13
The Gemara (Sotah 35a) reports that he indeed tried to, but the people ridiculed him, saying, דין ריש קטיעה ימלל - "Should this person with the cut-off head speak?"
Rashi explains that they meant that Yehoshua himself has no sons to inherit a portion of the land (he had only daughters - Megillah 14b - and at this point the law that daughters can inherit too ...
10
The Gur Arye explains that Y'hoshua's falling into the spies' plot would reflect poorly on Moshe, whose protege he was. This reasoning doesn't apply to Kalev.
The Avodas Yisrael explains (not in answer to this question) that Y'hoshua did not want the honor of leading the people, and wanted Moshe to retain that position. (See Rashi to B'haalos'cha 11:28.) ...
10
Ohr Hachaim (Deut. 1:43,45) says that indeed they hadn't done teshuvah at that point; they swung into action - trying to go up the mountain and push their way into Eretz Yisrael - without having first asked Hashem for forgiveness. Only after they were beaten did they cry to Hashem (1:45), but by then their sin had been compounded so severely (גדלה צחנתם, lit....
9
There is a difference between Moshe's intention in sending spies and Yehoshua's intention.
Moshe's intention was to persuade the people and "boost their confidence" so that they should be willing and ready to enter the land without complaint. He wanted spies that would scope the land and its inhabitants and return to tell the people, who would listen to and ...
9
The Maskil Ledavid says that Moshe prayed for Yehoshua (and changed his name) earlier, because he saw that in the future Yehoshua would need G-d's help. This is even slightly implied in the Gemara (Sotah 34B), where it says, "Yehoshua, Moshe already requested G-d's mercy for him". Already slightly implies that Moshe had done it before.
This would explain ...
8
The impetus for the drasha in the medrash is specifically because the first nation the spies mentioned was amalek, and as the ikar sifsei chachamim explains why not mention the amori and chiti who live in the mountains first, must be they were trying to scare klal yisrael with the bad memory as the medrash continues with the mashal of the child who got hit ...
7
God had told Moses he would wipe out the nation of Israel. Moses entreated. God relented. But still they will not enter Israel in this lifetime.
7
Pharoh changed Yosef's name to Tzofnas Paaneach. ויקרא פרעה שם יוסף צפנת פענח Breishis 41:45.
Nevuchadnetzar changed the names of Daniel, Chananya, Mishoel, and Azarya to Belteshazzar, Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego respectively. (Daniel 1:7)
In practically every time Yehoshua is mentioned after his name was changed it says Yehoshua so I believe that yes ...
7
The following is how Abarbanel parses the list:
והתחיל מראובן כי הוא היה הבכור גם הוא ראש דגל. ואחריו שמעון שנולד אחריו והוא ג״כ בדגלו. ולפי שלא הלך מרגל משבט לוי זכר אחריו יהודה כפי תולדותם ושהוא ראש דגל כמלך בגדוד ואחריו הנכבד מהחונים עמו בדגלו והוא יששכר ואחריו אפרים שהוא ראש דגל ואחריו הנכבד מהחונים בדגלו והוא בנימין. ואחריו זבולון כי הוא בן לאה והיה ...
7
The Ostrovtzer Rav in Me'ir Eynei Chachamim explains that a leader is imbued with the power of the group that he leads, in this case 50 people. He further notes that the Jewish people were blessed that each one of them had the power of a thousand people based upon the pasuk in Haazinu (Devarim 32, 30) (he seems to follow the Ibn Ezra's second peshat). As ...
7
The Gemara in Meseches Brachos 7a says the following addressing this seeming "contradiction":
(Source from Sefaria.org)
והא כתיב (שמות לד, ז) פקד עון אבות על בנים וכתיב (דברים כד, טז) ובנים לא יומתו על אבות ורמינן קראי אהדדי ומשנינן לא קשיא הא כשאוחזין מעשה אבותיהם בידיהם הא כשאין אוחזין מעשה אבותיהם בידיהם
But it is written (Exoudus 34:7) "Who ...
7
This is addressed by Sanhedrin 80b. It’s a dispute to begin with whether the particular form of death needs to be specified in the warning:
תניא ושאר חייבי מיתות שבתורה אין ממיתין אותן אלא בעדה ועדים והתראה ועד שיודיעוהו שהוא חייב מיתת ב"ד רבי יהודה אומר עד שיודיעוהו באיזה מיתה הוא נהרג
We taught in a Braisa: For all others that make liable to death ...
6
I think the question is the phrase "crying for chinam". My suspicion is it's not "you cried about something unimportant", rather it's "you cried when there was every reason not to."
G-d had promised them they'd enter the land, and here they were crying "oh boo hoo we won't enter the land", there was no reason for them to be sad.
