Spies failed a mission requiring angelic bittul

במדרש יש שמותיהן כעורים ומעשיהן כעורים אלו המרגלים כו'.

In the Midrash: there are those whose names are ugly and whose deeds are ugly — these are the spies (meraglim).

The Midrash classifies the meraglim as people whose very names and deeds were ugly, and the Sefas Emes will probe what this signifies.

נראה כי המד' בא למעט ולהקטין החטא שלהם כי הי' שליחות שלהם בהתלבשות והסתרות כנראה בפסוק שניתן להם שמות אלו על שם השליחות.

It appears that the Midrash comes to lessen and minimize their sin, for their mission (shlichus) involved a clothing-over and concealment (hislabshus and hastaros), as is apparent in the verse, that these names were given to them on account of the mission.

Far from condemning them, the Midrash actually mitigates the spies' guilt: their task itself required descending into concealment, and their names reflect the difficult mission they were sent on.

וכמו כן בעשו וישמעאל להיפוך שהי' להם לבושים טובים ואעפ"כ קלקלו מעשיהם ואלו המרגלים שהיו מקודם צדיקים ואח"כ לא יכלו לקיים זה השליחות כראוי כאשר חכמים הגידו בשליחות מרגלים דיהושע ותצפנו כו' שפינחס לא הי' צריך להסתיר שנק' מלאך כו'.

And so too, with Esav and Yishmael it is the reverse — they had good "garments" (levushim), and nevertheless they ruined their deeds; while these meraglim, who were tzaddikim beforehand, afterward could not fulfill this mission properly, as the Sages related regarding the mission of Yehoshua's spies, "and she hid them," that Pinchas had no need to conceal himself, for he is called an angel.

Esav and Yishmael had pleasant outer "garments" yet corrupted their deeds, the opposite of the meraglim, who were tzaddikim but failed at a mission of concealment; by contrast, Yehoshua's spy Pinchas, who needed no hiding, is called a "malach," because he was wholly absorbed in his task.

הענין הוא כי המלאך אין לו רק השליחות לכן נקרא מלאך.

The matter is that an angel has nothing but its mission, and that is why it is called a malach (literally "emissary").

An angel is defined entirely by its errand; it has no self apart from the shlichus, which is the very meaning of the word malach.

כמו כן כל עובד ה' הכ"ג והנביאים שנק' מלאכים הוא ע"ש הביטול כל הגוף אל השליחות כמ"ש נותנים נפשם בשליחותם.

So too, every servant of Hashem — the Kohen Gadol and the prophets, who are called "angels" — this is on account of the nullification (bittul) of the entire body to the mission, as it is said, "they give their souls in their mission."

A great servant of Hashem earns the title "malach" when his whole physical self is nullified to his Divine errand, giving over his very being to the shlichus.

וגם במלאכים יש להם כמה שמות לפי השליחות כידוע.

And even among the angels, they have various names according to the mission, as is known.

An angel's very name changes with each task it is sent to perform, since its identity is nothing but its current mission.

כן הכא משמותיהם מוכיח המד' כי הי' שליחות קשה.

So here, from their names the Midrash proves that it was a difficult mission.

The "ugly names" of the spies are precisely the proof that they were assigned an exceedingly hard shlichus of descent and concealment.

רק אם הי' נותנים נפשם ממש לדמות למלאכים היו מצליחין בשליחותן ואין זה דבר נקל לאדם להיות כמלאך:

Only that had they given over their souls entirely, to resemble angels, they would have succeeded in their mission; but this is no easy thing for a person — to be like an angel.

Had the meraglim achieved complete bittul to their task, like angels, they would have succeeded; but reaching such total self-nullification is extremely hard for a human being.

Summary: The Midrash's harsh-sounding description of the meraglim actually softens their sin: their mission required entering concealment, and their names reflect its difficulty. The key is that an angel is nothing but its mission, and so too a servant of Hashem earns the title "malach" through total bittul of body and soul to the Divine errand. Had the spies given themselves over completely, like angels, they would have succeeded — but reaching such self-nullification is no small feat for a human being.