Yehoshua and Kalev
STUDENT
SUMMARIES OF SICHOT OF THE ROSHEI YESHIVA
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With gratitude and
in honor of the bar mitzva,
this year b'ezrat Hashem, of our twin sons,
Michael and Joshua - Steven Weiner and Lisa Wise
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Parashat
shelach
SICHA OF HARAV MOSHEH
LICHTENSTEIN SHLIT"A
Yehoshua and
Kalev
Translated
by
As
we know, Kalev son of Yefuneh and Yehoshua son of Nun were the two spies who
were not caught up in the sin of their colleagues. However, a closer look at the
text – both in our parasha and in Sefer Devarim, where the episode
is recalled – show some fundamental differences between these two men, sketching
portraits of two very different characters.
A.
The sin of
the spies
In
our parasha, Kalev alone speaks up courageously against the other spies:
“Kalev silenced the people for Moshe and he said: We should certainly go up and
take possession of [the land], for we are certainly able to overcome it”
(Bamidbar 13:30). Kalev is not fazed by the discouraging report voiced by
the spies and the fearful response on the part of the people; he states his
belief proudly and bravely, without any softening of his
message.
Yehoshua,
while later joining Kalev in rending his garments (Bamidbar 14:6), tries
to avoid a direct confrontation with the people.
Kalev
and Yehoshua find themselves facing the same dilemma that presented itself to
Aharon and Chur when they were confronted with the sin of the golden calf: is it
better to state the pure and unvarnished truth, thereby provoking wild conflict,
or should conflict be avoided as far as possible, with a view to maintaining the
ability to influence in a positive way in the future? Chur paid for his choice
with his life, and a similar fate would have met Kalev were it not for Divine
intervention (Bamidbar 14:10).
B.
Entering the
land
The
fundamental difference between Yehoshua and Kalev is highlighted in the reasons
that the Torah gives for their entry into the land, in contrast to the other
spies. This point is emphasized most clearly at the beginning of Sefer
Devarim:
“God
heard the words that you spoke and He swore, saying: Not a single one of these
men, this evil generation, will see the good land which I promised to give to
your forefathers, except for Kalev son of Yefuneh – he shall see it, and I shall
give the land where he trod to him and to his children, since he wholly followed
God. God was angry with me [i.e., Moshe], too, on your account, saying, You also
shall not go in to there. Yehoshua son of Nun, who stands before you – he shall
go in there. Encourage him, for he shall make it an inheritance for
Kalev
merits who enter the land by virtue of his conduct at the time of the sin of the
spies, when he refused to disobey God and tried with all his might to deter the
people from this sin, endangering his very life. As our parasha
formulates the reason: “And My servant Kalev son of Yefuneh, since he had a
different spirit about him and he followed Me wholly – I shall bring to the land
into which he came, and his seed shall inherit it” (Bamidbar
14:24).
Kalev
enters the land as an individual, owing to his actions as an individual. His
right to the land is mentioned in the same breath as the fate of the generation
of the wilderness, who were punished as a result of their different response to
the same event. The sinners were punished and did not enter the land, while
Kalev conducted himself properly and merited to enter the
land.
Even
after Am Yisrael enter and take possession of the land, Kalev is depicted
as a friendly old man who tells his grandchildren stories about the period of
the spies; he seems detached from any national or public activity. Kalev is
concerned about the conquest of his own inheritance; thereafter we hear nothing
more about him.
Yehoshua,
in contrast, does not enter the land as an individual, but rather as the leader
of the next generation. He is not punished with death in the wilderness – but
nor is he mentioned has having any special right to enter the land; the matter
of his entry or non-entry depends on the generation to which he belongs. If he
is counted with the generation of the wilderness, he will die a natural death,
like all of that generation, and will not enter the land. If he is appointed to
lead the generation that enters the land, then he will enter along with them.
Ultimately, Yehoshua is appointed as the leader of the next generation and he
does enter the land. Why?
C.
Two
approaches
We
have before us two modes of response to the sin of the spies – or, on a more
elementary level, two different approaches to the sinful nation. Kalev’s
approach of stating the plain and sharp truth to a defeatist, weeping nation,
defends God’s honor by refusing to allow the spiritual and political stage to be
appropriated by the more numerous sinners and their negative designs, and by
presenting the pure truth at all costs. Like Chanania, Mishael and Azaria later
on, Kalev has the opportunity to sanctify God’s Name in public, in a situation
where no one else does so.
Yehoshua
takes a different approach, involving much less conflict with the nation in real
time, and a much greater attempt to maintain influence over them in the future.
Of course, he does not agree with the report presented by the other spies, but
at the same time he is not party to Kalev’s sharp attack on the people. He
chooses to focus his efforts on the education and leadership of the younger
generation for the duration of their wanderings in the wilderness. The results
of his educational influence are sustained throughout the years of his
leadership and even beyond: “And
In
summary, Kalev enters into a direct and determined dispute with the spies, and
merits to sanctify God’s Name amongst the nation. For this reason he is given a
Divine reward, which is maintained for his descendants forever. Yehoshua, on the
other hand, chooses his response with a view to rehabilitating the nation and
leading the next generation in the shadow of this crisis. Both men acted
meritoriously; both together managed to prevent a total and absolute desecration
of God’s Name, and the foundation for the entry into the land by the next
generation was thereby created.