RABBI DAVID ETENGOFF: PARASHAT HASHAVUAH
  • Blog: Rabbi David Etengoff: Parashat HaShavuah
  • Sefer Bereishit 5784&5785
  • Sefer Shemot 5784&5785
  • Sefer Vayikra 5784&5785
  • Sefer Bamidbar 5784 &5785
  • Sefer Devarim 5784&5785
  • Sefer Bereishit 5782&5783
  • Sefer Shemot 5782&5783
  • Sefer Vayikra 5782&5783
  • Sefer Bamidbar 5782&5783
  • Sefer Devarim 5782&5783
  • Sefer Bereishit 5780& 5781
  • Sefer Shemot 5780&5781
  • Sefer Vayikra 5780&5781
  • Sefer Bamidbar 578&5781
  • Sefer Devarim 578&5781
  • Sefer Bereishit 5778&5779
  • Sefer Shemot 5778&5779
  • Sefer Vayikra 5778&5779
  • Sefer Bamidbar 5778&5779
  • Sefer Devarim 5778&5779
  • Sefer Bereishit 5776&5777
  • Sefer Bereishit 5774&5775
  • Sefer Bereishit 5772&5773
  • Sefer Bereishit 5771&5770
  • Sefer Shemot 5776&5777
  • Sefer Shemot 5774&5775
  • Sefer Shemot 5772&5773
  • Sefer Shemot 5771&5770
  • Sefer Vayikra 5776&5777
  • Sefer Vayikra 5774&5775
  • Sefer Vayikra 5772&5773
  • Sefer Vayikra 5771&5770
  • Sefer Bamidbar 5776&5777
  • Sefer Bamidbar 5774&5775
  • Sefer Bamidbar 5772&5773
  • Sefer Bamidbar 5771&5770
  • Sefer Devarim 5776&5777
  • Sefer Devarim 5774&5775
  • Sefer Devarim 5772&5773
  • Sefer Devarim 5771&5770

6/27/2021

​Parashat Pinchas 5781, 2021: "Of Yehoshua and the Moon"

0 Comments

Read Now
 
Picture


















 
Rabbi David Etengoff
 
Dedicated to the sacred memories of my mother, Miriam Tovah bat Aharon Hakohen, father-in-law, Levi ben Yitzhak, sister, Shulamit bat Menachem, sister-in-law, Ruchama Rivka Sondra bat Yechiel, Chana bat Shmuel, Yehonatan Binyamin ben Mordechai Meir Halevi, Shoshana Elka bat Avraham, Tikvah bat Rivka Perel, Peretz ben Chaim, Chaya Sarah bat Reb Yechezkel Shraga, Shmuel Yosef ben Reuven, Shayndel bat Mordechai Yehudah, the Kedoshim of Har Nof, Pittsburgh, and Jersey City, and the refuah shlaimah of Mordechai HaLevi ben Miriam Tovah, Moshe ben Itta Golda, Yocheved Dafneh bat Dinah Zehavah, Reuven Shmuel ben Leah, and the health and safety of our brothers and sisters in Israel and around the world.
 
Both Parashat Korach and our parasha contain an unusual name of the Almighty:

They [Moshe and Aharon] fell on their faces and said, “O G-d, the G-d of the spirits of all flesh (Elokei haruchot l’kol basar) if one man sins, shall You be angry with the whole congregation?” (Sefer Bamidbar 16:22)
 
Let the L-rd, the G-d of spirits of all flesh, appoint a man over the congregation who will go forth before them and come before them, who will lead them out and bring them in, so that the congregation of the L-rd will not be like sheep without a shepherd.” (Sefer Bamidbar 27:16-17, these, and all Bible translations, The Judaica Press Complete Tanach)
 
In Parashat Korach, Rashi (1040-1105) explains Elokei haruchot l’kol basar as, “He Who knows all thoughts…before You all thoughts are revealed,” and in our parasha, he suggests that just like Hashem knows the unique nature of each and every individual in the world, so, too, should He appoint a leader who will emulate Him in this regard and thereby be able to tolerate the idiosyncrasies of each member of the Jewish people. While both explanations present the concept of Hashem’s total knowledge of the innermost thoughts of humankind, the second one stresses the notion that Moshe’s forthcoming replacement must also have this quality, albeit, on the human level.
 
In his Torah commentary, Maor v’Shemesh, Rabbi Kalonymus Kalman Halevi Epstein (1753-1825) raises a fundamental question regarding Moshe’s request concerning the nature of the leader Hashem should appoint following his impending demise:

It is fitting to focus quite clearly upon Moshe’s underlying reason for giving advice to the Holy One blessed be He regarding the need to appoint an individual over the congregation. Behold, He, may His Name be blessed, runs all the worlds, therefore, how is it possible for one born of a woman [that is, a mortal being] to give advice to the King of the Universe as to how He ought to lead His congregation? (This, and the following translations my own)
 
If we are to understand the rationale of Moshe’s appeal to the Almighty, Rav Epstein suggests we must focus upon the celebrated midrashic statement found in Talmud Bavli, Baba Batra 75a: “The Elders of that generation [who witnessed the transition from Moshe to Yehoshua, Rashi] declared: ‘Moshe’s face was like the face of the sun, and Yehoshua’s face was like the face of the moon.’” In simple terms, this means that Moshe was the earthly source of Torah, whereas Yehoshua, like the moon, reflected the Torah he had learned from Moshe. Rav Epstein maintains that this concept serves as a prologue to the second part of Moshe’s request concerning the future leader of the Jewish people, “who will lead them out and bring them in (asher yatze lifneihem v’asher yavo lifneihem).” The first Hebrew letters of this phrase have the gematria (numerical equivalent) of 87, the exact same numerical value of the Hebrew word, levanah (moon). In other words, Moshe requested that the next leader of klal Yisrael should be the human equivalent of the moon and, as such, reflect his [Moshe’s] Torah, rather than being another sun as he had been.
 
