Masvingo : 17:09-18:04, Kinshasa : 17:40-18:32, Abuja : 18:34-19:27, Lagos : 18:46-19:39,
Enugu : 18:30-19:23, Abia : 18:28-19:21, Delta : 18:32-19:25, Anambra :18:31-19:24,
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Accra :17:59-18:52, Libreville : 18:11-19:04
Rashis Interpretation of the Story of the Scouts
Rashi’s commentary on several verses in this week’s reading raises a number of questions:
1) Regarding the phrase, “all the men being leaders” [kulam anashim], Rashi says: “The use of the term anashim denotes worthiness, and at that time they were worthy men.” Later, however, he interprets “they went and came” (Num. 13:26; rendered in New JPS Translation as “they went straight”), saying: “[It is intended] to compare their ‘going’ with their ‘coming.’ Just as they came to Moses with an evil plan, so, too, their ‘going’ [on the journey] was with an evil plan.” This seems to contradict what he had said earlier about their all having been worthy at the outset.
2) Regarding the words, “But Moses changed the name of Hosea son of Nun to Joshua [Yehoshua]” (Num. 13:16), Rashi says: “[By giving him this name which is a compound of Y-h and hosea] He prayed for him, ‘May G-d save you from the counsel of the scouts.'” Why did Moses not pray also for Caleb, or for that matter for all of them?!
3) On the words, “and came to Hebron” (Num. 13:22; the verb here is in the singular), Rashi cites the gemara: “Caleb alone went there.” Why did Joshua not join him?
4) Numbers 13:21 reads, “They went up and scouted the land” (Num. 13:21) and the next verse repeats, “they went up into the Negev…” Why this repetition?
5) After the Holy One, blessed be He, swore that the scouts would not live to see the land, the Lord added, “But My servant Caleb, because he was imbued with a different spirit and remained loyal to Me—him will I bring into the land” (Num. 14:24). Why is not Joshua mentioned here as well, as he was mentioned with Caleb elsewhere? Why does the Torah use such expressions as “a different spirit” and “remained loyal to Me” instead of one of the more usual expressions in Scripture, “did as I commanded” or “as the Lord had commanded Moses,” etc.? Indeed, Rashi mentions such an expression when he comments on the words, “They went up and scouted the land”: “just as Moses had bidden them.” Why did Rashi insert such a phrase in the midst of his description of where they went?
The key to understanding the story of the scouts, in my opinion, lies in Rashi’s commentary describing the geographical route taken by the spies, and therein we can find the answer to all the questions we have posed.
Moses sent the scouts from Kadesh-Barnea, which lies south-west of present-day Nizzana, saying to them: “Go up there into the Negev and on into the hill country” (Num. 13:17). In the land of Israel, references simply to the “hill country” mean the crest of the highlands that begin in the south, around the Arad Valley, and continue through the hills of Hebron, the hills of Jerusalem, the hills of Bethel and Samaria, and end at the Gilboa mountain range. The southern boundary of the land of Israel runs along the base of the hills rising out of the Arad Valley. Moses charted the way for the spies, telling them to cross the Negev, that is, to go from Kadesh-Barnea northeast to the foothills of the hill country. (Some people identify this route with the “way of Atharim” mentioned in Parashat Hukat. Indeed, Onkelos translates this as “the way taken by the scouts.”)
At the most southerly point of the land, at the base of the highlands, their scouting mission began. Until this point, they went together with no reprehensible intentions, but at the point of entering the land a split occurred in their ranks. Moses had told them to ascend to the crest of the highlands and continue northward, but instead they turned leftwards towards the sea, towards the coastal region of Philistia, of which it had been said at the time of the Exodus, “G-d did not lead them by way of the land of the Philistines” (Ex. 13:17). Caleb alone followed the precise route ordered by Moses and ascended to the crest of the highlands and, arriving at Hebron, prostrated himself at the tombs of the patriarchs. Thus it is clear why the Torah uses the unusual expression, “a different spirit [Heb. ruach]” which means most simply: a different direction or side.
As we said, the scouts turned westwards, departing from the route, while Caleb proceeded northward, as is indicated by the expression, “remained loyal to Me”—precisely followed Moses’ instructions to ascend to the highlands. At this point we must ask what did Joshua do. To which we answer: Joshua, as the leader destined to bring the people into the land, could not leave the people. He had to continue with them, for better or for worse, having failed to persuade them to follow the course set out by Moses. Accordingly, it becomes clear why Moses prayed for him alone: “May the Lord save you from the counsel of the scouts”; as if to say, although you may go along with them on the same route, do not accept their views. From the fact that Moses prayed specifically for him, Joshua understood that his duty was to stick by them; for this reason he is not mentioned along with Caleb (Num. 14:24).
