These commandments concern themselves with the refinement of body and soul. Concerning חלה, i.e. bread, the Torah tells us in Deut. 8,3: that "man does not live by bread alone, rather on all that emanates from the mouth of G–d." I have explained at length elsewhere in the name of the Arizal, that this verse explains the efforts made by scientists to find out how it is that through the intake of certain foods the soul remains attached to the body, although the soul by definition does not need to eat. The answer to this problem is that food is both something physical as well as something spiritual. There simply is nothing on this earth that does not contain some spiritual input from the "higher" regions. Heavenly forces cause that spiritual potential to be activated down here on earth. This is why the soul can also benefit from those spiritual ingredients in food, just like the body derives strength from the nutrients in the food consumed. Because of this, the soul remains attached to the body as long as the body receives sufficient food of the right kind. This is what is meant by the above quoted statement that man does not live by bread alone. It means that the body is maintained by the physical composition of the food, i.e. bread, as one can see. Over and above that, life is maintained, i.e. the soul is kept going, by the invisible spiritual elements in food, i.e. G–d's command, מוצא פי ה', for those spiritual elements to become active within the person in question. The Torah therefore commanded us to set aside the חלה, the portion to be given to the priest; by fulfilling this commandment the spiritual element in the bread should be "awakened" and contribute its share to maintaining our souls. Since the priest represents holiness, he is given this "holy" part of the bread. Since, ideally, this חלה is set aside when the bread has not yet been baked but is merely dough, it is a method of refining our bread by adding sanctity to it before it is even baked. The bread thereby acts as a refining agent for both body and soul. The first man, Adam was considered as the חלה of the universe (Jerusalem Talmud Shabbat 2). He was perfect in mind and body until he sinned and caused the curse, and the Torah said concerning the earth קוץ ודרדר תמציח לך, ובזיעת אפך תאכל לחם "It will sprout thorns and thistles for you,…. by the sweat of your brow will you eat bread." The net effect on the bread after Challah has been set aside and has been given to the כהן, is for a person to qualify for the blessing inherent in the verse "ולחם לבב אנוש יסעד, bread will sustain man's life" (Psalms 104,15).

The commandment of ציצית fulfills a similar function. It is directed to all four directions of the globe, and the total numerical value of the word, adding the eight threads of the actual fringes plus the five knots we tie when attaching them to the garment, give us a total of 613, i.e. reminds us of all the commandments of the Torah. They also act as reminder of the Celestial Regions, a reminder of the soul which originates immediately beneath the "throne of G–d." Our sages in Chullin 89, have phrased it thus: "The blue wool resembles the ocean, the ocean resembles the colour of the sky, the sky resembles the purity of the sapphire, and the sapphire resembles the throne of G–d." We find therefore that this commandment is an instrument designed to refine the non-material, spiritual part of man, his נפש. The two prohibitions then are designed to prevent mental and physical excesses, to ensure that the Jew has a pure mind and body.

Both the commandment of ציצית and that of חלה, are described as ראשית , "heads." In the case of חלה, the Torah speaks about מראשית עריסותיכם, that it is to be taken "from the first part of your doughs" (15,21). Bereshit Rabbah explains that word as meaning "on account of the Challah." The Rekanati describes the mystical dimension of this commandment as being the fact that Israel the nation is called ראשית relative to other nations. This does not only mean that Israel is first, but also that Israel is separate from other nations. It is necessary when putting the dough inside the oven to separate the חלה from the flames of the oven so as not to confront the מדת הדין הקשה, the attribute of Justice in its greatest intensity. This is the meaning of the expression תרומה לה', i.e. a gift to the attribute of Mercy which is mentioned in 15,21. This is the deeper meaning of the statement in the Midrash i.e. "בראשית" on account of that gift which is called ראשחץ. Blessing devolves upon the world because of the fulfillment of this commandment. The reason the חלה is to be given to the כהן is so that blessing will come to rest on your houses. Thus far the Rekanati.

The commandment to make ציצית also alludes to ראשית, namely ראשית חכמה יראת ה', that the beginning of all wisdom is a measure of reverence for G–d (Psalms 111,10). They are made up of 32 strings, which in turn symbolize the 32 נתיבות, paths which G–d employed in bringing this universe into being, as we know from the first Mishnah in the Sefer Yetzirah. I have elaborated on this theme in my commentary on Massechet Chullin. The detailed rules about the performance of this commandment are discussed there. The word בראשית itself contains an allusion to חכמה, since the Targum Yerushalmi even translates that word as "with wisdom."

