Komentarz do Liczb 13:2

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).

SEND ‘LECHA’ (THEE)¹Literally: “for thyself,” as explained by Rashi. 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,²Deuteronomy 1:22. The verse continues that the people said to Moses: ‘Let us send men before us, that they may search the Land for us, and bring us back word etc.’ as it is said, And ye came near unto me every one of you,²Deuteronomy 1:22. The verse continues that the people said to Moses: ‘Let us send men before us, that they may search the Land for us, and bring us back word etc.’ 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].³Exodus 3:17. The text of Rashi reads: “… unto a good Land,” which is taken from Verse 8, ibid. 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.⁴Sotah 34 b, briefly, and in Bamidbar Rabbah 16:6, more fully. It is possible, as there is more than one reference for the source of Rashi’s text, but none specific, that Ramban refers to it merely as stemming “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!⁵Deuteronomy 1:23. In other words, since Moses was aware of G-d’s displeasure with the whole mission, why did he say that 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,⁶Further, Verse 19. since he had already been told at the beginning that it is a good Land, and a large one?⁷Exodus 3:8. “Why then did he now ask G-d whether to send out the spies, and did not rely on the fact that the Land was, as he was told, a good Land?” (Gur Aryeh). 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,⁸Further, Verse 18. and he said to see about the cities [that they dwell in] whether in camps, or in strongholds,⁶Further, Verse 19. 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 sin⁹See Genesis 31:36. when they told Moses, Nevertheless the people that dwell in the Land are fierce, and the cities are fortified, and very great?¹⁰Further, Verse 28. 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,¹¹Ibid., Verse 32. for prior telling this to the people, Caleb already quarrelled with them!¹²Ibid., Verse 30. It is thus clear that before the spies made this derogatory statement about the Land, the people already did not want to go there. The trespass of the spies could therefore not have consisted only of their report that it is a Land that eateth up the inhabitants thereof! 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.,¹³Deuteronomy 1:28. and here it is written, to fall by the sword; our wives and our little ones will be a prey.¹⁴Further, 14:3. Scripture thus implies that both the spies and the people sinned in speaking of the difficulty of capturing the Land. And yet Moses etc. 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!’¹⁵Deuteronomy 9:1-2. 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 children¹⁶See further, 32:7-8. 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.¹⁷Judges 1:24. 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,²Deuteronomy 1:22. The verse continues that the people said to Moses: ‘Let us send men before us, that they may search the Land for us, and bring us back word etc.’ 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,¹⁸Further, 21:32. and Joshua the son of Nun also [sent] two spies.¹⁹Joshua 2:1. It was for this reason that [the people’s request to send out scouts] pleased Moses,⁵Deuteronomy 1:23. In other words, since Moses was aware of G-d’s displeasure with the whole mission, why did he say that the thing pleased me well? 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,²⁰Ibid., 8:2. Thus the method of ambush was also by command of G-d, thereby teaching that in war we are not to rely on miracles. 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,²¹Further, Verse 17. The literal translation is: “Go up this, into the south;” therefore Ramban explains that it means “go up by this road into the south.” It is also so explained by Ibn Ezra. In Targum Yonathan it is rendered: “Go up by this side, by 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 strong⁸Further, Verse 18. 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,⁶Further, Verse 19. 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,²²Ibid., Verse 22. 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,⁶Further, Verse 19. 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,²³Exodus 3:8. — 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,²⁴Further, Verse 20. 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.⁶Further, Verse 19. 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 understand²⁵Psalms 82:5. [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’],¹⁹Joshua 2:1. 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,²⁶Ibid., 22:28. 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,²⁷Verse 3. Thus the burden of punishment, instead of falling heavily upon a particular tribe or tribes, would be more lightly distributed throughout the camp. Moreover, by commanding that the heads of the tribes should lead the mission, the people would avoid total responsibility and thus be spared annihilation. This latter point is made clear by Ramban in the text that follows. for it was by command of G-d that they were to be princes and heads of the children of Israel.²⁷Verse 3. Thus the burden of punishment, instead of falling heavily upon a particular tribe or tribes, would be more lightly distributed throughout the camp. Moreover, by commanding that the heads of the tribes should lead the mission, the people would avoid total responsibility and thus be spared annihilation. This latter point is made clear by Ramban in the text that follows.
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.²Deuteronomy 1:22. The verse continues that the people said to Moses: ‘Let us send men before us, that they may search the Land for us, and bring us back word etc.’ And the thing pleased Moses well,”⁵Deuteronomy 1:23. In other words, since Moses was aware of G-d’s displeasure with the whole mission, why did he say that the thing pleased me 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,⁵Deuteronomy 1:23. In other words, since Moses was aware of G-d’s displeasure with the whole mission, why did he say that the thing pleased me 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’ sake²⁸Isaiah 42:21. 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,²Deuteronomy 1:22. The verse continues that the people said to Moses: ‘Let us send men before us, that they may search the Land for us, and bring us back word etc.’ 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.²⁹Job 39:29. This is the meaning of [the words] before us [Let us send men ‘before us’],²Deuteronomy 1:22. The verse continues that the people said to Moses: ‘Let us send men before us, that they may search the Land for us, and bring us back word etc.’ 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’.³⁰Above 10:33. 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.³¹II Chronicles 9:14. Similarly: into a land that ‘tarti’ (I had sought out) for them;³²Ezekiel 20:6. also, ‘lathur’ (to seek out) a resting-place for them.³⁰Above 10:33. Therefore Moses commanded them to state specifically whether it is good or bad … whether it is fat or lean etc.,³³Verses 19-20. all this being in order to cause them to rejoice, for it is the beauty of all lands,³²Ezekiel 20:6. 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,³⁴See Isaiah 58:1. that they sinned by their [very] request which they themselves initiated.
In the opinion of our Rabbis³⁵Mentioned by Rashi at the beginning of this verse: “I told them [at the time of the exodus] that it is a good Land etc.” their sin was in saying Let us send men before us,²Deuteronomy 1:22. The verse continues that the people said to Moses: ‘Let us send men before us, that they may search the Land for us, and bring us back word etc.’ because they had seen the salvation of the Eternal³⁶Exodus 14:13. which He continually did for them, and they should have followed the cloud whither the spirit was to go,³⁷Ezekiel 1:12. and Moses accepted their request to fulfill their desire. The meaning, then, of [the verse] And the thing pleased me well⁵Deuteronomy 1:23. In other words, since Moses was aware of G-d’s displeasure with the whole mission, why did he say that 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.³⁸I Samuel 8: 7. In that case too, the Divine consent was given only on account of the people’s intransigence for having a king appointed over them. The matter, however, was displeasing to G-d because their devoted leader Samuel was still alive. Now these men [who were sent out as spies] were not pointed out by name³⁹Above, 1:17. by the word of G-d, as was the case at the census³⁹Above, 1:17. and at the division of the Land,⁴⁰Further, 34:19-28. for no mishap occurs to those who carry out the command of G-d, and whoso keepeth the commandment shall know no evil thing.⁴¹Ecclesiastes 8:5. 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.⁴²Isaiah 3:9.

