Hashem told Moshe to send men for himself. Rashi tells us the term “anashim” conveys that they were righteous people at the time they were chosen.
The Klei Yakar, here, offers a fascinating insight which is very apropos for the current situation in the world.
He says Hashem told Moshe to send men for himself, shlach lecha anashim. However, if it were up to Hashem, He would have sent women. Why? Because the women at the time had something the men Moshe sent did not – a deep love for the Land of Israel.
Whereas we find that upon hearing the negative report, “a man said to his brother, let us appoint a leader and return to Egypt,” the daughters of Tzelophchad fought for a portion in the Land of Israel.
Someone who loves Israel will never speak negatively of it, nor even find fault in it. Had Moshe sent women, they would not have brought back the negative report which caused us to wander in the desert for forty years.
This is especially relevant now, when we await Hashem fully bringing us into Eretz Yisrael. The key to our successful inheritance of the land will be to love it for what it offers us: a concrete connection to Hashem and a place for His Shechina on this world.