Broadly speaking the use of these terms is an allusion to Him who is the beginning of all existence, prior to whom there is no other ראשית. When G–d was about to reveal His being G–d and create the universe the very beginning of such thoughts was synonymous with the final completion of the execution of His plan. In Kabbalistic emanations, these two stages are separated by two different terms being employed for them. The ראשית המחשבה is described as the emanation of חכמה, or חכמה עליונה, whereas the סוף מעשה the completion of the state of execution, is called מלכות, or חכמה תתאה, the "lower" wisdom. The wisdom of King Solomon was described as being equivalent to this חכמת תתאה. It is also written (Psalms 104,24) מה רבו מעשיך ה', כולם בחכמה עשית, "how great are Your works O Lord, You have executed them all with wisdom" The 32 strings of the ציציות allude to this חכמה עילאה. The beginning of חכמה תתאה is the domain of כנסת ישראל, the concept involved in the phenomenon of the Jewish people.

The objective of these commandments is to refine body and soul, and the purpose of that refinement is to establish, or better re-establish a close relationship with one's roots, ראשית. Since we have traversed many stages, ספירות, from the original roots, ראשית, this is a difficult task. Nonetheless as the Torah testifies in Deut. 4,4, it can be done, and it confers a superior quality of life on one. דבקות can be defined as the return of the branch to the stem, to the root. However far removed one has been from the source, the Torah exhorts us never to forget our roots, i.e.: וזכרת כי ה' אלוקיך הוא הנותן לך כח לעשות חיל. "You shall remember that it is the Lord your G–d who gives you strength to do valiantly." (Deut. 8,18). The fact that the מצוה of ציצית also features the exhortation וזכרתם, "you shall remember," demonstrates that a similar purpose underlies that commandment. When we follow accepted methods of exegesis, we have both the similar sounding words, i.e. גזרה שוה, present in those two מצות, as well as the references to לדורותיכם, "throughout your generations," which, when applied to former generations, is similar in meaning to ראשית, beginning, or root. The thrust of all this is to remind us that ultimately all our capabilities are rooted in G–d.

A number of questions pertaining to the sending out of the spies:

1. The first question asked by all the commentators and foremost by Nachmanides, is what sin the spies actually committed since Moses had told them to examine the country, its people, whether they were strong or weak, numerous or sparse, whether they lived in open or fortified cities, etc. Surely their report had to include answers to all these questions! What was so serious about their saying: "however the people are a tough people?" (13,28). Did Moses send them on their mission in order for them to report untruthfully? We must not think that their sin was only that they described ארץ ישראל as a land that consumes its inhabitants (13,32), since they had quarreled with Caleb and Joshua already prior to that statement, and the Torah reports concerning them in Deut 1,28: "Our brothers have made our hearts melt saying that a great and mighty people live there in great cities fortified to the heavens, etc." Here the Torah reports all the Israelites as being afraid of death by the sword, that their wives and children would be taken prisoner (14,3). If that had been their sin, how was Moses able to describe the inhabitants of the land of Canaan in even more frightening terms, when he said to them in Deut. 9,1: "Hear O Israel, you are about to cross the Jordan to go in and conquer nations greater and more numerous than you; great cities with walls sky-high. A people great and tall, the Anakites of whom you have heard it said: "who can stand up to the children of Anak!" If the sin of the spies had been that they undermined Jewish morale, surely Moses had been guilty of the same thing in an even greater measure when he addressed the younger generation in similar fashion almost forty years later! This is the question raised by Nachmanides.

He writes subsequently that their sin consisted of the word אפס, that though they had spoken truthfully, and had reported on what they had been asked to report, that word means "zero," in the sense that the chances of accomplishing one's objective were "zero," non existent.

Compare the author of the Akeidat Yitzchak on that subject. He describes the word as similar in meaning to אך, or רק, similar to Deut. 15,4, אפס כי יהיה בך אביון, "but there will be amongst you someone who is destitute, etc."

The בעל עקידה also sees the sin in the use by the spies of the word אפס. He construes it somewhat differently, however, by saying that the spies had been appointed as messengers not as advisers. By arrogating to themselves the role of advisers they had sinned. It would have been perfectly in order for them to have reported עז העם הזה. By adding an interpretation of what this toughness of the Canaanites implied for the Jewish people, they had become advisers. According to this interpretation they would have been just as guilty if they had employed the word רק, instead of אפס.

On the face of it this is a very satisfactory explanation. On further reflection, however, his words are also not totally satisfying. They would have been adequate if G–d had not previously assured the Jewish people many times that the land of Canaan was indeed a good land. Since, however, the fact that the land was good surely should not have required the spies to confirm it, and their very mission had only been due to the people not having believed G–d's assurances on that score, they were dispatched to see if the land was good at all. Since this was the purpose of their mission, they were correct in reporting that G–d's description of the land had indeed been fair, but that there were other problems, such as the toughness of the land's inhabitants. In view of this, we are back to our original question.

Another difficulty is: What was Israel's sin in asking for these spies to be sent out? Our sages claim that G–d tripped them up intentionally, since they should never have demanded such a mission. Furthermore, why is the fact that Israel initiated this mission by asking Moses to send spies, not reported here but only when Moses summarizes the events of the forty years before his death? (Deut. 1,22). Another problem is why several descriptions of the spies' mission are used such as לתור, לרגל, and לחפור. Besides, why did Moses have to send out twelve spies, would not two spies have been sufficient just as when Joshua sent two spies to Jericho?

