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In our parashah (Bamidbar 13:1-3), Hakadosh Baruch Hu speaks to Moshe Rabbeinu, as it says:
וַיְדַבֵּר ה' אֶל־מֹשֶׁה לֵּאמֹר: שְׁלַח־לְךָ אֲנָשִׁים וְיָתָרוּ אֶת־אֶרֶץ כְּנַעַן אֲשֶׁר־אֲנִי נֹתֵן לִבְנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל אִישׁ אֶחָד אִישׁ אֶחָד לְמַנֵּה אֲבֹתָיו תִּשְׁלָחוּ כָּל נָשִׂיא בָהֶם:
"And Hashem spoke to Moshe, saying: 'Send for yourself men, and let them spy out the Land of Canaan, which I am giving to Bnei Yisrael; one man, one man from each tribe of his fathers shall you send, everyone a prince among them."
And in the following verse:
וַיִּשְׁלַח אֹתָם מֹשֶׁה מִמִּדְבָּר פָּארָן עַל־פִּי ה' כַּלָּם אֲנָשִׁים רָאשֵׁי בְנֵי־יִשְׂרָאֵל הֵמָּה:
"And Moshe sent them from the Wilderness of Paran at the command of Hashem; all of them were distinguished men, heads of Bnei Yisrael."
Rashi explains the words "Send for yourself" as follows: "According to your own understanding. I am not commanding you. If you wish, send them." In other words, Hakadosh Baruch Hu did not command Moshe to send the spies, but granted him permission to decide according to his own discretion. Moshe, in his wisdom, chose to send them, as the verse states, “And Moshe sent them" and not just ordinary people, but “anashim” ("men") the great spiritual leaders of the generation, the princes of the tribes, the heads of Bnei Yisrael.
