PEOPLE OF THE LAND
Selections from classical Torah sources
which express the special relationship between
the People of Israel and Eretz Yisrael

KALEV -
REWARD FOR THE FAITHFUL SPY

When the twelve spies sent by Moshe to scout the land which Hashem had promised the Jewish People returned from their mission, ten of them slandered Eretz Yisrael and discouraged the people from inheriting it. Only Kalev ben Yefuneh and Yeshoshua bin Nun dissented from this tragic conspiracy. It was the former who courageously offered the faithful minority report and the encouragement that the land could be conquered and was worth the effort.

During their forty-day surveillance of the land Kalev made a detour from the company of the spies to pray at the Tomb of the Patriarchs in Hebron for Heavenly assistance in resisting the conspiracy of his colleagues. Not only were his prayers answered but he was rewarded by Heaven with the site of his prayers being awarded to him as his portion of the land to which he had demonstrated such loyalty.