שלח לך אנשים, do not allow the selection of these men to be made by the people themselves! We know from Deuteronomy 1,22 that the initiative of sending out spies came from the people and that Moses was put under pressure to do this. G’d was cautioning Moses that by allowing the people to select the spies themselves, that if they chose unsuitable candidates and they came back with a faulty report, the people would blame G’d for what was wrong with the country instead of the inadequate ability of the spies to correctly evaluate what they had seen. Once the blame would be laid at G’d’s doorstep it would be impossible to do teshuvah. In the event, the people did teshuvah when they said “we have sinned against You,” as reported in Deuteronomy 1,41 As far as the spies whom Moses sent out were concerned, while it is true that they were guilty in bringing about the refusal of the people to undertake the campaign to conquer the land, and all this was due to a lack of faith in G’d, they did report truthfully on the excellence of the land and they brought back with them proof of it. (compare verse 27) where they are quoted as having said that not only was the land good, but it was a land flowing with milk and honey; In Deuteronomy 1,25 Moses also agrees that they had reported on the excellence of the land. Their fault lay in their asserting that the country could not be conquered by the Jewish people. Once the people realised that the problem had been their own lack of faith and not any shortcoming they had ascribed to G’d, the way was paved for repentance to become acceptable. They immediately reversed themselves, offering to ascend and to participate in the conquest of the land. (compare verse 41 in our chapter) They prayed and cried to G’d regarding their sin, but G’d did not accept their prayer. Their sin had consisted of a desecration of the Lord’s name in public, something that cannot be atoned for except after the death of the guilty party. G’d had already alluded to this in Exodus 32,34 in connection with the sin of the golden calf when He had said וביום פקדי ופקדתי, “on the day when I mete out justice (literally “remember” i.e. review the deceased deeds, etc.) I will also judge, etc.” In other words, this atonement is reserved for people only posthumously.

