28. Rabbi Chizkiyah and Rabbi Yesa continued traveling along. As they went, they met some people. Rabbi Chizkiyah and Rabbi Yesa asked about him. They said: What is the name of that person? They replied: That is Rabbi Chagai and he is a friend among the friends. The friends sent him from Babylon to find out about things from Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai and the rest of the friends. Rabbi Yesa said: That must be the Rabbi Chagai who all his life did not wish to show off what he knows and, therefore, he told us that his son has merited the gain of his Torah knowledge. Since he said: "See you a man wise in his own eyes? There is more hope of a fool than of him" (Mishlei 26:12). He most certainly is a faithful messenger and praised is he who dispatches his matters by the hand of a faithful messenger.

29. Come and see that Eliezer, the servant of Abraham, was from the children of Canaan, as it is written: "As for the merchant (Heb. knaan), the balances of deceit are in his hands" (Hoshea 12:8). About Canaan, it is written: "Cursed be Canaan; a servant of servants shall he be to his brethren" (Beresheet 9:25). Because Eliezer was a faithful messenger, it is written about him: "Come in, you blessed of Hashem" (Beresheet 24:31), really blessed of Hashem. Therefore, it is written so in the Torah since he has emerged from the curse OF CANAAN, and became blessed. He was not only excluded FROM THE CURSE, but he was also blessed it the name of the Holy One, blessed be He. And I learned that an angel came and inserted this - THAT HE SHOULD CALL HIM "BLESSED OF HASHEM" - into the mouth of Laban.

30. "And Moses...sent them...all those men" (Bemidbar 13:3), MEANING THAT all were righteous and chiefs of Yisrael. However, they took bad counsel for themselves. Why did they take this counsel? It was because they thought: if Yisrael entered the land, we would be removed as chiefs and Moses would appoint other chiefs; since we deserved to be chiefs only in the desert, in the land we would not deserve TO BE CHIEFS. Due to having taken bad counsel for themselves, they died, as did all those who accepted their counsel.

31. "These are the names of the men whom Moses sent... " (Ibid. 4). Rabbi Yitzchak said: Moses observed and was aware that they, THAT IS THE SPIES, would not succeed in their mission, and he then prayed about Joshua. Caleb was then in distress. He said: What shall I do, since Joshua goes forth with the utmost help of Moses, who inspired in him the illumination of the moon, WHICH IS MALCHUT. He shone upon him with his light in his prayer, since he is THE ASPECT OF the sun, WHICH IS ZEIR ANPIN. So what did Caleb do? He dropped back from THE SPIES, and came to the burial place of the patriarchs, and prayed his prayer there.

32. Rabbi Yehuda said: Caleb went a different way and took winding paths, MEANING THAT HE FOLLOWED TWISTED PATHS. He reached the burial plots of the patriarchs and endangered himself, as it is written: "Where Ahiman, Sheshai, and Talmai, the children of Anak, were" (Ibid. 22). However, just as someone in distress does not pay attention to anything, so too it was with Caleb. Because he felt distress, he was not observant, and came to pour his prayers upon the burial plots of the patriarchs, in order to be saved from the counsel OF THE SPIES.

33. "And Moses called Hosea son of Nun, Joshua" (Bemidbar 13:16). Rabbi Yitzchak said: Did the scripture ever call him Hosea? Is it not written: "And Moses said to Joshua" (Shemot 17:9) and "Joshua, the son of Nun, a young man" (Shemot 33:11) and "Joshua harried" (Shemot 17:13)? HE RESPONDS: However, Moses told him Yud-Hei will save you (Heb. yoshia) from them, SINCE JOSHUA (HEB. YEHOSHUA) IS SPELLED WITH THE LETTERS YUD AND HEI, AND YOSHIA (LIT. 'WILL SAVE').

