto the Eternal, and if not, so that the decree [of punishment] would apply equally to the whole people, this being the meaning of the expression [that Moses sent them] according to the commandment of the Eternal, for it was by command of G-d that they were to be princes and heads of the children of Israel.
It [further] appears to me according to the plain meaning of Scripture that G-d [in speaking] to Moses did not refer [at all] to the request which the people had made, to send out spies, nor to Moses’ consent to that request, for if that were the case, Scripture here would have related: “And the children of Israel approached Moses and said: Let us send men before us etc. And the thing pleased Moses well,” and afterwards it would have written: “And the Eternal spoke unto Moses, saying: ‘Send thee men as they have spoken to you, one man etc.’” But the matter was as follows. The Israelites asked to send [spies], and the thing pleased Moses well, and afterwards a Divine communication came to Moses, as did all other such communications, merely saying, Send thee men, this being the reason [for the necessity of the subsequent explanatory words], that they may spy out the land of Canaan, which I give unto the children of Israel, as He is speaking of a new matter about which nothing has [hitherto] been related. All this was because the Eternal was pleased, for His righteousness’ sake that the mission be at His command, and that it be with [the participation of] all their tribes and their great men, so that [the people] should be saved.
Similarly it appears that they asked of Moses, Let us send men before us, ‘v’yachperu’ (that they may search) the Land for us, which means spying out the roads and [working out] the strategy of conquest, similar to the expression from there ‘chaphar’ (he spieth out) the prey. This is the meaning of [the words] before us [Let us send men ‘before us’], for they [the Israelites] would follow them [later on] in their route, similar to the expression, and the ark of the covenant went ‘before them’. G-d, however, commanded ‘v’yathuru’ the land of Canaan, which refers to a choice, as is made by those who come to buy something, similar in expression to the verse, beside that which ‘mei’anshei hatarim’ (the traffickers) and merchants. Similarly: into a land that ‘tarti’ (I had sought out) for them; also, ‘lathur’ (to seek out) a resting-place for them. Therefore Moses commanded them to state specifically whether it is good or bad … whether it is fat or lean etc., all this being in order to cause them to rejoice, for it is the beauty of all lands, and they would go up to it with great eagerness. Thus this subject is related here without explanation [of the exact sequence of events leading up to the sending of the spies], as it occurred, but in the Book of Deuteronomy Moses mentioned to them all the happenings from their beginning, in order to declare to them their transgression, that they sinned by their [very] request which they themselves initiated.
In the opinion of our Rabbis their sin was in saying Let us send men before us, because they had seen the salvation of the Eternal which He continually did for them, and they should have followed the cloud whither the spirit was to go, and Moses accepted their request to fulfill their desire. The meaning, then, of [the verse] And the thing pleased me well is: “I endured your evil plan and directed that it be done”. And G-d commanded him that he send one man of every tribe of their fathers etc., just like it is said in the case of Samuel, Hearken unto the voice of the people in all that they say unto thee; for they have not rejected thee, but they have rejected Me, that I should not be King over them. Now these men [who were sent out as spies] were not pointed out by name by the word of G-d, as was the case at the census and at the division of the Land, for no mishap occurs to those who carry out the command of G-d, and whoso keepeth the commandment shall know no evil thing. Therefore He, blessed be He, only commanded Moses one man of every tribe of their fathers shall ye send etc., and that they be princes, and Moses at his own discretion chose these men and sent them, and they wrought evil unto themselves.

§ Since the Gemara mentioned the cluster of grapes that the spies brought back from Eretz Yisrael, it continues discussing the story of the spies. It is stated in the Torah that God told Moses: “Send you men” (Numbers 13:2). Reish Lakish says: “Send you” means that you should send them at your own discretion and not as a divine command. As, if it were a divine command, does a person choose a bad portion for himself? Since God knew the nature of these spies and that they would ultimately slander the land, He certainly would not have sent them Himself. And this is the meaning of that which is written in the passage where Moses retold the story of the spies: “And it was good in my eyes” (Deuteronomy 1:23), and Reish Lakish says: The implication of these words is that it seemed good “in my eyes,” but not in the eyes of the Omnipresent.

