“Send for you men. And they will scout the land of Canaan that I am giving to Bnai Yisrael. You should send one man from each tribe. Each of them should be a prince.” (BeMidbar 13:2)
Hashem commands Moshe to send scouts into the land
of Israel. This group will travel
through the land and return with a report.
These scouts return and deliver their report. They assert that Bnai Yisrael will not be
able to conquer the inhabitants of Canaan.
This report causes panic within the nation. Bnai Yisrael refuse to proceed.
Hashem punishes Bnai Yisrael. He decrees that the people will wander in
the wilderness for forty years. The
current generation will not conquer the land.
Their children will posses the land of Israel.
In Sefer Devarim, Moshe reviews this incident. He adds some crucial information. The suggestion of sending this advance party
originated from Bnai Yisrael. The
people approached Moshe. Moshe received
permission from Hashem to authorize the mission.[1]
Nachmanides raises an interesting question. What was the mission of these scouts? In Sefer Devarim, the people address this
issue. They explain that the scouts
will determine the best approach to the land.
They will evaluate which cities should be first attacked first.[2] In other words, these scouts were to act as
spies.
However, when Moshe charged the spies he expanded
their mission. In addition to military
information, they were to report on the fertility and quality of the land.[3] Why did Moshe make this change?
Nachmanides explains that Moshe knew that the spies
would discover a rich and fertile land.
He expected that they would report this finding to the nation. This would thrill the people. They would be
eager to proceed with the conquest.[4]
This insight does not completely explain Moshe’s
motives. Why did Moshe feel that this
additional encouragement was necessary?
Moshe had not originally intended to send these scouts. Bnai Yisrael suggested dispatching
spies. How did this suggestion convince
Moshe that the nation required reassurance?
Nachmanides’ comments provide an interesting insight
into the entire incident. Moshe
apparently, concluded that the request to send spies was motivated by
insecurity. He knew that the spies
would report that the land was occupied by mighty nations. The inhabitants lived in fortified
cities. This information would add to
Bnai Yisrael’s fears. Moshe sought to
counter these concerns. He expanded the
spy’s mission. This assured that they
would also bring back a favorable assessment of the quality of the land of
Israel. He hoped that the resultant
enthusiasm would help Bnai Yisrael overcome their fears.
“These are the names of the people that Moshe sent to scout the land. And Moshe called Hoshea bin Nun Yehoshua.” (BeMidbar 13:16)
Moshe realized that the spies he had appointed were
not completely suited for their mission.
They lacked the confidence and self-assurance essential to
conquest. He suspected that they would
be intimidated and foresaw their discouraging report. He renamed his student Hoshea.
He bestowed upon him the name Yehoshua.
This new name contained Moshe’s prayer on his behalf. Hashem should rescue Yehoshua from the
influence of the spies.
We can easily understand Moshe’s prayers on his
student’s behalf. However, the
alteration of Yehoshua’s name is more difficult to explain. Why did Moshe change his student’s
name? What purpose was served by this
change?
Maimonides explains in his Laws of Repentance that
there are various behaviors that are associated with repentance. One of these is that the repentant
individual changes his name. In
adopting a new name, the repentant person is making a statement. He is a new person. He is not the one who committed the sins
from which he repents.[5] This is not merely some sort of superficial
gesture. Repentance requires a
recreation of oneself. One must leave
previous modes of behavior and thought and adopt a new life-style. The adoption of a new name encourages the
development of a fresh self-image. This
self-image is an invaluable asset in the attempt to build a new life. The important element of this analysis is
that a person’s name can communicate a personal message. It is an effective vehicle for reminding its
owner of one’s personal mission and identity.
We can apply Maimonides’ reasoning to Moshe’s change
of Hoshea’s name. Moshe realized that
his prayers might not be sufficient to save his student. His student must be reminded of the danger
that surrounds him. He must appreciate
this danger. He must also recognize his
personal mission. This mission is to
resist this influence and remain unsullied by the sins of the other spies. Moshe provided his student with a device
designed to communicate all of these messages.
This was his new name. This new
name was designed to communicate a personal message. The new name recalled to its bearer Moshe’s prayers and the
reason for these prayers.
“Is the land
fertile or barren? Are there trees
there or not? And be courageous and
take some of the fruit of the land. And
it was during the period of the ripening of the first grapes.” (BeMidbar 13:20)
Moshe provides the spies with instructions. Our passage is part of these
instructions. One of the directives
Moshe gives the spies is to bring back a sample of the fruit of the land.
Why did Moshe require the scouts to bring back this
sample of the fruit? The most obvious
answer is that he wished to provide a concrete sample of the fertility of the
land. Hashem had told Moshe that the
land was fertile. Moshe was sure that
the fruit would demonstrate this fertility.
Therefore, he asked the scouts to bring back a sample of the fruit.
There is another possible explanation for Moshe’s
instruction to bring back a sample of the fruit. This answer requires an introduction. There is an interesting detail in our parasha that deserves some analysis. The Torah specifies that the scouts were sent from the wilderness
of Paran.[6] This comment seems redundant. At the end of the previous parasha, the Torah tells us that the
nation was camped in the wilderness of Paran.[7] It is obvious that the spies were sent from
this location.
