Ostensibly, the spies carried out their mission. They were sent by Moses, who instructed them with questions regarding the quality of the Land and its inhabitants. Indeed, on their return, "They gave the following report: 'We came to the land where you sent us, and it is indeed flowing with milk and honey, as you can see from its fruit.'" (Numbers 13:27) Their sin, however, was in the interpretation that they gave to what they saw, and the conclusion they derived from their erroneous interpretation:



"The land that we crossed to explore is a land that consumes its inhabitants. All the men we saw there were huge.... We felt like tiny grasshoppers. That's all we were in their eyes." (13:32-33)



Their evil conclusion that brought calamity upon them and their generation was this: we cannot go forward against those people. They are too strong for us [mimenu] (verse 31). In Hebrew, mimenu can mean either "us" or "him". Rashi comments that the spies were saying the Canaanites were too strong even for "Him", i.e., G-d. Indeed, their faith in G-d's powers had been shaken.



In contrast to the ten spies, who themselves sinned and brought the people to sin, Calev ben Yefune stood by Joshua, one man against everyone in his concrete, certain faith, and he said, "We must go forth and occupy the Land. We can do it." (Numbers 13:30) Nonetheless, the vast majority of the people fell prey to the spies' sin:



"That night the people wept." (14:1) They were smitten with despair. "All the Israelites complained to Moses and Aaron. The entire community was saying, 'We wish we had died in Egypt! We should have died in the desert! Why is G-d bringing us to this land to die by the sword? Our wives and children will be captives! It would be best to go back to Egypt!" (14:2-3)



Yet, the true victors turned out to be Joshua and Calev, who were privileged to go up into the Land and to conquer it.



Today, in these very times, we are at the height of an internal struggle as regards our relationship to Eretz Yisrael. We are hearing the same arguments made by the spies dressed up in different garb. On the one hand, the pro-"disengagement" camp arms itself with ostensibly rational arguments, that if we do not disengage from the Land, it will claim many victims ("It is a 'land that consumes its inhabitants'..."). It argues that unless we establish a state for the Arabs in the very heart of the land of our life's blood, America and the whole world will be against us ("We felt like tiny grasshoppers. That's all we were in their eyes.").



Opposing them are those faithful to Eretz Yisrael, wherever they live, led by the settlers of Gush Katif and Judea and Samaria ? akin to Joshua and Calev. This population rids its heart of all fears and delusions, and such petty calculations as "What do I stand to gain from this?" They fill our hearts with faith and trust in G-d, who has commanded us down through the generations, but most especially in this generation: "Clear out the land and live in it, since it is to you that I am giving the land to occupy." (Numbers 33:53)



At this moment, those holding the temporary reins of leadership are those following in the path of the spies through their readiness to cut themselves off from our land. Yet, those who love Eretz Yisrael and are loyal to it, those following in the path of Joshua and Calev, will be victorious in the struggle for our hold over the entire length and breadth of Eretz Yisrael. And may we be the living fulfillment of G-d's promise, "For the L-rd will not cast off His people, neither will He forsake His inheritance." (Psalm 94:14)