Hashgachah Pratis
Rashi at the beginning of the parashah translates (13:2) לך שלך to mean לדעתך, that if you want to send spies, send. It isn't an obligation.
Yet, the following pasuk states (13:3) וישלח 'ה פי על פארן ממדבר משה אתם, "Moshe sent forth [the meraglim]... at Hashem's command." This seems to imply that Hashem commanded them to send meraglim. So which is it? Were they obligated to send meraglim, or was it their choice?
In the answer lies a great foundation in emunah and hashgachah pratis. They weren't obligated to send meraglim. They had free choice whether or not to send them. But they chose to send the meraglim. Now, we have to believe that this was Hashem's plan. So, in a way, they were obligated to send meraglim.
To explain, we quote the Meor Einayim (V’eschanan):
"A Yid must believe with everything he does, whether it is with gashmiyos, his work for parnassah and other gashmiyos pursuits, or in regards to ruchniyos, his avodas Hashem, he must believe that the idea that came to his mind before he did that deed was sent to him from heaven to direct him so he should succeed and earn money. Because it was Hashem's will at that time that it should be so [that he should succeed in that business venture]. Or the opposite, chas v'shalom. When Hashem wants to bring him to a loss, Hashem places in his heart an idea and a desire to do a deed that would result in a loss..."
So, although a person has free choice, it is Hashem who places thoughts and ideas into one's mind, and everything is from Hashem.
The Meor Einayim teaches this lesson from the pasuk (Devarim 8:18) כי אלקיך 'ה את וזכרת חיל לעשות כח לך הנתן הוא, "You shall remember Hashem, your G-d: that it was He Who gave you strength to make wealth."
Onkelos writes, נכסין למקני עצה לך יהב הוא ארי, "Hashem gave you the counsel to buy property...." Onkelos translates כח as עצה, counsel. He is explaining that the success came from Hashem because Hashem put into his mind what to do and what to buy.
The Yesod HaAvodah zt'l teaches this lesson from this week's parashah (15:39), וזכרת 'ה מצות כל את. He translates 'ה מצות כל, to mean that everything is Hashem's command. Remember that everything that occurs, even when the person himself decided it, was from Hashem.
We are granted free will. Each person can choose which cheder to send his child to, the doctor he wants to use for refuah, which parnassah he should work in, and various other details, but he must believe that what he does is Hashem's will. He made his decision because that is the decision Hashem wanted him to make.
Therefore, the idea of sending the meraglim was their own choice, but it was what Hashem wanted and commanded. The two statements aren’t a contradiction. Before one does something, he is granted free choice, but after he makes the decision, he has to know that the choice was destined from above, and it wasn't really up to him.
Chazal say חרטות מלאים רשעים that resha'im always regret their actions. Reb Pinchas Koritzer zt'l asks that if they regret their actions, they aren't resha'im!
He answers that this means they are always second-guessing themselves. The rasha asks himself, "Why did I make this mistake? Why wasn't I wiser?" It isn't proper to think so because one must believe that what occurred, and even his decisions, were Hashem's plan.
One week, at shalosh seudos, the Be'er Mayim Chaim went up to heaven and saw many neshamos protesting in heaven. These neshamos had to return to this world as a gilgul, and the neshamos begged not to be sent back to the world. They explained that they feared they would return to this world and sin again, so what would they gain from coming down to this world as a gilgul? They will need to return again and again many times. What is the purpose?
The court in heaven told them that the judgment has become easier nowadays, and they shouldn't be afraid to come down to the world. Heaven explained that in our generation, every good deed makes a great impression in heaven. Additionally, in our times, the main thing is to have emunah. If you have emunah, you passed the test of life.
Their Rectification
Their punishment was (14:35) יתמו הזה במדבר ימותו ושם, “In this desert, they will perish, and they will die there.”
The Chasam Sofer zt’l (במדבר ה"ד משה תורת) explains that ּ וַּּמיִת hints that they would return to their temimus, their perfection, and that will rectify their sin.
He explains that in sefer Devarim (9:2), Moshe announced to the nation the great powerful nations that live in Eretz Canaan, but this time, it didn’t frighten them. Moshe told them, ענקים בני ורם גדול עם, “A large nation... the children of giants...” but they weren’t afraid.
The Chasam Sofer explains, “Moshe wasn’t concerned they would be frightened and that they won’t want to go into Eretz Yisrael because by that time Moshe was already their leader for forty years, which is when students perceive the lessons of their teacher (as Rashi writes Devarim 29:3). And when one understands Moshe’s teachings and he understands the holiness of Eretz Yisrael and the holiness of each Yid’s neshamah, he is moser nefesh and gives away all his money even just to see Eretz Yisrael.
“The generation of the meraglim didn’t attain that perception yet. Therefore, they said, הזה במדבר או במצרים מתנו לו, ‘If only we would die in Egypt or in this desert.’ Dying in the desert wasn’t a punishment for them because that is what they requested: מתנו לו, ‘If only we could die in the desert.’ Each person lived until he was sixty, and by that time, they attained their sheleimus, temimus, and perfection. At that age, they perceived the holiness of Eretz Yisrael, and they had immense distress knowing that they would die in the desert and not go up to Eretz Yisrael. This is the meaning of the pasuk, יתמו הזה במדבר, you will live in this desert until you attain temimus and perfection, and you will perceive the holiness of Eretz Yisrael, ושם, and after you attain perfection, ימותו, you will die, and you will be upset that you are dying [before going into Eretz Yisrael]. Their regret will be their punishment, and thereby they will merit Olam HaBa.”
The Preciousness of Time
It states (14:34), ,הארץ את תרתם אשר הימים במספר לשנה יום לשנה יום יום ארבעים, “For the number of days you spied the land — forty days — a day for a year, a day for a year.” The meraglim scouted Eretz Yisrael for forty days. Therefore, the nation was punished by remaining in the desert for forty years. Their punishment was that for each day, they were punished for a year.
The comparison between a day and a year is also seen in the following Gemara (Chagigah 5:), which states, “Whoever sins even just one day a year, it is as though he sinned the entire year.”
The Chasam Sofer zt’l teaches: Based on the principle that reward is 500 times greater than punishment, if one serves Hashem just one day a year, it is considered that he served Hashem for five hundred years!
The Gemara (Pesachim 94:) states that the distance between heaven and earth is a five-hundred-year walk. With this information, the Chasam Sofer explains the pasuk, ירבו למען הארץ על השמים כימי ...ימיכם, “So your life will increase... like heaven is above earth.”
