Realistically, did the meraglim really lie? They simply recounted what they saw. If they related the truth, why were they punished? The Kotzker Rebbe, zl, explains that the fact that a statement is not a lie does not necessarily validate it as the truth. Just because one does not actually lie, he is not necessarily a man of integrity. Truth and faith emanate from the deep recesses of the heart. One does not acquire the truth by looking at it. He must conjure up courage from within to look beyond that which he sees visually. The meraglim saw a powerful nation, – but is true strength a product of physical brawn? Does not Hashem have something to say about it? How many strong and powerful nations have become extinct through the Hand of Hashem? In other words, the truth is not what one sees, but that which one understands with his heart. A patient in the hospital may be forsaken by his doctors, but as long as Hashem wills it , he will be cured. That is the real truth. Indeed, it takes courage to see beyond what appears superficially or beyond what one wants to see. The meraglim, unfortunately, could not muster up this courage.
