Parshat Behalotcha Rabbi Chaim Brovender

Let us learn a posuk with Rashi

Yehoshua senses that there is a tragedy in the making. Two of the chosen to receive a special spiritual gift, Eldad and Medad, continue to prophesize in the camp after the others "did not continue to do so..." (11: 25). He turns to Moshe and says the following "Yehoshua the son of Nun, who served Moshe since he was a youth, spoke up and said: "my lord Moshe, kelaem-make an end of them..." (11: 28).

Rashi notes: "How does Yehoshua suggest that Moshe make an end of them? 'Give them the responsibility to tend to the needs of the community and they will be obliterated...'"(Sanhedrin 17a).

Rashi finds it difficult to explain the word "kelaem-do away with them". It is hard to imagine that they did a particular transgression for which they were guilty and deserved to be punished so severely. The fact that they continued to prophesy in itself, something that most people would be interested in, does not seem to explain the harshness of the response. Rashi modifies the statement of Yehoshua and says that he suggested a kind of water torture approach. Give them a communal position and they will ultimately be obliterated.

If we assume that the continued prophesy was a veiled attack on the leadership of Moshe, then the suggestion Yehoshua made makes more sense. They want to compete with your leadership but they don't understand what such leadership demands. Give them the opportunity and they will realize they don't have the capacities needed for the job. Rashi has modified the statement, but we are still at a loss to understand why Yehoshua was so incensed at their continuing to prophesize.

Rashi adds a second statement. His comment is introduced by the words "alternatively" (davar acher), which usually introduces another, different interpretation. In this case, however, there is no doubt that Rashi is completing his first comment with the second: "The word kelaem means to put them into prison." They were prophesying that "Moshe would die and Yehoshua bring the people into the Land of Yisrael".

One imagines that Yehoshua was incensed for two reasons. First, Eldad and Medad were claiming that they had a priority over Yehoshua in leadership, since they had already been granted prophesy, and Yehoshua was still Moshe's servant. Secondly, the prophesy itself made it reasonable that Yehoshua might keep his reaction to himself and not make any statement. In this matter, Yehoshua exhibited his own leadership abilities since he knew that the prophesy may not be conclusive and that Moshe's prayer to be allowed to enter the land (beginning of Parasha vaetchanan) might still be accepted. Though he was the designated leader he apparently preferred that Moshe continue and bring the people to the land. Yehoshua had spent his life serving Moshe and knew the difficulties of communal leadership. Eldad and Medad who did not share this experience were unable to understand what they were speaking of. Had they understood they would not have advertised their prophesy and they would have hoped with Yehoshua that it would not come to pass.

Rashi understands the verse as containing two responses by Yehoshua, both aimed at the same result. The first is educational: to teach the two prophets that communal service may not be a blessing. The second is that they deserve to be punished for trying to establish their prophesy as a fact while it is clear that Moshe still has options.

Chaim Brovender

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