The “ones who entered Eretz Yisrael” took actual possession of the land only by virtue of their membership in the current generation of the fathers who were originally named in the first counting as the “ones who left Egypt”. These Fathers were the ones to whom Eretz Yisrael was promised. Due to their rejection of it, however, they conceded actual possession of it to their children. Their children were only to exercise this right in the names of their fathers.
The most vital possessions of parents are their faithful descendants. They are the witnesses to the merit of the parents and serve as atonement for their weaknesses. The belief in Hashem was nurtured by the ancestors during the Egyptian bondage and successfully transmitted to their children. Every little lot of land which the descendants received in Eretz Yisrael was actually, in spirit, acknowledged as the conquest of the grandparents.
The fact that these sons, who were themselves worthy of taking possession of the land, received it according “to the names of the tribes of their fathers,” clearly attests to their unique upbringing. Their parents, who lost permission to enter the land, nonetheless understood the need to nurture the appropriate spirit in the heart of the next generation, so that they would be worthy to enter the land. The parents understood how to atone for their sin through their children. They were truly a “dor deah” (generation of understanding). The personal errors which they committed were not transmitted to their children. Rather, they did everything possible to rectify these sins, so that ultimately, in spirit, they would possess their share in Eretz Yisrael through their children’s inheritance.
