## Sifrei Devarim Paragraph 23

###### Sifrei Devarim 23:1
[Sifrei Devarim 23:1](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Sifrei%20Devarim/r/23:1)

(דברים א כה) **וַיִּקְחוּ בְיָדָם מִפְּרִי הָאָרֶץ**, אָמַר רַבִּי שִׁמְעוֹן: עֲלוּבִים בְּנֵי אָדָם שֶׁכָּךְ נָטְלוּ בְיָדָם, כְּאָדָם שֶׁנּוֹטֵל בְּאִסָּר תְּאֵנִים, בְּאִסָּר עֲנָבִים – כָּךְ נָטְלוּ בְיָדָם.

**Sefaria Community Translation:**
(Devarim 1:25) "And they took in their hand from the fruit of the land": R. Shimon said: Shameful are these men who took in their hand (such luxuriant fruits [to downgrade their worth]) as one would take in his hand an *issar*'s worth of figs or grapes.


###### Sifrei Devarim 23:2
[Sifrei Devarim 23:2](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Sifrei%20Devarim/r/23:2)

**וַיּוֹרִדוּ אֵלֵינוּ**, מַגִּיד שֶׁאֶרֶץ כְּנַעַן גְּבוֹהָה מִכָּל הָאֲרָצוֹת, כְּעִנְיָן שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר (במדבר יג ל): ״עָלֹה נַעֲלֶה וְיָרַשְׁנוּ אֹתָהּ כִּי יָכוֹל נוּכַל לָהּ״, (במדבר יג כא) ״וַיַּעֲלוּ וַיָּתֻרוּ אֶת הָאָרֶץ״, (במדבר יג כב) ״וַיַּעֲלוּ בַנֶּגֶב״, (בראשית מה כה) ״וַיַּעֲלוּ מִמִּצְרָיִם״.

**Sefaria Community Translation:**
"and they brought it down to us" — whence it is seen that Eretz Yisrael is higher than all the (other) lands, as in (Bamidbar 13:30) "Let us go *up* and inherit it," and (*Ibid*. 21) "And they went up and spied out the land," and (Bereshith 45:25) "And they went up from Egypt and they came to the land of Canaan." (Devarim, *Ibid*.)


###### Sifrei Devarim 23:3
[Sifrei Devarim 23:3](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Sifrei%20Devarim/r/23:3)

**וַיָּשִׁיבוּ אֹתָנוּ דָבָר וַיֹּאמְרוּ טוֹבָה הָאָרֶץ אֲשֶׁר ה׳ אֱלֹהֵינוּ נֹתֵן לָנוּ**, וְכִי לְטוֹבָתָהּ אָמְרוּ? וַהֲלֹא לֹא אָמְרוּ אֶלָּא לְרָעָתָהּ! מִי אָמַר טוֹבָתָהּ? יְהוֹשֻׁעַ וְכָלֵב, אַף עַל פִּי כֵן (דברים א כו) ״וְלֹא אֲבִיתֶם לַעֲלוֹת וַתַּמְרוּ אֶת פִּי ה׳ אֱלֹהֵיכֶם״!

**Sefaria Community Translation:**
"And they returned word to us and they said: Good is the land that the L-rd our G-d gives us." Now did they speak good (of the land)? Did they not speak evil of it? — *Who* spoke good of it? Joshua and Calev — in spite of which (*Ibid*. 26) "And you did not desire to go up, and you opposed the word of the L-rd your G-d." ...