English translation — שלח א

Talk 1<pg>78</pg>

A.

In Rashi's commentary in our parshah regarding the spies,

we find contradictions regarding their status at the time of their sending: at the beginning of the parshah,

on the verse<sup>1</sup>

"All of them [were] men",

Rashi explains "and at that time they were fit".

But in its continuation,

on the verse<sup>2</sup>

"And Moses called Hoshea son of Nun Joshua" he explained "he prayed for him: Y-H shall save you from the counsel of the spies",

from this it is implied,

that already then Moses sensed the wickedness of the spies<sup>3</sup>,

and so it is explicit in Rashi later on the verse<sup>4</sup>

"And they went and came to Moses" — "Just as their coming was with evil counsel, so their going was with evil counsel".

And behold, in resolving the contradiction from Rashi on the verse "And they went and came",

the commentators have already explained<sup>5</sup>,

that this is Rashi's precision before this "and at that time they were fit",

that only at the hour they were chosen and appointed "they were fit" — "to exclude after that hour"<sup>6</sup>,

once they took to the road<sup>7</sup>

("and they w[en]t"),

they changed and became wicked.

But this does not resolve what Rashi said that Moses prayed for his disciple Joshua "Y-ah save you from the counsel of the spies",

for this was at "that hour" when they were chosen,

before the beginning of their going on the road<sup>8</sup>?

There are commentators⁹

that "immediately after they were clarified" they were already not fit,

and they explained¹⁰

that "at first when they were clarified they were fit and Moses commanded them a mission by the word of G-d to see the land how it was suitable to be conquered and the evil inclination glimmered in them and they returned to Moses to give them signs in the land if¹¹

good and if bad and the people whether strong or weak and the cities if fortified and Moses sensed that their intention was for evil that it seemed to them to investigate more than they were commanded..

And therefore he wrote..

And Moses called Joshua,

when he sensed in them their evil inclination he prayed for Joshua".

But this explanation requires examination:

a)

It is most difficult to say that Rashi's intention<pg>79</pg>

In what he said "at that time they were fit" is only for a very short time¹²,

from the time of the appointment until they "returned to Moshe to give them signs in the land"¹³

[that simply there was no duration of time¹⁴

between their appointment and Moshe's words to them "Go up¹⁵

this into the Negev etc. and see the land etc."].

b)

According to their interpretation, it should have said

(according to Rashi)

"At the time of their appointment they were fit" and the like.

c)

And the main point: If "Moses sensed that their intention was for evil" — why did he persist in his choice to send these spies and not send others in their stead whose intention would not be evil

(which certainly was in Moses' power)¹⁶?

[And what is explained in the commentaries&lt;sup&gt;17&lt;/sup&gt;

(the reason that Moses prayed for Joshua that he be saved "from the counsel of the spies" but did not prevent him from going with them)

because Moses thought perhaps Joshua and Caleb could turn them back from their evil thought — does not resolve this question,

for how could he enter into the doubt of the evil of all of Israel — because perhaps Joshua and Caleb would succeed in turning them back to good! — and especially that he could not send them at all].

2.

At first glance one must ask a similar question to this regarding the entire matter of sending the spies,

according to Rashi,

already at the beginning of the matter Moses knew that it was not a desirable matter and nevertheless he did not refrain from sending them.

Behold, on the verse¹⁸

"Send for yourself men" Rashi explains "Send for yourself — according to your understanding,

I do not command you; if you wish, send,

because Israel came and said¹⁹

Let us send men before us..

He said

(the Holy One, blessed be He)

I said to them that it is

(the Land of Israel)

good..

By their lives, I give them an opportunity to err through the words of the spies so that they will not inherit it."

From this it follows,

that although Moses heard from the mouth of the Holy One, blessed be He, that there was no need for sending the spies — nevertheless,

the opinion of Moses

("according to your understanding")

agreed to this.

And the matter is further clarified in Rashi later in Parshat Devarim

(on the verse²⁰

"And the matter was good in my eyes"),

that the reason Moses agreed to the sending of the spies is only because he thought "perhaps you will retract when you see that I do not withhold"

(as the parable brought there from "A person who says to his fellow, Sell me this donkey of yours. He said to him, Yes. Will you give it to me for a trial? He said to him, Yes..

