7
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Did the ten spies have a hidden agenda?
Yes, the Rebbe does explain like this and explains the mergalim's report and each of their claims and the response of Kalev and Yehoshua in this light.
It can be found in Likkutei Sichos Volume 4 pg ...
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6
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Source that the spies had prophecy
Or perhaps, this is the simple reading of the Zohar.
I believe that this is the closest to the mark. We can quibble over whether it actually is the simplest and most straight-forward explanation of ...
- 6,433
6
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Source that the spies had prophecy
I have checked through all the mefarshim I could find and haven't seen any one of them comment that the meraglim saw prophetically that they wouldn't be the leaders in Eretz Yisroel. The closest I ...
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5
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Why pray for Y'hoshua and not Kalev?
Rabbi Yochanan Zweig, my Rosh Yeshiva, explains this based on Targum Yonasan to Bamidbar 13:16: "When Moshe saw his humility, he changed his name." Why is humility a negative in this context? Moshe ...
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5
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What Torah issur did the meraglim transgress?
The Torah states (Bamidbar 13:31):
But the men who went up with him said, We are not able to go up against the people; for they are stronger than we.
On this, our sages comment (Sotah 35a):
Rabbi ...
- 8,772
5
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Were the *meraglim* also the *nesi'im*?
I believe some commentators state they were Nesi'im. However, even if they weren't,1 I think there's a simple explanation as to why the Nesi'im did not go. In at least one case, we know that the Nasi ...
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4
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Nephilim after the Flood
In Pirkei Derabbi Eliezer 23 it says that Og was the only survivor of the flood other than Noach and his family (and animals) as he hanged on to a ladder:
וימח את כל היקום אשר על פני האדמה חוץ מנח ...
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4
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Source that the spies had prophecy
So I looked through a number of mefarshim (commentaries) and there doesn't appear to be any reference to any prophecy. As you say, many mention this Zohar, but I think it would be fair to say that the ...
- 30.1k
3
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Levi tribe and the spies story investigation
I
Reuven and Gad did not request the land on the east of the yarden until after it had been conquered. See Matos 32:2 which has them asking Moshe and Elazar Hacohen (after the death of Aharon in the ...
- 42.9k
3
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Did G-d command or not on sending the spies?
Rashi in Shlach 13:2 explains that Bnai Yisrael had approached Moshe because they were supposed to conquer as a normal way of war. Thus, they asked to send men to determine which parts were most ...
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3
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Why pray for Y'hoshua and not Kalev?
Maskil l'David explains that Moshe prayed for Yehoshua so people wouldn't assume he had sent Yehoshua to die so Moshe can lead them into Israel.
Rav Eliezer Ben-David explains that Yehoshua was going ...
- 314
3
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What lie did the spies say?
Bamidbar - Numbers - Chapter 13
https://www.chabad.org/library/bible_cdo/aid/9941/jewish/Chapter-13.htm
וַיֹּצִ֜יאוּ דִּבַּ֤ת הָאָ֨רֶץ֙ אֲשֶׁ֣ר תָּר֣וּ אֹתָ֔הּ אֶל־בְּנֵ֥י יִשְׂרָאֵ֖ל לֵאמֹ֑ר ...
- 1,204
3
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Shelach: sending the spies to feel the Torah in the environment of Eretz Yisrael
The Kedushas Levi explains a similar approach i.e. that it was not a physical expedition (i.e. to check out the beauty and geography of the land etc.) but rather to verify the spiritual make-up of the ...
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2
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Accepted
In Breishit 15:16, is G-d implying to Avram about the sin of the spies?
The cogent explanation comes from Rashi's commentary on the passage; that is, Caleb represented the fourth generation that entered the land. In this regard, the commentary of the Jewish Publication ...
- 1,590
2
votes
Accepted
Machir entering Israel
The Gemara Bava Basra 121b states explicitely that Machir (and Yair) entered Israel. This very question of why he didn't die with the rest of the Dor Hamidbar because of the sin of the meraglim (spies)...