שלח לך אנשים, "send out men for yourself, etc." We need to analyse why the word לך was written here. I have already quoted that our sages in Sotah 34 understand the word as indicating permission rather than a command. This leaves us with the puzzle why G'd would consent to an initiative which He knew would result in disaster. Before explaining all this let me begin with an introduction to the problem. Whence did the whole terrible disaster originate? If we were to see the fact that spies were sent out as the root cause of the disaster then Joshua certainly should have learned a lesson and should not have sent out spies before capturing Jericho (compare Joshua 2,1). It follows that the idea of sending spies to help in the conquest of the Holy Land was not objectionable in itself. If the reason the mission failed was due to the calibre of the spies, this too is hard to accept seeing that the Torah testifies that Moses sent out righteous men, men of whom G'd had approved.

כל נשיא בהם. The principal meaning of the verse is as follows: you should take as the twelve representatives, one of each tribe, men whose heart was set on going on to the Holy Land. You should select volunteers, willing to act as spies. From among all these volunteers you are to select the ones who appear most suitable to you. Seeing that what was required were stout-hearted men, physically strong so that they could carry with them samples of the produce of the land, G’d did not mention them by name, as He had done when he appointed the 12 princes who were to be leaders of each tribe. G’d also appointed by name the next generation of such tribal princes, the ones who would enter the Holy Land together with their respective tribes.

שלח לך אנשים, “Send forth men, on your behalf.” Rashi’s comment on the wording is that G’d did not command Moses to do this, but He did not oppose it if Moses wanted to do it on his own account. Nachmanides questions Rashi’s commentary by saying that if so Moses would have had a part in the sin of the spies seeing that he is on record in Deut. 1,23 as having specifically approved the people’s request to dispatch these spies. Nachmanides therefore resolves this problem by stating that the people like any people who are about to engage in an aggressive war, wanted to prepare themselves and to know what they would be up against, and how they could most easily conquer their objectives. In fact that is precisely what the people represented as their motives as we know from Deut. 1,22 when they are quoted as saying: “we want to know on which road to ascend and the cities to which we will come.” In other words, the request was of a tactical nature. This sounded like a perfectly reasonable request to Moses, and did not indicate that the people did not believe him when he had told them that the land was a good land.

Why [is the chapter of the spies] adjacent. Rashi is questioning why the chapter of the spies is adjacent only to the chapter of Miriam, for it should have been adjacent to the chapters of both Korach and of Miriam. The Torah should have placed the dispute of Korach first, followed by the chapter of Miriam and afterwards the chapter dealing with the spies, for the dispute with Korach took place in Chatzeros while the affair with the spies took place [later] in Paran. He answers that it is “because she was punished…” and therefore the chapters were not written in the order [that they happened] so that we learn this concept. If the chapters had been written in order, even if the incident with the spies would have been placed before Miriam, one would not have learnt this concept, because perhaps they were merely written in chronological order. Re’m. (Nachalas Yaakov) I have already written on several occasions that Rashi does not give a reason for juxtapositions except where there is something superfluous, or a linguistic change, etc. which indicates that the Torah is particular about the juxtaposition. Similarly here, when the Torah writes “Moshe sent them from the desert of Paran” this is seemingly superfluous, for it is written above (12:16) “they camped in the desert of Paran” thus it is obvious that they were sent from there. Rather the Torah is certainly informing us of the place from where they were sent to teach us that even though they had traveled from Chatzeros and arrived at the desert of Paran, and they should have accepted reproof, nonetheless they sinned. This is in contrast to the explanation of Re’m.