A most puzzling aspect is the fact that all these twelve men at the time when they commenced their mission were obviously suitable, highly thought of, else Moses would not have selected them. What happened to change the outlook of these people? When the Torah in 13,26 states וילכו, ויבאו, this is to tell us that just as they were corrupt when they returned, they had already been corrupt when they set out. How is that possible? We must conclude that they were indeed wicked to start with, but since they occupied positions which the Torah has described as ראשי בני ישראל, leaders among the people (12,3), they were presumed to be righteous, since Moses did not have the ability to look into their hearts.

On the other hand, if Moses presumed them to be righteous, why did he pray only for Joshua, i.e. change his name? Why did he not at least also pray for Caleb? After all the latter was his brother-in-law! Another difficulty is the repetition of the names of these spies. It says in 13,4: "these are their names," followed by a list of their names, and in verse 16, the Torah again says: "these are their names, etc." Besides, what need was there to appoint new leaders, seeing that we know there were twelve distinguished princes, the ones who had offered the oxen, wagons, etc. in Parshat Nasso. Surely they had not all died in the brief interval of two months!

We also note that the spies appear to contradict themselves when they say on the one hand that the land consumes its inhabitants, whereas on the other hand they point to the giants that they had seen there. Surely a land that produces giants does not consume its inhabitants! Or did they mean to say that if the land even consumed giants, how much more deadly was the climate for normal people?! Although we know that a sinner falls victim to a foolish notion, or he would not sin, we must still ask ourselves how the evil urge could seduce these men, since remaining in the desert was certainly not an attractive alternative either!

We must assume that there were three approaches as to whether to dispatch the spies: The approach of the righteous, the approach of the average person, and the approach of the sinners. G–d the Righteous, authorized the righteous Moses to dispatch the spies to demonstrate through the very fact that the inhabitants of the land would be perceived as powerful, how great G–d's assistance was, in that He would nonetheless bring the Jewish people to that land and make them inherit it. They would then realize once more ה' איש מלחמה, that G–d was indeed a mighty warrior, and that the conquest would be something supernatural, something miraculous. This is precisely what Moses' message was in Deut. 9,1, when he painted such a frightening picture. The whole exercise was designed to strengthen the people's belief in G–d and His powers.

This is the way this matter is explained in the book Ma'asseh Hashem on Deut. 7,17: "When you will say: "these nations are very numerous, how can I possibly drive them out?" G–d's answer was: "Do not be afraid of them" (verse 18), meaning that when you have these doubts and fears, what is meant is that if G–d were not to be on your side, you would have ample reason to think in those terms. When you rely on G–d, you will be fearless. If, however, you ascribe your success to your own efforts and prowess, then you will become very frightened when facing such people in battle. The word כי at the beginning of verse 17, is quite clear then and Rashi would not need to trouble himself to explain it as meaning "maybe." At any rate, this was G–d's purpose in authorising the despatch of the spies and His hope of strengthening the Jewish people's belief in Him. Moses, of course, had every reason to agree then. This is the reason that both G–d and Moses employ the term ויתורו as describing the function of the spies. This word is usually used when there is a concensus between the heart and the mind. An example is the last pragraph in the קריאת שמע, where we are warned לא תתורו אחרי לבבכם "not to follow your hearts."

The second group of people, average Israelites, had a different attitude to the matter of sending spies. They had no negative intentions, they only wanted to find out the true state of affairs, whether it would be feasible to conquer that land by natural means. They did not think of the need for G–d to perform miracles at all. They did not think that they were meant to rely on miracles. This is why they wanted to gather all the information that would further the chances of a successful invasion, such as knowing the best route to take.

Of course, their attitude could not be described as pious, although Joshua had acted in a similar fashion prior to the capture of Ai (Joshua 7,2). The difference was that Joshua would not forego the command of G–d just because there were what appeared to be insurmountable natural difficulties. It was not in order for instance, to inquire which route should be taken, since up to now, G–d's pillar of cloud had taken care of that chore, and they had never sent a spy to show them the way in the desert. Even the matter of mountains and valleys was something that the Israelites in the desert did not need to concern themselves with, since the pillar of cloud made their route level, regardless.

This was however, not the case after Moses had died, and Joshua therefore was entitled to reconnoiter the land in the manner that he did. Of course, the Alshich says that Joshua knew beforehand exactly what the spies would report, but he wanted the people to have the feeling that he had done everything humanly possible, read: "by natural means," to ensure the success of their mission. Gideon was another leader who, though relying on G–d's help, made it appear as if every possible means at man's disposal had been exploited. The author feels that Joshua had to send out the spies since ever since Aaron's death there had been no pillar of cloud, and he would not have known the way without reconnaissance. This is the reason that these Israelites use the expression ויחפרו "so they will dig up" (information), when they describe the purpose of the spies' mission. They wanted these men to discover the weakness of the country and its inhabitants, if indeed there should be such. Rabbi Chiyah in Talmud Sotah 34b, says that the sole intention of the spies was to find fault with the land. He understands the word יחפרו as analogous to Isaiah saying (24,23) "וחפרה הלבנה ובושה החמה," meaning that the moon will be shamefaced, and the sun will be abashed." Applied to our situation, the spies then were to find the points the land of Israel had to be ashamed of. However, the Israelites had not made up their minds, they only wanted to know if there was truth to negative comments about the land of Israel.