- 11.4k
2
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What lie did the spies say?
The fact that the meraglim lied is stated in the passuk (Bamidbar 13:32) וַיּוֹצִ֜יאוּ דִּבַּ֤ת הָאָ֙רֶץ֙ אֲשֶׁ֣ר תָּר֣וּ אֹתָ֔הּ אֶל־בְּנֵ֥י יִשְׂרָאֵ֖ל
Thus they spread calumnies among the ...
- 6,919
2
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Accepted
Why did HaShem "need" the punishment to be a day for a year by the Meraglim?
I would argue that the premise of your question is slightly flawed. Rashi doesn't say that God was forced to do anything. What he says is that God knew that he would decree a punishment of a year per ...
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2
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Did the ten spies have a hidden agenda?
Nochie Wolf answered the question, but for question (1) see Likkutei Sichos Volume 33, Shlach 2, which explains this idea at length, in Lashon Hakodesh.
- 3,210
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Why were the spies commanded to assess if the Land is good?
One of the commentaries on this subject is given by the Sforno on Bamidbar 13:18. The Sforno explains that they needed to find out if the ecological conditions, but also the climate in which the ...
- 8,772
2
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Contradiction in the idea of sending spies
Rav Hirsch says that the initial request was (as I say in Did G-d command or not on sending the spies?) presented in order to follow the idea that the Bnai Yisrael would have to start living a normal ...
- 42.9k
2
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Shelach: sending the spies to feel the Torah in the environment of Eretz Yisrael
R Jonathan Sacks (here) brings the idea that Bnei Israel had to see the Land before they could get attached to it and muster the energy to conquer it. He draws an analogy with the gemara in Kiddushin ...
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Source that the spies had prophecy
If one pauses for a moment to reflect on the sequence of events mentioned in connection with the spies, the answer to your question becomes obvious.
First, it is clear from Rashi that the spies were ...
- 14.2k
1
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Yehoshua & Caleb vs other 10 Meraglim. Why wasn't this "עדי הכחשה" (conflicting witnesses)?
The reason being that the Meraglim were never tried in a bet Din and therefor at no point was there any giving testimony.
The Meraglim were divinely punished; no testimony, no witnesses, no Bet Din. ...
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1
vote
Why representatives were sent to spy and not the elders?
The commentators point out that younger representatives had to be sent in order to be able to travel and examine the land. It was like a congressional delegation sending the appropriate staffers to ...
- 42.9k
1
vote
Accepted
Forefathers' merits mentioned for the Golden Calf but not for the Spy Mission?
Ramba"n on Bemidbar 14:17 (the link points to the continuation page, where the part I shall summarize is) notices that when Moishe uses the 13 middot formulary, he omits נוצר חסד לאלפים ("passes ...
- 70k
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Why did Moshe send these spies?
I'm not sure Moshe had a choice. Once Hashem allowed him to send the spies (Rashi Bamidbar 13:2), I assume he would have to consult the Sanhedrin since he absolved himself from making decisions alone (...
- 314
1
vote
Why pray for Y'hoshua and not Kalev?
Rabbi Elyashiv says Yehoshua as Moshe's talmid there would have been no doubt we wouldn't do anything wrong, all the Meraglim know this. Moshe therefore was worried that if things turned out badly ...
- 692
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Talking improperly about Eretz Israel
Halachipedia cites R Yitzhok Silver in Mishpatei Hashalom (a compendium of Hilchot Bein Adam L'Chavero) who writes explicitly "It is forbidden to say Lashon Hara about the land of Israel, its fruits, ...
- 47.8k
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Why was the punishment for the sin of the spies so severe?
Actually, the punishment was made lenient by being spread over the next forty years so that the people (between 20 and 60) would not die at once. As stated by many people including the Kli Yakar and ...
- 42.9k
1
vote
Accepted
Why was the punishment for the sin of the spies so severe?
This article offers an insight:
The reason why the punishment here is seemingly so harsh is because of
the gravity of the sin of lashon hara that lashon hara drags back
previous sins and makes ...
- 70k
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