The Fast Days - The Sin of the Golden Calf, and the Sin of the Spies
The sin of the Golden Calf-in which they made a molten calf and bowed down to it (Exodus 32)-occurred on the Seventeenth of Tammuz, and as our Sages said, on the Seventeenth of Tammuz the Tablets were shattered (Ta’anit 26a). The sin of the spies, which is also mentioned in this week’s Torah portion, Parashat Devarim, occurred on Tisha B’Av.
Just as the fast of Tisha B’Av is more severe than the fast of the Seventeenth of Tammuz, so, in several respects, the sin of the spies is more severe than the sin of the Golden Calf. Therefore, the sin of the spies was not forgiven, and it was decreed upon all who participated in the sin that they would die in the wilderness. Not only that, but some say they have no share in the World to Come (Sanhedrin 108a).
Our Sages said: “The Holy One, blessed be He, said to Israel: You wept a baseless weeping, and [in punishment] I will establish weeping that you will repeat for generations to come" (Sanhedrin 104b). At that time, it was decreed that the Temple would be destroyed, and that Israel would be exiled from its land (see Midrash Tanchuma, Shelach). Thus, that very night on which they wept and rejected the desirable Land, became a night of weeping throughout the generations, until the Temple will be rebuilt speedily, in our days.
The Two Great Sins
The two foundational sins of the generation of the wilderness-the sin of the Golden Calf, against the purity of faith, and the sin of the spies, against the settlement of the Land-have accompanied Israel throughout all generations.
The world is in a constant process of change and elevation, and therefore, in every generation, new challenges arise, together with the claim that the Torah’s guidance is not suitable for our generation, and that it is necessary to combine our faith with the Golden Calf-in other words, with foreign ideologies, or influences from foreign religions. Once again, we must strengthen ourselves to rectify the sin of the spies by settling the Land in accordance with the Torah’s guidance, showing that it is precisely through fulfilling the mitzvah of settling the Land, that the people of Israel will merit an abundance of goodness and blessing.
Similarly, in every generation we must contend with new difficulties in fulfilling the commandment to settle the Land, from enemies who rise against us from without, and from difficulties that arise from within. Then comes the claim that it is impossible at this time to continue settling the Land. Once again, we must strengthen ourselves to rectify the Sin of the Spies, and settle the Land according to the guidance of the Torah, demonstrating how precisely, through fulfilling the commandment of settling the Land, the people of Israel will merit abundant goodness and blessing.
In What Way Did the Spies Sin?
One must ask: In what way did the spies sin? According to their understanding, the people of Israel were incapable of conquering the Land, and if the nation insisted on fighting, it would be defeated, placing its very existence in danger. If so, they had a moral obligation to warn against the danger, for the survival of the Jewish people takes precedence over the commandment to settle the Land. Even if they erred in their assessment of reality, and in truth, Israel was able to conquer the Land, since they spoke out of sincere inner conviction in order to save the nation from defeat and destruction, seemingly, they should not have been subjected to such a severe punishment. On the contrary, they should have been praised for the national responsibility they displayed.
The Sin of Despising the Land
The spies sinned in that they did not understand the value of the Land, and did not love it. Therefore, when they saw the difficulties involved in conquering it, their hearts failed them, and they began finding justifications and arguments as to why it was impossible to enter the Land. As it is said: “They despised the desirable land; they did not believe His word" (Psalms 106:24).
In contrast, Joshua and Caleb, who loved the Land and said, “The land is exceedingly, exceedingly good" (Numbers 14:7), saw reality correctly and believed that the Land could be conquered. As Caleb said to the people: “We shall surely go up and possess it, for we are certainly able to overcome it" (Numbers 13:30).
Indeed, it became clear that Joshua and Caleb were right. Had the people listened to them, the entire generation of the wilderness would have been saved and would have merited entering the Land. Ironically, it was precisely the spies, who supposedly wished to look after the people’s welfare so that they would not die in battle, who caused everyone to die in disgrace in the wilderness.
Indeed, it became clear that justice was with Joshua and Caleb. Had they listened to their voice, the entire generation of the wilderness would have been saved and would have merited entering the Land. And it was precisely the spies, who supposedly wanted to care for the welfare of the people, so that they would not die in the war, who caused everyone to die in the wilderness in disgrace.
The Spiritual Sin of the Spies
The spies also sinned from a spiritual perspective. They thought that life in the wilderness was more holy and elevated, because there one does not engage in matters of action and materiality. Along these lines Rabbi Shneur Zalman of Liadi wrote that the spies did not want to enter the Land of Israel, claiming that there was no need to descend into the world of action, since it is possible to fulfill “the Torah and the commandments spiritually and not through physical action," “but in truth they were mistaken, for the main thing is to perform them specifically in the Land" (Likutei Torah, Shelach 38b).
However, there is a true root to the criticism: the concern is that involvement in settling the Land may cause the study of Torah to be forgotten. As our Sages said: “The Torah said before the Holy One, blessed be He: Master of the Universe, when Israel enters the Land, this one runs to his vineyard and this one runs to his field, and what will become of me? He said to her: I have a partner whom I have paired with you, and Shabbat is its name, when they are idle from their work and are able to engage in you" (brought in the Tur, Orach Chaim 290). The correction is to dedicate half of Shabbat to Torah, and to continue its light and blessing into the six days of work, during which one must also establish fixed times for Torah study.
