Rabbi's Derasha

We know how the catastrophe of this Parasha ends, with no entrance to the land for this generation.  With that, one wonders, “What were they thinking?”  There are roughly three approaches to this question:

Among those with the lowest motivations, the Zohar says that the spies were looking to protect their own status.  In the desert, they are leaders and men of prominence.  In the land of Kanaan, they will be replaced.  So they are looking to preserve the status quo by discouraging conquest of the land.  

For those who are in the middle, the reason to send the spies is practical.  Like anyone intending to conquer by dint of firepower and their wits, they want to know what research will show.  They want to know what places are vulnerable and what places are well fortified.  They want to know if surprise is necessary or simple firepower.  The conquest of the land will not be the way things worked in the desert, so preparation will be necessary.  

What was the thinking of the righteous?  For them, the stiff odds are the entire point.  They want the spies to see just how hard it will be to conquer the land.  The impossibility of overcoming the Kanaanim is what will magnify the role Hashem will play.  Every war is chaotic, every war subject to so many variables.  That is why it is called the “fog of war.”  No one can win a war without an army.  But even more so, no one can win without Hashem.  A harrowing picture of one’s chances only emphasizes that divine role, and that’s what the righteous were looking to amplify.  

This is why the report is not the issue, but how to interpret it.  The spies say there’s no natural way to win.  So the wicked pack it up and go home.  The righteous agree, but insist that that does not change the plan.  If Hashem has commanded a conquest, then there will be a conquest.

In motivation, Moshe Rabenu stands as always, alone.  Of course the way of the righteous applies: Hashem’s role will only be magnified.  But he stands to gain something else by sending the spies.  The Rambam says that the first entrance into the land was by Kibush, by conquest.  The entrance into the land for the generation of Ezra, by contrast, was with permission.  This means that the first entrance had to be by conquest.  Moshe Rabenu has had premonitions already that he will not lead the nation into the land.  The final decree will not come until Parashat Chukat, but there are already signs.  Sending spies is the first act of conquest.  It allows Moshe Rabenu to at least participate in the first act of conquest.  He won’t be able to go with them, but he can at least be part of the beginning.  If he can at least participate in this, he sees it as an obligation to do what he can.

This is often the leader’s fate.  Although they will not be able to see things through to the end, they must still step up to do what they can.  As R’ Tarfon says in Pirkei Avot, there is no obligation to finish the work, but one is not free to abandon it.  

At Kiddush, we are honoring Abe Bassan for his leadership this year.  He is the person who has stepped up out of duty.  Very few want this job, and those who do should perhaps be suspect.  But there is a duty to steer the ship, and Abe, who is very busy, was still called by duty to help out.  It has been a phenomenally successful year, in no small part due to his leadership. Like every leader, he must accept that he might not see things through till the end. But we're not free to desist from the work.