English translation — וילך ב

A.

In the verse¹

"And Moses called Joshua and said to him, etc. 'Be strong and courageous, for you shall bring this people into the land which the Lord swore, etc., and you shall apportion it to them as an inheritance,'"

Rashi stands on the words "for you shall bring this people" and explains: "You shall enter with this people"²

Moses said to Joshua: The elders of the generation will be³

with you, everything according to their opinion and counsel, but the Holy One, blessed be He, said to Joshua: "For⁴

you shall bring the children of Israel into the land which I swore to them"⁵

you shall bring them against their will, etc.

(As below, section 4).

What is difficult in the verse that because of it Rashi must bring down the language of the Targum and the entire length of his commentary?

the commentators say,

that Rashi comes to resolve the contradiction of the two verses - and in the language of the Gemara

: "It is written 'for you

<b>shall enter</b> and it is written 'for you shall bring'"; and his answer is

(like the resolution of the Gemara),

that here

("shall enter")

it speaks of what <b>Moses</b> said to Joshua

("the elders of the generation shall be with you etc.")

and there it tells what the <b>Almighty</b> said to Joshua

("you shall bring against their will etc.").

In simple terms, however, it is difficult to learn this way in Rashi - because:

a)

Then Rashi would have needed to begin his commentary "And later it says 'For you will bring etc.'"9,

as he writes in other places10?

b)

Rashi should have brought in this dibur hamatchil only the word "tavo"¹¹

(or "tavo es ha'am"¹²)

—why does he copy all the words "ki atah tavo es ha'am hazeh"?

c)

<b>And the main point</b>: <b>before</b> one learns the following verse "ki atah tavi got" etc., there is indeed nothing difficult.

Rashi should have placed himself

(not on our verse,

but)

on the verse "ki atah tavi got" etc.,

when the contradiction arises¹³?

2.

The explanation in this: with the copying in this sicha beginning also the word "כי אתה תבוא etc." Rashi emphasizes,

that the words "אתה תבוא את העם הזה" are a giving of reason for what is stated earlier in the verse — "חזק ואמץ".

It is asked: with what is "אתה תבוא את העם הזה"

(that Yehoshua will enter Eretz Yisrael together with all Jews)

a giving of reason for "חזק ואמץ"?

that this comes in continuation to earlier,

where Moshe Rabbeinu strengthens <b>all</b> Jews,

that when entering Eretz Yisrael they should not fear "these nations" — "Be strong and courageous, do not fear nor be terrified of them"¹⁴

; so also when informing Yehoshua that he will enter Eretz Yisrael

(just like all Jews)

Moshe strengthens him that he should not fear these nations¹⁵.

But the explanation is a great difficulty: from the verse it is evident that this is a special strengthening that pertains only to <b>Yehoshua alone</b>].

And from the side of the question there could have been a hava amina

(at least - with difficulty)

to learn that the meaning of "tavo" here is "tavi" - you will bring them &lt;b&gt;in-&lt;/b&gt;

&lt;b&gt;bring &lt;/b&gt;into Eretz Yisrael,

and therefore he needs a chizuk

In the manner that it already stands earlier in Parsha Devarim¹⁶

: He <b>strengthened </b>him because he <b>will cause him to inherit </b>Israel.

It is in order to negate the explanation,

Rashi copies the wording from the Targum¹⁷,

That the <b>simple </b>explanation of "You will come with this people" means "You will <b>lead with </b>this people" - you will <b>come in with </b>the Jews - one does not remove the word "tavo" from its simple meaning.

The question remains: what is the reason in "You shall come with this people" upon "Be strong and courageous"?

Rashi continues "Moshe said to Yehoshua, the elders of the generation will be with you etc.": from that which it says "You shall come with &lt;b&gt;this people&lt;/b&gt;" - &lt;b&gt;the people&lt;/b&gt;&lt;sup&gt;18&lt;/sup&gt;

(which stood before Moshe),

&lt;b&gt;and at their head &lt;/b&gt;are "your heads, your tribes, your elders"&lt;sup&gt;19&lt;/sup&gt;

- it is certainly that the elders*&lt;sup&gt;19&lt;/sup&gt;

"will be with you"; and consequently you have nothing to fear from "and you shall apportion it to them",

because they will help you;

D.

E.

The reason &lt;b&gt;why &lt;/b&gt;Yehoshua needs strengthening is because - "and you shall apportion it to them",

and "You shall come with this people" is a part of the strengthening

(that "the elders of the generation will be with you").

3.

