Summary: Why does the Torah seem to imply that Hashem initiated the sending of the spies, if in fact, as Rashi says, it was initiated by the Jewish people themselves? What were the spies expected to accomplish, and what was their fundamental failure? How did the spies know they would lose their positions of significance when the Jewish people entered Israel? What is the significance of the fact that their mission spanned months of Sivan, Tamuz and Av? Why does Moshe finish off his instruction by telling the spies to 'be strong and take from the fruit of land?' Why does the Torah stress that this occurred during the time of the harvest of grapes? Why does the Torah stress that their forty days of spying culminated with their taking of the אשכול, the cluster of grapes? Find out in this week's Parsha Podcast.
