The spies and reliance on Hashem

במדרש אין מפליגין בספינה ג' ימים קודם לשבת כו' שלוחי מצוה כו'.

In the Midrash: "One does not set sail on a ship within three days before Shabbos... emissaries of a mitzvah..." (cf. Shabbos 19a).

The Sefas Emes brings the halacha that one should not embark on a sea voyage in the three days before Shabbos, except for the sake of a mitzvah, and reads it as a parable for spiritual descent.

כי הבלי עוה"ז דומין למים רבים כמ"ש מים רבים לא יוכלו לכבות כו' האהבה.

For the vanities of this world resemble "many waters," as it is written: "Many waters cannot extinguish... the love" (Shir HaShirim 8:7).

The distractions and emptiness of worldly life are like "many waters" that threaten to flood and drown a person — yet the verse promises that they cannot extinguish true love of Hashem.

וע"ז רומז הספינה על הדביקות שעי"ז יכולין להתקיים גם בעוה"ז ולא ישטפוה נהרות.

And the ship alludes to this — to deveikus (cleaving to Hashem), through which one can endure even in this world, and the rivers will not sweep it away.

The "ship" that carries a person safely across the dangerous waters is deveikus; by clinging to Hashem one stays afloat in worldly life and is not swept under by its currents.

אכן הקרוב לקדושה מסתכן בירידתו למקום טומאה וזה הרמז לג' ימים קודם השבת.

However, one who is close to holiness places himself in danger in his descent to a place of impurity — and this is the hint of "three days before Shabbos."

The closer a person is to kedushah, the greater the risk when he descends into a lower, impure place. The three days before Shabbos represent the precarious window of such a descent for one already near holiness.

וזה הי' במרגלים קדושי עליונים והיו קרובים לארון ושכינת עוזו כמ"ש וארון כו' ה' נוסע כו' דרך שלשת ימים והי' סכנה בירידתם לארץ כנען.

And this was the case with the meraglim (spies), who were supremely holy and close to the Aron and to His mighty Shechinah, as it is written: "And the Aron... of Hashem traveled... a distance of three days" (Bamidbar 10:33), and there was danger in their descent to the land of Canaan.

The meraglim were lofty, holy men, intimate with the Aron and the Shechinah. The Torah's mention of the Aron traveling "three days" hints at their three-day proximity to holiness — and precisely because of their elevation, descending to scout Canaan was spiritually perilous.

אך ע"י המצות יכולין להתקיים בחושך כמ"ש שלוחי מצוה אין ניזוקין רק שצריך להיות הכוונה בלתי להשי"ת בלבדו כמ"ש חז"ל שמא תאבד לו מחט כו' וכשיהי' לו משהו צד נגיעה לא תגין המצוה להצילו מן הסכנה.

But through mitzvos one can survive even in darkness, as Chazal say: "emissaries of a mitzvah are not harmed" — provided that the intention is for Hashem alone, as Chazal say: "lest he lose a needle..." For if he has the slightest trace of personal interest (negiah), the mitzvah will not shield him to save him from danger.

Mitzvos can protect a person even amid spiritual darkness — but only if his motive is purely for Hashem. Chazal qualify that even a shaliach mitzvah loses his protection if he has a private stake (such as searching for his own lost needle along the way). The faintest self-interest, negiah, removes the mitzvah's shielding power.

וזה שכתב בזוה"ק שהי' להם נגיעה היינו נגיעת משהו כנ"ל.

And this is what is written in the Zohar, that they had a "negiah" — meaning the slightest trace of personal interest, as stated.

The Zohar's statement that the meraglim had a negiah refers to this faintest trace of self-interest, which was enough to strip away the mitzvah's protection.

וגם נגיעה זו לאנשים גדולים כאלה אינו עפ"י פשוטו.

And even this "negiah," for such great men, is not according to its plain meaning.

For men of such stature, this "self-interest" cannot be understood crudely; it was something far subtler than ordinary ulterior motive.

אבל הענין הוא עפ"י המדרש יבש חציר נבל ציץ ודבר אלקינו יקום ע"ש.

Rather, the matter is according to the Midrash: "The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God endures forever" (Yeshayahu 40:8) — see there.

The Sefas Emes points to a Midrash on this verse to unlock the deeper nature of the spies' error: human power "withers," but only Hashem's word truly endures.

ופרשנו במ"א כי בנ"י נכנסו לא"י ע"י הבטחת הבורא ית' לאבות ולא בכח עצמותם.

And we explained elsewhere that Bnei Yisrael entered Eretz Yisrael by virtue of the Creator's promise to the Avos, and not by their own power.