The reason Moses did not pray for all the scouts may have to do with assuming literally that “people are led along the path that they wish to follow.” Thus the answer to our first question is obvious: “At that moment they were worthy,” meaning until the point when they entered the land; Rashi’s comment further on, “to compare their ‘going’ with their ‘coming,'” refers to the time from their entering the land until their returning to Moses. Why only Caleb came to Hebron is clear, since he was the only one who pursued a course that led to Hebron. The question regarding the seeming redundancy is easily solved, as well: the verse, “they went up into the Negev,” pertains to the beginning of their journey from Kadesh Barnea until their entering the land, at the foothills of the southern end of the Hebron range, and the proper continuation of that phrase is indeed “[he, Caleb] came [in the singular] to Hebron.” The rest of the scouts, as we have said, went westward as far as Rehov, and continued northward Hamath, on the northwestern boundary of the land, as Rashi explains: “they went along the side which forms the southern boundary from its eastern corner…up to the sea, which is the western boundary, and from there they went along the entire western boundary on the sea-coast up to Levo-hamath [means: the way leading to Hamath], which is situated in the northwestern corner.”
Two questions remain to be explicated: Why did Moses specify the route to be taken by the scouts? What did it matter which route they were to follow ? Why did the scouts depart from the prescribed route, and at that, precisely at the moment of entering the land?
Abraham, the founding patriarch of the Israelites, arrived from the north, entered the land, ascended to the crest of the highlands and came as far as Shechem. There the Lord was revealed to him and promised him: “I will assign this land to your offspring” (Gen. 12:7)—namely, the highland region in which Abraham was dwelling. Later, “from there he moved on to the hill country” (Gen. 12:8), meaning Abraham continued further along the ridge until the Negev, and from there went down to Egypt. Upon his return from there he again followed the route outlined in the verses, and again the Holy One, blessed be He, promised him the land, saying: “Up, walk about the land, through its length and its breadth, for I give it to you” (Gen. 13:17). In other words, after walking along the ridge of the highland, back and forth, and buying a foothold in it, he could walk the breadth of the land, as the Sages interpreted: “Go forth and prepare the way, taking the land, so that it will be easily conquered by your offspring” (see Bava Batra 100a). By traveling throughout the land, Abraham did the preparatory work, laying the way for his offspring. Also the binding of Isaac, which took place on Mount Moriah, along the crest of the highland, in a certain sense prepared the place of the Temple, called that good hill country, and likewise of the Davidic dynasty, beginning in Hebron and continuing in Jerusalem.
Now we can understand the point in sending twelve scouts: their function was to follow the same route that had been taken by the patriarch Abraham, as well as the route taken by Jacob when he set off for Haran and returned from there. The significance of Caleb going to Hebron is to say, as it were, to the patriarchs: “Here we are, the fourth generation, returning here just as the Lord promised Abraham; and we, too, are walking the land to its length and its breadth, along the road you charted.” Therefore twelve representatives were sent, so that each could do the preparatory work for his tribe to inherit the land, in the same way as Abraham had done, and as indeed was said of Caleb, who received the land “on which he set foot” (Deut. 1:36). Walking in the footsteps of the patriarchs acquires further significance in this context: both spiritually and physically, no departure from the way is permitted.
Some commentaries ascribe lack of humility to the scouts. The chieftains had been chosen for office but a short time before, but they knew that their office was limited to the period of the people’s wandering in the wilderness, since a monarchy would be established once they were in the land of Israel. In order to inherit the land, humility was required. This is deduced from a comparison of the remarks by Caleb and Joshua upon their return—”the land…is an exceedingly good land” (Num. 14:7)—and the remarks of the Sages in Sayings of the Fathers: “Be exceedingly humble, since the hope of man is but the worm” (Avot 4.4). Indeed, precisely such was their punishment—that worms and maggots crawl out of their mouths (Rashi).
At the beginning of this week’s reading Rashi explains why the story of the scouts follows upon the story of Miriam’s leprosy, since the scouts spoke ill, just as Miriam had, and failed to learn a lesson from her punishment. One could add that the juxtaposition of these two subjects also indicates that the scouts had not learned from Moses’ humility, which is emphasized at the end of the previous reading, and therefore they were smitten. The hubris of the scouts caused them to stray from their way. They did not want the Holy One, blessed be He, to bring the Israelites into the land because they wished to carry on as the chieftains; therefore they spoke disparagingly of the land. Here we also see an instance of one bad deed bringing another in its wake; from failing to comply with Moses’ instructions regarding the route they were to follow they were led to rebelling against G-d, as Joshua and Caleb said to them: “only you must not rebel against the Lord” (Num. 14:9), and their end was to die in a strange way, as mentioned above.
To finish on a good note, we recall that Hassidic works say the scouts intended well: they wished for the status quo in the wilderness to continue. After all, they did not need to concern themselves with earning a living, they were sheltered by the Clouds of Glory, and they were studying Torah under Moses. All this would change the moment they entered the land; what, then, would be with the Torah?! But of course all the good intentions in the world cannot stand against the accusation: “Why do you transgress the Lord’s command?” (Num. 14:41).