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ShareHaftorah V’Zot HaBrachah
Joshua 1:1-18 Commentary
First, let’s read through the text
with some insights from Rashi & Marty…
Yehoshua (Joshua) Chapter 1
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1And it was after the death of Moses the servant of the Lord, that the Lord said to Joshua the son of Nun, Moses' minister, saying: |
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And it was after the death of Moses This is connected to the order of the Torah which ends with Moses’ passing, and this follows it. |
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2Moses my servant has died; and now arise cross this Jordan, you and all this nation, to the land which I give the children of Israel. |
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Moses My servant has died If he were alive, I would prefer him. The Rabbis interpret this passage as a reference, not to Moses the leader, but to Moses the Lawgiver, concerning the 3,000 laws that were forgotten during the period of mourning for Moses. Joshua came and asked the Lord to repeat these laws to him. Said to him the Holy One, Blessed be He: Moses My servant has died, and the Torah is called by his name, implying to you that it is impossible [to convey them to you.] Go out and occupy them with martial activities. |
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3Every place on which the soles of your feet will tread I have given to you, as I have spoken to Moses. |
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Every place on which [the soles of your feet] will tread A similar statement to this was said to Moses, concerning which we learned in Sifrei : If this verse is to teach about the boundaries of Eretz Israel, the Scripture already states: From this desert and Lebanon etc., [clearly defining the boundaries of the Holy Land.] If so, why is it stated, ‘Every place where your foot will tread?’ Even outside of Eretz Israel. [I.e.] After you have conquered the land, all that you will conquer outside the land, will be holy and will be yours. |
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4From this desert and Lebanon to the great river, the Euphrates, all the land of the Hittites to the great sea westward shall be your boundary. |
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From this desert and Lebanon [I.e.] the Desert of Kadesh, the Desert of Zin [that is near Edom], which was in the southeastern corner, through which they entered the land, as it is stated: And behold, we are in Kadesh. Now, whence is it derived that it was in the southeast? For it is stated: And the south side shall be to you from the desert of Zin near Edom etc. |
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to the great river, the Euphrates This is its width from south to North. |
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all the land of the Hittites is included. |
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to the great sea westward Lengthwise from east to west. |
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5No man shall stand up before you all the days of your life; as I was with Moses, so shall I be with you. I will not weaken My grasp on you, nor will I abandon you. Oh, if only this Promised Land was truly ours. Generations of warfare, even today, would have been avoided. The sages tell us that for these boundaries, we must wait for the time of the Messiah. |
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6Be strong and have courage; for you will cause this nation to inherit the land that I have sworn to their ancestors to give to them. |
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Be strong and have courage in worldly pursuits, as the Scripture states: “For you will cause this nation to inherit the land.” |
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7Just be strong and very courageous to observe and do in accordance with all of the Torah that Moses My servant has commanded you. Do not stray there from right or left, in order that you succeed wherever you go. |
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Just be strong and very courageous in Torah, as the Scripture states: “To observe and to do in accordance with all of the Torah.” |
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succeed Heb. תשכיל: succeed. |
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8This book of the Torah shall not leave your mouth; you shall meditate therein day and night, in order that you observe to do all that is written in it, for then will you succeed in all your ways and then will you prosper. Ah-ha! I believe this is the very reason why we are a people of warfare. Israelites in ancient times, and in modern times, even to this very day, have never obeyed the Torah that HaShem gave us through Moses … |
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This book of the Torah The book of Deuteronomy was before him. |
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And you shall meditate therein והגית. Every expression of הגיון in the Scriptures refers to the heart, as it is stated: “And the meditation of my heart (והגיון לבי) before you.” Your heart will meditate (יהגה) fear. |
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9Did I not command you, be strong and have courage, do not fear and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go. |
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Did I not command you, be strong and have courage in war; as it is stated: Do not fear and not be dismayed. Now, when did he command him? In Moses’ time, as it is stated: “And command Joshua, etc.” |
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10And Joshua commanded the officers of the nation, saying: |
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And Joshua commanded on the day that the days of the weeping in the mourning of Moses were ended. |
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11Go through the midst of the camp and command the nation saying: Prepare provision for yourselves, for in another three days you will cross this Jordan to come and inherit the land that the Lord your God is giving you to inherit. |
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Prepare provisions for yourselves everything necessary for the way. He told them to prepare weapons for battle. For, if you say it refers to food and drink, were they not supplied by the manna which was in their vessels until Nissan 16? For so it is stated: “And the manna ceased on the morrow.” |
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in another three days [lit. in yet three days, i.e.] At the end of three days, when you will still be here three days, and afterwards you will cross. |
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12And to the Reubenites and the Gadites and the half tribe of Manasseh, Joshua said, saying: |
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13Remember the word that Moses the servant of the Lord commanded you saying: The Lord your God is giving you rest and has given you this land. |
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14Your wives, your children, and your cattle shall settle in the land that Moses gave you on this side of the Jordan, and you, all the warriors, shall cross over armed before your brothers, and you shall help them. |
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all the warriors among you shall cross over armed. |
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15Until the Lord gives your brothers rest as He has given you, and they too shall inherit the land that the Lord your God gives them. You will then return to the land of your inheritance which Moses the servant of the Lord gave you on this side of the Jordan towards the rising of the sun, and you will inherit it. |
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toward the rising of the sun The eastern side of the Jordan. |
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16And they answered Joshua saying: All that you have commanded us we shall do and wherever you send us we shall go. |
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17Just as we obeyed Moses in everything, so shall we obey you. Only that the Lord your God be with you as He was with Moses. |
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18Every man that shall rebel against your words and will not listen to your commands in all that you order him shall be put to death. Only be strong and have courage. Had this promise been fulfilled in the times of Joshua, or even in the days we now live in, there would be no one left to dwell in the Holy Promised Land… |
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that shall rebel [against your words] defy your words. |
I could scarcely find any commentary on this this Haftorah portion. How very strange. Usually, I select the best of the several available. This week, the very last week’s portion, I could only find offering from Chabad.org and some Christian teachers.
