The Jewish people were at Mt. Sinai for over a year preparing to receive the Torah, and studying its laws. They were completely immersed in the Torah, and everything was provided for them. They had the Clouds of Glory and a Pillar of Fire to protect them. They had Manna to feed them, and there were no other worries.
At the end of that year, G-d has one message for them: “you’ve been at this mountain for too long.” (Deut. 1:6) It was time for them to venture out into the “Real World.” They could no longer remain in the tent of G-d, they had to turn and travel to the Land of Israel.
As they neared Israel, the Jewish people decided to send scouts (meraglim) to tour the land. While their mission was to determine the best entry points, ten of the twelve scouts ended up returning a dire report of the Land. They recommended that Bnei Yisrael not enter Israel at this time.
The Meraglim were leaders of the Jewish people, and they shared the sentiments of the people. The Jewish people had become very reliant on G-d’s protection. They were afraid to enter the land because it would mean that they were on their own. They would have to farm the land, build cities, and defend themselves. They were afraid to leave the protective blanket of G-d. They refused to follow the command of “you’ve been at this mountain for too long.”
For this reason, it was necessary for that entire generation to die out before they could inherit the land of Israel. They had a mentality that would prevent them from successfully building a society in Israel. They did not realize that Torah should not exist in a vacuum. They needed to learn to integrate their Torah with the settling of the land and the forming of a functioning community.