There seems to be a second redundancy in the same
passage. The pasuk states that the scouts were sent from the wilderness of Paran
“at the word of Hashem.”[8] The mention of Hashem’s acquiescence seems
to be a second redundancy. The parasha begins with the Almighty
granting permission to send the spies!
Rav Yitzchak Zev Soloveitchik Ztl suggests that the explanation for these apparent redundancies
can be found in the end of the previous parasha. There the Torah explains that each journey
of the nation and each encampment were undertaken at the word of Hashem.[9] As explained above, the last parasha ends with the nation encamped in
the wilderness of Paran. In order for
the camp to begin a new journey, the Almighty’s authorization was required.
Our parasha
tells us that the spies were sent from the wilderness of Paran at the word of
Hashem. This statement contains a
message. The spies were beginning a
journey from the existing encampment.
Therefore, specific authorization was needed to break camp! In other words, the spies needed two
separate authorizations. First, Hashem
authorized Moshe to send scouts. This was
an authorization of the concept.
Second, a specific authorization was needed to undertake a journey from
the established encampment.[10]
Of course, there is an obvious question. Hashem’s authorization is needed in order
for the nation to undertake a journey.
In our parasha, it is not the
nation that is undertaking the journey.
It is a group of scouts. Why do
the scouts require a special authorization to leave camp?
The Gaon of Rogachov -- Rav Yosef Rozin Ztl
answers that the spies were not a separate entity, distinguished from the rest
of the nation. They were not merely an
advanced scouting party. They were the
beginning of the nation’s journey into the land of Israel. The nation began its journey through sending
the spies. With these scouts the nation
began to leave its camp. Therefore, the
specific authorization of Hashem was required.[11]
This explains an interesting comment in the
Talmud. The Talmud is discussing the
issue of agency. The Talmud is seeking
a source for the rule that an agent can act on one’s behalf. The Talmud responds that this principle is
derived from the incident of the spies.
The spies acted on behalf of the nation.[12] Superficially, the discussion is difficult
to understand. In what way were the
spies the representatives of the nation?
The above analysis answers the question. The journey of the spies represented the journey of the
nation. Their departure from the
wilderness of Paran was deemed the beginning of Bnai Yisrael’s departure. In this manner, the spies were the agents of
the entire nation.
This also explains another issue. Moshe selected leaders from the tribes to be
members of this group. Why did Moshe
choose leaders of the tribes? Many
answers are offered. However, the above
approach offers a very simple explanation.
These scouts were required to act as the representatives of the
people. In order to fulfill this role,
these individuals were required to be leaders within their respective
tribes. Without this position, they
could not be deemed as representatives of their tribes.[13]
This brings us back to our original question. Why did Moshe instruct the spies to bring
back fruit from the land? Based on the
above approach, an interesting answer can be suggested. Moshe was not commanding these spies to
merely scout the land. He was
commanding them to begin the process of possession. They were to represent the nation and assume ownership of the
land. Moshe’s instructions to collect a
portion of the fruit of the land can be understood in this context.
According to Torah law, land can be acquired in
three ways. First, it can be acquired
through payment. Second, ownership can
be transferred through a document.
Third, land can be acquired through chazakah. Chazakah
means performing an action that demonstrates ownership. If a person wishes to transfer ownership of
land to another person, the recipient can establish possession through
demonstrating ownership.[14]
How does a person acquire a parcel of land through chazakah? What specific actions are regarded as demonstrations of
ownership? One of the forms of chazakah
is harvesting the fruit of the land.
Through harvesting the fruit the person demonstrates possession.[15]
We can appreciate Moshe’s instructions. The spies were to initiate the process of possessing
the land. He commanded them to perform
an act of legal acquisition. They were
to utilize chazakah. The harvesting of the fruit was an
expression of this chazakah.[16]
[1] Rabbaynu Shlomo ben Yitzchak (Rashi), Commentary on Sefer
BeMidbar 13:2.
[2] Sefer Devarim 1:22.
[3] Sefer BeMidbar 13:19-20.
[4] Rabbaynu Moshe ben Nachman (Ramban / Nachmanides), Commentary
on Sefer BeMidbar 13:2.
[5] Rabbaynu Moshe ben Maimon (Rambam / Maimonides) Mishne Torah, Hilchot Teshuva 2:4.
[6] Sefer
BeMidbar 13:3.
[7] Sefer BeMidbar 12:16.
[8] Sefer
BeMidbar 13:3.
[9] Sefer BeMidbar 9:15-23.
[10] Rav Shimon Yosef Miller, Shai LaTorah (Jerusalem 5753), volume 3, pp. 139-140.
[11] Rav Shimon Yosef Miller, Shai LaTorah (Jerusalem 5753), volume 3, p 141.
[12] Mesechet Kiddushin 41a.
[13] Rav Shimon Yosef Miller, Shai LaTorah (Jerusalem 5753), volume 3, p 141.
[14] Rabbaynu Moshe ben Maimon (Rambam / Maimonides) Mishne Torah,
Hilchot
Mechirah
1:3.
[15] Rabbaynu Moshe ben Maimon (Rambam / Maimonides) Mishne Torah,
Hilchot
Mechirah 1:16.
[16] Rav Shimon Yosef Miller, Shai LaTorah (Jerusalem 5753), volume 3, p 141.