We’ll bring one more Midrash (Yalkut Shimoni Tehillim 32:759) to summarize the matter – see how beautiful this Midrash is. It brings a parable of a king who made a feast for all who came to his palace. The king had one beloved friend, and he loved him exceedingly, beyond measure. When the waiters brought the food before them, they served the meal, and there was one good dish there. What was it? Probably meat. Good meat. The king hinted to his beloved, “Take from this dish. Do me a favor, take from this dish.” The friend, however, did not understand. He looked at the dish the king was pointing to, saw there was a nice piece of entrecôte, covered in sauce, with fancy lettuce and sprouts all over it, and he said, “Forget it, I don’t need all this fanfare. I’ll take the schnitzel. A nice pile of schnitzel, please.” The king once again hinted to him, “Take the this, take the beef,” but the friend doesn’t even look back at it. The king went, says the Midrash, took the tray, the plate with the prime entrecôte, and served it to him anyway.
The Midrash says, so too Hakadosh Baruch Hu distributed all the lands to all the nations. Switzerland said, “I want this,” Austria said they want that, America wanted the other piece, and England and Russia laid eyes on something else. And Hakadosh Baruch Hu hinted to Knesset Yisrael to take Eretz Yisrael, “Take this.” But they didn’t want to. Why not? Because it is small compared to all the other lands. You look for Eretz Yisrael on a globe – you turn it this way and that way searching, saying, “Where is it? I can’t even see it!” You then look for Egypt, and only then can you find where Eretz Yisrael is, more or less. A small strip on the giant globe. They did not want to take it. They said, “Ribbono Shel Olam, look, there are some huge countries here, Ben Porat Yosef, look at all that’s around it.” But the king again hinted to them, “Take it.” But the land was small and they didn’t want it.
Even though it is a small land compared to all the others, it is at the center of the news. How many times do they mention Indonesia? How many times? Once a year they mention Indonesia, when a bus overturns there. That’s it. Who even hears about it?! Whatever station or newspaper you open – Israel! All the time! Hakadosh Baruch Hu says, “Small, but it takes first place. Take it.” This is the best land in the world. Hakadosh Baruch Hu chose Eretz Yisrael from all the lands and Am Yisrael from all the nations.
If so, it follows that the spies sinned with two sins. The first sin they committed was speaking lashon hara about Eretz Yisrael, but there is another thing here – they despised the desirable land. There were two sins. And therefore, says the Midrash, they were punished with two punishments. Not only did they speak lashon hara and their tongue went to their navel, but in the end, they also died.