סוס מוכן ליום מלחמה ולה' התשועה, ”the horse is prepared for the day of battle; but victory comes from G’d” (Proverbs 21,31).

'איש אחד, איש אחד וגו, “one man each, etc.” no spy was dispatched from the tribe of Levi, seeing that this tribe would not receive an ancestral portion of land in the Holy Land.

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).

כל נשיא בהם, the tone-sign under the word כל spells out its meaning. Each one of these 12 had volunteered for the assignment. In recognition of this he was accorded the title נשיא,“prince.” We encounter a similar meaning of the word כל in Psalms 8,7 כל שתה תחת רגליו, “laying “all” (the world) at his feet.”

According to your opinion. Rashi is answering the question: Surely it is evident to Hashem that they would sin through this dispatch. If so, why did Hashem command them to send the spies, which would cause punishment to come upon them so that they would not enter the Land of Israel, but die in the desert? In response Rashi answers that “I am not commanding you.” Re’m explains that Rashi is expounding this from the word “send” and not from the word “for yourself.” Since it is written “all of you approached me and said let us send men before us…” (Devarim 1:22), it is certain that Moshe conferred with Hashem and that the reply came that they should be sent. It is evident that this response was granting permission and not giving a command because it was a response to a question, which indicates granting permission rather than giving a command. Concerning the word “לך” (for yourself) one must either say that this is a manner of speech, as in “the rain has passed הלך לו (and gone)” (Shir Hashirim 2:11). Alternatively, one may expound that when Hashem saw that the spies would sin, He referred to them with Moshe’s name — “send for yourself.” However, when Hashem saw the elders, and that their actions would be correct, he called them after His name, as it states “gather seventy men for Me” (Bamidbar 11:16) Re’m.

We may glean a better understanding of the subject when reading the words of the Yalkut Shimoni item 742 that the Israelites came to Moses asking to send spies. Moses said that this was unnecessary seeing G'd had already given His assurance that they would defeat the Canaanites. Thereupon the Israelites countered saying that the local inhabitants were aware of the plans of the Israelites to invade their country and that is why they had hidden all their valuables. As a result the Israelites would be deprived of a great part of what G'd promised them as they would not inherit much more than the mere soil. They convinced Moses that it was in order to make G'd's words come true that they wanted to send out spies. This is why Moses is quoted in Deut. 1,23 as having given his consent to this request. This is also why in Deut. 1,22 the Torah describes the spies' mission as ויחפרו לנו, "that they may dig up for us (hidden treasures)." Moses was trapped by the words of the Israelites. Thus far the Yalkut.