The entry into Eretz Yisrael was meant to rest entirely on Hashem's promise to Avraham, Yitzchak and Yaakov — a gift of divine assurance, not a conquest achieved by the people's own strength.

והמרגלים רצו שירגישו בעצמותם הכנה זו להיות מוכן להם ארץ ישראל.

And the meraglim wanted that they themselves should feel this readiness, that Eretz Yisrael should be prepared for them through their own perception.

Herein lay their subtle negiah: they wished to "feel" their own fitness and readiness for the Land — to experience it as something earned through their own preparation rather than received purely on the Avos' merit.

וגם כל חטא שליחות המרגלים של כל ישראל י"ל כן במ"ש נשלחה אנשים נפנינו שהיו סבורים להיות מוכנים בעצמם.

And the entire sin of sending the spies, on the part of all Israel, can be understood the same way, as it is written: "Let us send men" (Devarim 1:22) — that they imagined they would be prepared by their own selves.

The whole nation shared this flaw: in asking to send spies, "let us send men," they betrayed a desire to ready themselves by their own effort and judgment, rather than relying solely on Hashem's promise.

[וי"ל בזה מ"ש משה רבינו ע"ה וייטב בעיני הדבר כי באמת הוא הי' נכנס בזכות עצמו וז"ש שלח לך כי לו הי' נכון זאת השליחות ואם לא הי' שום נגיעה למרגלים רק לעשות השליחות בשלימות הי' הכל טוב].

[And one may explain with this the words of Moshe Rabbeinu, peace be upon him, "and the matter was good in my eyes" (Devarim 1:23), for in truth he would have entered by his own merit. And this is the meaning of "Send for yourself" (shelach lecha) — for him this mission was proper; and had the spies had no negiah, only to carry out the mission in completeness, all would have been well.]

Moshe approved of the plan because his own level was such that he could enter the Land by his personal merit — hence "shelach lecha," for you, it was fitting. The mission itself was not inherently wrong; had the spies acted purely, with no trace of self-interest, scouting the Land would have been entirely good.

ולכן הוציאו דבה.

And therefore they brought forth an evil report.

Because their perception was rooted in self-reliance, when they saw the Land they measured it against their own strength, found themselves inadequate, and so spoke ill of it.

אבל כלב ויהושע אמרו אם חפץ בנו כו' ונתנה לנו לא בזכותינו וז"ש אך בה' אל תמרודו.

But Kalev and Yehoshua said: "If Hashem desires us... He will give it to us" (Bamidbar 14:8) — not by our own merit; and this is the meaning of "only do not rebel against Hashem" (Bamidbar 14:9).

Kalev and Yehoshua grasped the true principle: the Land would be given through Hashem's desire and promise, not by the people's own merit. Their call "do not rebel against Hashem" was a call to rely on Him alone rather than on one's own power.

[וי"ל הרמז מ"ש בזוהר דכאן זכאין להיות רישין כו' פי' מה שמרגישין בעצמותם הי' בחי' מוחין וטעמין.

[And one may explain the hint in what the Zohar says, that here they were worthy to be "heads"... meaning that what they perceived in themselves was the aspect of mochin (intellect) and ta'amim (rational understanding).

The Zohar's notion that the spies were fit to be "heads" refers to a high level of mochin — comprehension with grasped reasons. Their "self-perception" operated on the plane of intellect and understood rationale.

אבל בחי' א"י הי' מצד זכות אבות וכמו ענין תורה שבע"פ ואמונה בלי השגת הטעמים כנ"ל]:

But the aspect of Eretz Yisrael was on the side of the merit of the Avos, like the matter of Torah she'be'al peh (the Oral Torah) and emunah without grasping the reasons, as stated.]

Eretz Yisrael, however, belongs to a higher plane — that of the Avos' merit, of Torah she'be'al peh and pure emunah that cleaves to Hashem even without comprehending the reasons. The spies' error was trying to access through intellect what could only be received through faith and inherited merit.

Summary: The vanities of this world are "many waters" that threaten to drown a person; deveikus is the ship that carries him safely across. One close to holiness risks much in descending to a lower place, and is protected only by mitzvos performed purely for Hashem — the slightest negiah (self-interest) removes that shield. This was the subtle failing of the meraglim: lofty men who wished to "feel" their own readiness for Eretz Yisrael, when in truth the Land was to be given solely through Hashem's promise to the Avos. They grasped the level of intellect (mochin), but Eretz Yisrael belongs to the higher plane of emunah and inherited merit — the lesson Kalev and Yehoshua taught in "do not rebel against Hashem."