כלם אנשים ALL OF THEM WERE MEN — Wherever the term אנשים, “men”, is used in Scripture it is a term denoting worthiness. These men, [though they later sinned] but at that time [when they were appointed] they were worthy men.

(4) And these were their names: From the tribe of Reuben, Shammua son of Zaccur. (5) From the tribe of Simeon, Shaphat son of Hori. (6) From the tribe of Judah, Caleb son of Jephunneh. (7) From the tribe of Issachar, Igal son of Joseph. (8) From the tribe of Ephraim, Hosea son of Nun. (9) From the tribe of Benjamin, Palti son of Rafu. (10) From the tribe of Zebulun, Gaddiel son of Sodi. (11) From the tribe of Joseph, namely, the tribe of Manasseh, Gaddi son of Susi. (12) From the tribe of Dan, Ammiel son of Gemalli. (13) From the tribe of Asher, Sethur son of Michael. (14) From the tribe of Naphtali, Nahbi son of Vophsi. (15) From the tribe of Gad, Geuel son of Machi. (16) Those were the names of the men whom Moses sent to scout the land; but Moses changed the name of Hosea son of Nun to Joshua. (17) When Moses sent them to scout the land of Canaan, he said to them, “Go up there into the Negeb and on into the hill country, (18) and see what kind of country it is. Are the people who dwell in it strong or weak, few or many? (19) Is the country in which they dwell good or bad? Are the towns they live in open or fortified? (20) Is the soil rich or poor? Is it wooded or not? And take pains to bring back some of the fruit of the land.”—Now it happened to be the season of the first ripe grapes.

OF THE TRIBE OF REUBEN etc. The verse [here] lists the tribes neither according to [the pattern of encampment of] their standards, nor according to the order of birth [of the ancestors of each tribe]. It appears that Scripture saw fit to mention them here according to the importance of the delegates [on the mission], for they were heads and princes of the people, as is related, but they were not all of equal standing, some of them being greater than the others in wisdom and honor; therefore Scripture mentioned first those who were most honored, who were first in status, since it named them according to their personal standing, not that of their tribe. Similarly in [citing the names of] the princes who were to divide the Land up amongst the people, He mentioned them according to their personal standing, not according to the order of birth [of the tribal ancestors].

ויקרא משה להושע וגו׳ AND MOSES CALLED HOSHEA [THE SON OF NUN JEHOSHUA] — By giving him this name יהושע which is a compound of יה and הושע “God may save”, he in effect prayed for him: “May God save you from the evil counsel of the spies” (Sotah 34b).

The Gemara explains: Joshua did not go to the graves of the forefathers because Moses had already prayed for mercy for him, as it is stated: “And Moses called Hoshea son of Nun Joshua [Yehoshua]” (Numbers 13:16), meaning: God will save you [Ya yoshiakha] from the counsel of the spies. And this is the meaning of that which is written: “But My servant Caleb, because he had another spirit with him, and has followed Me fully, him will I bring into the land where into he went” (Numbers 14:24), which implies that Caleb changed his mind over time. Joshua, however, was opposed to the intentions of the other spies from the outset.

עלו זה בנגב GO UP THIS WAY SOUTHWARD — It (the South) was the worst part of the Land of Israel. He bid them spy this out first because such is the way of merchants: they show a prospective purchaser the inferior goods first, and afterwards they show the best (Midrash Tanchuma, Sh'lach 6).

את הארץ מה הוא AND SEE THE LAND; WHAT IT IS — There are countries which rear strong people and there are countries which rear weak people; there are such as produce a large population and there are such as produce a small population (Midrash Tanchuma, Sh'lach 6).

החזק הוא הרפה WHETHER THEY ARE STRONG OR WEAK — He gave them a sign: if they live in open cities they are strong, since they evidently rely on their own strength, but if they live in fortified cities they are weak (Midrash Tanchuma, Sh'lach 6).

היש בה עץ WHETHER THERE ARE TREES IN IT [OR NOT] — i.e. whether there is a righteous man amongst them who will protect them by his merits (cf. Bava Batra 15a).

(21) They went up and scouted the land, from the wilderness of Zin to Rehob, at Lebo-hamath. (22) They went up into the Negeb and came to Hebron, where lived Ahiman, Sheshai, and Talmai, the Anakites.—Now Hebron was founded seven years before Zoan of Egypt.— (23) They reached the wadi Eshcol, and there they cut down a branch with a single cluster of grapes—it had to be borne on a carrying frame by two of them—and some pomegranates and figs. (24) That place was named the wadi Eshcol because of the cluster that the Israelites cut down there. (25) At the end of forty days they returned from scouting the land.