In this verse Solomon warns everybody to do whatever is in his power by using natural means to achieve his success (in a military encounter when such is unavoidable). Beyond that he must leave things to G’d. A miracle occurs only when all the natural means have been exhausted and have proven to be inadequate to produce the desired result. Man was created in such a way that he can cope with most problems by using natural means. If one plans to secure victory over an adversary in a confrontation one must strive to equip oneself with the amount of weapons and the quality of weapons needed to give one an advantage. In other words, in the days of Solomon one needed horses and chariots. If one left everything to heaven one will find that heaven does not intervene on one’s behalf. If someone is sick and one prays for him to be healed such a prayer is useless unless one has first taken the measures known to help the patient to get well, such as giving him the type of food he needs, Only after one has taken all the measures known to medical science which are capable of curing such a patient does one ask heaven to do its part in curing the sick person at hand. This is the deeper meaning of Psalms 147,3 הרופא לשבורי לב ומחבש לעצבותם, “He heals their broken hearts, and binds up their wounds.” It is also written in verse 10 of that same psalm that “He does not prize the strength of horses, nor value the fleetness of men.” We have a third verse (Psalms 33,17) in which David expressly ridicules those who place their trust in their horses by saying: “horses are a false hope for deliverance, for all their great power they provide no escape.” When we reflect on all these verses we can understand why G’d agreed to the dispatch of the spies in spite of the fact that He Himself would deal the mortal blows to the Canaanites. The Israelites were right in doing what is humanly possible to gird themselves for war against the Canaanites including spying out how best to invade the land of Canaan at minimum risk. Setting ambushes, sending undercover agents, etc., are all legitimate ways for preparing an invasion and maximising the chances of success. Once all these steps had been taken G’d would add whatever measure of supernatural assistance was needed to ensure success. The Torah does not make the performance of miracles the cornerstone of its dealings with mankind or the Jewish people. Miracles are exceptions, not norms. This is why G’d had commanded Noach to build an Ark (Genesis 6,15) although G’d could have let all the people whom He wanted to save walk on water or save them in some other miraculous fashion. All the detailed instructions of what material to use for the Ark, how long and how high it was to be, etc., etc., are proof that G’d wanted Noach to do everything humanly possible to make his salvation appear compatible with natural law. Nonetheless, in spite of man’s best efforts, this most likely would not have been enough for all the inmates of the Ark to endure a whole year inside it without divine input, i.e. some form of miracle. This is what Solomon spoke of when he said that the horse should be prepared. When David asks the Urim and Tumim concerning whether he should attack the Philistines in the valley of Refaim (Samuel II 5,23), G’d told him not to mount a frontal attack but to wait until he would hear the sound of the leaves of the baca trees rustle before taking any action. At that time he was to go into action as G’d would march ahead of him attacking the Philistines. In other words, when David consulted G’d by supernatural means, the response was to proceed as far as posible according to natural means. His victory was supposed to be viewed by the other nations as a natural event. When G’d commanded Joshua to lay an ambush before mounting a renewed attack on the town of Ai, (Joshua 8,2), He also wanted the conquest to proceed along the laws of natural law (not like making the walls of Jericho collapse from the sound of the blasts of the shofar). This then is the reason that the Torah wrote that G’d had commanded Moses to dispatch the spies as we read in this portion.

תשלחו כל נשיא בהם, “send them, each one of these men being a prince in his own right.”

Moshe conferred. (Gur Aryeh) The Ramban asks: According to Rashi’s explanation that Moshe consulted with the Shechinah as to whether to send the spies, he also sinned because Hashem had said that the land was very good. Furthermore, we find written explicitly in Parshas Devarim (1:23) “the matter was favorable in my eyes,” but if so, why was it favorable in his eyes? The apparent explanation is that Yisroel certainly wanted to send the spies, for they wanted to spy out the route and the towns that they would encounter.” It is usual for someone who does not know the way to send out spies — this was a correct and conscientious attitude toward a mitzvah. Similarly, Moshe sent spies to Yazer, and Yehoshua sent two men to Yericho. Consequently Moshe said “it was favorable in my eyes.” However, Hashem who knows the thoughts of man understood their evil intent and said to Moshe “Send them if you wish … I have said to them…” See there for further detail.

