In Parashat Shelach, when the Jewish people drew near Eretz Yisrael, they decided to scout out the land before conquering it, leading to the disastrous result of this decision.
The final portion of the parashah is devoted to several commandments, two of which applied only to those living in the Land of Israel. These are: the flour-offerings added to the sacrifices of an Olah, burnt-offering, and/or a Shelamim, peace-offering. The second commandment is the separation of challah from dough kneaded with grain grown in the Land of Israel. The parashah ends with the commandment regarding tzitzit, the threads that men wear on four-cornered garments to help us recall our duties to G-d.
Parashat Shelach relates that, at the suggestion of the people, Moshe Rabbeinu sent twelve men to scout out the Land they hoped to conquer. When they returned from their mission, ten of the twelve spies declared that it would be impossible to conquer the country. The people accepted the report as valid, without challenging it, and were overcome with despair. That night, they completely abandoned their goal of inheriting the Promised Land. G-d’s wrath was kindled against them; it was only the pleas of Moshe that prevented G-d from destroying the entire encampment of the Jewish people. In response to Moshe’s prayers, G-d relented. He declared that as a punishment, they would remain in the Wilderness for 40 years.
The next morning the Jews repented their cowardice and declared they would follow G-d wherever He led them. But Moshe explained that now it was too late to reverse G-d’s decree. Nonetheless, they went out to battle and were defeated by the Amalekites and Canaanites.
The Torah speaks twice about the episode of the dispatch of spies to Eretz Yisrael: in the course of events here, in the Book of Bamidbar, and later, in the last Book of the Torah, Devarim, in which Moshe reviews the entire itinerary traveled by the people before entering Eretz Yisrael.
The narrative in Devarim as Moshe recalled it: “And all of you approached me and said, ‘Let us send men ahead of us so that they will search out the land for us and bring us back word by which route we shall go up, and to which cities we shall come.’ And the matter pleased me; so I took 12 men from you, one man from each tribe” (Devarim 1:22-23).
Moshe sent spies at the request of the people, but he himself did not consider this action necessary. However, he had hopes that upon their return, the spies would report to the people how beautiful was the country that they had seen, and that the report would raise the spirits of the people.
In Parashat Shelach, this episode is described as follows: Moshe sent them to scout the Land of Canaan, and he said to them, “Go up this way in the south and climb up the mountain. You shall see what [kind of] land it is, and the people who inhabit it; are they strong or weak? Are there few or many? And what of the land they inhabit? Is it good or bad? And what of the cities in which they reside — are they in camps or in fortresses? What is the soil like, is it fat or lean? Are there any trees in it or not? You shall be courageous and take from the fruit of the land.” It was the season when the first grapes began to ripen (Bamidbar 13:17-19).
For 40 days the spies traveled throughout the land of Canaan. When they returned with reports of what they had seen, their report led the people to utter despair:
They told him and said, “We came to the land to which you sent us, and it is flowing with milk and honey, and this is its fruit. However, the people who inhabit the land are mighty, and the cities are extremely huge and fortified, and there we saw even the offspring of the giant” (Bamidbar 13:27-28).
The spies’ report terrified the people. The gigantic cluster of grapes they brought back with them gave the impression that the inhabitants of this land were also huge and invincible. The parents took their little ones in their arms, approached Moshe, and said to the children, “Behold, children, through the doings of this man you will become slaves of other nations.”
The people’s lack of confidence in G-d’s promise about the goodly homeland to which He would lead them aroused His wrath. This was already the tenth time they had rebelled against the word of G-d, starting with the Golden Calf.
The Torah briefly recalls: And the L-rd heard [your] voice, your speeches, and was angry, and swore, saying. “None of these people, from this evil generation, will see the good land that I swore to give to your fathers…. And your little children, of whom you said that they will become prey… they will enter there, and I will give it to them, and they will inherit it” (Devarim 1:34, 35, 39).
G-d postponed the entry of the Jews into the country for 40 years so that the people of that generation would die in the Wilderness. It was a severe punishment. But the generation of the exodus died gradually, when they were at least 60 years old. Those who were 20 at the time of the spies died only 40 years later. Those who were 40 at the time passed away at least 20 years later, and so on.
The date of the spies’ return to the encampment to give their report was the eighth day of the month of Av, “and the people cried that night” (14:1) — the night before the Ninth of Av. Said Rabah in the name of Rabbi Yochanan, “It was the night before the Ninth of Av, and the Almighty said to them, ‘[Because] you cried on this night in vain, I will make your [future] generations cry [every year] on this night” — that is, if you sin and deserve to be punished, it will come about on this day (Taanis 29a).
Even a cursory glance at the past millennia of Jewish history shows us how true these words were, and how they are being fulfilled to this very day.
Rabbi Yitzchok Zilber, zt”l, was the founder of LaMaalot Foundation. He dedicated his life to teaching Torah, and his impactful writings continue to inspire Jews worldwide. Copyright 2023 by The LaMaalot Foundation. Conversations on the Torah, by Rabbi Yitzchak Zilber is catalogued at The Library of Congress. All rights reserved. www.LaMaalot.org.
Parashat Shelach is sponsored by Boruchay & Stella Katayev.
Parashat Shelach: The Cost Of Doubt — Lessons From The Spies And Tisha B’Av
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