The Spies and גאוה

Shavua Tov. Rav Shlomo Mann זצ״ל attributes the fall of the spies to their fear of losing their high positions when the Jewish people would enter Israel. They were heads of tribes in the desert, but they were not sure if they would keep their jobs in the future. This fear led them to גאוה, haughtiness, that took them away from קדושה, holiness. Rav Mann described קדושה as למעלה מן הטבע, being above nature, while טבע referred to being brought down into the physical, material world. The מרגלים, spies, now viewed everything from טבע. According to טבע, we would not be able to conquer Seven Nations, which led them to say more derogatory things about Eretz Yisrael, and destroy the morale of the people. This is why גאוה is such a negative character trait. It takes us away from faith and humility, which is critical for our well being. There are many lessons to be learned from the incident of the מרגלים. Removing גאוה, may be the most important one.