One must, however, understand the continuation of the language of Rashi: "the elders of the generation will be with you &lt;b&gt;everything according to their mind and their counsel&lt;/b&gt;":

From the fact that Rashi is not satisfied with "the elders of the generation will be with you",

and adds "&lt;b&gt;everything &lt;/b&gt;according to their mind and their counsel",

it is understood,

that the elders,

not only will they help him,

but &lt;b&gt;everything &lt;/b&gt;will be done according to &lt;b&gt;their &lt;/b&gt;mind and counsel; d.

i.e.

not only will Yehoshua not have the sole opinion,

but on the contrary,

the elders will have the &lt;b&gt;entire &lt;/b&gt;opinion&lt;sup&gt;20&lt;/sup&gt;.

Is perplexing:

a)

From where does Rashi take this,

in the plain meaning of Scripture?

b)

Further: In the Gemara²¹

the wording is²²

"You and the elders of the generation with them,"

i.

e.

Joshua <b>with</b> the elders²³

; and Rashi <b>changes</b> that

(<b>Not</b> they will be equal,

but)

"<b>Everything</b> is according to their opinion and counsel"?

c)

How can one say that Moshe gave the elders the <b>entire</b> authority,

when

Moshe himself asked the Supreme One

(in Parshat Pinchas²⁴)

"May the Lord, God of the spirits of all flesh, appoint a man over the congregation" and he supported Yehoshua "with a generous eye more and more than he was commanded...

with both his hands"²⁵

as a leader²⁶

of Israel; and in <b>that same verse</b>²⁷

it says "<b>And you </b>shall cause them to inherit it",

that Yehoshua will cause the Land of Israel to be inherited by the Jewish people — now how does Rashi explain in the words of Moshe "<b>everything </b>according to their mind and their counsel"?

4.

Further Rashi says: But the Holy One, blessed be He, said to Yehoshua: "For you shall bring the children of Israel to the land which I swore to them" — you shall bring them against their will; everything depends on you; take a stick and strike them on the head; one matter for a generation and not two matters for a generation.

Is not understood:

a)

As discussed earlier

(other version)

Rashi explains only that which is difficult in the verse <b>on the spot</b> - that which is difficult here in the verse, because of which Rashi must bring down "but the Holy One, blessed be He, said etc."

(The explanation in the following verse "For you shall bring etc.")²⁸?

2)

from the lengthy language of Rashi²⁹

- "bring against their will, everything depends on you, take a stick and strike their skulls" - is clear,

that not only did the Almighty negate a conduct of "everything according to their opinion and counsel"

(but the elders should not have the entire

opinion)

; and not only should they not remain equal to Joshua,

or at least as advisors to him - but moreover: the elders should <b>altogether </b>not have any opinion; Joshua must entirely not reckon with or even not consult with them

("<b>take a stick and strike their skulls</b>")³⁰

It is not understood: Indeed it is true that since "one word for a generation and not two words for a generation," Yehoshua is the sole "word" and leader of the Jews; but from where is the necessity that the elders should not help him?

By Moshe Rabbeinu himself there were indeed the "seventy elders" who "and they shall bear with you the burden of the people, and you shall not bear it alone"

; from which it is forced that such a leadership is not contradictory to the principle "one word for a generation and not two words for a generation"

(because ultimately Moshe Rabbeinu was the "word" and ruler)

- now where does Rashi find the necessity that by Yehoshua such a leadership is also excluded?

c)

What does the conclusion of Rashi "one word for a generation and not two words for a generation" contribute to the explanation of the verse?

d)

What is the language "ולא <b>שני </b>דברים לדור" - since Rashi comes to negate the elders:

(a)

he should have said "ולא הרבה

(or the like)

דברים לדור",

(b)

And on the other hand: how does one indeed know that "ולא <b>שני </b>דברים לדור" - perhaps specifically "ולא שבעים

(ואחד)

but "שנים" could be?

And especially that one finds*³³

: הוא אהרן ומשה אשר אמר ה' להם הוציאו את בנ"י מארמ"צ על צבאותם?

e.

The explanation in all this:

The description "&lt;b&gt;the people &lt;/b&gt;

(this)

" is not a praiseworthy name for Jews&lt;sup&gt;34&lt;/sup&gt;.

It turns out,

that with the words "you shall come &lt;b&gt;with the people&lt;/b&gt;" the verse means,

that Joshua will be together also with the &lt;b&gt;inferior ones&lt;/b&gt;&lt;sup&gt;35&lt;/sup&gt;

among Israel; on the other hand,

from that which it says "this &lt;b&gt;people&lt;/b&gt;" it is understood,

that the verse means the entire people,

also and obviously - those who stand at the head,

the elders as mentioned above.

Therefore Rashi teaches that the verse intends to say &lt;b&gt;two &lt;/b&gt;things:

a)

from that which it says "the <b>this</b> people" - this very

(pointing with the finger)

people,

and simply that the elders - one learns out that the "elders of the generation will be with you."

b)

from that which the verse emphasizes "<b>the people</b>",

one learns,

that Joshua will be together

("with - the people")

also with the lesser ones of Israel.

