************************************************************* THE TANACH STUDY CENTER [http://www.tanach.org] In Memory of Rabbi Abraham Leibtag Shiurim in Chumash & Navi by Menachem Leibtag ************************************************************* Yehoshua - chapter 8 The Mizbeach on Har Eival Re-living the Mount Sinai experience? That appears to be what the last five psukim of chapter 8 are all about, as the ceremony that Yehoshua conducts on Har Eival bears a strong resemblance to the national assembly held on Har Sinai when the Torah was first given. But why would there be a need to re-enact that event, and why at this point in Sefer Yehoshua - after the nation has just completed its first two military campaigns (with many more to follow)! In the following shiur, we attempt to answer these questions. INTRODUCTION When we study Sefer Yehoshua (or any book of Nevi'im Rishonim), we must always differentiate between two questions: a) Why did a certain event happen? b) Why does the book bother to record that event; i.e. - How does that event relate to its underlying theme? Hence, the first part of our shiur will suggest a reason for why the ceremony on Har Eival takes place, while Part Two will discuss its thematic importance at this point in Sefer Yehoshua. Part One: THE PARALLEL TO MA'AMAD HAR SINAI In the opening chapters of Sefer Yehoshua, we found numerous parallels between those events and story of the Exodus from Egypt. Their reason, we explained, was to impress upon the new generation their duty to achieve those goals that were originally destined for their parents’ generation. In chapter eight (after Bnei Yisrael’s victory over ha- Ai), we find yet another parallel, as Yehoshua gathers the entire nation for a ceremony at Har Eival. As you read these psukim, note their obvious similarity to the events that took place at Matan Torah: "And then Yehoshua built a MIZBEIACH for God on Har Eival.... and they offered upon it OLOT to God, and slaughtered SHLAMIM. And he wrote there upon the stones the TORAH of Moshe which he had written for Bnei Yisrael... and afterward he read the words of the TORAH and the BLESSINGS and CURSES, just as was written in the Sefer Torah..." (see 8:30-34) [With two tanach's open], compare these psukim with the Torah’s description of the covenant that takes place at Ma’amad Har Sinai, as described at the end of Parshat Mishpatim: "And Moshe came and taught the people of God’s COMMANDMENTS AND LAWS, and the people declared: ‘all that God has spoken we shall keep’. And Moshe wrote down these laws, and woke up early in the morning and built a MIZBEIACH at the foot of the MOUNTAIN, and twelve large stones for the twelve tribes of Israel... and they offered OLOT and SHLAMIM" (see Shmot 24:2-5). At both of these events Bnei Yisrael build a MIZBEIACH, offer OLOT & SHLAMIM, and are taught God’s laws. [Note as well that both events take place at a mountain.] Yet, it would be difficult to understand this gathering at Har Eival just as 'one additional parallel' to the events of the Exodus. Furthermore, this specific parallel is different than all the others in Sefer Yehoshua, for the command to conduct this ceremony on Har Eival was already given in Sefer Devarim! Therefore, to appreciate what is happening here in Sefer Yehoshua, we must first study the original commandment in Sefer Devarim. As you review those psukim in Parshat Ki Tavo, note how they describe the precise commandment that Yehoshua fulfills: "And Moshe and the elders commanded the nation saying: Keep this law that I command you today. On the DAY that you cross the Jordan to the Land that God is giving you, erect large stones and plaster them, then inscribe upon them all the laws of this TORAH... Now when you cross the Jordan, erect these large stones on HAR EIVAL... and build a MIZBEIACH there... and you shall offer OLOT - and you shall slaughter SHLAMIM and rejoice before the Lord. And you shall write upon these stones ALL of the TORAH’s laws with a clear explanation" (27:1-8). But what was the reason for this commandment back in Sefer Devarim? Recall from our study of Sefer Devarim that chapters 5-26 comprise one lengthy speech that Moshe Rabbeinu delivered to Bnei Yisrael in Arvot Moav, just prior to his death. That speech included a review of a complete set of laws (originally given forty years earlier) that Bnei Yisrael were to keep upon entering the Land of Israel (see 5:28, 6:1, 12:1 etc.). As Moshe Rabbeinu was about to die, and Bnei Yisrael were about to enter the land, this speech comprised a review of the most basic mitzvot that the nation would need to keep as they embarked upon their conquest of the land. The conclusion of that speech in Sefer Devarim is followed by a special commandment for Bnei Yisrael to record these laws on large stones that will be erected on Har Eival - where these laws will be taught once again, and a celebration will take place (see again Devarim 27:1-8). And that is exactly what Yehoshua does (at the conclusion of chapter eight). So what was the purpose of this commandment? If it was simply to teach the laws once again, the entire nation had