B”H. Shabbat Parshat Shelach, 28 Sivan, Erev Rosh Chodesh Tammuz, 5736
“And Joshua sent… two men as spies…”. In Likkutei Torah (disc. beginning with this verse) it explains the difference between the spies sent by Joshua and those sent by Moses: regarding the spies sent by Moses it is written, “Send for yourself—according to your own understanding; I am not commanding you,” whereas the sending of the spies by Joshua was (not of his own initiative, but) by command of G-d. Another difference: the spies sent by Joshua went only to Jericho, the “lock” of the Land of Israel, and through this they surveyed the entire land; whereas the spies sent by Moses traversed the whole land, its length and breadth.
2) The essential explanation of this is that the command to conquer the land (in the spiritual sense) is—like all commandments of the Torah—an eternal matter in every generation. Every Jew must “conquer” all the faculties and aspects of his body and his animal soul (“the land of Canaan”) and transform them into vessels for G-dliness (“the Land of Israel”). The difference between Jericho and the rest of the land within the human soul is that Jericho represents the three “garments”: thought, speech, and action [for “Jericho” (יריחו) is related to “scent” (ריח), and garments are associated with scent, as alluded to in the Zohar, “the fragrance of your garments”]; whereas the rest of the land (the land of the seven nations) represents the emotional attributes within a person. Therefore, the command (to Joshua) to send spies was that they should go only to Jericho, because thought, speech, and action are under a person’s control. Hence each individual is commanded to examine and scrutinize his thought, speech, and action so that they all be for G-d. By contrast, the emotions of the heart are not under the control of every person—for only the righteous have their hearts in their control. Therefore, regarding the spies sent by Moses to survey the entire land (i.e., to examine the emotions so that they all be for G-d), it says, “Send for yourself… I am not commanding you,” because the task of conquering the emotions (in its fullness) comes specifically through the revelation of the level of Moses, and is not equal for every soul.
3) However, the Torah is eternal. From this it follows that the account in the Torah (also) of the sending of the spies (by Moses) to survey the entire land constitutes an eternal lesson for every Jew. This can be understood by prefacing what is explained in Tanya regarding the distinction between the righteous (tzaddikim) and the intermediates (beinoni): the service of the beinoni is (primarily) in the garments of the soul—thought, speech, and action. Therefore, the level of the beinoni is the measure applicable to every person: even when the heart desires and craves something, he has the ability to restrain himself and to rule over the desire in his heart so as not to fulfill it in action, speech, or even thought (not to dwell on it willingly), and even to divert his mind from it entirely. By contrast, the service of the righteous is primarily in the emotions of the heart (love and awe), and not every person merits this, for in matters entrusted to the heart one does not possess such full freedom of choice. Nevertheless, every Jew is adjured, “Be a righteous person”—meaning that each individual must also strive toward the service of the righteous, as explained at length in Tanya.
4) It may be said that this is why the command to destroy the seven nations and to conquer their land is eternal in every generation, even though conquering the land of the seven nations signifies transforming the seven emotional attributes of the animal soul into holiness—a matter that pertains to the righteous, and not everyone attains this. For every Jew must do all that lies within his power to fulfill the oath administered to him: “Be a righteous person”. This is why the narrative of the sending of the spies (by Moses) to survey the entire land is also written in the Torah (the word “Torah” meaning instruction): every Jew must examine and scrutinize his own emotions so that they all be for G-d. Nevertheless, regarding the spies of Moses it states, “Send for yourself… I am not commanding you,” because the primary command concerns thought, speech, and action (the conquest of Jericho), which are indeed under the control of every person, unlike the emotions of the heart.
5) The reason for this (that thought, speech, and action are under a person’s control, unlike the emotions) is that thought, speech, and action are the “garments” of the soul. Just as bodily garments—although a person needs them (for modesty, since “they were ashamed”, and also for protection from cold and heat)—nevertheless can be removed, and certainly one is not bound to these particular garments (which he is presently wearing) and can exchange them for others, so too with the garments of the soul: speech and action can be “removed,” and even thought, though constant, can be replaced with another thought. By contrast, the intellect and emotions are the very essence of the soul; therefore, in order to change them one requires exertion, and even a special empowerment from Above.
6) It may further be said that the fact that thought, speech, and action are garments is also one of the reasons why they are of greater significance than the emotions. That is, the primary demand placed upon each individual—to refine thought, speech, and action—is not only because they are within one’s control, but also because they are more consequential. This can be understood by prefacing what is explained in many places regarding garments: the root of the garments is higher than the root of the person who wears them. This superiority of their source is evident even after they descend below, as seen in the fact that garments surround a person and add beauty and dignity—“Rabbi Yochanan called his garments ‘my honor’”—because in their root they are above the person. Similarly, with the garments of the soul—thought, speech, and action—their root is higher than the soul itself. Therefore, through thought, speech, and action in the 613 commandments, which are the garments of the Divine soul, the soul is elevated to a level higher than it could reach on its own. (This also explains why the commandments are garments for the soul through which alone it can enjoy the radiance of the Divine Presence, as explained at length elsewhere and in Likkutei Torah here.) Conversely, through thought, speech, and action in worldly matters that are not for the sake of Heaven—the garments of the animal soul—the animal soul descends to a lower level than it would be on its own. And since the Divine soul is clothed within the animal soul, the descent of the animal soul also causes a descent in the Divine soul, as the animal soul drags down the Divine soul (enclothed within it) ever lower. This is why the primary service of a person is to “turn away from evil and do good” in actual thought, speech, and action: the purpose of the soul’s descent below is that through its service it should rise to a higher level than before its descent, and this ascent is specifically achieved through the garments of thought, speech, and action—like physical garments, which specifically add beauty and dignity to the person who wears them.
This also explains why Jericho is the “lock” of the Land of Israel: through the service of “turning away from evil and doing good” in thought, speech, and action—and even more so when one also engages in the “sending of spies” to Jericho, to examine and scrutinize one’s thought, speech, and action so that they are all for G-d—one thereby reaches the refinement and transformation of the emotions, the conquest of the land of the seven nations. Ultimately this leads to “G-d your L-rd will expand your boundaries”—the conquest also of the lands of the Kenite, Kenizzite, and Kadmonite, corresponding to the three intellectual faculties—with the coming of our righteous Mashiach, speedily in our days.