The third group of people, the spies themselves, were thoroughly wicked. Their objective was to make Israel remain in the desert. They began inventing stories to bring about a delay. When that did not work, they were forced to come out publicly with slander about the land. Their motive may have been the very fact that the princes such as Nachshon ben Aminadav and his colleagues had not been sent on this mission in order to ensure that they would enter the Holy Land as princes. No doubt this would have been the case, had not G–d decreed death in the desert on that whole generation. The spies thought that as long as Israel would remain outside the boundaries of the Holy Land, their own position as heads of the people would continue, that they certainly would not be demoted. Perhaps this is the meaning of the sages who claim the men were כשרים באותה שעה, (Bamidbar Rabbah 16) suitable and fit for their mission at the time they had been dispatched. This means that the moral level required to qualify for leadership outside the land of Israel is inferior to the moral level required for leadership within the Holy Land.

After having written these lines, I have found in the Zohar the following comment. "Why did they counsel as they did? They said: "as long as Israel remains in the desert, we will retain our position. Once Israel crosses into the Holy Land we will be replaced by other leaders."

At that point they had not yet formulated the thought of slandering the land of Israel, they had merely hoped that the conditions would be such that conquest by natural means would not be feasible. Since, as we know, one sin brings other sins in its wake, the spies became trapped by their personal ambitions. This is the reason that the Torah describes their activities as וירגלו, similar to Psalms 15,3: "his tongue was not generally given to evil."

When we had said earlier that the juxtaposition of the words וילכו ויבואו, indicates that their return was similar to their departure, i.e. that they had been sinful already at the time they set out on their mission, this has to be understood differently. It would mean that potentially they were ready to sin already at the time they set out on their mission, though they had not yet formulated such a plan. Their potential corruption was all due to their desire to be honored. It was similar to the desire for honor that led Bileam to sin, as we shall discuss in the context of that Parshah. Our Rabbis have already pointed out that the modus operandi of Satan is not to get you to commit the most serious sin all at once. Rather, he tells you to do something relatively insignificant, gradually enmeshing you further and further, until in the end he gets you to commit idolatry. Even though the victim was not aware of it, Satan's plan had always been to get his victim to wind up serving idolatry. All previous stages are regarded only as steps leading in the direction of the sin of idol worship. When the spies are also described as going לתור את הארץ, this is to allude to the cause of their corruption, namely following the inclinations of their hearts, as discussed.

They commenced sinning by considering their personal standing in the community. What concerned them was that Joshua was among those who had been selected to be spies. We know of Joshua that he never moved from the tent of Moses, was his personal valet, etc. (compare Exodus 24,13, and 33,11). The spies reasoned that his inclusion could only be because he would lead Israel in battle to conquer the Holy Land, and that on account of this Moses had also sent him on this mission. G–d had done something similar when He had told Abraham to traverse the land of Canaan (Genesis 13,17), since it would be given to his descendants. Abraham was to be a model for his children, etc. This thought had occurred to the spies only after they had heard Eldad and Meidad prophesy about Moses dying and Joshua leading the Jewish people. This is the reason this portion follows the report of the selection of the seventy elders without an introduction about Israel having requested this mission, as reported in Deuteronomy. Rashi had pointed out already in Exodus 17,14, when G–d instructs Moses to “put it in the ears of Joshua,” that there will be an ongoing war between G–d and Amalaek, but that G–d will wipe out every vestige of Amalek. The reason it was necessary for Joshua to know all this first hand, was a hint to Moses that Joshua would one day become the leader. The eventual mission of the spies was already being prepared at that time.

