The spies returned from their tour of the Land of Israel, and ten of them
delivered a negative report — saying that the nation would not be able to
go in and conquer the inhabitants. Only Calev and Yehoshua returned with
encouraging reports.
Rashi quotes from the Talmud [Sotah 35a] which says that Calev yelled out,
“is this the only thing which [Moshe] the son of Amram did to us?” Since
Calev started by sounding as if he intended to criticize, and the people
had turned against Moshe, they quieted down to hear what he would add.
Calev then said: “he took us out of Egypt, and he parted the Sea of Reeds
for us, and brought the Manna down to us…” Moshe was G-d’s agent, and
many life-saving miracles had already happened for the Jewish people
through him. “Let us surely go up,” said Calev, meaning anywhere Moshe
tells us to go.
Studying the story of the spies Rabbi Moshe Feinstein teaches a profound
lesson in the nature of spiritual growth, regarding how we must act if we
hope to grow. He asks how is it conceivable that the generation of the
desert, which witnessed countless miracles, could even contemplate a
rebellion like this? They were called the “Dor De’ah,” the Generation of
Knowledge. How could they fall so far, so soon thereafter?
Rabbi Yaakov Menken explains: ‘We don’t take “leaps of faith” in Judaism.
Buildings which last for years are built upon solid foundations. The Jews
in Egypt were thoroughly immersed in a hedonistic and immoral society, and
had gone through “49 Gates of Impurity.” Suddenly they were pulled out, and
50 days later they were through the “50 Gates of Holiness,” speaking with
G-d Himself. Reb Moshe says that in such a short span of time, the Children
of Israel were not able to internalise all that they had seen and
experienced. They did not understand that if G-d promised to lead them to
the Land of Israel, then obviously He would also provide them with all the
necessary means to get there and to occupy the Land. We must do our part
Prepared by Devorah Abenhaim
