The spies' test of hidden merit

במדרש יבש חציר כו' ודבר אלקינו יקום לעולם משל למלך שהבטיח לאוהבו מתנה ומת אוהבו נותנו לבנו כו' ע"ש.

In the Midrash: "The grass withers… but the word of our God stands forever" — a parable of a king who promised his beloved friend a gift, and the friend died, so he gives it to his son… see there.

The Midrash compares Hashem's promise to a king who promised a gift to a friend; when the friend died, he gave it to the son — so the promise of the Land, made to the Avos, is fulfilled in their descendants.

וקשה הנמשל אינו כמו המשל שהרי השי"ת הבטיח להאבות לתת ארץ כנען לבני ישראל זרעם.

And this is difficult, for the nimshal (the lesson) does not match the mashal (the parable): for Hashem Yisborach promised the Avos to give the land of Canaan to Bnei Yisrael, their offspring.

The parable seems imperfect: in it the gift was promised to the friend himself; but Hashem's promise was from the outset that the Land would be given to the offspring of the Avos, not to the Avos personally.

אכן ביאור הענין כי האבות זכו לבחי' ארץ ישראל במעשיהם הטובים והיו מוכנים באמת לבחי' ארץ הקדושה כמ"ש ארץ מגוריהם כו'.

However, the explanation of the matter is that the Avos merited the aspect of Eretz Yisrael through their good deeds, and were truly fit for the aspect of the holy Land, as it is written, "the land of their sojournings…"

In truth the Avos themselves earned the spiritual "Land of Israel" by their deeds; they were genuinely ready for the holy Land — hence "the land of their sojournings."

וגם אמת הדבר כמו שהיו בנ"י אחר יציאת מצרים ומעמד הר סיני היו מוכנים ג"כ לבוא לא"י מצד מעשיהם כמו האבות והי' תיקון שלם [ולפי זה אפשר הי' מרע"ה נכנס עמהם ג"כ].

And it is also true that as Bnei Yisrael were after the Exodus from Mitzrayim and the standing at Har Sinai, they too were fit to come to Eretz Yisrael by virtue of their deeds, like the Avos, and it would have been a complete tikkun (rectification) [and according to this, Moshe Rabbeinu could also have entered with them].

Right after the Exodus and Matan Torah, Bnei Yisrael had reached the level of the Avos and were ready to enter the Land in a perfect rectification — and had it gone that way, even Moshe Rabbeinu could have entered with them.

אך שגרם החטא בעגל ונתרחקו מבחי' א"י.

But the sin of the Egel (Golden Calf) caused them to become distanced from the aspect of Eretz Yisrael.

The sin of the Golden Calf intervened, pushing them away from the spiritual level required for the Land.

אך השי"ת רצה להכניסם מצד הבטחת אבות כמ"ש אשר נשאתי כו' ידי כו'.

But Hashem Yisborach wished to bring them in by virtue of the promise to the Avos, as it is written, "which I lifted up My hand [to give]…"

Despite the setback, Hashem still wanted to bring them in — now relying on the oath sworn to the Avos rather than on the people's own current merit.

ולכן לא הכירו המרגלים אשר שייך להם ירושת הארץ שהי' נכסה מהם עי"ז שלא היו מוכנים לזה מצד מעשיהם.

Therefore the meraglim (spies) did not recognize that the inheritance of the Land belonged to them, for it was concealed from them — since they were not fit for it by virtue of their deeds.

Because the people were no longer worthy on their own account, their inherent right to the Land was hidden; so the spies could not perceive that the Land truly belonged to them.

אמנם הי' זה רק הסתר ואם היו מאמינים בהשי"ת היו נכנסין בזכות זה הנסיון עצמו.

However, this was only a concealment, and had they believed in Hashem Yisborach, they would have entered in the merit of this very test.

The hiddenness was not a true loss but a nisayon (test). Had they held firm in emunah, that very test would have become the merit by which they entered.

וכתיב ויתורו את ארץ כנען כי עדיין הי' תחת יד כנען והי' להם להבין זאת כי כשיבוא העת ויתהפך מתחת יד כנען להיות ארץ ישראל אז יתברר להם כי טוב הוא ושייך להם.

And it is written, "and they shall scout out the land of Canaan" — for it was still under the hand of Canaan, and they should have understood this: that when the time would come and it would be transformed from under the hand of Canaan to become the Land of Israel, then it would become clear to them that it is good and belongs to them.

