Chazal view the word, “all of you”, as the cause of the tragic outcome of their mission to spy out Eretz Yisrael. The people came forward in an unbecoming manner. They were demanding and disrespectful. The young pushed aside their elders, and the older people pushed ahead of their leaders. This was in sharp contrast to their behavior at Kabalas HaTorah when the entire nation came forth with a request, but in a respectable and orderly manner; the young encouraged their elders to go forward, while the elders displayed the proper respect to their leadership.
Why is it necessary to remind us of Kabolas HaTorah? If anything, one would think that this parsha, marking the beginning of Moshe’s rebuke, would mention only those actions or incidents which merited rebuke. If so, why is the manner in which they came forward at Kobalas HaTorah so significant? The Kli Yakar posits that actually their attitude during Kabolas HaTorah was worthy of rebuke. When the Torah was given, superficially their behavior seemed appropriate. They were relaxed, giving respect where it was due, not pushing ahead of those more deserving than they. When it came to issues concerning their physical welfare, however, they pushed and fought, each one attempting to get ahead of the other. Respect was suddenly gone, decency completely vanished. Had they behaved honorably during Kabolas HaTorah, or did they just not care enough to fight for their spiritual advantage?
This is the concept to which Moshe was alluding. The way they acted during their quest for spies indicated their true nature. When they cared, they clearly exerted effort. They were dignified only regarding Torah because it did not mean as much to them. Does not this spiritual lethargy plague us till this very day? How often do we see people pushing their way into the Bais Medrash to study Torah or attempting to be the first one to respond to an appeal for tzedakah? This inconsistency in our attitude towards spiritual matters, unfortunately demonstrates our true nature.
