Jameel reminds me of a teaching that makes the spies seem like some leaders we know. He writes "The zohar writes that the spies were simply worried about losing their status as important leaders if Israel were to enter Israel"
I've also heard (forget where, though I seem to recall blogging it) that the spies saw the worst in Israel because living there would have compared so unfavorably to their lives in the dessert. In the dessert the spies were comfortable: Along with their status, power and prestige, they also had the blessings of divine providence. Food fell from the sky. Their clothing never wore out. Once they entered the land, all of that would end. In Israel, their status would be threatened, and if they hoped to avoid starvation, they'd have to go to work, with their hands, like common people.
(Any similarities to kolel life, are purely intentional.)
