“It happened when Pharaoh sent the people that Hashem did not lead them by way of the land of the Philistines, because it was near, for He said, “Perhaps the people will reconsider when they see a war, and they will return to Egypt.” — Shemos 13:17
After two hundred and ten years of bondage, Hashem led the Jews out of Mitzrayim. By all rights, the first stop should have been Har Sinai, where they would receive the Torah and then straight to the land of Israel. Yet that wasn’t what happened.
The Da’as Zekeinim explains that Hashem said, “If I take them directly into the land, each man will be busy — this one with his vineyard, this one with his field…. They won’t have time to study the Torah. Better, I should lead them into the desert. They will spend forty years eating mohn and drinking water from the rock. That way, the Torah will have a chance to settle within them.”
This is difficult to understand. We know the Jewish people spent forty years in the desert as a punishment for the sin of the spies. The Torah says, “A day for a year, a day for a year” (Bamidbar 14:34). How can the Da’as Zekeinim say this was Hashem’s plan to allow them to become the Torah Nation? We know it was actually a punishment.
The answer to this can best be understood with an example.
Looking for a Scapegoat
Niron, the general, was sent by Rome to destroy the Temple. He knew Hashem protects His people, and he was afraid to attack. To determine whether he would be victorious, he used divination. First he shot an arrow toward Jerusalem, and it flew straight. Then he shot arrows in every other direction, and in mid-flight all the arrows turned toward Jerusalem. Next, he stopped a young child and asked, “What did you learn in school today?” The boy quoted the verse, “And I will give the revenge against Edom into the hands of my people.” Niron said to himself, “Hashem wishes to destroy His Temple, and He wants to wipe His hands on me.” Instead of attacking, he ran away and converted. From his lineage came Rebbe Meir (Gittin 56a).
What happened here was that Niron saw the truth. He understood that Hashem wanted the Beis HaMikdash to be destroyed, and He was looking for someone to be the fall guy. That person would be allowed to burn the Temple, which would accomplish G-d’s will, but then he would be punished for the act because he chose to do it.
The Reason and the Cause
This seems to be the answer to the Da’as Zekeinim. Hashem wanted the Jews to learn Torah without distraction. For that to occur, they had to live separate and alone in the desert. And that was a problem. “How can I take my people out of bondage and then leave them to wander in the desert without a home? I promised Avraham I would take them to a bountiful land.”
And so, if it could be, Hashem was looking for an excuse. Once the spies brought their false report and the people accepted it, Hashem had something to justify their not being taken straight to Israel. In reality, there were two layers to the decree – the reason and the cause. The reason Hashem wanted them to spend forty years in the desert was that it was good for them. The cause that made it come about was a punishment for the sin of the spies.
This concept is critical to understanding many life situations.