Whereas if my favorite team ...
6
Rashi means to say that the Leviim were not killed over the forty years. It often happens that Rashi will quote the 'wrong' pasuk to simplify his point; what he is really referring to is the count at the beginning of Sefer Bamidbar, where indeed the count is described as a census of soldiers (or יוצא צבא "those who go out with the army"). This is evident ...
6
There is a disagreement between the Rambam and the Raavad regarding the Ir Hanidachas - wayward city, whether it is possible to remove the punishment if the town did indeed repent.
The Rambam (עבודת כוכבים פרק ד׳ - הלכה ו׳)
ו והיאך דין עיר הנדחת. בזמן שתהיה ראויה להעשות עיר הנדחת. בית דין
הגדול שולחין ודורשין וחוקרין עד שידעו בראיה ברורה שהודחה כל ...
5
Rashi says that God listened to Moses in that He wouldn't wipe out the nation immediately, so the nations wouldn't be able to say that God was unable to take Israel into the Land. However, God would kill them over a period of forty years.
That's why God says "I have forgiven according to your word" - God listened to Moses' argument, but wouldn't completely ...
5
Perhaps indeed for this reason, Rashbam (13:2) understands the phrase כל נשיא בהם to mean simply "from among those who volunteer (נשא אותם לבם) for this mission." Such people would, of course, have been strong and fearless types, but it is quite possible that they were unknowns up to this point.
Following the usual explanation, that they were indeed leaders,...
5
The masoretic treatise Kitāb al-Khilaf (ספר החילופים) by Misha'el ben `Uzziel records the differences (and similarities) between the famous masoretes Ben Asher and Ben Naftali. The book records that the dagesh in בן-נּון is the opinion of Ben Naftali, against that of Ben Asher, whose opinions formed the Biblical textus receptus following Rambam. Thus the ...
5
The Be'er Basadeh (commenting on this Rashi) explains that the land of Israel is called the tibor/navel of the world because it is considered the center of the world, just as the navel is the center of the body. He also quotes a drasha of Chazal that includes the idea that the primary power of a worm is [by using] it's mouth, so the worms were selected to ...
4
The Maskil Ledavid says that Rashi actually learns that it was Moshe's choice from the word "Shlach", not "Lecha".
He says Rashi had a question. Shlach would normally be a command, and if so, what was the purpose of the command? Also, how could G-d command Moshe to do something that would end badly (since G-d new what the spies would do)?
To answer this, ...
4
Sefer Hadoros & Zemach David says Yehoshua was born in 2406 and the story of the Meraglim was in 2449, making him 43 years old.
4
Although we often invoke Midivar Shekker Tirchack as the Torah's command not to lie, it is not really a biblical prohibition. That pasuk is actually discussing beis din and witness. When the Gemara discusses keeping your word in business it invokes another verse, הין צדק איפה צדק.
This still does not apply to a lie in conversation. For that we have the ...
3
The Kli Yakar on יום לשנה says that the punishment actually took place one day a year on Tish'a B'Av. Thus they were punished for "forty days" but the forty days were spread over 40 years. The punishment was that all those who should have been in the army and insisted on not listening to the spies (ages 20 to 60) were allowed to live out their "service life" ...
3
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 himself was the most humble person alive (Bamidbar 12:3), yet he sees this as a negative?
It must be, then, that Moshe was concerned that his humility would ...
3
The Malbim in Sefer HaKarmel says that חפר is a more focused mission, an in-depth investigation into one location, as opposed to לתור, which is a scouting mission which sees the whole land but is not as in-depth.
Malbim does not explain this in connection with the success and failure of the missions, but perhaps the failure of the first mission was that ...
3
Excellent question! Avot D'Rav Natan ch. 9 Mishna 2 explains why. In summary, he states that that B'nai Yisra'el were tested 10 times (The Mishnah lists all 10) but they weren't punished for any of them except for the incident with the spies, because this was Lashon Hara.
At the end of the Mishnah, he states, that this is a kal vachomer we should learn, ...
3
RaSh"I on Numbers 26:64 (thanks to Chabad.org)
3
Kli Yakar (who cites Yalkut Shim'oni on Numbers 13:2:4):
ד"א לכך פרט אנשים, לפי שארז"ל (ילקו"ש פנחס תשעגכז) האנשים היו
שונאים את הארץ ואמרו נתנה ראש ונשובה מצרימה (במדבר יד.ד) והנשים היו
מחבבות הארץ ואמרו תנה לנו אחזה (שם כז.ד) וע"כ אמר הקב"ה לפי דעתי שאני
רואה בעתיד היה יותר טוב לשלוח נשים המחבבות את הארץ כי לא יספרו בגנותה,
אבל לך לדעתך שאתה ...
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