ויבא עד חברון [AND THEY WENT UP BY THE SOUTH] AND HE CAME UNTO HEBRON — Caleb alone went there and prostrated himself on the graves of the Patriarchs, offering prayer that he might be helped not to give way to the enticement of his colleagues and join them in their counsel. You may see that it was Caleb who went there, for so indeed it (Scripture) states, (Deuteronomy 1:36) “[Save Caleb the son of Jephunnch, he shall see it] and unto him will I give the land upon which he hath trodden!” and it is written, (Judges 1:20) “And they gave Hebron unto Caleb” (Sotah 34b)

[AND CAME UNTO HEBRON.] Our sages of blessed memory said that and came refers to Caleb the son of Jephunneh, for each one of the men went to a different part of the country.

ויבא עד חברון, “he came as far as Chevron;” we have a sudden switch from the plural mode to the singular mode, which raises the question of who it was that the Torah speaks of in this verse. Our sages understand this to be a reference to Caleb whom they credit with the urge to pay his respects to the graves of the patriarchs and his desire to get moral support against the negative attitude of most of his companions. This is Rashi’s interpretation. He felt the need to do this as Moses had not prayed for him especially, as he had done for his colleague Joshua. An alternate interpretation of the line: “he came to Chevron:” it is customary for the Torah to apply the singular mode even when speaking about a number of spies or members of an ambush, as we know from Joshua 8,19 where we read: והאורב קם ממקומו, “and the ambush (the men comprising it) arose from where it had been hiding.”

ויבא עד חברון. The well known aggadic comment is widely perceived as the plain meaning of this verse, i.e. that the verse (in the singular, “he came”) refers to Calev of whom the Torah reports “to him I will give the land which he crossed on foot.” (Deuteronomy 1,36)

וישבו מתור הארץ מקץ ארבעים יום AND THEY RETURNED FROM THE SEARCHING OF THE LAND AT THE END OF FORTY DAYS — But surely it was four hundred Parsangs (Persian miles) by four hundred Parsangs (Megillah 3a). And the journey of an average man is ten Parsangs a day (Pesachim 94a) and consequently it was a distance of forty days from east to west alone, whilst they traveled during that period along its length and breadth! But the fact is that it was manifest before the Holy One, blessed be He, that He would make a decree against them, "a day for a year" (cf. Numbers 14:34), therefore He shortened the road for them (i. e. He made them cover ground rapidly) (Midrash Tanchuma, Sh'lach 8).

(26) They went straight to Moses and Aaron and the whole Israelite community at Kadesh in the wilderness of Paran, and they made their report to them and to the whole community, as they showed them the fruit of the land. (27) This is what they told him: “We came to the land you sent us to; it does indeed flow with milk and honey, and this is its fruit. (28) However, the people who inhabit the country are powerful, and the cities are fortified and very large; moreover, we saw the Anakites there. (29) Amalekites dwell in the Negeb region; Hittites, Jebusites, and Amorites inhabit the hill country; and Canaanites dwell by the Sea and along the Jordan.” (30) Caleb hushed the people before Moses and said, “Let us by all means go up, and we shall gain possession of it, for we shall surely overcome it.” (31) But the men who had gone up with him said, “We cannot attack that people, for it is stronger than we.” (32) Thus they spread calumnies among the Israelites about the land they had scouted, saying, “The country that we traversed and scouted is one that devours its settlers. All the people that we saw in it are men of great size; (33) we saw the Nephilim there—the Anakites are part of the Nephilim—and we looked like grasshoppers to ourselves, and so we must have looked to them.”

וילכו ויבאו AND THEY WENT AND CAME [TO MOSES] — What is the force of “they went” (we have been informed that they had returned; why afterwards make any reference to their going on the journey)? It is intended to compare their “going” with their “coming" to Moses! How was their coming to Moses? With an evil plan! So, too, was their “going” on the journey with an evil plan (i.e. that when they were travelling they had already resolved to bring back an evil report)! (Sotah 35a).