just studied them only a few months earlier with Moshe Rabbeinu at Arvot Moav - so why the need to study them once again? And why the need for another ceremony? One could suggest that it is specifically because Moshe is no longer with them (Yehoshua is now their leader), and specifically because they are no longer in the desert (they are now in the Promised Land) - that it is important to conduct this ceremony on Har Eival. Let's explain why. Even though the purpose of the desert experience was to prepare Bnei Yisrael for life in Eretz Canaan, once they would enter the land, their life style would be very different. Instead of being able to rely on God for their food and water, the nation would now need to take care of their own physical needs. Similarly, their study of Torah will no longer be solely from Moshe Rabbeinu, nor will they all be living in close proximity to the Mishkan. Yehoshua will be their new leader, but the responsibility of Torah study now falls upon the shoulders of the people, and their tribal leaders. And it was for this reason that God set aside shevet Levi - an entire tribe dedicated to the service of God and teaching His Torah. Note how this point is emphasized in the very next section in Sefer Devarim, where it describes the details of the ceremony that will take place of Har Eival: "And Moshe AND the KOHANIM & LEVI'IM spoke unto all Israel, saying: 'Listen and hear, O Israel; this day you shall become a people unto Hashem, You shall hearken to the voice of the LORD thy God, and do His commandments and His statutes, which I command thee this day' (see 27:9-10). As you review those psukim, and their connection to 27:1-8, note the inclusion of the kohanim and levi'im in delivering this commandment, and how it relates to the nation of Israel becoming God's people! Then, note the involvement of the levi'im in the next part of this ceremony at Har Eival: "And Moshe charged the people the same day, saying: These shall stand upon mount Gerizim to bless the people.... and these shall stand upon mount Eival for the curse...: And the LEVI'IM shall speak, and say unto all the men of Israel with a loud voice.... And all the people shall answer and say: Amen" (see 27:11-18) In order for God's grand plan for the nation of Israel to become His People in the land that they are now about to conquer, the laws of the Torah must be taught, studied, kept, and most important, passed along from one generation to the next. As the tribe of Levi and the elders of all the tribes will be responsible for this, the ceremony at Har Eival will serve a momentous 'start up' for this transition. The focal point of this ceremony will be the teaching of the laws, but the offering of "olot" & "shlamim" will make it a memorable event, and remind the people of the time when these laws were first given, at Har Sinai. Note how Sefer Yehoshua also emphasizes this new leadership role as well in its description of those events: "And he [Yehoshua] wrote upon the stones the laws .... And all Israel, and their elders and officers, and their judges, stood on this side the ark and on that side before the KOHANIM & LEVI'IM... half of them facing Har Gerizim and half of them facing Har Eival..." (see 8:32-33). WHERE'S THE COVENANT? We mentioned above the obvious parallels between this ceremony on Har Eival and the earlier event at Har Sinai. However, there does seem to be one major element missing, i.e. the covenant itself. Recall from our study of Sefer Shmot how the purpose of that ceremony (in chapter 24) was for the people to ratify this new covenant (between them and God). Hence, for this parallel to Sefer Yehoshua to be complete, we should also expect to find some element of covenant at Har Eival as well. Even though a cursory reading of Yehoshua 8:30-35 doesn’t provide us with any explicit parallel, when we study them more carefully, we’ll find the "brit" that we are looking for. To show how, let’s take another look at our psukim in Sefer Yehoshua: "And all Israel stood on both sides of the ARON BRIT HASHEM... half facing Har Gerizim and half facing Har Eival, as GOD HAD COMMANDED MOSHE... and afterward (Yehoshua) read all the words of the TORAH - the BRACHA and KLALA (the blessing and the curse), just as written in the Sefer Torah..." (see Yehoshua 8:33-35). Here we see that in addition to teaching the actual LAWS of the Torah, Yehoshua also reads to them the "BRACHA and KLALA". What were these? Recall from our study of Sefer Devarim that the main speech in chapters 5-26 is followed by several additional commandments relating to the laws of that speech, where the mitzvah to write the laws upon the stones at Har Eival was only the first. Immediately afterward, we find several other commands that continue through chapter 29, beginning with the instruction to read at that ceremony the 'blessing and the curse': "...This group shall stand to BLESS the nation on Har Grizim when you cross the Jordan... and this group shall stand on Har Eival for the CURSE…" (see 27:11-18). The Torah then continues by describing the procedure wherein half of the nation would respond "Amen" to blessings for