Here's Chabad’s offer:
On the Haftarah: How We Succeed
For the Haftarah of Simchat Torah,
From the Teachings of the Rebbe
The haftarah1 for Simchat Torah is the beginning of the book of Joshua, which is the continuation of the events we had read about at the conclusion of the Torah. It begins: "And it was after Moses died..."
When we delve deeper into the haftarah, we begin to see how it connects with Shemini Atzeret and Simchat Torah. It speaks about keeping and studying Torah and doing good deeds,
loyalty and brotherhood.
The haftarah records the first communication from G‑d to Joshua and the preparation before crossing the Jordan into the promised land, Israel.
G‑d tells Joshua that the people would be crossing the Jordan, saying, “everywhere that the soles of (the Jewish people's) feet will tread, I will give to you.”3 He continues to tell Joshua what the borders of Israel are, and that no man will ever stand up against him. G‑d will be with him just as He was with Moses.
Now comes a statement that is repeated over and over again to Joshua, chazak v'ematz, “be strong and have courage.” G‑d tells him this three times. First with regards to leading the people, then about keeping the Torah, and finally about going to war.
About keeping the Torah, G‑d says, “Just be strong and very courageous to observe and do in accordance with all of the Torah that Moses My servant has commanded you. Do not stray therefrom right or left, in order that you succeed wherever you go. This book of the Torah shall not leave your mouth; you shall meditate therein day and night, in order that you observe to do all that is written in it, for then will you succeed in all your ways
and then will you prosper.”
This message that G‑d communicated to Joshua is a lesson to each of us, and connects to Simchat Torah, when we conclude the last parshah of the Torah and start reading
once again from the beginning.
The Midrash tells us, that from the words, "This book of the Torah shall not leave your mouth," we learn that Joshua constantly had a Torah scroll with him. Rashi tells us that it was the book of Deuteronomy. When he completed the last words, G‑d said, “chazak v'ematz.” Until this very day, when we finish reading a book of the Torah, we say “chazak.”
The Talmud7 tells us that there are four areas in which a person must strengthen himself. The first two are Torah and good deeds. The Talmud draws support from our haftarah. “Be strong” refers to Torah and “very courageous” alludes to performance of good deeds.
“Do not stray therefrom right or left, in order that you succeed wherever you go.” Since Torah is G‑dly knowledge and truth, the closer you align yourself to it and the more accurately you follow it, the more you will succeed and find happiness and meaning.
It is not enough to learn and understand. Rather, “you shall meditate therein day and night.”
We have to take it to a whole new level, each according to his or her ability, making it part of who we are. This will allow us to have a deeper understanding of what G‑d wants, and to know the inner workings of the Torah. “In order that you observe to do all that is written in it,” because you will find pleasure in doing it, now that you see the purpose in it.
G‑d continues, “for then will you succeed in all your ways and then will you prosper.” A Torah life is a successful and prosperous life. It is a life of truth and values, one that is real and fulfilling. As a result, we will find satisfaction and won't feel empty.
Now, Joshua sends word to prepare to cross the Jordan. He calls on the tribes of Reuven, Gad and Menasheh to keep their promise to lead their brothers in battle, although they were already settled on the other side of the Jordan. They wholeheartedly consented and told Joshua that they would do whatever is requested of them.
Keeping their promise was an act of brotherhood and unity. And that is the idea of Shemini Atzeret/Simchat Torah While on the seven days of Sukkot there were 70 bulls brought as sacrifices for the 70 nations of the world, on Shemini Atzeret, there was only one bull, brought for the Jewish people. It is a time of unity among the Jewish people and us and G‑d. This idea is seen in Simchat Torah as well, as we all dance with the Torah, irrespective of our level of scholarship. We dance together as equals because
the Torah is our inheritance.
Being the last day of our holiday season, Simchat Torah sets the tone for the whole year. That is why we have these themes stressed at this time, because these ideas of keeping and studying Torah, delving deeply into it, doing good deeds, unity, brotherhood, and loyalty to the holy amongst us, our tzadikim, is what fortifies us and enables us to do our mission.
Just as in the haftarah, where they prepared to cross the Jordan into the Promised Land, we will soon complete our mission and go together to our Holy Land, with the coming of Moshiach.
May he come soon.
My desire is for you to share this teaching with everyone you know and that you continue to pray that Debra & I remain in strength with good health so that we may continue to serve HaShem through
our service to His people.
Please check out & SHARE Debra’s music
and her weekly podcast, A Story & A Song is now there too
Sunday mornings @ 11:30 ET
is always worth a half hour of spiritual uplifting:
You can find it easily on YouTube:
@JewishRockMusic
Or on Instagram at: debracohenmusicdotcom
Debra has a brand new book on Amazon
that everyone should read & review…
https://a.co/d/aAmG4pH
And here’s an extra special gift from Debra. Avinu, which means “Listen,” is the introductory word to the Song of Moses. Here is her lovely video version:
https://youtu.be/yCJu4HDvma4?si=i9M8mf1eaLkAJs4R
And please share this teaching with those
whom you suspect could do with a little insight
into G-d’s Word & His Ways…
This week, I am return to teaching next week’s Torah portion. So, please find the teaching on Bereshit, share it and do all you can to live in accordance to the teaching of G-d given to us by Moshe,, His servant…