AND THEY WENT. This informs us that they did not go to their tents, which were in the camp, but immediately went [to Moses, Aaron, and all the congregation].

זבת חלב ודבש [WE CAME INTO THE LAND … AND SURELY] IT FLOWETH WITH MILK AND HONEY — They stated this because no fabricated statement in which one does not say at least some true words at first can in the end be maintained (Sotah 35a).

אפס כי עז העם, it is impossible to conquer the land since we cannot defeat its people. Not only are the people tough, but the cities are fortified. The inhabitants of the land, the Amelakites hate us fiercely. They will engage in a preemptive war against us so that we should not even get near their borders.

ויהס כלב AND CALEB STILLED [THE PEOPLE] — he caused all of them to be silent.

אל משה means he silenced them that they should hear what he was going to say about Moses. He cried aloud saying: “Is this the only thing the son of Amram has done to us?!" — One who heard him thus speaking believed that he was about to speak to his disparagement, and because they had something in their mind against Moses through the spies’ statements, all of them kept silent to hear his disparagement. He, however, said: “Did he not divide the Red Sea for us, and bring down the Manna for us, and collect the quails for us?!” (Sotah 35a).

ויהס is an expression denoting silence. Similar is, (Zechariah 2:17) “Be silent, (הס) O all flesh”; (Amos 6:10) “Be silent (הס): for we may not mention [the name of the Lord]”. So is the manner of people: he who wishes to silence a group of men says “sst” (This sibilant sound is therefore used to command silence).

אל משה, so that Moses would have a chance to reply. Perhaps Moses replied with the words he referred to in Deuteronomy 1,29: “I told you not to be scared and not to be afraid of the inhabitants of that land, etc.”

ויהס כלב את העם אל משה, “Caleb silenced the people toward Moses;” From this line you can glean what must have been left out here, i.e. that Moses was trying unsuccessfully to interrupt the report of the spies, until Caleb succeeded to silence them, even if only briefly. 38 years later in Deuteronomy 1,29, Moses reminds the people that he had tried to give them encouragement to proceed with carrying out G-d’s command to mount an attack against the inhabitants of that land.

חזק הוא ממנו [FOR] THEY ARE STRONGER ממנו — They said this, — if this were at all possible (i.e. if one may be permitted to say so of God) — with reference to the Omnipresent (ממנו, stronger than “He”, they thus uttered blasphemy) (Sotah 35a; Arakhin 15a).

AND THEY BROUGHT FORTH ‘DIBATH’ (AN EVIL REPORT OF) THE LAND WHICH THEY HAD SPIED OUT UNTO THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL. The meaning of this is that the spies left Moses and Aaron and [went around] saying in the [people’s] tents that it is a Land that eateth up the inhabitants thereof. For at first when they spoke to the people in front of Moses and Aaron [saying] that the Land … floweth with milk and honey but that the people are fierce, and Caleb said, for we are well able to overcome it, the people hesitated [between these two opinions], and there were some of them who [still] trusted in their power and strength, and some of them [who trusted] in the help of the Eternal against the mighty. Then the spies spread the evil report in front of the people themselves, as it is written, the Land through which we have passed to spy it out, is a Land that eateth up the inhabitants thereof, etc., until they caused the whole congregation to complain, this being the sense of the verse stating, and they returned, and made all the congregation to murmur against him, by bringing up an evil report against the Land. This happened because when the spies saw the [Amorite] people whose height was like the height of the cedars, and he was strong as the oaks, the fear of them was fallen upon them and they made the hearts of their brothers melt. And when they saw that the Israelites were still considering going up [to the Land], and that Joshua and Caleb were encouraging them to do so, they invented a false report in order to frustrate their [intention of] going up by all possible means.
Know that he who “bringeth forth ‘dibah’” is a fool who speaks falsely, but he who tells a truthful [bad report] is called “one who ‘brings’ dibah,” as it is said, and Joseph brought ‘dibatham ra’ah’ (evil report of them) unto their father. It was for this [false report] that they were punished by death through a plague, as it is said, And those men that ‘brought forth’ an evil report of the Land, died by the plague before the Eternal.