Rav Epstein asserts that Moshe entreated Hashem to choose a leader of this kind precisely because the Jewish people had complained against him time and time again, even though they recognized his unparalleled status as Hashem’s greatest prophet. Ironically, it was Moshe’s unique prominence that prevented our nation from properly following him:

But this matter is to be understood in this manner: Based upon the degree of intellectual achievement and holiness that Moshe had achieved, to the point that he had reached heights higher than all other created beings, and that he was the chosen one among all whom Hashem had formed and thereby went up to Heaven itself and acquired the Torah from a place that was exalted and loftier than anything in Creation, … the members of his generations were unable to [properly] apprehend his intellect…and, therefore, [often] erred in their interpretation of his statements. (This, and the following translations and brackets my own)
 
For Rav Epstein, since Moshe understood his people so profoundly, he realized that they needed a different kind of leader to replace him: “Someone whose intellect was congruent with theirs, and someone whom they would, therefore, be able to accept. [Crucially], such an individual would allow them to choose the proper manner of serving Hashem based upon their [normative] intellectual capabilities.” In the pasuk following Moshe’s request, we find that Hashem concurred with him: “The L-rd said to Moshe, ‘Take for yourself Yehoshua the son of Nun, a man of spirit, and you shall lay your hand upon him.’” (27:18)  As Sefer Yehoshua later attests, Yehoshua had, indeed, been the perfect choice: “And Yisrael served the L-rd all the days of Yehoshua, and all the days of the Elders that outlived Yehoshua, and who had known all the works of the L-rd, that He had done for Yisrael.” (24:31)
 
May the time come soon, and in our days, when we will once again have a leader who will be accepted by our entire nation and will teach us how to serve the Almighty with true heartfelt love and devotion. V’chane yihi ratzon.
 
Shabbat Shalom and may Hashem in His infinite mercy remove the pandemic from klal Yisrael and all the nations of the world.
 
Past drashot may be found at my blog-website: http://reparashathashavuah.org
The email list, b’chasdei Hashem, has expanded to hundreds of people. I am always happy to add more members to the list. If you have family or friends you would like to have added, please do not hesitate to contact me via email mailto:[email protected].
 
*** My audio shiurim on the topics of Tefilah and Tanach may be found at: http://tinyurl.com/8hsdpyd
 
*** I have posted 164 of Rabbi Soloveitchik’s English language audio shiurim (MP3 format) spanning the years 1958-1984. Please click on the highlighted link.


Share

0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

Details

    Archives

    May 2025
    April 2025
    March 2025
    February 2025
    January 2025
    December 2024
    November 2024
    October 2024
    September 2024
    August 2024
    July 2024
    June 2024
    May 2024
    April 2024
    March 2024
    February 2024
    January 2024
    December 2023
    November 2023
    October 2023
    September 2023
    August 2023
    July 2023
    June 2023
    May 2023
    April 2023
    March 2023
    February 2023
    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012
    August 2012
    July 2012
    June 2012
    May 2012
    April 2012
    March 2012
    February 2012
    January 2012

    Author

    Talmid of Rabbi Soloveitchik zatzal

    Categories

    All
    Parashat Hashavuah

    RSS Feed

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.
  • Blog: Rabbi David Etengoff: Parashat HaShavuah
  • Sefer Bereishit 5784&5785
  • Sefer Shemot 5784&5785
  • Sefer Vayikra 5784&5785
  • Sefer Bamidbar 5784 &5785
  • Sefer Devarim 5784&5785
  • Sefer Bereishit 5782&5783
  • Sefer Shemot 5782&5783
  • Sefer Vayikra 5782&5783
  • Sefer Bamidbar 5782&5783
  • Sefer Devarim 5782&5783
  • Sefer Bereishit 5780& 5781
  • Sefer Shemot 5780&5781
  • Sefer Vayikra 5780&5781
  • Sefer Bamidbar 578&5781
  • Sefer Devarim 578&5781
  • Sefer Bereishit 5778&5779
  • Sefer Shemot 5778&5779
  • Sefer Vayikra 5778&5779
  • Sefer Bamidbar 5778&5779
  • Sefer Devarim 5778&5779
  • Sefer Bereishit 5776&5777
  • Sefer Bereishit 5774&5775
  • Sefer Bereishit 5772&5773
  • Sefer Bereishit 5771&5770
  • Sefer Shemot 5776&5777
  • Sefer Shemot 5774&5775
  • Sefer Shemot 5772&5773
  • Sefer Shemot 5771&5770
  • Sefer Vayikra 5776&5777
  • Sefer Vayikra 5774&5775
  • Sefer Vayikra 5772&5773
  • Sefer Vayikra 5771&5770
  • Sefer Bamidbar 5776&5777
  • Sefer Bamidbar 5774&5775
  • Sefer Bamidbar 5772&5773
  • Sefer Bamidbar 5771&5770
  • Sefer Devarim 5776&5777
  • Sefer Devarim 5774&5775
  • Sefer Devarim 5772&5773
  • Sefer Devarim 5771&5770