Комментарий к Дварим 1:25

ויורדו אלינו AND THEY BROUGHT IT DOWN TO US — This tells us that the land of Israel is situated higher than all other countries (Sifrei Devarim 23:2).

AND THEY SAID: ‘GOOD IS THE LAND WHICH THE ETERNAL OUR G-D GIVETH UNTO US.’ “Who were those who spoke well of the Land? Joshua and Caleb.” This is Rashi’s language quoting the Sifre.¹⁰³Sifre, Devarim 23. But I wonder. If so, what is this complaint against them [the people]? It was proper that they should believe ten people more than two? Perhaps Moses complained against them: “Since the Holy One, blessed be He, had informed you that it is a good Land, and the leading emissaries and the most righteous among them had also testified to that effect, you should have believed that the others spoke their piece out of lack of courage.”
The correct interpretation is as I have already explained there:¹⁰⁴Numbers 13:32. All the spies admitted before Moses and Aaron and the whole congregation, saying, We came unto the Land whither thou sentest us, and surely it floweth with milk and honey; and this is the fruit of it.¹⁰⁵Ibid., Verse 27. Thus they were all in consensus on the goodness of the Land itself, but, with reference to the strength of those nations living there, they melted the people’s hearts. Then, when [the ten spies] saw that Joshua and Caleb were encouraging the people to wage war, the spies came to the children of Israel not in the presence of Moses and they disseminated a slanderous report about the Land to the effect that it is a Land that eateth up the inhabitants thereof.¹⁰⁴Numbers 13:32. This is [what Moses meant when he stated here], and ye murmured in your tents.¹⁰⁶Verse 27 here. The expression in your tents clearly indicates that the murmuring was done surreptitiously. The ten wicked spies did not confront Moses with this charge. The people also did not mention this slander in the presence of Moses¹⁰⁷In Verse 28, where Moses quotes the words of the people’s complaint. for he would refute them because they [the spies themselves] did not say so at first [that the Land kills its inhabitants]; instead they admitted that it is a good Land, and surely it floweth with milk and honey.¹⁰⁵Ibid., Verse 27. Rather, they said to Moses, Whither are we going up? our brethren have made our heart to melt, saying: The people is greater and taller than we.¹⁰⁷In Verse 28, where Moses quotes the words of the people’s complaint. Therefore, Moses now said to them: “It is true as you say that that people is great and tall, but the Eternal will fight for you¹⁰⁸Exodus 14:14. according to all that He did for you¹⁰⁹Verse 30 here. from Egypt even till now.”¹¹⁰Numbers 14:19. This, then, is the sense of the verse, Yet in this thing ye do not believe the Eternal your G-d,¹¹¹Verse 32 here. which means that the hindrance [to your immediate entry into the Land] was only a result of insufficient faith [you had in G-d]. Thus the whole section is explained in accordance with the simple meaning of Scripture and its purport.

ויאמרו טובה הארץ, even the wicked spies acknowledged the goodness of the land when they said “it is also flowing with milk and honey.” (Numbers 13,27).

ויקחו בידם מפרי הארץ, They took from the fruit of the land in their hands, etc. Why did the Torah have to add the words בידם, "in their hands?" It would have sufficed for the Torah to write that the spies brought with them some of the fruit, etc. Besides, why did the Torah have to write: "they brought us back word, and they said?" It would have sufficed to write: "they brought us back something good."