אכלת יושביה [A LAND] THAT EATETH UP THE INHABITANTS THEREOF — “In every place which we passed we found them (the inhabitants) burying their dead". — But, as a matter of fact, the Holy One, blessed be He, did this (caused many deaths amongst them at that time, and so the Canaanites were engaged in burying their dead) for the best, in order to occupy them busily with their mourning so that they should pay no attention to these (the spies) (Sotah 35a).

The spies said: “And we were like grasshoppers in our own eyes, and so were we in their eyes” (Numbers 13:33). Rav Mesharshiyya says: The spies were liars. Granted, to say: “We were like grasshoppers in our own eyes,” is well, but to say: “And so were we in their eyes,” from where could they have known this?

(1) The whole community broke into loud cries, and the people wept that night. (2) All the Israelites railed against Moses and Aaron. “If only we had died in the land of Egypt,” the whole community shouted at them, “or if only we might die in this wilderness! (3) Why is the LORD taking us to that land to fall by the sword? Our wives and children will be carried off! It would be better for us to go back to Egypt!” (4) And they said to one another, “Let us head back for Egypt.” (5) Then Moses and Aaron fell on their faces before all the assembled congregation of the Israelites. (6) And Joshua son of Nun and Caleb son of Jephunneh, of those who had scouted the land, rent their clothes (7) and exhorted the whole Israelite community: “The land that we traversed and scouted is an exceedingly good land. (8) If the LORD is pleased with us, He will bring us into that land, a land that flows with milk and honey, and give it to us; (9) only you must not rebel against the LORD. Have no fear then of the people of the country, for they are our prey: their protection has departed from them, but the LORD is with us. Have no fear of them!” (10) As the whole community threatened to pelt them with stones, the Presence of the LORD appeared in the Tent of Meeting to all the Israelites.

§ The Gemara returns to its interpretation of verses in Lamentations: “She cries [bakho tivke] at night” (Lamentations 1:2). These two cries, indicated by the use of a compound verb, why are they written? Rabba says that Rabbi Yoḥanan says: One is a cry over the destruction of the First Temple, and one is a cry over the destruction of the Second Temple, which was destined to be destroyed. The term “at night” indicates that the crying is over matters of night, as it is stated with regard to the response of the Jewish people to the report of the spies after their return from the land of Canaan: “And all the congregation lifted up their voice, and the people cried that night” (Numbers 14:1).

נתנה ראש LET US MAKE A CAPTAIN — Understand this as the Targum does: Let us appoint a chief — i.e. let us set a king over us. But our Rabbis explain the word ראש to denote idol-worship (i.e. that they intended to turn to idolatry) (cf. Sanhedrin 107a).

And Rabbi Elazar further said: Not all are worthy to petition God by rending their garments, and not all are worthy of falling on their faces in times of trouble. Moses and Aaron were worthy of petitioning God by falling on their faces, whereas their students Joshua and Caleb prayed by only rending their garments. The Gemara elaborates: Moses and Aaron petitioned God by falling on their faces, as it is written: “Then Moses and Aaron fell on their faces” (Numbers 14:5). Joshua and Caleb prayed by rending their garments, as it is written in the next verse: “And Joshua, son of Nun, and Caleb, son of Jephunneh, who were of those who spied out the land, rent their garments” (Numbers 14:6).

טובה הארץ מאד מאד, "the land is indeed very good." They wanted to contradict the claim that the land consumes its inhabitants. This is why they said twice מאד, to say its fruit was good and it was pleasant to live in that land. Concerning the number of impediments which the other spies had enumerated they said that with G'd's help none of these factors mattered. They interpreted what they had seen to mean that G'd had already given the land to them on a platter.

כי לחמנו הם FOR THEY ARE BREAD FOR US — i.e. we shall consume them as bread.

