INSIGHT 5767 - #29 CALEV AND YEHOSHUA
Rashi, Bamidbar 13:16 informs us
that Moshe Rabbeinu changed Yehoshua’s name
as part of his prayers that Yehoshua should be saved from
the counsel of the spies. Rashi, Bamidbar 16:22
also informs us that Calev went alone to Chevron to pray,
at the graves of the forefathers, so that he should not
join with the other spies in their counsel. Calev and
Yehoshua, of course, were the only two of the meraglim,
spies, which emerged unscathed from the challenge that
faced them in correctly reporting on the land. It would
seem, according to Rashi, that this actually emerged from
Divine intervention. Moshe prayed that Yehoshua should
not make the mistake of the majority of the spies. Calev
prayed, on his own, not to make the same mistake. What
does this inform us of the whole episode? What does it
mean to pray not to adopt the thoughts of the others?
Many issues are subsumed within this one question.
How could Moshe pray for Yehoshua not to succumb to the
sin of the spies? How does one pray that another does not
sin?1 Why would Moshe only pray for Yehoshua;
should he not also have prayed for all the spies not to
sin by giving a wrong report?2 The idea that
Calev prayed for himself is somewhat easier to
understand; we do pray for God to help us in our
observance of Torah. The nature of this prayer still is
somewhat difficult to understand. Rashi states that Calev
prayed that he would not abide by the counsel of the
other spies; what does this mean? Did Calev already
recognize the evil perspective of the other spies and
thus was praying not to succumb to the pressure they were
exerting on him to join with them? Was Calev thus praying
for God’s assistance in maintaining his backbone?
This would make Calev’s prayer vastly different than
Moshe’s prayer for Yehoshua. Moshe, it would seem,
was praying for Yehoshua not to arrive at the same
conclusions as the spies. Calev, it would seem, already
had arrived at a different conclusion but was praying to
maintain his fortitude. In both cases, though, it would
seem that the spies already had arrived at their evil
conclusion and the prayer was to avoid the effects of
this conclusion. Yet Yehoshua’s name was changed
before he even went on the mission?
There is a disagreement amongst the commentators as
to the origin of the sin of the spies. Ramban,
Bamidbar 13:2 and 27-31 clearly is of the opinion
that the evil of the spies only surfaced with their
report. There was nothing wrong with the actual sending
of the spies. Rashi, Bamidbar 13:2, though, is of
the opinion that the sin of the spies was already
reflected in the desire by the people to send out spies.
If there was evil already manifest in the establishment
of this mission, we can begin to understand Moshe’s
blessing to Yehoshua even at the onset of the mission.
There is evil in this behaviour; Moshe is praying for
Yehoshua not to succumb to it. But why then even send out
Yehoshua? Within the perspective of Ramban, that the
sending of the spies was correct in that the nation
simply wanted to know how to fight the war of conquest,
the inclusion of
If the actual sending of the spies was an evil
event, the spies would not have been sent out. The
disagreement between Rashi and Ramban rather focuses on
the potential for evil within this event. Ramban saw the
event as one similar to the basic nature of life. All of
life has the potential for evil – but it also
equally has the potential for good. The sending of the
spies was no different than the very challenge that is
human existence. Rashi, however, saw the event as leaning
towards the potential of evil. It was too great a
challenge to send spies requesting a good report; the
odds weighted in the opposite direction. The very request
reflected this perspective for the people should have
been wary of the potential to question God that could
emerge with this undertaking. Nonetheless there was
enough merit in the request that led Moshe – and Hashem
– to meet it. There was, though, a great need for
caution.
Within this perspective, we can understand both the
prayer of Calev and Moshe’s prayer for Yehoshua as
reminders of caution. Moshe did not only pray; he changed
Yehoshua’s name. He thereby communicated to Yehoshua
the need for caution, to be wary of the conclusions that
may arise from the words of the other spies. This
communication was specific to Yehoshua because of the
uniqueness of their relationship. Yehoshua would greatly
consider Moshe’s words of caution. It was for this
reason that Moshe could only pray for Yehoshua. I am sure
that Moshe was concerned about the entire group of spies
– but only Yehoshua, Moshe’s special student,
would truly hear these words of caution. Calev, though, recognized this need for caution on his own. I am sure that Moshe told the spies to be careful and all of them, most likely, felt that they were being careful in their words. They thought that they were doing the right thing. The fact is that the challenge to be cautious especially emerges when one thinks that they are doing what is right. Caution demands of us to question ourselves especially when we think that we are right. This is what Calev understood. The very act of prayer itself demonstrates this recognition. Calev, in asking for God’s assistance, is also reminding himself to be cautious. The very act of asking for help from Hashem in arriving at the right answer should inform us that there may be a weakness in our ability to determine right from wrong. The various stories of the nation in the desert should be understood as important lessons in this regard. If they could be mistaken about what is right and what is wrong, so can we. Calev’s prayer was an indication of his recognition of this inherent weakness in the human condition. The very act of prayer was, itself, the answer. . 4. Rabbi Benjamin Hecht e-mail Footnotes 1 See, further, T.B.
Berachot 10a. 2 See, also, Rashi,
Bamidbar 12:13. © Nishma, 2007
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