Denial of the Faith of Divine Unity
Furthermore, the spies sinned against faith, for the essence of faith is that God is One, and He gives life to the heavens and the earth, to the individual and the collective. Therefore, the service of God is through Torah study and settling the Land.
In contrast, idolatry divides and separates the world into different areas. The greatest separation is the separation between heaven and earth, between the spirit and matter, which is sometimes considered a separation between good and evil.
Those who deny the value of the Land of Israel deny the ability to reveal the word of God in the Land, in all the professions that settle the Land, “In all your ways know Him." Whereas those who cling to the commandment of settling the Land cling to the belief that the word of God must be revealed also in all earthly realms. This is what our Sages said: “Whoever dwells in the Land of Israel is like one who has a God, and whoever dwells outside the Land is like one who has no God" (Ketubot 110b). And they added: “Whoever dwells outside the Land is as if he worships idols" (ibid.).
The Sin of the Spies in Recent Generations
Also in recent generations, when the awakening for the return to Zion and the renewed settlement of the Land began, leaders arose who tried to dissuade Israel from remaining in exile, claiming that many dangers awaited them in the Land of Israel, including famine and illnesses, robbery and murder. Some even accused those who immigrated that through their actions, they endangered the Jewish majority that remained in exile, and was working to achieve equal rights. Others claimed that those who came to the Land would decline spiritually, and be lost to the people of Israel.
With time it became clear that in Zion there was refuge, both from the destruction caused by assimilation, and from the physical annihilation of the millions of Jews who remained in exile.
The Sin of the Spies in Our Generation
Similarly, today, it seems that the debate over the Land of Israel is based on realistic arguments: Will giving up territories prevent war or bring war closer? Is it possible to apply sovereignty over Judea and Samaria without granting citizenship to non-Jews who do not identify with the Jewish state?
However, in practice, we find an interesting fact. The overwhelming majority of those who do not understand the sacred value of the Land find that it is difficult to settle it and want to withdraw from parts of it, and with time, it becomes clear that they brought disasters upon the people of Israel. The overwhelming majority of those who understand its value, find practical ways how to hold on to the Land and settle it, while dealing with the difficult challenges.
Desire Influences Intellectual Analysis
What may this be compared to? To a lazy person who they try to convince to work. He will raise a thousand “realistic" arguments why it is not worthwhile for him to look for work. First, he will claim that it is better to receive unemployment benefits. We will prove to him that if he works, he will earn more, but he will claim that there is unemployment, and nobody is looking for workers, and it is a waste of time to spend time searching for work. They will find him work, and he will claim that it is not worthwhile to accept it because the employer is dishonest, or perhaps tomorrow they will offer him a better job. And if nevertheless we succeed in convincing him to work, he will feel pain in his back. We heal his back - he will feel pain in his head. We heal his head - he will quarrel with his co-workers. We reconcile between them - he will be hurt by the behavior of the manager. And, so, on this path, there will always be things that interfere with him working. The general rule is that the problem is that he does not want to work.
So is the situation in all other areas of life: Whoever does not value Torah study will find it difficult to devote himself diligently to it. Whoever does not value military combat service will not find within himself the inner strength to stand in the grueling training that prepares him to become a fighter. Whoever does not value family life will not find within himself the strength to enter into a marriage covenant and establish a family.
The Result of the Sin of the Golden Calf and the Sin of the Spies in Recent Generations
At the establishment of the Zionist movement (5657, 1897), the Jewish people numbered approximately 11 million people, whereas the Arabs who lived throughout all the surroundings of the biblical Land of Israel, including Lebanon, Syria, and Iraq, numbered approximately 5 million, with about 700,000 Arabs living on both sides of the Jordan River. At that time there was an opportunity for the Jewish people to return to the Land and to be fruitful and multiply in it. However, the majority of our people were afraid to uproot themselves from the exile and ascend to the Land, and to take their destiny into their own hands as commanded by the Torah.
The test was enormous, since immigration to the Land in those days involved many difficulties and dangers. However, the refusal to fulfill the commandment to ascend to the Land when it was possible was in the category of the sin of the spies of our time, and as we were warned in the Torah, the price for this was terrible. We experienced the Holocaust, Communist oppressive rule, and assimilation.
And so today, throughout the world there are approximately 15 million declared Jews, of which in the Land there are approximately 7 million Jews. In contrast, the Arabs surrounding the Land of Israel, who merited enjoying the fruits of the Industrial Revolution, the expansion of food production, and improvements in medicine, increased from approximately 5 million to 90 million. If we also count the Arabs who lived in Egypt and throughout the entire Arabian Peninsula, then 120 years ago they numbered approximately 22 million, only twice the size of the Jewish people, and today (5786/2026) approximately 270 million.
But God has promised that He will redeem His people. The more we strengthen ourselves in absorbing immigration, in settlement throughout all the expanses of the Land, and in increasing and glorifying Torah, the more we will merit advancing in the process of redemption without suffering.
This article appears in the ‘Besheva’ newspaper and was translated from Hebrew.