(11) And the LORD said to Moses, “How long will this people spurn Me, and how long will they have no faith in Me despite all the signs that I have performed in their midst? (12) I will strike them with pestilence and disown them, and I will make of you a nation far more numerous than they!” (13) But Moses said to the LORD, “When the Egyptians, from whose midst You brought up this people in Your might, hear the news, (14) they will tell it to the inhabitants of that land. Now they have heard that You, O LORD, are in the midst of this people; that You, O LORD, appear in plain sight when Your cloud rests over them and when You go before them in a pillar of cloud by day and in a pillar of fire by night. (15) If then You slay this people to a man, the nations who have heard Your fame will say, (16) ‘It must be because the LORD was powerless to bring that people into the land He had promised them on oath that He slaughtered them in the wilderness.’ (17) Therefore, I pray, let my Lord’s forbearance be great, as You have declared, saying, (18) ‘The LORD! slow to anger and abounding in kindness; forgiving iniquity and transgression; yet not remitting all punishment, but visiting the iniquity of fathers upon children, upon the third and fourth generations.’ (19) Pardon, I pray, the iniquity of this people according to Your great kindness, as You have forgiven this people ever since Egypt.” (20) And the LORD said, “I pardon, as you have asked. (21) Nevertheless, as I live and as the LORD’s Presence fills the whole world, (22) none of the men who have seen My Presence and the signs that I have performed in Egypt and in the wilderness, and who have tried Me these many times and have disobeyed Me, (23) shall see the land that I promised on oath to their fathers; none of those who spurn Me shall see it. (24) But My servant Caleb, because he was imbued with a different spirit and remained loyal to Me—him will I bring into the land that he entered, and his offspring shall hold it as a possession. (25) Now the Amalekites and the Canaanites occupy the valleys. Start out, then, tomorrow and march into the wilderness by way of the Sea of Reeds.”

?עד אנה ינאצוני, “What is the limit of their spurning Me? How long am I supposed to tolerate the disdain with which they treat Me?

?ועד אנה לא יאמינו לי, How many more miracles must I perform for them until they will rely on My word?

כי העלית — The word כי here is used in the sense of אשר, “that”, and the meaning is: they have seen that Thou broughtest them forth in Thy great strength from their midst, and when they hear that Thou art killing them they will not say that it is because they have sinned against Thee, but they will say that against them Thou wast able to fight, but against the in habitants of the Land of Canaan, however, Thou wast unable to fight; and this is the meaning of —

'מבלתי יכולת ה “Because the Lord was unable etc. … [he hath slaughtered them in the wilderness]”. — The connection between that verse and what preceeds is as follows: Because they have heard that Thou, O Lord, dwellest in their midst and that Thou appearest to them face to face and all this is in an affectionate manner (i.e. all this is evidence of the affection in which Thou holdest them), and until now they had not realized that Your love for them had been withdrawn.

ה' אֶרֶךְ אַפַּיִם “The Lord is long suffering” towards both the righteous and the wicked. When Moses ascended to Heaven to receive the Law he found the Holy One, blessed be He, engaged in writing: “The Lord is long-suffering”. He asked, “Surely only to the righteous?” The Holy One, blessed be He, answered him, “To the wicked also!” Whereupon Moses said: “The wicked — let them perish!” He (the Lord) replied to him: “I swear by your life that you shall eventually need this thing (the extension of My mercy also to the wicked)”. When the Israelites sinned at the incident of the Golden Calf and at that of the spies, Moses offered prayer before Him, with mention of God’s attribute of ארך אפים (of His being long suffering). The Holy One, blessed be He, then said to him: Did you not say, “Surely only to the righteous!?” Whereupon Moses replied, “But did You not tell me, ‘To the wicked also’?” Let then — Moses added — the strength of My Lord be great [even as Thou didst say] — by fulfilling Thy statement and not mine! (Sanhedrin 111a).

I have forgiven according to your words: that I will be patient with them (literally - lengthen my breath of my nostrils) and I won't kill them immediately.

חי אני AS TRULY AS I LIVE — This is the formula of an oath: Just as it is true that I live and that all the earth is filled with My glory, so, indeed, will I fulfil regarding them My threat “that all the men who have seen etc.”. [אם יראו את הארץ — This verse is out of order: Its connection with what precedes it is as follows: As truly as I live, I swear that all the men who have seen My glory etc. shall not see the Land, “and yet My Glory shall fill the earth”, since My Name will not become profaned through this plague which I proposed to bring upon them by people stating: “Because the Lord is unable to bring them into the Land etc.” since I shall not then be killing them suddenly, as one man (v. 15), but during a prolonged period of forty years — little by little].

זה עשר פעמים TEN TIMES — twice at the Red Sea, twice in the case of the “Manna”, twice in the case of the “quails” etc., as is to be found in the Treatise Arakhin 15a.

