So Moses, by יהוה’s command, sent them out from the wilderness of Paran, all of them being men of consequence, leaders of the Israelites.
By the command of the Lord. The mission was not by the command of the Lord, for He had said to him “Send for yourself, according to your own judgment, etc.” Rather, it means that the sending [of the spies] from the wilderness of Paran was by the command of the Lord — the first journey from Hazeroth. For according to the word of the Blessed One, He would not have agreed to send [spies] at all, but due to their persistent requests, He did not prevent them. Nevertheless, He should have delayed the timing of the mission, for from the wilderness of Paran there were several journeys until they approached the Land [of Israel], and He should have sent them from another encampment closer to the Land of Israel than the wilderness of Paran. However, since this encampment in the wilderness of Paran was immediately after they came from Hazeroth, where the incident with Miriam had occurred, the Lord thought that the incident was recent, and perhaps the wicked ones would learn a lesson. And perhaps over many days they would forget what happened to Miriam. Thus, the phrase by the command of the Lord refers to from the wilderness of Paran and not to the mission itself. Some say that it was specifically from the wilderness of Paran because from this place His blessed wisdom estimated that they would go and return within 40 days, so that all those who would die in the wilderness would be 60 years old and would come to the grave in a ripe age (Job 5:26) — all those who were 20 years and older, upon whom the decree was issued.
Rabbi Shimon ben Yoḥai says: Is it possible that a person plows in the plowing season and sows in the sowing season and harvests in the harvest season and threshes in the threshing season and winnows in the windy season, as grain is separated from the chaff by means of the wind, and is constantly busy; what will become of Torah? Rather, one must dedicate himself exclusively to Torah at the expense of other endeavors; as when Israel performs God’s will, their work is performed by others, as it is stated: “And strangers will stand and feed your flocks, and foreigners will be your plowmen and your vinedressers” (Isaiah 61:5). When Israel does not perform God’s will, their work is performed by them themselves, as it is stated: “And you shall gather your grain.” Moreover, if Israel fails to perform God’s will, others’ work will be performed by them, as it is stated: “You shall serve your enemy whom God shall send against you, in hunger, in thirst, in nakedness and in want of all things” (Deuteronomy 28:48).
The Sages taught in a baraita with regard to waiting before and after prayer: The early generations of pious men would wait one hour, pray one hour, then wait one hour again. This raises the question: Since the early pious men would spend nine hours per day engaged either in prayer or the requisite waiting periods before and after prayer, three hours each for the morning, afternoon, and evening prayers, how is their Torah preserved? There was little time remaining to review their studies. And how was their work accomplished?
The Gemara answers: Rather, because they were pious they merited that their Torah is preserved and their work is blessed.