לקוטי שיחות חלק ל״ג - שלח א

Likkutei Sichos Vol. 33 – Shelach 1 – The Meraglim's Intentions and Moshe's Tefillah

1. In Rashi's commentary on our parsha regarding the spies, we find contradictions concerning their state at the time of their sending: at the beginning of the parsha, on the verse "all of them were men," Rashi explains, "and at that time they were righteous." However, later on, on the verse "and Moshe called Hoshea the son of Nun, Yehoshua," he explains, "he prayed for him that G‑d should save you from the counsel of the spies," which implies that even then Moshe sensed the wickedness of the spies. This is further clarified in Rashi's commentary later on the verse "and they went and came to Moshe" — "just as their coming was with bad counsel, so too their going was with bad counsel."

Now, in resolving the contradiction in Rashi's commentary on the verse "and they went and came," the commentators have already explained that this is Rashi's precision regarding "and at that time they were righteous," meaning that only at the time they were chosen and appointed were they "righteous" — "to exclude after that time." Once they held onto the path ("and they went"), they turned and became wicked.

However, this does not resolve Rashi's statement that Moshe prayed for his student Yehoshua "that G‑d should save you from the counsel of the spies," since this was at "that time" when they were chosen, before the beginning of their journey on the path.

There are those who explain that "immediately after they were clarified" they were no longer righteous, and they elaborate that "initially when they were clarified they were righteous, and Moshe commanded them to go on a mission according to G‑d to see how the land was suitable for conquest, and the evil inclination shone in them, and they returned to Moshe to report signs about the land, whether it was good or bad, and whether the people were strong or weak, and whether the cities were fortified." Moshe sensed that their intention was for evil, as they were probing more than they were commanded. Therefore, he called Yehoshua, and when he sensed their evil inclination, he prayed for Yehoshua.

However, this explanation is questionable:

A) It is very difficult to say that Rashi's intent in saying "at that time they were righteous" refers only to a very short time, from the moment of their appointment until they "returned to Moshe to report signs about the land" [which, in simple terms, there was no time spent between their appointment and Moshe's words to them "go up this way in the Negev... and see the land..."].

B) According to their explanation, it should have said "at the time of their appointment they were righteous" and similar.

C) And most importantly: if "Moshe sensed that their intention was for evil" — why did he remain with his choice to send these spies and not send others in their place so that their intention would not be evil (which was certainly in Moshe's power)?

[And what the commentators explained (the reason that Moshe prayed for Yehoshua to be saved "from the counsel of the spies" but did not prevent him from going with them) is that Moshe thought perhaps Yehoshua and Kalev could turn them away from their evil thoughts — does not resolve this question, as how could he enter into the doubt of the evil of all the Jewish people — because perhaps Yehoshua and Kalev would succeed in turning them to good! — especially since he could have chosen not to send them at all].

2. Seemingly, one could ask a similar question regarding the entire matter of sending the spies, that according to Rashi, Moshe already knew from the outset that it was not a desirable matter, and nevertheless did not refrain from sending them.

Behold, on the verse "send for yourself men," Rashi explains, "send for yourself — according to your opinion; I do not command you. If you want to send, send, for the Israelites came and said, 'Let us send men before us...' G‑d said, 'I told them that it (the land of Israel) is good... I give them the opportunity to err in the words of the spies so that they do not inherit it.'" From this, it follows that even though Moshe heard from G‑d that there was no need to send spies — nevertheless, Moshe's opinion ("according to your opinion") agreed with it.

This is further clarified in Rashi later in Parshas Devarim (on the verse "and it was good in my eyes"), that the reason Moshe agreed to send the spies was only because he thought "perhaps you will turn back when you see that I do not prevent you" (as an example he brings there of "a person who says to his friend, 'sell me your donkey,' and he says, 'yes, give it to me for a trial,' and when he sees that he is not preventing him from anything, the buyer thinks in his heart that he is sure that he will not find a flaw in it, and immediately he says, 'take your money and I will not try it'), thus it is clear that even...

Since Moshe felt that the intention of the Israelites was not for good — nevertheless, he agreed to their request (contrary to his desire — as Moshe).

And since we see that even before this he did not refrain from sending them (for whatever reason it may be) even though their intention was not for good — it follows that there is also no question in this case why he did not prevent the sending of the spies after he "felt that Moshe sensed their intention was for evil."