34. Rabbi Aba said: As soon as MOSES sent JOSHUA to go there, TO THE LAND OF YISRAEL, he needed to be perfect. And in what way? With the Shechinah, SINCE THE LAND OF YISRAEL IS THE SECRET OF THE SHECHINAH. Until that time, he was considered a young man, as we have explained, MEANING THAT HE WAS ATTACHED TO METATRON REFERRED TO AS YOUNG MAN. At that time, Moses tied him to THE SHECHINAH. He was referred to in the scriptures prior to that as Joshua because the scriptures referred to him according to what he was destined to be called. Moses said: Most certainly, it is not proper for him to arrive there except by the Shechinah and that is appropriate. THEREFORE, HE CALLED HIM JOSHUA ADDING THE YUD TO HIS NAME, WHICH IS THE SECRET OF THE SHECHINAH.

35. "Whether there is a tree in it, or not..." (Bemidbar 13:20). Rabbi Chiya said: Did Moses not know that there are a variety of trees there, different one from the other? Isn't he the one who praised the land several times WITH ITS OLIVES, GRAPES, POMEGRANATES, and was satisfied with it. Didn't the Holy One, blessed be He, tell Moses originally that this was a land flowing with milk and honey? Rabbi Yosi said the friends already noted that it is written: "There was a man in the land of Utz, whose name was Job" (Iyov 1:1), MEANING THAT HE WISHED TO INQUIRE OF THEM WHETHER JOB WAS THERE TO PROTECT THEM. AND TREE (HEB. ETZ) IS LIKE UTZ.

36. Rabbi Shimon said: He gave them a wise allusion regarding to what they asked before, as it is written: "Is Hashem among us, or not (Heb. ayin)" (Shemot 17:7) - BEING THE QUESTION OF WHETHER ZEIR ANPIN, REFERRED TO BY YUD HEI VAV HEI, IS STAYING WITH THEM, OR ARICH ANPIN IS AMONG THEM, REFERRED TO BY AYIN (LIT. 'NOT'). He said: There IN THE LAND, you will recognize if it is worthy of this, OF ZEIR ANPIN WHO IS REFERRED TO AS TREE, or of this, OF ARICH ANPIN WHO IS REFERRED TO BY AYIN (LIT. 'NAUGHT'). He further told them, if you notice that the fruits of the land are similar to those in the other countries in the world, then "there is a tree in it," which is the Tree of Life, MEANING ZEIR ANPIN, but not from a higher place. However, if you notice that the fruits of the land are decidedly different from other fruits in other countries of the world, you will know that the supernal difference flows and comes out from Atika Kadisha and THAT IT CONTAINS rather than all the places in the world. Through this, you will be able to recognize if there is a tree in it - THAT IS, ZEIR ANPIN - or not (Heb. ayin), ATIKA KADISHA, THAT IS ARICH ANPIN. That is what you set out to discern in the beginning, as it is written: "Is Hashem among us" - and "among us" is specific SINCE THEY INQUIRED IF ZEIR ANPIN RESTS AMONG THEM, or not - Ayin REFERRING TO ARICH ANPIN. Therefore, "And be of good courage, and bring of the fruit of the land" (Bemidbar 13:20), to know the difference in them, MEANING TO BE AWARE IF THERE IS A DIFFERENCE IN THEM OR NOT.

37. "Now the time (days) was the time of the first ripe grapes" (Ibid.). HE INQUIRES: "Now the days:'' What is it meant to convey, since it would have been sufficient TO SAY, "Now was the time of the first ripe grapes." HE RESPONDS: However, "now the days" are those that are known, MEANING THE SIX DAYS WHICH ARE CHESED, GVURAH, TIFERET, NETZACH, HOD AND YESOD OF ZEIR ANPIN. All were attached at that time to the tree against which the first man sinned, WHICH IS MALCHUT, and we have learned that it was the grapes (tree). THEREFORE, WE SEE THAT GRAPES IS MALCHUT. As a result, the days that were already known TO BE THE SIX ENDS OF ZEIR ANPIN are the season of first ripe grapes, WHICH IS MALCHUT; THAT IS, THE SIX ENDS OF ZEIR ANPIN WERE JOINED AT THAT TIME WITH MALCHUT.