When he saw that he did not withhold anything, the buyer said in his heart, This one is confident that I will not find a blemish in it. Immediately he said to him, Take your money and I will not test it"),

behold, explicitly,

that even<pg>80</pg>

That Moshe felt that the intention of Bnei Yisrael was not for good

(And as can also be understood from the very manner of the request of Bnei Yisrael,

as Rashi explains there¹⁹

that they all approached "in a jumble,

children pushing the elders etc.")

— Nevertheless he agreed to the request of Yisrael

(contrary to his will — of Moshe).

And since in any case we see that still before this he did not refrain from sending them

(for whatever reason)

Even though their intention was not for good — then there is no longer to ask also in our case why he did not prevent the sending of the spies after "Moshe felt that their intention was for evil."

But it is nevertheless so — because there is a great distinction in the matter:

In Rashi's commentary mentioned above that discusses the request of Bnei Yisrael "Let us send men before us,"

because they did not believe in the goodness of the land,

and therefore it was not good in the eyes of Hashem because "I told them that it is good"; and with this is understood the reason that Moshe agreed to their words,

because he thought that when they see that he is not afraid to send men to see the land, this itself will prove to Bnei Yisrael that the land is good,

and consequently they will retract from this desire of theirs.

And also this that Moshe agreed to send the spies even after he saw that Bnei Yisrael did not repent — it is possible to explain,

that therefore he chose worthy men,

"the heads of the children of Israel"&lt;sup&gt;21&lt;/sup&gt;

(and as Rashi's language in Parshas Devarim&lt;sup&gt;22&lt;/sup&gt;

"from the select among you,

from the choicest among you"),

that he relied on them that they would see the goodness of the land and also bring with them from the fruit of the land&lt;sup&gt;23&lt;/sup&gt;,

and by this it would become clear to Bnei Yisrael through tangible sight&lt;sup&gt;24&lt;/sup&gt;

that indeed the land is very very good,

and on the contrary the desire to go up to the land would be strengthened among them.

But if you will say that Moshe sensed in the men whom he chose themselves that "their intention is for evil",

then there is no place at all to send them — and why did he not endeavor to prevent them&lt;sup&gt;25&lt;/sup&gt;.

And therefore it seems to me that these two matters,

"At that time they were fit,"

and Moshe's prayer "Yah will save you from the counsel of the spies" — fundamentally they do not contradict each other,

as will be explained below.

3.

And this will be understood by prefacing the precise wording of Rashi²⁶

"Yah will save you from the counsel of the spies,"

and similarly below²⁷

regarding Calev, Rashi precisely states that he "prostrated himself on the graves of the Patriarchs so that he would not be enticed by his companions to be in their counsel."

For superficially it would be more fitting to use language that describes their sin — like "evil report,"

as it is written²⁸

"And they brought out an evil report of the land, etc."

[And as Rashi himself says at the beginning of the portion,

"Why is the portion of the spies juxtaposed to the portion of Miriam? Because she was punished regarding the matter of evil report, etc.,"

and likewise in the continuation of the matter²⁹

"they intended to bring out an evil report"],

or "the sin of the spies"; and why did Rashi specifically use the term "counsel"³⁰?

And one must say,

that specifically Rashi used this language,

to emphasize,

that his intention is not to say that God would save him from the sin of the spies,

because still at "that time they were worthy"

(and they were not connected to the sin of "evil report"³¹

etc.),

but only<pg>81</pg>

from "counsel of spies",

"counsel" simply — not necessarily bad counsel

(for this was innovated only later at the time of their going,

"their going in bad counsel",

as above section 1 of the commentators),

and on the contrary,

since at "that time they were worthy",

surely this was for them "good counsel" — and nevertheless Moses prayed for Joshua "May God save you from the counsel of spies",

for even though their intention was for good,

nevertheless,

their "counsel" is liable to bring to error etc.

(as indeed happened in practice),

and therefore he prayed that he be saved from this.