However, one could say that there is a significant distinction in the matter: In Rashi's explanation mentioned above, it speaks of the Israelites' request "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 G‑d because "I told them that it is good"; and this clarifies the reason why Moshe agreed to their words, for he thought that by seeing that he was not afraid to send men to see the land, this itself would prove to the Israelites that the land is good, and thus they would retract their desire.

And also the fact that Moshe agreed to send the spies even after he saw that the Israelites did not retract — can be explained, for he chose capable men, "leaders of the children of Israel", relying on them to see the goodness of the land and also to bring back with them the fruits of the land, and thereby it would be clarified to the Israelites through a tangible sight that indeed the land is very good, and on the contrary, it would strengthen their desire to ascend to the land.

But if it is said that Moshe felt that the men he chose had "evil intentions," then there is no place to send them — and why did he not strive to prevent them?

Therefore, it seems to me that the two matters, "at that time they were fit," and Moshe's prayer "may G‑d save you from the counsel of the spies" — initially do not contradict each other, as will be explained below.

3. This will be understood by first noting Rashi's precise wording "may G‑d save you from the counsel of the spies," and similarly later regarding Kalev, Rashi emphasizes that "he prostrated himself on the graves of the fathers so that he would not be ensnared by his friends to be in their counsel." It would seem more appropriate to use language that describes their sin — such as "slander," as it is stated "and they brought up an evil report of the land" [and Rashi's own wording at the beginning of the parsha, "Why is the section of the spies juxtaposed to the section of Miriam? Because she was punished for matters of slander, etc." and also in the continuation of the matter "to bring forth slander they intended"], or "the sin of the spies"; and why did Rashi specifically use the term "counsel"?

It can be said that Rashi specifically chose this wording to emphasize that he does not mean to say that G‑d will save him from the sin of the spies, for at that time "they were fit" (and they were not connected to the sin of "slander," etc.), but only from "the counsel of the spies," "counsel" in general — not necessarily evil counsel (which only became apparent later during their journey, "their journey was by evil counsel," as mentioned by some of the commentators), and on the contrary, since "at that time they were fit," certainly this was for them "good counsel" — and nevertheless, Moshe prayed for Yehoshua "may G‑d save you from the counsel of the spies," for although their intention was for good, nevertheless, their "counsel" could lead 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 section, the sending of the spies is described with the term "to scout" — "and they scouted the land of Canaan," "the scout of the land," "to scout," and so on, and the term "spies" is not mentioned even once in our section in connection with this sending [and this is not because there is a deficiency or undesirable content in sending spies — for we find (later in Parshas Chukas) that even afterwards — Moshe himself sent "to spy out Yaazer," and likewise Yehoshua sent spies].

And the reason for this can be said:

The distinction between the two terms — "to scout" or "to spy" — is as follows: "to scout" primarily describes the action of searching and seeing alone, and in our context — seeing the land and its inhabitants; whereas the term "spying" indicates an investigation and search for a hidden intention, similar to espionage that assists in the conquest of an enemy land [as we find above (in Parshas Miketz) regarding Yosef and his brothers — "And he said to them (Yosef to his brothers) you are spies to see the nakedness of the land you have come," and Rashi explains "the nakedness of the land, from where it is easy to conquer"]; and generally, the matter of spying is connected with the wisdom of the spy, based on his investigations and searches, one can devise a plan on how to fulfill a specific mission (the conquest of the enemy land, etc.).

This is the reason that in our parsha only the term "to scout the land of Canaan" is used, and so on — because the entire purpose of the mission (in Moshe's intention) was only about the action, to see the land and its inhabitants and to report to the Jewish people what they saw (and also to bring back fruits of the land to show Israel the goodness of the land), and nothing more — but not "to spy out the land," to involve themselves in searching for "counsel" and tricks for the conquest of the land, etc.

With this, we can understand the content of Moshe's prayer "may G‑d save you from the counsel of spies": even though Moshe emphasized to the men he chose that the purpose of the mission was only "to scout the land of Canaan," immediately upon gathering before him, he sensed that they saw themselves (not merely as "scouting," but) as "spies," meaning that besides the actual act, they were to devise plans and draw conclusions (based on espionage) concerning the conquest of the land, etc.

And for this, Moshe prayed "may G‑d save you from the counsel of spies": even though at that time there was no sin in their counsel, for "at that time they were fit," and all their intention was only to devise good counsel on how to assist in their spying for the conquest of the land, nevertheless, Moshe prayed that Yehoshua should not have a part in "the counsel of spies," but rather remain faithful to the purpose of the mission which was solely "to scout the land of Canaan," without mixing in any matter of "giving counsel," etc., for the leadership of "the counsel of spies" could lead to a downfall (as will be explained in section 5 below).