ויאמרו טובה הארץ, “they said: “the land is very good!” According to Rashi (based on Sifri) the two spies that reported on the land being so good were Joshua and Calev. Nachmanides writes that if it were correct that only Joshua and Calev had praise for the land, how could one accuse the entire people for believing the majority report of the other ten spies? Perhaps Moses’ accusation against the people for believing the ten spies was based on the fact that what these spies had reported was in direct contradiction to G’d’s own assessment of that land. If, in addition to G’d’s assessment and that of the most outstanding of the twelve spies G’d was considered as proven correct, the people had no excuse to side with the ten spies against the testimony of both G’d and the two senior spies. Once the ten spies realized that Joshua and Calev were firmly in favour of capturing the land of Canaan by war, they began to disseminate evil reports about that land, describing it as a land that consumed its inhabitants, and this is what Moses meant when he said (verse 27) ותרגנו באהליכם, “you slandered in your tents.”I believe, in accordance with what I have already explained in Parshat Shelach lecha on the relevant verses, that publicly, all the spies sang the praises of the land of Canaan. It was only in the privacy of their tents that the campaign of slandering the land and spreading fear was carried on. This is what Moses alluded to here when he recalled that the former generation of Israelites had slandered the land in their tents. The people themselves also had not dared to come out openly against the land within earshot of Moses at the beginning. Later on, they admitted that they had become frightened by their brethren the spies. This is why Moses had told them not to be afraid as they would not have to do any actual fighting; G’d would do this on their behalf.

Who were they that said [the land was] good, etc. Although the other spies also said that it was good, nevertheless they also brought a bad report about the land. And here it is written, “They said, ‘Good is the land’,” which implies that they did not say anything bad about it (Re”m).

For they were sent about this, to see the goodness of the land... Since they were sent about this detail, they had to give an answer to those that sent them. And they admitted about this that, "It is a good land" from the perspective of [it being], "that the Lord our God is giving [it] to us" - that if the Lord gives it to us miraculously, there is no objection about the land itself. And [Moshe] did not mention that which they said (Numbers 13:28), "However, the people who inhabit the country are powerful" - as this was not an answer, since they were not sent about this... So [the people] should not have paid attention to this, since they gave a positive answer to that which they were sent about. And regarding that which they said, "the people are powerful," they were not sent about it.

V. 25. ׳ויאמרו טובה הארץ וגו. Über die Vortrefflichkeit des Landes waren sie ja alle einverstanden und hatten ja auch den Beweis in den mitgebrachten Früchten in Händen. Alles andere war ja nur der subjektive Eindruck, den die riesige Erscheinung der Bewohner auf die Kleinmütigen gemacht hatte. Wäre das Volk von dem rechten Geist erfüllt gewesen, so hätten sie nur jenen Bericht von der Vortrefflichkeit des Bodens aus der Erzählung der Kundschafter entnommen, alles andere hätte sie unberührt gelassen.

ויאמרו טובה הארץ AND THEY SAID, THE LAND IS GOOD — Who were they who spoke of it being good? Joshua and Caleb (Sifrei Devarim 23:3).

The reason Moses phrased it thus was to remind us that there were two categories of spies. The first category of spies were the evil ones, the ten who brought back a negative report. The second category consisted of Joshua and Calev. Moses referred to both their reports in what he said. Concerning the negative report brought back by the ten spies he said: "they took from the fruit of the land in their hands and brought us back word." Moses did not want to repeat the negative comments made by these 10 spies in order not to arouse the attribute of Justice. He made certain that we would appreciate that he referred to the ten spies by saying: "they took in their hands, etc." We have been taught in Sotah 34 that eight spies between them carried one cluster of grapes, one of them took a fig and a tenth one took a pomegranate. Joshua and Calev, on the other hand, did not take anything, as explained in the Talmud. Moses alluded to this by speaking separately of the spies who brought back fruit with them. He added: וישיבו אותנו דבר, "they brought back word to us, i.e. whatever word they brought back." It is also possible to interpret this exegetially by comparing the use of the word דבר in Numbers 13,26 and the use of the same word here. Just as the ten spies were described there as having brought back the negative report, so Moses used the word דבר here to hint that he was speaking of the same people. It is true that we have a rule that similar-sounding words may be used exegetically out of context only if there is a historic tradition for their having been understood in this way; the rabbis did permit the historically unsupported use of such exegesis if the objective is merely to establish the plain meaning of the verse [as opposed to a new religiously binding ruling, Ed.]. In our situation application of the גזרה שוה is quite unobjectionable. Concerning the report brought back by Joshua and Calev Moses said: "they said the land is good." One could also understand Moses' words: "the land is good" as referring to all of the spies without exception; however, according to our approach Moses made a distinction between the two categories of spies.