VaYelekh #2

Devarim 31

 

Joshua Takes on the Mantle of Leadership
Miriam-Simma Walfish, 5766

Shabbat Shalom and Shanah Tovah.

In reading this week's parashah, focus on chapter 31 verses 7 and 23. (See below.) What are the similarities between these two charges to Joshua? What are the differences?

This week's parashah begins with a melancholy statement on the part of Moshe. He calls the entire nation together and says, "I am now one hundred and twenty years old. I can no longer go and come, and YHWH told me, ‘You cannot cross this Jordan river'" - "בֶּן מֵאָה וְעֶשְׂרִים שָׁנָה אָנֹכִי הַיּוֹם לֹא אוּכַל עוֹד לָצֵאת וְלָבוֹא וַיהֹוָה אָמַר אֵלַי לֹא תַעֲבֹר אֶת הַיַּרְדֵּן הַזֶּה". Moshe goes on to stress that God will be the one to lead them into the new land, with Joshua as their new human leader. After all the preparation we have witnessed in Sefer Devarim, Moshe is finally ready to hand over the mantle of leadership. Verse 7 reads:

Moshe calls Joshua over to him and says to him in the sight of all Israel, "Be strong and resolute, for it is you who shall go with this people into the land that the Lord swore to their ancestors to give them, and it is you who shall apportion it to them."

וַיִּקְרָא מֹשֶׁה לִיהוֹשֻׁעַ וַיֹּאמֶר אֵלָיו לְעֵינֵי כָל יִשְׂרָאֵל חֲזַק וֶאֱמָץ כִּי אַתָּה תָּבוֹא אֶת הָעָם הַזֶּה אֶל הָאָרֶץ אֲשֶׁר נִשְׁבַּע יְהֹוָה לַאֲבֹתָם לָתֵת לָהֶם וְאַתָּה תַּנְחִילֶנָּה אוֹתָם:

Later on in the parashah, verse 31, God gives Joshua similar instruction. This is the first time God speaks to Joshua, and God too uses the phrase "חֲזַק וֶאֱמָץ" - "be strong and resolute".

And God charged Joshua son of Nun: "Be strong and resolute, for you shall bring the Israelites into the land that I promised them on oath, and I will be with you."

וַיְצַו אֶת יְהוֹשֻׁעַ בִּן נוּן וַיֹּאמֶר חֲזַק וֶאֱמָץ כִּי אַתָּה תָּבִיא אֶת בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל אֶל הָאָרֶץ אֲשֶׁר נִשְׁבַּעְתִּי לָהֶם וְאָנֹכִי אֶהְיֶה עִמָּךְ:

While both charges to Joshua contain the phrase "חֲזַק וֶאֱמָץ" - "be strong and resolute", there are also many differences between them. In Moshe's speech Joshua is to go with the nation, while in God's speech, Joshua is to bring them. In Moshe's speech the land is one that God promised to the nation's ancestors, while in God's speech the land is promised to the nation itself. Lastly, in Moshe's speech Joshua is instructed to go with the "עָם" - "the nation", while in God's speech Joshua is instructed to bring "בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל" - "the Israelites".

The Keli Yekar points out these differences and suggests that there is one explanation that can account for them all. He claims that throughout the interactions between the nation and its leaders two factions emerge from within the nation. One faction is forever testing its leaders and God, while the other faction believes in God to their core and needs no strengthening in their belief. In our parashah, Moshe is instructing Joshua regarding the faction that needs its belief strengthened, while God is speaking about the faction that does not.

The Keli Yekar draws our attention back to the most recent time the phrase "לְעֵינֵי כָל יִשְׂרָאֵל" - "in the sight of all Israel" (from verse 7) appears. Interestingly enough, it is in another episode dealing with the question of leadership. Moshe has just hit the rock instead of speaking to it and God says, "because you did not trust me enough to affirm my sanctity in the sight of Israel you will not bring this congregation into the land that I have given them" - "יַעַן לֹא הֶאֱמַנְתֶּם בִּי לְהַקְדִּישֵׁנִי לְעֵינֵי בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל לָכֵן לֹא תָבִיאוּ אֶת הַקָּהָל הַזֶּה אֶל הָאָרֶץ אֲשֶׁר נָתַתִּי לָהֶם" (Bemidbar 20:12).

The Keli Yekar points out that Moshe would not have been reprimanded so severely had the people not needed strengthening in their belief. He argues that the words "קָּהָל"/"congregation", used after Moshe hit the rock, and "עָם"/"nation", used by Moshe in our parashah, are synonymous, and that both refer to the faction of Israel who needs its belief strengthened. The reason Moshe is not allowed into the land is that he was not strong and resolute in the face of his complaining nation.

Now, Moshe is telling Joshua not to make the same mistake that he made. The Keli Yekar suggests that the phrase "in the sight of Israel" should not be read as referring to the physical location of the conversation between Joshua and Moshe, but rather it should be read as part of Moshe's instruction, as if to say, "Be strong and resolute in the sight of Israel." That is, ‘Rectify my mistake and you will be an able leader'. In God's speech, the terms "עָם" and "קָּהָל" are not used; rather, the term "בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל"/"Israelites" is used. According to the Keli Yekar, this term refers to the "believers who are the children of believers." God, therefore, instructs Joshua only on how to lead the part of the people who have accepted the leadership of God and Joshua and are willing to be led. These people do not need to be drawn along with Joshua, but rather, simply need to be told what to do, and they will eagerly follow.

This distinction then helps to explain the other differences between God's instruction and Moshe's. Moshe talks about the merit of the nation's ancestors because the nation itself has been so trying of God's patience that it does not deserve to go into the land through its own merits. Rather, they need their ancestors' merits and Joshua's merit to cause them to be worthy enough of entry to the land. The other group, however, does not need the ancestral merit because they deserve entry into the land in their own right.

Moshe tells Joshua to go with the nation because they do not accept God's authority, nor, by extension, God's appointed leader as an authority. Since they do not accept that authority, it is useless for Joshua to yell at them or punish them; rather, he has to guide them by traveling with them, without condescension or anger.

God tells Joshua to bring the Israelites because once a group has accepted a leader, they will follow that leader through thick and thin, even if what the leader instructs seems perhaps illogical, and therefore Joshua can actually portray himself as a leader to this group and bring them to new places without coaxing them. This also explains why God says, "וְאָנֹכִי אֶהְיֶה עִמָּךְ"/"and I will be with you." The Keli Yekar interprets this phrase as meaning, "Therefore I will be with you" - because of the merits of this portion of the nation ‘I will be with you'. He says that the leaders of Israel rise to greatness only through merits of Israel. Because of this, when Israel strays, its leaders often ended up leading them into exile and sinning as much as the nation did.

It may seem counter-intuitive that the more rebellious faction needed guidance whereas the supportive faction required firm leadership, but if we stop and consider a process in which we are all supposed to be engaged currently, we may find it to be not so strange after all. On this Shabbat before Yom Kippur, we find ourselves in the process of teshuvah. We are in a sense leading ourselves into our own spiritual Promised Land. In this process we would do well to learn both from the strategies God gives Joshua and from those that Moshe gives him. There are actions that we perform that are such a part of our personality that it is hard for us at times even to convince ourselves that they are wrong. It is important for us in these cases not to beat ourselves up over them, but rather, to guide ourselves to perform these transgressions less and less, using reason and other methods of persuasion to get ourselves to become better and better people. At other times, however, we are secure in our knowledge of the moral implications of our actions. At that point it is essential that we are firm with ourselves and do what we know is right.

Gmar Hatima Tovah!