How is this possible?

- Rashi explains "<b>everything </b>according to their mind and counsel": the elders will have the <b>entire </b>mind,

and consequently - Joshua is in this

(mind and counsel)

equal with the rest of the people.

6.

How does this "everything according to their understanding and counsel" fit with that Moshe ordained Yehoshua as leader of the Jews,

as stated in Parshat Pinchas — Rashi explains it in his commentary there:

On "who will go out before them"³⁶

Rashi explains: "not like the way of the kings of the nations who sit in their houses and send their armies to war etc.",

4.

5.

Moshe Rabbeinu requested for the Jews a king who would lead them to war.

Also Moshe had already said³⁷

that Yehoshua will cause them to inherit

(the land of Israel)

to Israel — the division of the land

(which comes after the conquest of the land,

in war).

It is however

(according to Rashi's commentary)

not mentioned that Moshe should have requested a leader who would take upon himself "<b>the burden of the people</b>",

the leadership in their internal matters.

What will be with <b>the </b>matters?

- Is by the one five years old for Mikra no question: just as by Moshe Rabbeinu himself the seventy elders helped "in the burden of the people",

Moshe thought that they will continue to do this

(himself³⁸).

But a king to

lead to war can be only <b>one</b>,

and for this Moshe requested "a man over the congregation" and he ordained Yehoshua³⁹.

And accordingly there is no contradiction from that which Moshe earlier requested "a man over the congregation" to that which he said here "everything according to their opinion and counsel" - because here he immediately distributed: "You shall give them an inheritance" - is only "you",

"And Hashem is the one who goes" - which indicates war*³⁹

- is "before you He will be with you etc." and the "everything" is besides the aforementioned,

the "burden of the people"

that he will not need to worry at all about the "burden of the people",

the elders will do this]⁴⁰.

7.

This itself, however, is not smooth,

because according to Ben Chamesh LaMikra it is understood that Yehoshua took over the leadership from Moshe in all details⁴¹

- not only regarding war

(and division)

; and especially since the Almighty commanded Moshe Rabbeinu not only to ordain Yehoshua,

but also "and you shall put of your honor upon him so that all the congregation of the children of Israel will listen"⁴²

and the

Almighty said "And you shall command⁴³

him,

about Israel they are troublesome they are rebellious⁴⁴

etc.'⁴⁵

- which from all this is implied,

that Joshua also took over "the burden of the people".

must answer with difficulty,

that since it was

(only)

"<b>their wisdom and their counsel</b>" of the elders,

but the <b>actual deed</b> did Joshua, meaning it is also leadership,

Rashi rejects this forced interpretation and concludes that what is written "you will come with this people" — that "the elders of the generation will be with you, everything according to their opinion and counsel" — is only what Moshe said; "but the Holy One, blessed be He, said to Yehoshua etc. 'you will bring against their will etc.'" — that He will lead also with "the burden of the people"⁴⁶.

8.

In addition to the difference that here it says "you will come" and there "you will bring" — between the two verses there is another difference: here it says "this people" and there

"the children of Israel"⁴⁷,

that "children of Israel" is a name of <b>the virtue</b>⁴⁸

of Jews

(not like "<b>the people </b>this",

as above section 5).

And from this that the verse is <b>changed </b>from before and at "bring" it says "children of Israel" - Rashi brings out,

that with this one adds another matter: not only will Joshua lead "in the burden of the people" of the entire community of Israel,

but he will also rule over the men of virtue among Jews,

the <b>elders</b>.

And consequently,

it is not only that "they will bring against their will &lt;b&gt;everything depends on you&lt;/b&gt;" - not like by Moses where the elders "&lt;b&gt;bore with you &lt;/b&gt;in the burden of the people",

but everything will be dependent on Joshua,

but moreover - "&lt;b&gt;take a staff and strike them on the crown of their head&lt;/b&gt;": the dominion

("staff")

of Joshua is over the elders as over all other Jews,

the elders will not have &lt;b&gt;any &lt;/b&gt;opinion and counsel "in the burden of the people".

9.

Based on this it comes out, however,

that the leadership of Joshua is exactly the opposite of the leadership of Moses: by Moses our teacher the elders helped "in the burden of the people" and by Joshua they had absolutely no opinion.

It is not smooth: Joshua is indeed the servant of Moses&lt;sup&gt;49&lt;/sup&gt;

who "would not depart from the tent"&lt;sup&gt;50&lt;/sup&gt;,

and the face of Moses was like the sun and the face of Joshua like the moon&lt;sup&gt;51&lt;/sup&gt;,

whose light is from the light of the sun.

How does it come that his leadership should be opposite to the leadership of his Rebbe&lt;sup&gt;52&lt;/sup&gt;

- Moses our teacher?

