Sin of the Spies: Revisiting the Sale of Yosef and Reliving Jewish History

The Mishnah enumerates five calamities that occurred throughout history on the 9th of Av, the first of which was the decree that Bnei Yisrael, in their second year after the Exodus from Egypt, would not enter the promised Land for another 38 years due to the sin of the ten spies (Ta’anit 4:6). Chazal explain: “‘All the congregation lifted up their voice and cried, and the people wept that night’ (Bamidbar 14:1). That night was the night of the Ninth of Av. The Holy One, Blessed be He, said to them: ‘You wept needlessly that night, and I will therefore establish for you a true tragedy over which there will be weeping in future generations’” (Ta’anit 29a). Upon examining the first disaster on Tisha B’Av in Parashat Shelach Lecha, numerous parallels to another story become evident: the brothers’ hatred toward Yosef and his subsequent exile to Egypt.

In both stories, we hear of the “heads of the tribes” – the founding fathers of the respective tribes who stood against Yosef, and their princely descendants. Rav Yaakov ben Asher, the Ba’al HaTurim, explains that when Yosef stood before his brothers and accused them of spying with the words “meraglim atem” (Bereishit 42:1), he was alluding to their future sin wherein their descendants would speak negatively about Eretz Yisrael, in contrast to his descendant, Yehoshua, who would return with a favorable report. Yehuda, the leading speaker, responds – “Lo hayu, we were not,” thereby defending his descendant, Calev, who would also not sin with the spies (in gematria, “Calev” and “lo hayu” both equal 52). Both stories begin with and are replete with the verb “shelach, sending” forth Yosef and the tribal leaders, respectively, to “see” and report (hashiveni davar) on the state of the brothers and the Land. Both stories begin in the southern area of Chevron followed by the northern mountains, and in both stories, the brothers / spies return with a false report of devouring (i.e., an animal devoured Yosef, the Land devours its inhabitants).

The most striking parallel, however, is evident in the phrase that only appears in these two stories in the Torah – “dibbah ra’ah” – evil speech. The root of the brothers’ hatred for Yosef lies in his evil reports (i.e. spying) about his siblings to Ya’akov, and the Torah explicates the report of the spies as evil speech of the Land (Bamidbar 13:32, 14:36). What was the consequence of each of these sins – the sale of Yosef and the sin of the spies? Both stories tell us of the rending of garments (Bereishit 37:29, 34; Bamidbar 14:6), of crying over their loss (Bereishit 37:35, Bamidbar 14:1) of mourning (Bereishit 37:34, Bamidbar 14:39), and most significantly of the punishment of enduring exile, slavery and wandering outside of the promised Land.

The parallels between the stories of the spies and the sale of Yosef offer numerous lessons that we can and must learn. Rabbi David Fohrman elaborates on the emergence of the proper leadership of Yosef (Yehoshua) and Yehuda (Calev) in the aftermath of the sin of the spies, ‘fixing’ their respective ancestors’ mistakes of evil speech (Yosef) and improper leadership of the tribes (Yehuda). 

Rav Shneur Ashkenazi highlights one of the primary themes in both stories – the lack of recognition of Hashem’s role in natural events. Yosef had to remind them that while they focused on the disastrous consequences of their actions, Hashem was planning their survival (Bereishit 50:20–21). Similarly, their descendants lacked faith in themselves and Hashem, doubting their ability to survive a military confrontation without supernatural miracles. This demonstrated a lack of trust in Hashem’s involvement in the natural order in the Land of Israel, which is just as miraculous as supernatural events.

Through these remarkable allusions to the story of Yosef and his brothers, the Torah also teaches us about the horrific consequences of brothers standing against one another. The Zohar explains that the root of sinat chinam (baseless hatred), evident in the brothers’ malevolence toward Yosef, led to Ya’akov’s cries and Yosef’s separation from his father for 22 years. Similarly, when the tribes stood against each other and their leaders with conflicting reports and commentary about the Land of Israel, Hashem decreed future cries of destruction and 22 days of annual mourning, from the 17th of Tammuz through the 9th of Av, over our separation from our Father in Heaven (Zohar Chadash, Vayeishev 29:2).

Today, we are unfortunately reliving these stories as we witness national schisms and protests in Israel. It is time to firmly stand with our brothers, not against them, and unite against our enemies. This year, as we hear the lamentations of Eicha, composed in the acrostic structure of the 22 letters of the alphabet, reminding us of our transgressions of hatred and division, may we persist in overcoming our strife and merit the 22-day “almond-blossoming” of redemption (Yirmiyahu 1:11 and 31:27)!

Rabbanit Shani Taragin is Educational Director of Mizrachi and the Director of the Mizrachi- TVA Lapidot Educators’ Program.