וכל מנאצי לא יראוהו, also their sons who at this time had not reached the age of 20 but would be among those who disdain Me in the future, will also not be granted the privilege of seeing the Holy Land. Examples of this decree were the men who died during the uprising of Korach and had been under the age of 20 (at the time of the Exodus), as well as the people who died at Shittim 38 years later because of their involvement with the Moabite women, as well as the people who died before Moses could erect the copper snake. The people concerned had not been involved in rejecting the land of Israel at the time when the spies made their report as they were under age. (compare Numbers 21,6 and 25,9)

רוח אחרת [BUT MY SERVANT CALEB, BECAUSE HE HAD] ANOTHER SPIRIT [WITH HIM] — The word “another’ suggests that he was filled with a twofold spirit — the one to which he gave utterance (lit., one in his mouth), and another which he concealed in his heart. To the spies he said, “I am with you in your counsel”, whilst in his heart he had the intention to tell the truth, and it was only on this account that he possessed the power to silence them (the people), as it is said, (Numbers 13:30) “And Caleb silenced [the people concerning Moses]” (cf. Rashi on that verse), for they thought that he would say the same as themselves (as the spies). It is this that is alluded to in the Book of Joshua (Joshua 14:7) where it states that Caleb said “And I brought him (Moses) word again as it was in my heart” — but not as it was in my mouth (i.e. not what I had said to the spies) (Midrash Tanchuma, Sh'lach 10).

BUT MY SERVANT CALEB. Caleb alone is mentioned because he stilled the people (Num. 13:30). The Levites and the kohanim are not included in the oath, for no prince from among them went to spy out the land. Furthermore, Scripture states, all that were numbered of you, according to your whole number (v. 29). Now even though there were no kohanim there, there were in reality many Levites there.

ועבדי כלב, “but My servant Caleb,” there was no need for G-d to mention Joshua by name here seeing it was he who would lead the people into the Holy Land. An alternate interpretation: There was no point in mentioning him, seeing that he had no children who would receive an ancestral share of that land. The Torah could not have written of him that his descendants would inherit their share of the land

(26) The LORD spoke further to Moses and Aaron, (27) “How much longer shall that wicked community keep muttering against Me? Very well, I have heeded the incessant muttering of the Israelites against Me. (28) Say to them: ‘As I live,’ says the LORD, ‘I will do to you just as you have urged Me. (29) In this very wilderness shall your carcasses drop. Of all of you who were recorded in your various lists from the age of twenty years up, you who have muttered against Me, (30) not one shall enter the land in which I swore to settle you—save Caleb son of Jephunneh and Joshua son of Nun. (31) Your children who, you said, would be carried off—these will I allow to enter; they shall know the land that you have rejected. (32) But your carcasses shall drop in this wilderness, (33) while your children roam the wilderness for forty years, suffering for your faithlessness, until the last of your carcasses is down in the wilderness. (34) You shall bear your punishment for forty years, corresponding to the number of days—forty days—that you scouted the land: a year for each day. Thus you shall know what it means to thwart Me. (35) I the LORD have spoken: Thus will I do to all that wicked band that has banded together against Me: in this very wilderness they shall die to the last man.’” (36) As for the men whom Moses sent to scout the land, those who came back and caused the whole community to mutter against him by spreading calumnies about the land— (37) those who spread such calumnies about the land died of plague, by the will of the LORD. (38) Of those men who had gone to scout the land, only Joshua son of Nun and Caleb son of Jephunneh survived. (39) When Moses repeated these words to all the Israelites, the people were overcome by grief. (40) Early next morning they set out toward the crest of the hill country, saying, “We are prepared to go up to the place that the LORD has spoken of, for we were wrong.” (41) But Moses said, “Why do you transgress the LORD’s command? This will not succeed. (42) Do not go up, lest you be routed by your enemies, for the LORD is not in your midst. (43) For the Amalekites and the Canaanites will be there to face you, and you will fall by the sword, inasmuch as you have turned from following the LORD and the LORD will not be with you.” (44) Yet defiantly they marched toward the crest of the hill country, though neither the LORD’s Ark of the Covenant nor Moses stirred from the camp. (45) And the Amalekites and the Canaanites who dwelt in that hill country came down and dealt them a shattering blow at Hormah.