In any real discussion, it is important to understand not only the flowery arguments thrown into the air, but the real motive. The human mind can be very convoluted. Sometimes a person hides the real reasoning that makes him adhere to a certain position, and covers himself with a multitude of arguments and explanations. If you do not recognize the real motive, you will find yourself dealing with balloons of diversion and deception and will not get to the heart of the debate.
In the story of the spies, we see that they raised a series of arguments and concerns. They described the strength and power of the inhabitants of Canaan, and warned that conquering the land would entail heavy losses. Ostensibly, this is a legitimate position, stemming from the reality that was revealed to them.
But the Book of Psalms reveals the hidden motive behind the spies' logical arguments: "And they were dismayed in the pleasant land.".
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Deep down, they were fed up with the Land of Israel. They didn't want to enter the land. That was the real motive, and everything else was just a smokescreen.
Slanderers of the country
For many years we have been in the midst of a deep debate between those who advocate the settlement of the land and its possession in all its parts, and those who try in every way to push Jews out of their ancestral land. The latter raise many arguments – security, moral, fear of the world’s reaction, and more. When one argument falls, a new one immediately emerges.
Sometimes they try to bypass the right: "We don't care about the Arabs, we want to ensure that the state remains Jewish.".
But at the same time, they are doing everything they can to encourage the immigration of foreigners to the country and to thwart the possibility of deporting them to their countries of origin. And what about the 'Jewish state'? Well, you've found another contradiction.
The truth is that all the arguments and justifications are nothing more than a cover for the same ancient sin of the spies - the plundering of the land. Instead of basking in the ore of the land of the ancestors, walking with excitement at the sites where the Bible took place, being awed by the Western Wall, Rachel's Tomb and the Cave of the Patriarchs - they feel the opposite.
The sanctity of the land arouses repulsion in their hearts. They do not desire it.
The result is that they do exactly what the spies did - slander the country. We look with astonishment at the Jews who serve the propaganda machine of our enemies. At Israeli media outlets that present us as child murderers, without even trying to stick to the truth and find out whether those children were actually hit by our gunfire.
Morbid phenomenon
This self-hatred is not new, but it is a sick phenomenon. People live here in Israel, running to the police station in alarm about a hail of missiles being launched at them and their children - and they justify the enemy, and work to tie the hands of the security forces from fighting it properly. Even in the riots in Israeli cities, they knew who to blame - the Jews.
The correction for the sin of the spies, for ravaging the land and slandering it is exactly the opposite - to strengthen the love for the beloved land, to highlight our right to it by virtue of the divine promise, to hold on to it and build it, to speak in its praise. We have a firm faith that "we will go up and inherit it, for it is the power of the Creator of the world and its leader, leading the people of Israel to true and complete redemption.".