4.

Explanation of the matter:

In the entire parshah, the mission of the spies is described with the term "tour" — "and they shall tour the land of Canaan"³²,

"tour the land"³³,

"you shall tour"³⁴

and the like,

and it is never mentioned once in our parshah the term "spies" in connection with this mission³⁵

[And this is not because there is a deficiency and undesirable content in sending spies — for we find

(later in Parshas Chukas³⁶)

that also after this — Moshe himself sent "to spy out Yaazer",

and likewise Yehoshua sent spies³⁷].

And the reason for the matter we can say:

The difference between the two expressions — "to spy out" or "to scout"³⁸

— is³⁹

: "to spy out" describes

(mainly)

only the action of searching and seeing⁴⁰

alone,

and in our matter — seeing the land and its inhabitants; but the expression "scouting" indicates investigation and search for the sake of a hidden intention,

like in scouting that assists in conquering the land of the enemy

[in the manner that we found above

(in the portion of Mikeitz⁴¹)

regarding Joseph and his brothers — "and he said to them

(Joseph to his brothers)

You are spies to see the nakedness of the land you have come",

and Rashi explains "the exposure of the land,

from where it is easy to conquer"]

; and generally the matter of scouting is connected with the wisdom of the scout,

that on the basis of his investigations and searches it is possible to devise counsel how to fulfill a specific mission

(conquest of the land of the enemy,

and the like).

And this is the reason that in our parshah it was said only the language "to spy out the land of Canaan,"

and the like — because the entire matter of the mission

(in the intention of Moses)

was only about the deed,

that they should see the land and its inhabitants and tell Bnei Yisrael what they saw

(and also to bring from the fruit of the land in order to show Yisrael the goodness of the land),

and nothing more — but not "to scout the land,"

to involve themselves in a search for "advice" and strategies for the sake of the conquest of the land and the like⁴².

And with this will be understood the content of Moses' prayer "Yah will save you from the counsel of the spies":

Even though Moshe emphasized to the people that he chose&lt;pg&gt;82&lt;/pg&gt;

that the purpose of the mission is only "to spy out the land of Canaan"&lt;sup&gt;43&lt;/sup&gt;,

nevertheless, immediately upon their gathering to him, he sensed that they saw themselves

(not as mere "spies",

but)

as "scouts",

that is,

that besides the actual deed

(to go and see the land),

they must take counsel and draw conclusions

(based on the spying)

pertaining to the conquest of the land etc.

And about this Moses prayed "Yah will save you from the counsel of the spies": even though there was not yet any sin in their counsel,

for at that time they were kosher,

and all their intention was only to take good counsel how to assist in their spying for the conquest of the land etc.⁴⁴

— nevertheless,

Moses prayed that Joshua should not have a part in the "counsel of the spies",

but rather remain faithful to the purpose of the mission which was solely "to spy out the land of Canaan"⁴⁵,

without mixing into this a matter of "giving counsel" etc.⁴⁶,

because the conduct of "counsel

(of spies)

" is liable to bring about a fall

(as below section 5).

[And based on this, it can be said,

that this was also the intention of Caleb in his prayer "that he should not be enticed by his companions to be in their counsel" — and it does not say "in their evil counsel"

(and the like)

— for it can be said that at that time it was not yet known to Caleb that "their going was in evil counsel",

but he prayed that he should not be enticed by his companions even in their "good counsel",

because he was faithful to his mission from Moses,

without deviating even a little from the goal,

only "to spy out the land",

and not to be a companion in the "counsel

(of spies)

".

But on the other hand, it is understood,

that there was not in this sufficient reason to nullify their mission,

for this that they saw themselves in "that hour"

(when still "they were fit")

as "spies" does not compel to bring about undesirable results,

and it is nothing but a concern etc.

5.

Based on this will be explained further a puzzling matter in the portion of the spies,

that ostensibly we do not find that Rashi explains it:

How is it possible,

that these chosen people,

whom Moses our teacher himself chose for this mission

(from this itself it is understood that they were the most suitable of all Israel to fulfill this mission)

would become transformed,

from one extreme to the other⁴⁷,

to be sinners and causing others to sin,

until they rebelled against G-d and said "We cannot go up..

for he is stronger than us"⁴⁸

(and as Rashi explains "as it were, they said this against the One Above")?

