By Rabbi Joshua (elliptically known as the Hoffer) Hoffman
After the sin of the meraglim, or spies, Moshe prayed to God on behalf of the people. As part of his prayer, he invoked some of God’s thirteen attributes of mercy, and left others out (Bamidbar 14:18). According to Rabbeinu Bachya, he mentioned only six of the attributes and left out seven. This figure, of course, is a function of how one actually counts the attributes. For example, there is a dispute among early commentators (see Tosafos on Rosh Hashana 17b and the note thereon) whether the first two times that God mentioned his name when he originally declared his attributes of mercy, after the sin of the golden calf (see Shemos 34:6), are indeed counted as two separate attributes, as only one, or as none at all. In any case, it is clear that certain specific attributes where left out by Moshe in his prayer. One of them is the trait of Emes, or truth, and I would like to focus on that particular omission, in order to understand why Moshe felt it inappropriate to mention it at this particular time.
The Ramban says that Moshe did not mention the attribute of Emes because, if God employed that trait, the nation would have been judged as being guilty. Rabbi Chaim Dov Chavel, in his notes to the Ramban, explains this on the basis of the Zohar, which says that since the spies conducted themselves through using falsehood, or sheker, and God judges based on the principle “measure for measure,” it was impossible to judge the nation with the attribute of truth. Rabbi Aryeh Leib Lopiansky, in his super-commentary to the Ramban, Lev Tzion, finds this explanation of the Ramban problematic because the Ramban seems to be saying that the nation would lose the case if they were judged through truth, while the Zohar seems to say that the attribute of truth was simply not relevant or fitting to be used in regard to the spies. He therefore cites the explanations of the Ramban given by Rabbeinu Bachya and Rabbeinu Ya’akov, the author of the Tur. The interested reader is referred to these sources, and Rav Lopiansky’s explanation of them. I would like to suggest an explanation of the Ramban based on another passage in the Ramban found in parshas Chayei Sarah.
Regarding the verse, “And God blessed Avraham with everything (bakol),” the Ramban quotes various opinions among Chazal as to what “bakol” means. One explanation he mentions is that Avraham did not have a daughter, another one is that he did have daughter, and yet another one is that he had a daughter whose name was “bakol.” The Ramban says that it does not make sense to say that later two explanations are in dispute as to what the name of Avraham’s daughter was, because our great Sages would not be argue about such an inconsequential matter. Rather, he says, the final opinion maintains that “bakol” is an attribute of God and it is a feminine trait. The Ramban says that this trait is the eighth trait among the traits of God. Although the kabalistic super-commentaries to the Ramban say that he is referring to the eighth of the ten sefiros, my teacher, Rav Aharon Soloveichik, zt”l, said that he is referring to the eighth of the thirteen attributes of mercy, mainly, the attribute of truth – Emes – or more properly, “Rav Emes,” a multitude of truths. As Rav Aharon explained, the word Rav which precedes the attribute of chesed, modifies both that attribute and the attribute that follows – Emes.
What exactly does the attribute of “Rav Emes,” or a multitude of truths entail? We have mentioned several times Rav Aharon’s explanation that the attribute of “Rav Emes” is that God imbues everything in creation, no matter how insignificant, with rich meaning, or truth. The ability to find meaning even in smallest things is a feminine trait and the Torah tells us that Avraham was blessed with this trait. Based on this explanation of the Ramban in parshas Chayei Sarah we can better understand his remarks in parshas Shelach.
The spies, and in their wake the nation, by rejecting Eretz Yisroel, were, in effect, rejecting the trait of Emes. Eretz Yisroel as a land endowed by God with sanctity, carries importance even in its stones. The Talmud at the end of Kesubos tells us that the rabbis used to kiss the stones of Acco before leaving the land. Rav Kook, when he came to America on a fundraising tour for Yeshivos in 1924, carried stones of Eretz Yisroel in his hands to remind him of the land’s sanctity. Interestingly, the Kli Yakar says that if the spies had been women rather than man, the outcome of the mission would have been much different, because women displayed more love for the land than did men. This can be understood, based on Rav Aharon’s explanation of Rav Emes being a feminine trait, so that women are able to see truth and meaning in seemingly insignificant things. Because the spies who were sent rejected that attribute of truth, Moshe could not invoke that attribute in his appeal for mercy for them.