If Israel wanted to send spies to sabotage a nuclear plant in Iran, they would send one or two, perhaps three covert operatives, each entering separately, incognito, under an alias. What Israel would not do, is send 12 well-known government ministers to do the job, and hold a press conference on CNN announcing it beforehand! When Moshe later sent spies to spy out Ya’azer and conquer the Emorites (Bamidbar 21:32), it doesn’t say how many spies there were and certainly not their names. Similarly, when Yehoshua sent spies to Jericho, he sent only two and the pasuk does not mention their names (the Midrash has to tell us who they were, Kalev and Pinchas).
The Malbim asks this question – “What kind of spies were these?”
In order to understand what prompted the episode of the spies, we need to backtrack to last week’s parsha. A few weeks before Bnei Yisrael were about to enter Eretz Yisrael, the erev rav, began to complain about the mann and demanded meat to eat. As we know, it was in Moshe Rabbeinu’s merit that Bnei Yisrael received the mann, a spiritual food befitting Moshe’s spiritual stature. When they asked for meat, Moshe was at a loss, because to supply such a “physical” form of food was not in his realm, so he turned to Hashem and broke down. “I cannot bear all the load myself!”
As a result, Hashem told Moshe to appoint 70 elders and transfer some of the responsibility of managing the nation to them. These elders were given the power of prophecy. Two people who were not selected (according to the Malbim, because they were so humble they decided to not even tender their candidacy) also received the power of prophecy. Just as the 70 selected elders began to prophesize, so too did these two – Eldad and Meidad. Their shared prophecy was “Moshe will perish and Yehoshua will lead Bnei Yisrael into the Promised Land.”
Chazal say that some prophecies are meant to be publicized while others are revealed privately to the prophet for his own knowledge. Eldad and Meidad’s prophecy was not meant to be made public, but unfortunately, it was. Yehoshua reported their lapse in judgment to Moshe and suggested that Moshe throw them in prison. Moshe’s response was “Are you [Yehoshua] zealous for me? If only all of Bnei Yisrael could be prophets!”
Think about this for a moment. They were just about to enter Eretz Yisrael and Eldad and Meidad’s prophecy revealed that Moshe would die and Yehoshua would lead Bnei Yisrael into the land flowing with milk and “honey.” Did this phase Moshe? Not in the least. Yehoshua was the one who showed indignation, not Moshe! Moshe was totally accepting – if that is what Hashem says, then that is what has to be. Moshe was totally okay with it.
But others were not, and decided to do something about it.
Am Yisrael approached Moshe and said they wanted to send spies to Eretz Yisrael before they entered, to see what kind of land it was. Hashem had promised them a land flowing with milk and honey; didn’t they trust Hashem’s promise? Remember, this is Am Yisrael who clearly witnessed Hashem while crossing the Yam Suf and again at Har Sinai.
The Meshech Chochma says that the reason Am Yisrael suddenly felt the need to send spies is davka because of Eldad and Meidad’s prophecy. If Moshe would be leading them into Eretz Yisrael, they trusted him implicitly, but Yehoshua? Perhaps it was better that they have a “contingency plan.”
According to the Malbim, there was no doubt in their minds that the land was as promised. It was not “spies” they wanted to send but “surveyors!” Each tribe would inherit a specific tract of land in Eretz Yisrael that correlated with Yaakov’s brachot to his sons. Zevulun would be seafaring merchants, so they needed to live on the coast. Which part of the coast was the best to establish a port for ships? Asher’s inheritance would be rich in olive trees. Which part of Eretz Yisrael was most suitable to grow olive trees? And so on. Am Yisrael wanted to send a representative from each tribe, who knew about ships, growing olives, etc. to survey the land and map out each tribe’s inheritance. This is why twelve representatives were sent, not just two or three “spies.”
The Mefarshim give many reasons why the spies sinned – that they wanted Am Yisrael to continue living cocooned in lives of spirituality in the Midbar, that they feared there would no longer be nesi’im, of their tribes in Eretz Yisrael, that they acted out of love for Moshe Rabbeinu, attempting to prolong his life, etc.
Regardless of what their motivation was, the bottom line is that the ten spies, before they even left on their “mission,” had already decided the outcome. They began with a hidden agenda and nothing that they were going to see or experience in Eretz Yisrael would change that. This agenda was all their own; they did not consult with Moshe, they did not ask Hashem; they acted entirely of their own volition.
If you explore the first names of the ten spies, you discover an amazing thing that cuts to the heart of matter and exposes the essence of their sin. The gematria of “Shamua, Shafat, Yigal, Palti, Gadiel, Gadi, Amiel, Stur, Nachbi, Geuel” is the same gematria as “And G-d made the two great luminaries” – “Va’yaas Elokim et Shnei Ha’Meorot Ha’Gedolim” (Bereishit 1:16).
What is the connection between the ten spies and Hashem creating the sun and the moon? Simply, the first case of lashon hara in the Torah is when Hashem created the sun and the moon. The Yalkut Shimoni (Bereishit 1:16) says that the moon complained “Can you have two kings sharing the same crown?”
The question is, how does that constitute lashon hara? Where is the lashon hara in that statement? The Da’at Zekenim says that the moon did not come to Hashem and say, “I cannot rule the skies if there is someone else with me.” The moon only said, “Two kings cannot share the same crown.”
But who made the moon spokesman for the sun? It was the moon alone who said this, not the sun; they were not in agreement about being unable to share the same crown. The moon cannot speak in the name of the sun – that is lashon hara!
Why this connection between the spies and the sun and the moon? It is because Moshe is compared to the sun and Yehoshua to the moon (Bava Batra 75a). They did not fully trust Hashem that whoever would lead them into Eretz Yisrael (Moshe or Yehoshua) would have His full backing. They placed their faith in flesh and blood (Moshe) instead of simply listening to what Hashem told them.
Parshat HaShavua Trivia Question: Who was the “collector of wood” on Shabbat mentioned in the parsha?
Answer to Last Week’s Trivia Question: How much is an Omer measure? An Omer and an Isaron are one and the same. Around 4.3 lb. (according to the method of R’ Chaim Na’eh).
