They were all eminent people and prominent members of their respective tribes. Moses briefed them on their mission and off they went — behind enemy lines.

They were to conduct a reconnaissance mission, looking for all the usual things. They had to report on the people and their state of readiness for war.

Were the cities fortified and how were troops deployed?

Additionally, they were asked to report on the land itself. For example, what were the fruit and crops like?

One question that would definitely not feature in an MI6 training manual concerned the righteousness of the indigenous population.

Would they merit God’s help or did they deserve to be punished?

Not for the last time in history, there was a catastrophic failure of human intelligence. The spies greatly exaggerated the strength of the enemy and concluded that they were insurmountable.

In any case, they contended, the land was not worth bothering with. Only Joshua and Caleb dissented and dismissed the pessimism of the rest. However, fatally, the people believed the majority opinion and did not wish to advance.

The Almighty and Moses were very angry. After all, the Children of Israel had access to ‘intelligence’ even the Pentagon cannot match — the received word of the Almighty Himself! The Israelites were sentenced to wander in the desert for another 40 years. The evil spies died in a plague.

There is also the mitzvah of ‘taking challa' from dough.

The sedra ends with the mitzva of tzitzit. This passage forms the third paragraph of the Shema.

This week is Shabbat Mevorchim.

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