The Secret of “When Moshe Saw the Humility of Yehoshua bin Nun” • The Daily

What was the humility of Yehoshua bin Nun—greater than all the Avos? And what was the evil counsel that the spies went with and returned with? What did Yehoshua do when he heard they wanted to eliminate him? You will find the answers to these questions in the daily teaching before you, written by Rabbi Berland shlit"a—full and overflowing with wondrous new insights your ear has never heard.

Here is the complete teaching for reading and downloading:

The Secret of “When Moshe Saw the Humility of Yehoshua bin Nun”

Question: Where do we see the humility of Yehoshua bin Nun more than by Moshe Rabbeinu, and by Avraham who said (Bereishis 18:27), “I am but dust and ashes”? And about Yaakov it is said (Bamidbar 23:10), “Who can count the dust of Yaakov”? And Yitzchak gave over his life without a word, without any doubt at all—he allowed himself to be bound of his own will upon the altar, and gave his entire being for Hashem, at the command of Avraham Avinu.

If so, we return to the question: Where do we find in Yehoshua bin Nun a humility greater than that of Avraham, Yitzchak, Yaakov, Moshe, and Aharon—who said (Shemos 16:7), “And what are we?”—nullifying themselves completely as if they did not exist at all? And yet only Yehoshua bin Nun merited the letter yud of Sarai, and not Avraham, Yitzchak, and Yaakov, and not Moshe and Aharon.

Rather, Yehoshua bin Nun was truly in an entirely different category—one of real mortal danger—after the spies left the camp of Israel with an evil counsel, and with a clear decision that the first thing they would do was a targeted elimination of Yehoshua bin Nun. In their foolish reasoning, it seems they suspected him of wanting to reign over Israel in place of Moshe Rabbeinu, after everyone had heard the bitter tidings: “Moshe will die and Yehoshua will bring [them] in.” All ten spies were certain that Yehoshua bin Nun was the one rejoicing over this prophetic message, and that he was only waiting for the opportunity of Moshe Rabbeinu’s death so he could rule in his place. Therefore, the first thing they had to do was eliminate Yehoshua bin Nun—so that Moshe Rabbeinu could continue to live, and they—the ten—would be the only ones who wanted Moshe Rabbeinu’s life to continue, in contrast to Yehoshua bin Nun who, in their eyes, was already longing with anticipation for his death.

Therefore, the first obligation was: to eliminate Yehoshua bin Nun. And also, not to enter the Land—so that Moshe could continue living with them for nearly another forty years [38½].

And when this matter was whispered into the ears of Yehoshua bin Nun—that they were preparing to eliminate him, whether in his sleep or even while awake, and that they had hired someone to kill him—he did not say a word to Moshe Rabbeinu, and he did not complain to him: “Why is he sending me…? Perhaps he should send someone else in my place, so as not to endanger my life, which is already completely lost…”

This is the meaning of the Gemara (Sotah 36a): “They went with an evil counsel and they returned with an evil counsel.” For it was absolutely settled in their minds that the solution to the problem—and the nullification of the prophecy of Eldad and Meidad—depended solely on the killing of Yehoshua bin Nun. For forty days and nights, his fate was completely abandoned, and a death decree was issued upon him with the explicit agreement of the ten spies. Yet even though every detail of their plot became known to Yehoshua, and he knew that his blood had already been permitted and his entire life was placed in the hands of the spies—he did not voice any complaint at all about the mission. He said: “I will not tell Moshe anything. And if he is sending me, then he already knows all the details, and surely he has already made all the calculations—and surely I will remain alive.” He had no doubt and no challenge whatsoever regarding his mission from Moshe![embeddoc url="https://www.shuvubanimint.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/ה-הוא-האלקים-ליל-ג-שלח-יז-סיון-תשפג1.pdf" download="all" viewer="google"]