Do you remember the story of the spies in the parashah Shlach? Instead of doing exactly what Moshe said, the spies added things they weren't asked to do. The parashah Chukat describes another group of spies, sent years later.
The Jewish people were preparing to enter the Land of Israel after wandering in the desert for forty years. Moses sent spies to the area of Yazer, which they had to cross to enter the Land. The spies were to scout the area and report back to Moses.
These spies did more than survey the land—they also conquered it for the Jewish people. And they were praised for what they did.
Wait a minute. These spies weren't sent to fight against the people of Yazer. They also added to Moshe's instructions! Apparently, they made the same mistake as the first spies.
No. If we look more closely, we see that this time things were different. These spies knew about the mistake that had been made earlier. During the forty years of wandering in the desert, the Jewish people had been doing Teshuvah - Repentance. Now everyone was eager to enter the Land of Israel. The spies wanted to show how the Teshuvah of the Jewish people had been complete.
The first group of spies made the mistake of adding the wrong element to their mission. The second group of spies added the right element. The first group's addition prevented the Jewish people from entering the Land of Israel. The second group's addition enabled them to enter the Promised Land.
By adding something accurate to their instructions, they corrected the erroneous additions made by the first spies. The first spies were timid and fearful. They did not trust God, even though He had promised to help them. The second group of spies had so much faith in God that they decided to fight the unfriendly people of Yazer themselves. They knew that God would help them.
Excerpted from Please tell me what the Rebbe says