And according to the above, it can be said that precisely Rashi's wording "the counsel of the spies" hints at the root and cause that brought them to descent after descent,

and even to rebellion against G-d:

The expression "counsel" indicates the need to search and find a stratagem,

a certain thing out of a hidden and concealed intention

(that will not be known to the opponent in this and the like).

And this is the matter regarding "the counsel of the spies": the matter of espionage requires "counsel" and stratagem,

spies need to devise counsels and stratagems how to outwit and conceal&lt;pg&gt;83&lt;/pg&gt;

the purpose of their coming,

so that in this manner they will succeed in carrying out their purpose without it being known to one who could prevent it

[in the manner that we found above regarding Joseph and his brothers — "And he said&lt;sup&gt;49&lt;/sup&gt;

to them

(Joseph to his brothers)

You are spies to see the nakedness of the land you have come; and they said to him, No, my lord, but your servants have come to buy food",

that is,

that according to Joseph's words they concealed the true purpose for which they came to Egypt

("to see the nakedness of the land")

by saying that they came "to buy food"].

And it is found,

that the matter of espionage in itself requires a conduct of cunning and concealment of the truth,

and only through this can they succeed in the execution of the espionage.

And this is the reason for this that Moshe wanted that their mission be limited only to the practical part,

"to spy out the land of Canaan",

without them becoming "spies",

entering into counsels and stratagems of cunning and concealment of the truth,

and even to the point that it could distance them from the attribute of truth etc.

And even when his intention initially is for the sake of a good purpose,

to think thoughts and stratagems of "good counsel"

[And sometimes they are forced to send spies,

for without this it is impossible

(according to nature)

to defeat the enemy,

therefore,

as above,

Moshe sent to spy out Yaazer]

— nevertheless,

after all, the attribute of cunning

(and concealment of the truth)

can bring a person down from bad to worse,

and extra caution is required that he not stumble etc.⁵⁰.

And therefore,

after Moses felt that those men considered themselves "spies" — he prayed

(immediately)

for Joshua

(his student⁵¹),

"Y-ah will save you from the counsel of the spies" — that he should have no part in their counsel

(even if it is "good counsel"),

so that he should have no connection whatsoever to the "counsel of the spies"⁵².

6.

And one may sweeten the matter based on what is explained in Chazal,

that the attribute of Moses is the attribute of truth — "and truth is Moses"⁵³

(therefore the Torah was given through him,

for this is the essence of Torah — "Torah of truth"⁵⁴).

And therefore,

in order to be an agent of Moses — an agent of a person is like himself,

"exactly like the sender himself"⁵⁵

— it is impossible that there should be in the agent any deviation from the attribute of truth.

And this is that his mission of Moshe was only "to spy out the land" and not "to explore it" — because in this essential matter,

a mission related to entering the land,

there had to be the power of the sender

(the power of Moshe)

in a revealed manner⁵⁶,

And through this that the agents deviated from the line of their mission and considered themselves spies,

the power of the sender was nullified in them — because in addition to the nullification of the mission due to the change,

for through this that an agent changes his mission

(in an essential matter)

it is nullified<pg>84</pg>

the mission⁵⁷

— but here,

they were disqualified essentially from being messengers of Moses,

for it is impossible that they be "like him" of Moses⁵⁸,

whose attribute is the attribute of truth⁵⁹.

And only Joshua and Caleb, who were not enticed by the "counsel of the spies," remained messengers of Moses^*59,

and this very thing preserved them from deviating from the intent and purpose of their mission,

and they said "the land is very, very good..

Do not fear the people of the land, for they are our bread..

Do not fear them"⁶⁰,

and therefore they merited to enter the land,

and even that "they lived from those men" — that "they took the portion of the spies in the land and arose in their stead for life"⁶¹.

(From the talk of Shabbos Parshas Shlach 5745)