When G–d said to Moses שלח לך, send for you, it meant that just as G–d's intention had been constructive, so also Moses was guided by constructive ideas when he consented to arrange this mission. The meaning of וישלח אותם על פי ה', means with the consent of G–d, and not because of the demand of the spies or the people. Moses understood part of this allusion, and though he did not foresee how these spies would report individually, he did have a notion of how the horoscope they were born under might influence them. This is why the Torah reports Moses as studying the individual names of these people for clues to their character. This is why the Torah repeats in 13,17: "these are the names of the men whom Moses sent out, etc." The Talmud in Sotah 34, says that we have a tradition that their names reflected their deeds, however, according to Rabbi Yitzchak, only in the case of the prince of Asher סתור בן מיכאל, does the Talmud manage to elaborate. Rabbi Yochanan also provides such a rationale in the case of the prince of Naftali, נחבי בן ופסי, claiming that the name means he hid from G–d, or that he cleverly hid his true intentions. His father's name ופסי is an allusion to פסע, skipping, i.e. reporting G–d's words only out of context, not completely. When Moses began to suspect that possibly these people harbored unworthy thoughts, seeing their names could be so construed, he renamed Hoshea, calling him Joshua, the implication being that G–d should assist him not to adopt the counsel of the other spies (Bamidbar Rabbah 16,9, on 13,16). The reason Moses employed the two-lettered name of G–d in doing so was that it had been employed when describing G–d's struggle against Amalek, at which time Joshua's eventual role had first been hinted at. The reason Caleb was the one who silenced the spies in the middle of their report, was that Joshua was afraid to say עלה נעלה, we can certainly ascend," i.e. conquer the land (13,30), since this might be construed as Joshua's personal ambition to lead the people.

The spies commenced their report very deviously by referring to Amalek, whom they described as inhabiting the South of the land (13,29), thereby hinting at the role promised Joshua at the time he had led the battle against Amalek. What they meant to convey was that since Moses was alive and well, it was clear that the time to attempt to dislodge Amalek had not yet come, since that was to be Joshua's task only after Moses had died. Another reason they did so was that the very name of Amalek conjured up the time Israel had sinned when they had questioned G–d's presence in their midst, as a result of which Amalek had attacked them (see Rashi on Exodus 17,8). By mentioning Amalek they hinted that Israel was too enmeshed in sin to emerge victorious at this time from an encounter with Amalek. Concerning the Canaanites themselves the spies reported that they were אנשי מדות, i.e. people of considerable virtues, as we shall explain. Since G–d had told the people that the conquest of the land would not be on account of Israel's superior virtues, but on account of the inhabitants' moral inferiority, it was clear that the sin of the Emorite which was the precondition of successful battle against them had not yet reached the desired measure (comp. Genesis 15,16, and Deut. 9,5).

This was also the reason they told about the ילידי ענק ראינו שם, "we have seen the Anakites there" (13,28). These were some of the נפילים, disgraced angels, who had dropped from the heavens, and who still continued to live, having survived the deluge, a tribute to their virtues which they must have brought with them from the Celestial Regions. These people were still perceived to be part angels, since their parentage was partially angels. (Compare Genesis 6,2, and the statement of Rabbi Yossi in the Zohar on this verse, identifying them as two specific angels called Azza and Azza'el respectively.) Concerning this phenomenon the spies described the land as ארץ אוכלת יושביה היא, a land that consumes its inhabitants, meaning that it does not tolerate morally inferior inhabitants, which explained why the survivors in that land were the ones that possess superior virtues. They tried to prove this by saying that though they had been observed spying, giving the inhabitants every legal right to kill or otherwise punish them, these had not bothered to do so out of the goodness of their hearts, though they had ample provocation and could have treated them like hostile grasshoppers (compare 13,33).

We observe that the spies made strenuous efforts to cause Israel to remain in the desert at this time by alluding to the moral superority of the Canaanites and contrasting this with allusions to the moral inferiority of the Jewish people by reminding Israel of Amalek. What they really hinted at was that the conquest would only come under Joshua. Since we have the principle that אין מלכות נוגעת בחברתה, that during the currency of one kingdom the next kingdom must not encroach upon the previous kingdom by as much as a hair's breadth (Berachot 48), they extended this to include the entire present generation who were viewed as Moses' subjects. We know that there was some substance to this argument since the reason Moses was not allowed to enter the Holy Land was because his generation had not been allowed to do so. The Midrash explains this by saying that it would be like a servant maid who had dropped a brass pail into a well and stood by the well crying. When the king's maid servant came along she dropped a golden pail into the same well. Thereupon the first servant maid started laughing and rejoicing. Upon being asked what reason she had to be happy at the king's maid servant's distress, she told her that the reason was that her pail was golden. Whoever would come to retrieve the golden pail, could at no extra effort also retrieve the brass pail. So far the Midrash. [The idea seems to be that once the time for resurrection had come, and G–d would resurrect Moses, He could also resurrect his generation with no extra effort. Ed.] Rabbi Menachem Azaryah in his book Asarah Ma'amarot, writes that this matter is alluded to in the Torah itself in Deut. 1,37, when Moses said גם בי התאנף ה' בגללכם, G–d had also been angry at me on your account." The letters in the words גם בי are the first letters respectively in גרשוני מהסתפח בנחלת י"י, "He has prevented me from attaching myself to the inheritance of G–d."

