And of these, there was no man of those counted by Moshe and Aharon…for Hashem had said of them, “They will surely die in the wilderness.”[1]
Rashi makes the inference: “There was no man…” of that generation who made it into the Land – but there were plenty of women. The death sentence Hashem pronounced on those who listened to the spies, and spurned the offer of the Land did not apply to the women. While the men said, “Let’s appoint a leader and return to Egypt,”[2] the women warmly embraced the Land. This can be seen by the very next section that follows our pasuk, which speaks of Tzelafchad’s daughters, and their love for the Land.
There seem to be some holes in this argument. When the men balked at entering the Land, they didn’t manifest any rejection of it at all! Rather, they were overcome with fear that they would not be able to conquer it. And the bnos Tzelafchad didn’t show any special affection for the Land in pursuing it. They reacted to the news that the entire nation was soon to enter and conquer it, and merely pursued what they thought was their legitimate right to a portion of it, alongside everyone else! Why would they not prosecute their claim?
Here is what may have been behind the different positions. The men did not believe that the Land had really come into their possession from the time of the avos. Each of them had lived in it; Avraham had walked the length and breadth of it to legally acquire it. Had the men of the Wilderness grasped this, they would not have looked at the upcoming conquest as so difficult. They were not entering de novo; they were coming back to it after some absence. It was already theirs; it could not be impossible to repossess their historical homeland.
On the other hand, the women did understand this. Had they not, they would not have asked for a portion. They would have accepted the fact that only those who would endanger themselves in battle should receive a parcel of land, and women were not part of the fighting force! But they loved and cherished the Land, sensing that it had fully become the property of the Jewish people from the time of Avraham. As descendants of Avraham Avinu, they demanded their portion alongside everyone else who could make the same claim.
The men did not connect with the Land in the same way. They saw it as a future benefit. When they received word from the meraglim about how difficult it would be to drive out the inhabitants, they were prepared to abandon the dream, and return to Egypt, which was more real to them than some dream of a Promised Land.