On this Rashi continues "one matter for a generation and not two matters for a generation" - with which Rashi negates by way of hint

(not only the control of the elders,

but)

also - of <b>Moshe Rabbeinu</b>:

During Moshe's life Yehoshua was the attendant of Moshe and entirely devoted to Moshe and <b>Moshe's</b> leadership; but when the time comes that Yehoshua should become the leader,

there is already no place for the way and leadership of Moshe Rabbeinu.

In the time of Yehoshua one must conduct oneself as is required from the aspect of <b>Yehoshua</b> - because if Yehoshua will conduct himself like the leadership of Moshe,

it will turn out that there exist "<b>two</b> matters": Yehoshua and Moshe

(that Yehoshua goes in his way)⁵³.

And since "one matter for a generation and not two matters for a generation," the leadership of Yehoshua is different from Moshe's leadership: Moshe transmitted

(through "and I will bestow")

a part of the burden of the people to the elders,

but Yehoshua does not need to approach them.

- And that which by Yetzias Mitzrayim was "Aharon and Moshe"

(as above section 64),

is because there was not there a matter of "matter for a generation,"

but rather carrying out a mission

(precisely also in its details)

of taking out "Bnei Yisrael from the land of Egypt."

Yud.

From the wine of Torah in Rashi:

It stands in Chassidus⁵⁴

That in Yehoshua there are two levels: a)

How he serves

(and receives from)

Moses.

b)

How he is by himself

(after the passing of Moses)

What then he is in the aspect of youth &lt;b&gt;and smallness&lt;/b&gt;.

There is however an advantage specifically in this matter of youth and smallness - as it says&lt;sup&gt;55&lt;/sup&gt;

"For Israel is a youth

(and specifically because of that)

and I love him" - because specifically in this matter of youth and smallness there exists the self-nullification&lt;sup&gt;56&lt;/sup&gt;

and acceptance of the yoke of the kingdom of heaven more than in the service from the aspect of greatness

(in intellect and heart),

and therefore specifically in this there is the "and I love him" from His Essence, may He be blessed&lt;sup&gt;57&lt;/sup&gt;.

And this is the difference between the two verses: "You shall come with this people" is how Joshua receives from Moses,

and from the level of Moses' attribute, the matter of the elders is

(this is one who has acquired wisdom⁵⁸),

service according to reason and knowledge; but "You shall bring the children of Israel" are the words of the Holy One, blessed be He, to Joshua,

from the aspect of the superiority of Joshua's self-nullification — "a youth of Israel and I love him" — and from that self-nullification above reason and knowledge, one need not reach those who have acquired wisdom⁵⁹.

And it can be said that this is also hinted at in the difference of the letters between "tavo" and "tavi" — "tavo" is with a vav,

and "tavi" with a yud⁶⁰

The "vav" indicates the drawing down from above to below

- which drawing down is <b>outside</b> of "essence",

and consequently with a measure and limitation; and in avodah this is the avodah according to reason and understanding,

where one must reach the "elders" who guard that the drawing down should come to the proper place;

The "yud"

(sh)

is the aspect of a point alone,

which indicates bittul.

And from the perspective of <b>this</b> avodah one need not reach the "elders",

and on the contrary - from the perspective of the yud the matter of bittul is also opened in the <b>elders</b>,

"You shall bring against their will ..

Take a stick and strike <b>upon their skulls</b>".

11.

From the instructions regarding the practical application of Rashi's commentary:

When in modern times it is demanded that everyone must devote time to the dissemination of Torah and Judaism

(in general,

and

Especially in the ten well-known campaigns⁶³),

And that all this must be conducted with "Your wellsprings spread forth outward" - there are those who argue,

That in former generations there was not such a conduct.

In earlier generations one did not engage in such a manner in love of Israel.

And since that until the recent years,

When the Rebbe, the father-in-law, came to America,

There was not this conduct - how does it come that one should begin to introduce "new" services?

To this one answers "One thing for a generation and not two things for a generation": It can indeed be that in earlier generations one did not need to arrive at such a service,

But in our generation

And by way of example from the maamar

(and the instruction)

Chazal⁶⁴

that when they came to Bavel

(and regarding this — to Bavel at the time)

and "a field he found — and fenced a fence in it"

And the Rebbe, the Nasi, says that in present times there is a necessity to engage in the spreading of the wellsprings outward.

And furthermore in Igeres HaKodesh <b>the famous</b> of <b>the Baal Shem Tov</b> — that in this is dependent the coming of Moshiach —

one must conduct oneself according to the way of the "speaker" and leader of the generation,

that everyone who is in this generation must do in the service,

and through this, the master comes, the king Messiah, very soon.

Shabbos Parshas Haazinu 5731)