SHELACH Seeing Beneath The Surface Unable to see beyond their own fears and insecurities, 10 of the 12 spies despaired of conquering Canaan . By Rabbi Neal Joseph Loevinger Overview As the Israelites approach the Land of Israel , spies are sent ahead to scout out the Land. They return with a discouraging report, and the people believe that it will be too difficult to possess the Promised land . They long to return to Egypt; God wants to destroy the faithless people, but Moshe persuades God to relent. Instead, God lengthens their wanderings to 40 years, so that none of the generation of the Exodus will enter the Land. The parasha ends with various laws of sacrifice which will take effect when they are settled in the Land; the final paragraph contains the commandment to attach fringes [ tzitzit ] to the corners of their clothing. In Focus "And they spread among the Israelites a bad report about the land they had explored. They said, 'The land we explored devours those living in...