In this week’s parsha Moshe Rabbeinu tells Klal Yisroel about the story of the Meraglim [Spies], however, if we look at the pasukim carefully something seems to be missing.
In pasuk 1:23 it says: וייטב בעיני הדבר ואקח מכם שנים עשר אנשים איש אחד לשבט - “The matter was good in my eyes, and I told them to take 12 men, one man from each tribe”. Then Moshe sent them. Then when they returned it says in pasuk 25: ויאמרו טובה הארץ אשר ה' אלקינו נתן לנו – “They said, the land which Hashem has given us is very good”. We know that the Meraglim said lashon horah about Eretz Yisroel and they were punished severely for it. However, when Moshe describes what they said, he doesn’t mention a word about this, and it almost seems as if what the Meraglim said was 100% virtuous and that they weren’t guilty of anything. Pasuk 26 continues with the response of Klal Yisroel: ולא אביתם לעלת – “We don’t want to go up”, however, regarding the Meraglim it would seem that they never said anything wrong, how are we to understand this, especially when we know otherwise?
The Ohr HaChaim HaKadosh is bothered by this and he says that Moshe Rabbeinu didn’t want to say lashon horah about people who had already died. However, this is even more difficult to understand. Firstly, Rav Yaakov writes in Parshas Vayeishev that there is no din lashon horah on someone who died? And secondly, the Torah constantly tells us lashon horah kavayochel [so to speak] about people who died. It tells us about Miriam who did an aveirah, it tells us Moshe did an aveirah, the Torah tells us that the Meraglim did an aveirah. In order that we can learn from it, the Torah tells us. The Ohr HaChaim is very difficult to understand.
R' Yisroel Reisman suggests an alternative peshat and says as follows:
Moshe Rabbeinu is teaching Klal Yisroel an important lesson. The Meraglim were not sent to come back and give advice. They were sent to come back and give a report of what they saw. Their mission was not to give advice. Moshe Rabbeinu did not appoint them to offer advice. He appointed them as spies who would say what they saw. Therefore, Moshe says, I sent them to come and give a report, and that’s what they did, they came back and said: יאמרו טובה הארץ אשר ה' אלקינו נתן לנו – “They said, the land which Hashem has given us is very good”. It’s true that they added on advice, however, that wasn’t what they were sent for, therefore, Moshe makes no mention of it.
It is the nature of people, especially when they know more about a topic than we do, that they like to add in their own comments. When a scientist talks about science, or a physician talks about medicine, besides for saying over information we don’t know, they often add in their own comments. Don’t get confused between a person who can tell you information that you don’t know, and his ability to give you a good eitza. It is the nature of people who are knowledgeable in science to throw in a little bit of apikorsus, to berate Chazal. We didn’t ask you for advice, we don’t need your advice.
Someone once went to a doctor and he gave him a prognosis that was not favorable. The person told the doctor and he said (as it says in Berachos 60a): ניתנה התורה רשות לרופא לרפאות – I only come to you for you to heal, your advice and prognosis is not what you are here to do. The same thing, very often we hear from people who are intelligent people, and they say and throw in “based on this” such and such. No! Don’t tell me a pesak halachah, don’t tell me advice. You are here for the report that I was said to give you. That is what Moshe Rabbeinu is pointing out. They came back with their report, however, they weren’t asked for this, therefore, Moshe cleverly omits it.
Someone once said about one of Rav Moshe’s pesakim that Rav Moshe didn’t understand that it worked this way or the other way. At the time, Rav Pam said that for people to say such a thing is amaratzus, complete ignorance. He said that Yaakov Avinu says in Bereishis (48:19): ידעתי בני ידעתי – “I know my son, I know”. When Yosef told Yaakov that his hands were in the wrong direction, he said, I know what you know and I know more than you know. Yosef thought that Yaakov was missing information. Rav Pam said the same thing, Rav Moshe is missing information?
R’ Yisroel Reisman relates: I once heard from one of Rav Moshe’s sons, that when Rav Moshe wanted to be kovai’a sunrise (netz hachama), he went out on a boat to see in the east what it looks like from a boat when the sun is rising relative to what the official sunrise time is. Rav Moshe was not a batlan. He knew what he has to see and he knew what he had to understand. He didn’t rely on other people. So, ידעתי בני ידעתי, I know what you know and Rav Moshe knew more than you know. The same thing is true in all of these cases. An important lesson in Avodas Hashem.
Finally, the Ramban has another peshat to explain these difficult pasukim. He says, that in front of Moshe Rabbeinu the Meraglim only mentioned the good about Eretz Yisroel, and only later when amongst the people did they turn into troublemakers and offer a negative report. Since in front of Moshe they only said good, Moshe only mentions this part and not the negative part.