Spies may have more than one mission then. 1) They have to find out the best approach to invade a country. They also have to determine if the whole army has to be involved in the campaign or if it suffices to send a relatively small number of troops. We find evidence of this in Joshua 7,3 where the spies told Joshua that 2-3000 soldiers would be enough to capture the town of Ai. This kind of spying, or reconnaissance in our language, would be repeated each time a specific target such as a town was to be captured. 2) The other kind of spying involves something of a more comprehensive nature. The spies' mission is to evaluate whether the target is capable of being captured. This is the kind of spying that the Israelites had in mind when they requested from Moses to send out spies. This kind of mission presupposes a lack of faith in G'd's power or willingness to help the Jewish people attain their objectives. Moses perceived this and that is why the Midrash tells us that Moses reacted negatively to their request at first. The Israelites tricked Moses into agreeing to the spy scheme as it made searching all over the land of Canaan a legitimate endeavour. Joshua too sent the spies for a necessary purpose, one that did not denigrate G'd's part in the preparations to conquer each part of the land of Canaan. The only thing about the scheme of sending out spies which was flawed was the purpose, not the scheme itself.

שלח לך אנשים ויתורו, “send out men on your behalf who shall tour, etc.” The Torah implies that seeing the people had asked that spies be sent as we know from Deut. 1,22: “let us send men ahead to reconnoiter the land,” G’d then said to Moses: “send out men for yourself, etc.” The men were to find out the best routes, which city to attack first, etc.

An opportunity for error. As [our Rabbis] say “if one comes to defile we allow him.” (Nachalas Yaakov) This does not mean that Yisroel would err in misunderstanding the spies’ words, rather that the spies would err. This refers to their statement “a land which consumes its inhabitants” (v. 32) where the spies erred, as Rashi explains there.

We may therefore understand G'd's command or consent for Moses to send out spies as G'd agreeing for Moses to send out spies provided their mission was what Moses understood it to be, i.e. to discover the hidden treasures of the Canaanites, but not if the spies' mission were to determine if the land was capable of being captured by the Israelites. I will explain that Moses may have misunderstood G'd's command as to the function of the spies. Or, he may have understood correctly but seeing that G'd had not denied him the sending out of the spies he failed to divine what G'd really had in mind when He granted His consent. G'd had given hints to Moses as He always does to His servants. As to the question why G'd gave His consent seeing that he knew what was going to happen, we must conclude that if G'd had denied the people's request the result would have been even worse.

Another meaning of the word לך may relate to the definition of אנשים, men of valour, righteous people. G'd told Moses that these men were righteous לך as long as they were in Moses' presence, facing him. As soon as they would turn around and begin their mission the wreath of piety they wore on their heads would begin to crack wide open. Sotah 35 interprets the words וילכו ויבאו, "they went and they came" in verse 26 of our chapter as meaning that their departure could be compared to their return. They were wicked when they returned as they had been wicked the moment they set out on their mission. Moses had an uncomfortable feeling about this and this is why he gave Joshua a special blessing praying that he should not follow the advice of the wicked. Bamidbar Rabbah 16,1 states: "but the spies whom Moses sent out were wicked. How do we know this? Because the Torah wrote שלח לך אנשים." This Midrash sounds very enigmatic. How do the words שלח לך אנשים prove that the men in question were wicked? We must therefore assume that the author of that Midrash understood the word לך as we have explained it, i.e. "you Moses think that they are אנשים, righteous men, but as soon as they commence their mission they will become wicked on the way out." A simpler way of explaining the word לך is: "in your eyes Moses they may be righteous; but in My eyes they are wicked." This would again raise the problem why G'd approved of sending such men when our sages have said that G'd Himself selected the spy who was to represent each tribe (based on verse 3 על פי השם)? Perhaps the reason they were already called "wicked" at the beginning of their mission was that they shared the view of the Israelites as a whole that they should investigate if the land could be conquered by them at all. This lack of faith in G'd stamped them as "wicked."

Alternatively, the reason they are referred to as wicked was that they carried out a mission initiated by the people who delegated them and whose intent was wicked. When a messenger allows himself to be used by a wicked person for a wicked mission he himself becomes wicked. On the other hand, when a messenger is sent on a sacred errand, then by accepting the errand he himself shares in the sanctity of the person who has delegated him. This enables us to understand why people who, individually, had been known as righteous people at that time became "wicked" when they became tools of the ones on whose behalf they accepted the mission.

