Spies, The

Moses felt that the Israelites had no reason to fear the inhabitants, as they had all seen the great miracles wrought against the much more powerful Egyptians.

On whose initiative were the spies sent? The way the story is told in Numbers 13, it was by divine command. But when Moses recounts these events 40 years later, he tells the people of Israel that it was their idea. The contradiction describes a watershed ...

They’d stumbled into a surreal and morbid nightmare, it seemed. A successful offensive, whether by land or sea, seemed fantastical—to everyone in the reconnaissance unit, that is, but Caleb and Joshua...

Moses was worried that his group of leaders and “visionaries” would fall into the alluring trap of elitism. It wasn’t a prophecy—it was just a hunch. What he did know was that Joshua would succeed him as leader of the Jewish people...

The true tragedy may be that the whole sorry spy saga might have been averted with just one counseling session by a good management consultant or psychologist...

What did Calev say about Moshe?

Why does the story of the spies appear here?

We weren’t “tourists” or “sightseers”; we were backpackers. Or so we believed.

The spies brought back an honest report. G-d was unhappy with its contents. Is it fair to punish someone for expressing an honest opinion?

Why did G-d want to "slaughter" the Jews in the desert? A better understanding of the meaning of "slaughter" will answer this question.