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Ramban on Deuteronomy 1:22/רמב"ן על דברים א׳:כ״ב

אאֶת הַדֶּרֶךְ אֲשֶׁר נַעֲלֶה בָּהּ, אֵין דֶּרֶךְ שֶׁאֵין בָּהּ עַקְמִימוּת. וְאֵת הֶעָרִים אֲשֶׁר נָבֹא אֲלֵיהֶן, תְּחִלָּה לִכְבֹּשׁ, לְשׁוֹן רַשִׁ"י (רש"י על דברים א':כ"ב). וְכֵן בְּסִפְרֵי (דברים כב) אֵין לְךָ דֶּרֶךְ שֶׁאֵין בָּהּ עַקְמִימוּת, אֵין לְךָ דֶּרֶךְ שֶׁאֵין בָּהּ כְּמָנוֹת, אֵין לְךָ דֶּרֶךְ שֶׁאֵין בָּהּ פָּרָשׁוֹת. וְאֵת הֶעָרִים אֲשֶׁר נָבֹא אֲלֵיהֶן, לֵדַע בְּאֵי זֶה דֶּרֶךְ אָנוּ בָּאִין, כְּלוֹמַר מֵאַיִן נִכָּנֵס בָּאָרֶץ שֶׁנִּכְבֹּשׁ אוֹתָן הֶעָרִים תְּחִלָּה. וְהוּא מָה שֶׁפֵּרַשְׁתִּי בְּסֵדֶר שְׁלַח לְךָ (במדבר יג ב), שֶׁלֹּא בִּקְשׁוּ יִשְׂרָאֵל מְרַגְּלִים אֶלָּא לְהוֹרוֹת בִּפְנֵיהֶם הַדֶּרֶךְ:

1AND BRING US BACK WORD OF THE WAY BY WHICH WE MUST GO UP. “There is no road which does not have crooked segments. AND THE CITIES UNTO WHICH WE SHALL COME — first to capture.” This is Rashi’s language. And so it is also stated in the Sifre:⁹⁹ 20. “There is no road which does not have crooked parts. There is no road which does not have traps. There is no road which does not have intersections. And the cities unto which we shall come — so that we may know by which road to come.” That is to say, from which direction we are to come into the Land so that we may capture those cities first. This is as I explained in the section Shelach Lecha¹⁰⁰ that the Israelites requested spies only to show them the way.