The Torah calls it "the land of Canaan" because it was still in Canaanite hands. The people should have grasped that its current "bad" appearance was only because it had not yet become "Eretz Yisrael"; once Hashem would transform it, its goodness and their ownership would shine forth.

וז"ש יבש חציר נבל ציץ כו'.

And this is the meaning of "the grass withers, the flower fades…"

The verse "the grass withers, the flower fades" describes these outer concealments as fleeting and insubstantial.

כי כל אלה הסתרותיהם רק הבל וקש.

For all these concealments of theirs are only vanity and straw.

The frightening appearances the spies reported — the strength of the inhabitants — were mere "vanity and straw," with no enduring substance.

ובהתגלות נקודה הפנימיות מהנהגת הבורא אז יבש חציר כו' ודבר אלקינו יקום.

And when the inner point of the Borei's governance is revealed, then "the grass withers… but the word of our God stands forever."

Once the inner point of Hashem's hidden direction is revealed, all the outer "grass" withers away, while only Hashem's word — His promise of the Land — endures.

ובאמת יש לתמוה מה זה שאמרו עז העם כו' עמלק יושב כו'.

And in truth one must wonder: what is this that they said, "the people are fierce… Amalek dwells…"?

The Sefas Emes asks why the spies were so daunted by the strength of the inhabitants and by Amalek.

והלא ראו גבורת הבורא ונפלאותיו בכל יום.

For did they not see the might of the Borei and His wonders every single day?

Having witnessed Hashem's daily miracles in the wilderness, they should not have feared any earthly power at all.

אך כי באמת הבינו כי הם צריכין לרשת ארץ ישראל בשובה ונחת ובלי מלחמות כלל.

But in truth they understood that they needed to inherit the Land of Israel in tranquility and rest, without any wars at all.

Their real concern was deeper: they sensed that their generation was meant to inherit the Land peacefully, in serene closeness to Hashem, with no need for war.

אם כי בימי יהושע הי' מלחמות ל"א מלכים כל זה הי' דור אחר במדריגה אחרת מן דור המדבר.

Even though in the days of Yehoshua there were wars with thirty-one kings — all that was a different generation, on a different level than the generation of the wilderness.

The conquest under Yehoshua did involve wars, but that was a later generation on a lower level; the wilderness generation was held to a higher standard, meant to enter without war.

ומצינו גם בתחילת יציאת מצרים מגיד מראשית אחרית פן ינחם העם בראותם מלחמה.

And we find also at the beginning of the Exodus from Mitzrayim, "He who tells the end from the beginning" — "lest the people reconsider when they see war."

Already at the Exodus, Hashem led them by a roundabout way "lest they reconsider on seeing war," showing that this generation was not meant for warfare.

פרש"י כגון וירד העמלקי כו'.

Rashi explains: such as "and the Amalekite came down…"

Rashi identifies the very war they would have shrunk from as the attack of Amalek — the same Amalek the spies now invoked.

ונתקיים עתה נתנה ראש כו'.

And now was fulfilled, "Let us appoint a head [and return to Mitzrayim]…"

Their fear of war led to the rebellion of "let us appoint a leader and return to Egypt" — the failure of emunah that the test was meant to prevent.

על ידי שדור זה הי' מוכן לרשת הארץ בלי מלחמות.

Because this generation was prepared to inherit the Land without wars.

Precisely because they were destined for a war-free entry, the appearance of armed enemies so unsettled them — it seemed to contradict their lofty mission.

אך הכל גרם החטא אשר כל זה הי' ע"י עמלק הרשע כמ"ש במ"א.

But it was all caused by the sin, for all of this came about through wicked Amalek, as we have written elsewhere.

Ultimately their fall traces back to the earlier sin and to Amalek, who cooled their emunah and made earthly threats appear formidable.

ועכ"ז אם היו מתחזקים באמונה הי' ניתקן הכל כי לא יפלא מה' דבר:

And nevertheless, had they strengthened themselves in emunah, everything would have been rectified, for nothing is too wondrous for Hashem.

Even after the damage, the door remained open: had they only held firm in emunah, all would have been set right, for nothing is beyond Hashem's power.

Summary: The Avos earned the holy Land by their deeds, and Bnei Yisrael reached that same readiness after Sinai — but the Golden Calf distanced them, so Hashem brought them in on the strength of the oath to the Avos rather than their own merit. This made their right to the Land "concealed," which the spies could not perceive. Yet the concealment was only a test: the land's "bad" appearance and the fierce inhabitants were mere "vanity and straw," and had Bnei Yisrael held firm in emunah, that very test would have become the merit of their entry — for nothing is too wondrous for Hashem.