Still another way of understanding the word לך is that G'd wanted this mission to be known as something Moses had initiated not as something He Himself had initiated.

Or, the word לך means that the mission ought to be the one Moses perceived it to be as contrasted with what the Israelites wanted it to be. The comment by the Talmud that לך means בדעתך, means "according to what you, Moses, have in mind, not according to what they, the Israelites, have in mind."

The word לך may also be an allusion to what our sages said in Shemot Rabbah 5,23 on the words עתה תראה, after Moses had complained about the ways of G'd's conduct when the Israelites' fate worsened after his appointment as their leader (compare Exodus 5,22-6,1). The Midrash says that the word "now" means that whereas Moses would live to experience G'd's war against Pharaoh, he would not live to experience what He would do to the 31 kings of the Canaanites. In order for G'd to fulfil this prophecy without Moses being demoted as king and leader of the Israelites, the entry of the Israelites would be delayed by 40 years as a result of the failure of the mission of the spies whom he sent out. According to this interpretation Moses would benefit by this mission. This is in line with the usual understanding of the word לך when it appears in a context similar to the one here.

ויתרו את את ארץ כנען, "they shall tour the land of Canaan, etc." why did the Torah write ויתורו instead of לתור, "in order to tour?" The words אשר אני נותן are also difficult. Once G'd had mentioned the name of the place the spies were to tour there was no need to write: "which I am about to give to the children of Israel." Who did not know that this is what G'd was about to do?

According to our commentary that the whole scheme of sending out the spies was made Moses' project by the Torah's using the word לך, as well as the other alternatives which we suggested as possible explanations, plus the other condition, that the spies be אנשים, men known as righteous people, the Torah added yet another condition to make this mission an acceptable one. It is that the people doing the spying be aware that it was G'd who was about to give them this land. The words mean that the spies were not to evaluate whether the Israelites (by themselves) would be able to conquer the country and to disinherit its inhabitants. There was no question that they would not be able to do that. They would not be able to conquer even a single town in that land by themselves. The only way the Israelites would be able to do that would be if אני נותן להם, "if I give it to them." Seeing that the land was to be a gift to the Israelites from G'd, it was up to the Donor to ensure the recipients would not face difficulties in obtaining their gift. To this end G'd would have to do the fighting on behalf of the Jewish people. It would be one of the objectives of G'd to show the spies during their tour of the country that G'd would subdue even the most powerful people. In order for the people to appreciate the power of G'd, the people He would subdue had to appear as invincible by natural means. This is why G'd showed the spies the strength of the Amalekites and the giants that still lived in that land. He showed them cities which were fortified beyond one's imagination so as to convince them that G'd certainly did not expect the militarily inexperienced Israelites to wage such a war. He wanted to drive home the point that conquest of that country and its people was G'd's task, not theirs.

This is the reason that the Torah wrote the otherwise unnecessary words אשר אני נותן, "which I am about to give." The spies were quite correct when they reported that the country could not be conquered by the Israelites. We still need to explain why the Torah wrote ויתרו instead of the expected לתור, and why the word ארץ כנען had to be mentioned. I have seen that Yalkut Shimoni was aware of this difficulty and explains that the Torah wanted to allude to who the person was through whose merit the Israelites were going to receive this gift. Isaac had been born to Abraham and Sarah when his parents had a combined age of 190 years which is the numerical value of the word כנען. This is, of course, a homiletical comment. I believe that more to the point is the verse in Deut. 9,5 that Israel did not inherit the land of Canaan due to their own merit but due to the wickedness of the people dwelling there and to G'd's desire to keep His promise to the patriarchs. The other reason was that it was ארץ כנען, the land named after Canaan who had been cursed by his grandfather Noach for his behaviour and whose descendants had followed in his footsteps so that now their measure of guilt had overflowed and called for divine retribution.

תשלחו, "you (pl) shall despatch." In this instance the singular שלח used by the Torah in verse 2 was not adequate. The reason may have been that the Torah wanted the men chosen to be listed in this order, i.e. one man per tribe, not more and not less.