[And according to this, we can say that this was also the intention of Kalev in his prayer "that he should not be tempted to join his friends in their counsel" — and he did not write "in their evil counsel" (and so on) — for it can be said that at that time Kalev did not yet know that "their going was based on evil counsel," but he prayed that he should not be tempted to join his friends even in their "good counsel," because he was faithful to Moshe's mission, without deviating from the goal, only "to scout the land," and not to be a part of "the counsel of spies."]

However, on the other hand, it is understood that this was not a sufficient reason to nullify their mission, for the fact that they saw themselves at "that time" (when they were still "fit") as "spies" does not necessarily lead to undesirable outcomes, and it is merely a concern, etc.

5. Based on this, we can further explain a puzzling matter in the parsha of the spies, which seemingly we do not find Rashi explaining: how is it possible that these chosen men, whom Moshe Rabbeinu himself chose for this mission (from which it is understood that they were the most suitable among all the Jewish people to fulfill this mission), could turn, from one extreme to the other, to become sinners and lead others to sin, until they rebelled against G‑d and said "we cannot ascend... for it is stronger than us"?

According to the above, it can be said that precisely the term used by Rashi "the counsel of spies" hints at the root and reason that brought them to a decline after decline, until the rebellion against G‑d: the term "counsel" indicates the need for investigation and finding a trick, something specific with a hidden and concealed intention (so that it will not be known to the opponent, etc.). This is the matter of "the counsel of spies": the matter of espionage requires "counsel" and trickery; spies need to devise plans and tricks on how to deceive and conceal their goal, in such a way that they would succeed in achieving their objective without it being known to the one who could prevent it [as we find above regarding Yosef and his brothers — "And he said to them (Yosef to his brothers), 'You are spies; to see the nakedness of the land you have come.' And they said to him, 'Not so, my lord; your servants have come to buy food,'" meaning that through Yosef's words they concealed the true purpose for which they came to Egypt by saying that they came "to buy food"].

Thus, the matter of espionage in itself requires a conduct of cunning and concealing the truth, and only through this can they succeed in carrying out the espionage.

This is the reason that Moshe wanted their mission to be limited only to the practical aspect, "to scout the land of Canaan," without them becoming "spies," entering into schemes and tricks of cunning and concealing the truth, to the point that it could distance them from the attribute of truth, etc. Even when their intention initially is for a good purpose, to think thoughts and schemes of "good counsel" [and sometimes it is necessary to send spies, for otherwise it is impossible to defeat the enemy, therefore, as mentioned, Moshe sent to spy out Ya'zer] — nevertheless, ultimately the attribute of cunning (and concealing the truth) can lead a person from one decline to another, and it requires extra caution that one does not stumble, etc.

Therefore, after Moshe sensed that those men were holding themselves as "spies" — he prayed (immediately) for Yehoshua (his student), "May G‑d save you from the counsel of spies" — that he should have no part in their counsel (even if it is "good counsel"), so that he should have no connection to "the counsel of spies."

6. And the matter can be sweetened according to what is explained in Chazal, that Moshe's attribute is the attribute of truth — "And truth is Moshe" (and therefore the Torah was given through him, for this is the essence of the Torah — "a Torah of truth"). Therefore, in order to be Moshe's messenger — a messenger of a person like him, "like him who sends" — it is impossible for the messenger to have any inclination away from the attribute of truth.

This is why Moshe's mission was only "to scout the land" and not "to spy it" — because regarding this principal matter, the mission concerning entry into the land, the power of the sender (the power of Moshe) must be revealed.

And since the messengers deviated from their mission and held themselves as spies, the power of the sender was nullified in them — for in addition to the nullification of the mission due to the change, since the messenger changes his mission (in a principal matter), the mission is nullified — here, they were disqualified in essence from being Moshe's messengers, for it is impossible for them to be "like him" of Moshe, whose attribute is the attribute of truth.

Only Yehoshua and Kalev, who were not swayed by "the counsel of spies," remained Moshe's messengers, and this itself is what preserved them from deviating from the intention 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," and because of this, they merited to enter the land, until "they lived from those men" — who "took their share of the spies in the land and rose up in their place to life."

(From the sichah of Parshas Shelach, 5745)