people who keep God’s commandments (see Rashi), and the other half would respond "Amen" to parallel curses for those who do not. Clearly, it is precisely this mitzvah (the reading of the BRACHA and KLALA) that Yehoshua 8:34 refers to! Note that the mitzvah in Sefer Devarim continues with the parshia known as the TOCHACHA: "... And if you obey God’s laws... then... [you will be rewarded]… and if you DO NOT obey, then... [you will be punished]" (see 28:1,15). Since the TOCHACHA of Parshat Ki Tavo is actually the continuation of this BRACHA and KLALA, therefore, when Yehoshua read the BRACHA and KLALA on Har Eival, we can assume that he was supposed to read the TOCHACHA as well (see Radak & Malbim on Yehoshua 8:34, who say this explicitly). This provides us with the solution to our question, for the TOCHACHA itself is defined as a BRIT [see its concluding pasuk: "eileh divrei ha-BRIT..." (28:69)]. Hence, as we ‘suspected’, Yehoshua’s gathering on Har Eival included national re-affirmation of the Covenant, in a manner similar to the original acceptance of the covenant at Har Sinai! As Bnei Yisrael have begun their conquest of the land, and take on the responsibility that was originally destined for their parents' generation; the Torah finds it important that they should participate in a ceremony similar to Ma’amad Har Sinai. PART TWO - WHEN & WHY BEFORE OR LATER When reading Sefer Yehoshua, there is every reason to assume that this ceremony took place at this time, i.e. after the military defeat of ha-Ai. However, if we follow the literal translation of the psukim quoted above from Sefer Devarim (see Devarim 27:1-4), it would appear that according to Chumash, this ceremony was supposed to be conducted on the very same day that they crossed the Jordan River! If so, then according to Sefer Yehoshua, it would appear as though Bnei Yisrael delayed performing this commandment (for several weeks or months) until they had defeated ha-Ai. In the commentaries, we find three different opinions as to when in fact the ceremony on Har Eival took place. Let’s examine each of them to understand their underlying logic: (A) BEFOREHAND From the simple reading Sefer Devarim 27:1-8, it seems that Yehoshua should have performed this mitzvah on the SAME DAY that they crossed the Jordan River. And indeed, Rashi and Radak (based on Sota 36a and Tosefta Sota 8:1; and Chizkuni on Devarim 27:2) agree that the events described in Yehoshua 8:30- 34 actually took place on that very first day! In other words, according to this opinion, the events recorded in Chapter 8 actually took place significantly BEFORE they are recorded in the Sefer. Even though this approach has the advantage of adhering to the literal meaning of Devarim 27:1-4, it does not explain how the nation could have possibly traveled so far (Har Eival is some 60 kilometers from Jericho), and accomplished so much on one single day! The Midrash resolves this problem by emphasizing specifically the MIRACULOUS nature of these events (see the above Gemara, where the miraculous nature of this day is described in detail). Furthermore, neither Rashi nor Radak explain why Sefer Yehoshua would have preferred to record this event at this point (i.e. after the victory over ha-Ai in chapter eight). (B) AFTERWARD The Talmud Yerushalmi (Sota 7:3) mentions an entirely opposite opinion (in the name of Rabbi Yishmael), that the gathering on Har Eival actually took place at a LATER date, i.e. some fourteen years later, AFTER the conquest of Eretz Canaan had been completed! Rabbi Yishmael may be basing his position on a meaning of the word "lavo", meaning "to come" (into the Land), which is used in many parshiot in Sefer Devarim - referring to the conclusion of the conquest. The logic here may be that this was the most appropriate time to conduct the re-enactment of the "kritat brit" of Har Sinai. Bnei Yisrael may have needed to study all of the mitzvot one last time as a group before they divided up, each tribe according to its inheritance. Also, there could be military reasons for delaying the ceremony as it would not make sense for the entire nation to leave the camp in Gilgal and travel en masse to Har Eival (near Shchem) before they had captured the entire land. (It is interesting to note that Josephus in his history of the Jews [Antiquities Book V] follows this opinion!) Furthermore, if this event did take place at a later date, then the placement of chapter 24 at the conclusion of Sefer Yehoshua would make a lot more sense. In other words, this would explain why Bnei Yisrael gathered in Shchem and entered a sort of "covenant" at that time. Most likely, the events in chapter 24 took place at the same time as the gathering at Har Eival (8:30-34), and for a similar purpose. (Iy"h, we will deal with this possibility in greater details when we study chapter 24.) However, this approach must also explain why Sefer Yehoshua records these events out of their chronological order. (C) AT THIS TIME Of course, another possibility is to follow the simple "pshat", and assume that these events took place specifically as recorded, i.e. after the battle against ha-Ai. If