Joshua and Caleb countered that whatever deity had protected the people of Canaan thus far had already departed from them, i.e. סר צלם מעליהם (14,9), and they had no longer any merits which would act as protection for them. The measure of guilt of the Emorite was by now such that it no longer could be a hindrance to Israel. The expression סר צלם, may be interpreted according to the Zohar on Genesis 18,4: "and recline under the tree." The significance of that tree was that Abraham could tell by it who was truly loyal to G–d, and who cleaved to idol worship. The tree would extend its branches towards those who believed in G–d and would envelop them in its shade. The same branches would withdraw when a person worshiping idols sat under it. Abraham would notice this and begin to engage such a person in a religious dialogue, pointing out the futility of worshiping idols. He would not move from there until he had converted the person in question. Similarly the tree would welcome those who were ritually pure, while rejecting those who were not. There was a well underneath that tree. The waters in the well would rise towards a person in need of purification. As soon as Abraham noticed, he would purify them by ritually pure water. What Moses had commanded the spies about investigating "a tree" (13,20), referred to the tradition mentioned in the Zohar. He wanted to find out how that tree would react when the spies were under it, if it would offer its shade, i.e. a sign that the spies were sincere, if it did not, it would signal the sinful motives of these people.

In their report the ten spies did not relate to that tree at all; only Joshua and Caleb testified that that tree had already stopped giving shade to the local inhabitants, a sign that they were not meritorious. In contrast to that, they were able to report that the tree had provided shade for them. In this way we can understand what motivated Moses to ask whether a specific tree existed there.

The spies reversed the true state of affairs by reporting that the inhabitants had merits, implying Israel did not have sufficient merits. They committed one sin after another, until in the end they denied the virtues of G–d by implying that these inhabitants were mightier than G–d Himself, when they said in 13,31: "for it is stronger than He," (referring to G–d when they said ממנו.) When Joshua sent out his spies, they repaired the damage done by the ten spies in our story. That is the deeper significance of the red line that they demanded that Rahab should suspend the rope outside her window (Joshua 2,18).

At this point I want to tell you what G–d has revealed to me concerning the metaphysical aspects of the spies' mission. The mission never was intended to pave the way for conquest by natural means. On the contrary, it was to pave the way for conquest by employing supernatural forces. The twelve spies represented the twelve tribes of G–d, who in turn corresponded to the twelve possible permutations of the four-lettered ineffable name of G–d as we have explained elsewhere. Celestial forces descend to earth via twelve "lines", the letter ו represents a line. Six of these lines emanate from the left side of the emanations, i.e, from the attribute of Justice, the other six from the right side, i.e. the attribute of Love, חסד. This is in line with the concept which we refer to often when we speak about G–d as השם אלוקינו, השם אחד own, meaning both of G–d's attributes. All of the above is alluded to when the letter ו is spelled as a word, i.e. ואו. The two letters ו, represent the attribute of דין and חסד respectively, whereas the letter א establishes the bond between them. I have explained elsewhere on the verse in Genesis 1,5, ויהי ערב, ויהי בוקר יום אחד that the first six hours of the night are under the aegis of the attribute דין, Justice, whereas the remaining six hours from midnight on gradually switch to being under the aegis of רחמים, Mercy. By day, on the other hand, as long as the amount of light keeps increasing, the first six hours are under the aegis of רחמים, whereas from noon on they switch towards the attribute of דין, Justice. At any rate, the 24 hours consecutively together form one day. The letter ואו, i.e. spelled as a word, totals 13 in numerical value, the same as the word אחד. The idea of the “line,” or better "lines," that act as the ducts for emanations from Celestial Spheres are symbolized by the external appearance of the letter ו, which is after all a "line." This is further symbolized by the verse שמע ישראל ה' אלוקינו ה' אחד a verse containing six words. (ו=6) The verse we recite immediately afterwards, i.e. ברוך שם כבוד מלכותו לעולם ועד, also contains six words. The combined twelve words comprise the twelve horoscopes, of which six are above the horizon at any one time, whereas the other six are below the horizon. The book Beer Mayim Chayim, points out that the verse שמע ישראל is made up of 25 letters, whereas the verse ברוך שם כבוד וכו' is also made up of 25 letters. Between them they represent the 49 שערי בינה, plus the “hidden” 50th gate (which has not been revealed to man) which enables all the others to be joined together.

This is the metaphysical aspect of the word אמת, that we find mentioned by Joshua's spies; it is the measuring line described as the "תקות החוט" (see Joshua 2,14 for the word אמת, and 2,18, for the red line)ץ When the letter ו is written as a word, it symbolizes אמונה, faith, loyalty, since the middle letter א joins the two letters ו together. By so doing it creates a bond between דין and רחמים. Since the א also means “one,” this means that either group of six tribes is always joined with the אלוקי יעקב, "the Lord G–d of Israel”. Each group of six represents half the permutations of the ineffable name of G–d. The specific attribute for Jacob is that of תפארת, the sixth of the ten emanations, ספירות. This corresponds to the letter ו in the Ineffable Name. This is what Joshua's spies had in mind when they spoke about the אות אמת. We also know that Jacob and אמת are inextricably linked, since it says תתן אמת ליעקב, You have given "truth" to Jacob (Michah 7,20). If, G–d forbid this א would be separated from its respective ו, this would point at a universe in which more than one authority would rule, as the heretics claim. Their argument is that it is inconceivable that the power that created light should be the same as that which created darkness. This amounts to a denial of the verse: "It was evening, it was morning, one day (Genesis 1,5)."

The sin of these spies can be understood, when the Torah reported them as carrying the grapes "במוט בשנים." Every rod looks basically like the letter ו, is a line. When they removed the א that creates the bond between the two ווים, what was left were two disjointed, separate lines, i.e. שניות, or dichotomy. This is what the expression במוט בשנים alludes to. When you remove the letter ו from the word מוט, you are left with מט, i.e. 49. This is like saying that the צדיק, righteous person, has fallen, been ruined, i.e. מט before the רשע, the wicked person. The reason this is so is because the 49 letters in the שמע ישראל and the ברוך שם כבוד have been separated, i.e. their unity has been broken. Most of what I have just outlined was taken from the book באר מים חיים.

The righteous spies that Joshua sent out repaired the metaphysical damage caused by ten of the original spies whom Moses had sent out. The "hope" for the future of the Jewish people was summarized by the תקות חוט השני, whereas the damage caused by the original spies can be described as symbolizing the statement of our sages that תקות אנוש רימה, that the only thing humans have to look forward to is to become worms (man's body in the grave). All this because they abused their power of speech to libel G–d and the land of Israel. At the root of their corruption lay their desire to occupy positions of influence within the nation. All that the above teaches is to follow very carefully the advice of our sages in Avot 4,4, "be very very humble, seeing that man's prospects are only to decay!" The spies who had started out by being described as אנשים, i.e. men of stature, ended up by being considered "אנוש," the lowest appellation of humans.

Let us now return to the subject. The spies had recalled Israel's sins, whereas they had extolled the virtues of the Canaanites. Joshua and Caleb, however, reported that their experience had shown them the exact reverse as being the case. They stated that the local inhabitants had already forfeited any protection from celestial sources they had ever enjoyed, whereas Israel had G–d on their side. The meaning of סר צלם מעליהם could also be explained in a different vein, as a string of supernatural events. G–d had only agreed to the dispatch of the spies in order that they may witness all these supernatural events and be strengthened in their conviction that conquest of these people was not only possible, but would be easy.

While explaining this we will also answer the question why twelve spies had been needed for that missionץ Another question that needs to be dealt with is why the Torah had to tell us that the time the spies went on their mission was the beginning of the grape harvest (13,20). Another difficulty that we plan to explain is the comment of Rashi that the local inhabitants when observing the spies said to one another: "there are some ants in the vineyards" (Rashi on 13,33). Where did Rashi get this from? A further difficulty is the wording of Caleb interrupting the majority report in 13,30, when the Torah says: "Caleb silenced the people before Moses." What great wisdom did Caleb pronounce when he told the people that with the help of G–d they would be able to inherit the land? One did not have to be a member of the spy team to come up with this kind of elementary wisdom! Any righteous person could have pointed this out at once!

The reason that Moses sent out twelve spies and that he did so at the beginning of the season of the grape harvest was that at that time the watchmen are constantly alert. It would demonstrate the help of G–d if one reflected that in spite of the vineyards being constantly under the scrutiny of their owners twelve men had been able to travel the country unchallenged, had helped themselves to fruit which needed eight people to carry it, and yet no one had dared object. Two men might have escaped detection, but it is inconceivable that a group of twelve men had not been observed at some stage. The deviousness of the spies is seen by the fact that they chose to deny the miraculous aspect of this, and to claim that just as the owners did not notice or pay attention to a few ants whose ability to harm their vineyards was insignificant, so they paid no heed to the spies. They chose to ignore the fact that the very fact that they escaped detection as humans was miraculous in itself, a demonstration of how G–d could and would help. Caleb and Joshua were able to report on their experiences in this regard, and demonstrate that the spies' interpretation of the facts had been tendentious. Kabbalists have taught us that shortly before a person dies, he no longer casts a shadow. Caleb and Joshua may have intended to convey exactly this when they said that these people already no longer cast a shadow, i.e. that their demise could not be far off. It seems clear that it had been both G–d's and Moses' intention that the dispatch of the spies and their subsequent report would show that the land could be conquered only through the help of G–d, through invoking miracles.