so, then we must explain that when the Torah commanded Bnei Yisrael to go to Har Eival 'on the day' that they entered the land - the word "ba-yom" could be understood as 'at the time when' and not necessarily 'on the very same day'. According to this, we obviously do not need to explain why the Sefer would deviate from the chronological sequence, as we do for the other two approaches. Nevertheless, we must still explain WHY Yehoshua chose to fulfill this mitzvah specifically at this time, as opposed to an earlier or later opportunity. The simplest approach would perhaps be to explain that Bnei Yisrael really should have traveled to Har Eival as soon as possible, once they crossed the Jordan. However, since it is quite far away, it was simply not feasible to fulfill this mitzvah on that same day. Furthermore, for 'security considerations' it was first necessary to conquer Jericho and ha-Ai to enable safe passage to Har Eival. Once the 'road was clear', i.e. AFTER securing safe passage through the mountain range overlooking Gilgal, it was safe to undertake that journey. Even so, the context suggests that there may be a deeper connection, other than it just so happened to be an opportune time. Let's return to our study of Sefer Breishit - to suggest a thematic reason for why this event took place specifically at this time (i.e. after the defeat of ha-Ai - according to possibility 'C'), or, alternatively, why is it recorded specifically at this point in the book (according to possibilities 'A' or 'B'), even though it took place at a different time. MA'ASEH AVOT SIMAN LA-BANIM Recall from Parshat Lech Lecha, that the area of Shchem was Avraham Avinu's first stop on his original journey to the Promised Land; there, he built an altar, and there God re- iterated His promise of the Land (see Breishit 12:1-7). From Shchem, Avraham continued on his journey to the area between Bet-El and ha-Ai; there, Avraham built yet another altar, and there he called out in God’s Name (see Bereishit 12:8). [Note also that Yaakov followed a similar path when he returned to Eretz Canaan (see 33:18-20, 35:1-6).] Therefore, the building of an altar [mizbeiach] to God on Har Eival, which overlooks Shchem, immediately after the military victory of the area of Bet-El and ha-Ai (see Rashi on Breishit 12:8), or the recording of this even in juxtaposition with that victory, may highlight a thematic connection to the life of Avraham Avinu - and to the very purpose of why he was chosen - to become the forefather of God's special nation. [Note as well the phrase 'mi-kedem le-Bet-El" in both Yehoshua 7:2 & Breishit 12:8.] This thematic connection is strengthened when we consider once again our parallel between the events of the Exodus and what transpires in Sefer Yehoshua, and its chronological sequence - as highlighted by the following table: SEFER YEHOSHUA SEFER SHMOT ============== ============ Splitting of the Jordan Splitting of the Red Sea (Chapter 3) (Chapter 14) Wall of Jericho tumbles "Wall" of Red Sea kills Egyptians (Chapter 6) (see 14:22-28) War against HA-AI War against Amalek (chapter 7/ "kidon" (chapter 17/ Moshe’s hands) [see previous shiur] Ma’amad Har Eival Ma’amad Har Sinai These parallels point to a progression of events in Sefer Yehoshua that is similar to the events of the Exodus, which can help us appreciate why Yehoshua decided to fulfill the mitzvah of Har Eival at this time; or alternately, why these events are recorded specifically here, even though they may have taken place at an earlier or later time. RE: TO THE THEME OF - WHO'S TO BLAME! In conclusion, we should also note an additional thematic consideration, relating to the overall theme of Sefer Yehoshua, as discussed in our introductory shiur. Recall our interpretation suggesting that Sefer Yehoshua was written by the navi in order to explain (and prove) that God had indeed kept His promise to help Bnei Yisrael conquer the land - and any failure in this regard was because the nation had not fulfilled the conditions set in Devarim 11:22-25 [that God's promises were on the condition that AmYisrael would be faithful to the covenant and take the initiative in those battles]. If so, the immediately after the battle of ha-Ai would be an opportune time to gather the entire nation - to teach and review the laws of Sefer Devarim - that obviously include Devarim 11:22-24. As they had just lost the first battle again ha-Ai because they did not listen to Hashem's laws, but won the second battle after heeding His command - teaching the laws and guidelines of Sefer Devarim at this time becomes quite significant. Note as well how Sefer Yehoshua emphasizes how the 'bracha' & 'klala' [blessing & curse] were also read at this time (see again 8:34)- which would relate to Devarim 11:22-32, as well as to the "tochacha" in chapters 27-28. As you review Devarim 11:22-32, note how fitting a message those psukim would carry for the nation at this critical time in their effort to conquer the land. In our next shiur, we will discuss how this background can also help our understanding of what takes between Bnei Yisrael and the Givonim in chapter 9.