The author here quotes Rashi as explaining that the words עלה נעלה, "we will surely ascend," meant that even if they had to climb up to the heavens, with the help of G–d this would all be possible –

– and that Rashi's subsequent comment that the words "חזק הוא ממנו," "he is stronger than we," really refer to G–d Himself. The whole world asks where Rashi got his homiletics from. Perhaps the words all have to be understood quite simply and there is no place for homiletics. The answer is simply that though the spies were wicked, they were certainly not ordinary fools. They reported about the strength of the land's inhabitants and the fortified cities they had seen. When Caleb made the statement that ascent was possible, he did not deny anything the others had said. It would not have been clever to do so. He silenced the others by agreeing that indeed their report was factual, the people were strong, the cities seemed impregnable. He added that in spite of all this, with the help of G–d, "עלה נעלה" we will ascend, even if it involves building ladders as high as the sky at G–d's command, etc. Since this is so, the statement by the other spies subsequently "we will not be able to ascend," can certainly not be interpreted at face value, meaning that the reason they could not ascend was the prowess of the inhabitants. Had they merely meant this they need not have troubled themselves, seeing that Caleb had previously conceded that point. The spies had therefore been goaded into saying that the inhabitants of the land were stronger even than G–d. Rashi's comments are therefore very appropriate. This latter statement of the spies constituted the ultimate libel against the land of Israel in the Celestial Regions (the counterpart to what we have on earth). That land is generally called ארץ החיים "the land of the living,” as is well known to students of metaphysics. When the spies were cut off this earth down here, they simultaneously lost their share in the ארץ החיים. The statement in 14,38, that Joshua and Caleb were the only ones among those men who חיו, lived, means that they received their share both in the land down here, and in its counterpart in the Celestial Regions. The צדיק receives the portion that had been allocated to him as well as the portion forfeited by the רשע, the evil person.

Just as the inhabitants of the land of Canaan had "lost their shadow," so the ten spies now lost their own shadow and died without being under G–d's protective shadow. Bamidbar Rabbah, 16,4, says concerning the verse in Proverbs 10,26, "As vinegar is to the teeth, and smoke to the eyes, so is the lazy man to those who send him on a mission," that this describes the mission of the spies. We also read in Proverbs 6,6, "Go to the ant, you lazybones, study its ways and wise up!" Ants love the shade. These men lost their shade. The intent of the spies had been that Israel should become lazy in realizing its objective of inheriting the land of Canaan. Their purpose had been to remain in their position longer. The allusion of the Midrash to the verse in Proverbs is then quite appropriate.

We read in the Talmud Shabbat 111a, that someone who has a toothache should not sip vinegar on the Sabbath, since it is good as a remedy. The Talmud queries this by quoting the verse in Proverbs 10,26, as proof that vinegar is not only no remedy, but on the contrary, is harmful. The Talmud there answers that it depends on the kind of vinegar. If it is made from unripe grapes, it is indeed harmful, otherwise it is beneficial.

We have learned in Avot 4,21, that "jealousy, lust, greed, and ego (i.e. the desire for public recognition) drive man from this world." These very negative virtues had driven Adam from the world. There was the jealousy of the serpent of Adam possessing Eve, its pursuit to gratify its lust, and the pursuit of ego, i.e. Adam and Eve wanted to usurp the unique place of G–d in the universe, since they responded to the lure והייתם כאלוקים, "you will be like G–d." Eve had squeezed out a cluster of grapes, ate it, found that they were unripe. This suggests that in this material world one must not pursue honor. Honor will be inherited by the scholars in the world to come. At that time what is written in Isaiah 24,23: "G–d's Presence will be revealed to His elders," will be fulfilled. This is what is meant when the sages describe יין המשומר, "well aged wine," as being part of the reward in store for the righteous in the future. Concerning what happens to the wicked at that time, it is written in Malachi 3,19: "For lo! that day is at hand, burning like a furnace.. All the arrogant and doers of evil shall be straw, etc." It also says in Samuel II 22,9: "smoke rose from His nostrils," i.e. when G–d was angry, and burned those whom He was angry at." Since we have shown that what happens on earth has its counterpart in the heavens, the Torah reports that the season the spies were dispatched was when the grape harvest commences on earth, i.e. a hint that many grapes are not ripe yet. The spies ignored the items mentioned in Avot as destructive. They ate unripe grapes, i.e they were greedy, they were concerned with their own honor and glory, hence they had to suffer what is described in Proverbs 10,26.

Let us get back now to the three approaches that we have described vis-a-vis the mission of the spies. The spies themselves were motivated by excessive desire for personal honor, and that is why they became enmeshed in one sin after another, until finally they denied G–d and lost both their future on earth and their future in the World to Come. Then there was the attitude of the people, who wanted to get a report about the land, not necessarily a negative report, but a truthful one. They wanted this in order to evaluate whether conquest by natural means was feasible. This too was displeasing in the eyes of G–d and of Moses, since G–d had authorized the mission only to demonstrate that conquest by natural means was not even under discussion, but that they would be shown how dependent they were on His active assistance.

Now we can understand the sin the spies committed even before they libeled the land by saying that it consumes its inhabitants. The words אפס כי עז העם הזה, are indeed crucial. The reason, however, is not like Nachmanides writes, nor even like the view of the Akeidat Yitzchak. Rather, by use of the word אפס, they had reversed G–d's intention by using their impressions as a reason to desist from the entire plan to conquer the land at this time. G–d had wanted that the very toughness of the people would make the Israelites concentrate on the need for His help, the need for G–d to perform miracles in order for them to inherit that land. In that way His name would have been aggrandized.