With these concepts laid out, we can now begin to understand what took place in our Parsha.
Oznaim Latorah says, Moshe Rabbeinu’s fear of being killed by these angels was 100% genuine and sincere. The קִנְאָה – the jealousy they held towards him was profound. The offspring of a human ascended to heaven, from a place of filth to their domain of holiness. A man born to a father who knew no sin, and who himself rose to a level higher than the angels.
לֹהִים-מֹשֶׁה אִישׁ הָאֱ וְזֹאת הַבְּרָכָה אֲשֶׁר בֵּרַך – from the waist down Moshe was a man, and from the waist up he was like G-d (Devarim Rabbah 11:4). The angels always viewed man with contempt. They earlier tried to kill Yaacov Avinu – the Amud HaTorah – as he slept and dreamt of angels ascending and descending. They asked, “The one whose face is adorned on the Kiseh Hakavod should lie down and sleep on the ground?” They sought to harm Yaacov, but Hakadosh Baruch Hu dismissed them and prevented it. Oznaim Latorah says, Moshe truly believed he would not be returning down to the world; that he would forever remain in Heaven, in one form or another. So, what does the Kohen Gadol do prior to entering the Kodesh Hakodashim on Yom Kippur? He, too, does not know what the result will be, or whether he will survive. If he becomes impure or dies, then what? Is that the end of the Yom Kippur Avodah? No. We’re taught (Yoma 1:1):
וּמַתְקִינִין לוֹ כֹהֵן אַחֵר תַּחְתָּיו, שֶׁמָּא יֶאֱרַע בּוֹ פְסוּל.
And they would designate another priest in his stead to replace him lest a disqualification.
Another kohen would be ready to step in because the Avodah of Yom Kippur could not be halted or skipped. Moshe asked, “I am ascending to receive the Luchot, but what if one these angels kills me? Who will deliver the Torah to Bnei Yisrael?” He then issued the pivotal commandment, “Yehoshua, come with me and wait at the bottom of the mountain. If anything at all should happen to me, you are to immediately ascend and take over!”
This is why only Yehoshua went forward with Moshe, and why he waited at the bottom of Har Sinai for forty days. If something were to happen to Moshe Rabbeinu, nobody would need to run around the camp looking for him, and no time would be wasted preparing him and giving him a ride to the mountain; he’d be right there, ready to take over.
שִׁבְעַת יָמִים קֹדֶם יוֹם הַכִּפּוּרִים מַפְרִישִׁין כֹּהֵן גָדוֹל מִבֵּיתוֹ לְלִשְׁכַּת פַּלְהֶדְרִין, וּמַתְקִינִין לוֹ כֹהֵן אַחֵר תַּחְתָּיו, שֶׁמָּא יֶאֱרַע בּוֹ פְסוּל. רַבִּי יְהוּדָה אוֹמֵר, אַף אִשָּׁה אַחֶרֶת מַתְקִינִין לוֹ, שֶׁמָּא תָמוּת אִשְׁתּוֹ, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר (ויקרא טז) וְכִפֶּר בַּעֲדוֹ וּבְעַד בֵּיתוֹ. בֵּיתוֹ, זוֹ אִשְׁתּוֹ.
Seven days prior to Yom Kippur, preparations begin for the Kohen Gadol, and both a replacement Kohen and replacement wife are arranged. Where is this learned from? What is the source for the preparation ahead of Yom Kippur? It is found right here in our Parsha!
וַיִּשְׁכֹּן כְּבוֹד־ה’ עַל־הַר סִינַי וַיְכַסֵּהוּ הֶעָנָן שֵׁשֶׁת יָמִים וַיִּקְרָא אֶל־מֹשֶׁה בַּיּוֹם הַשְּׁבִיעִי מִתּוֹךְ הֶעָנָן׃
And the glory of the Lord rested upon Har Sinai, and the cloud covered it for six days: on the seventh day He called to Moshe out of the midst of the cloud.
Oznaim Latorah says, Hakadosh Baruch Hu said to Moshe, “קַח אֶת יְהוֹשֻׁעַ – Take Yehoshua with you and prepare him at the bottom of the mountain. He should not worry about water or food; I will provide for him. Manna will descend for him exactly as it did for Moshe Rabbeinu.”
How did the manna arrive for Bnei Yisrael to eat? The Gemara teaches (Taanit 9a):
שְׁלֹשָׁה פַּרְנָסִים טוֹבִים עָמְדוּ לְיִשְׂרָאֵל, אֵלּוּ הֵן: מֹשֶׁה וְאַהֲרֹן וּמִרְיָם. וְשָׁלֹשׁ מַתָּנוֹת טוֹבוֹת נִיתְּנוּ עַל יָדָם, וְאֵלּוּ הֵן: בְּאֵר, וְעָנָן, וּמָן. בְּאֵר — בִּזְכוּת מִרְיָם, עַמּוּד עָנָן — בִּזְכוּת אַהֲרֹן, מָן — בִּזְכוּת מֹשֶׁה.
Three good sustainers rose up for the Jewish people during the exodus from Egypt: Moshe, Aharon, and Miriam. And three good gifts were given from Heaven on their behalf: The well of water, the pillar of cloud, and the manna. The well was given to the Jewish people in the merit of Miriam; the pillar of cloud was in the merit of Aharon; and the manna in the merit of Moshe.
If the manna was in the merit of Moshe, what happened during those forty days he was not with Bnei Yisrael? Would they not eat? How did the manna descend while he was away? Through his מְמַלֵא מָקוֹם – his acting or interim leader, Yehoshua. The quantity that came down was shishim riboh k’neged Yisrael because it came to him, but from there was passed on to the entirety of Bnei Yisrael. Yehoshua was situated מִחוּץ לַמַּחֲנֶה – outside the camp, which is where the manna descends prior to being directed into the camp for the people. Moshe Rabbeinu appointed Yehoshua as his replacement, to care for Bnei Yisrael while he was on Har Sinai, and to prepare to take over for him should the angels of Heaven get their way.
HaEmek Davar adds the following commentary: Moshe did not take Yehoshua without authorization. He received instruction from Hakadosh Baruch Hu to do so, in order for no situation to arise where Matan Torah could not proceed.
משֶׁה קִבֵּל תּוֹרָה מִסִּינַי וּמְסָרָהּ לִיהוֹשֻׁעַ – The Rokeach says, Yehoshua waited forty days at the foot of the mountain, and the moment Moshe re-appeared, all the abundance and wealth Moshe received was immediately passed on to Yehoshua. HaEmek Davar says (Vayeilech), we learn in the Gemara:
פְּנֵי מֹשֶׁה כִּפְנֵי חַמָּה פְּנֵי יְהוֹשֻׁעַ כִּפְנֵי לְבָנָה – The face of Moshe was as the face of the sun; the face of Yehoshua was as the face of the moon (Bava Batra 75a). The moon receives all its light from the sun, just as Moshe passed the Torah on to Yehoshua. And when did the light of Yehoshua begin to shine? This occurred the day before Moshe Rabbeinu died. We read in Parshat Vayeilech:
וַיֹּאמֶר ה’ אֶל־מֹשֶׁה הֵן קָרְבוּ יָמֶיךָ לָמוּת קְרָא אֶת־יְהוֹשֻׁעַ וְהִתְיַצְבוּ בְּאֹהֶל מוֹעֵד וַאֲצַוֶּנּוּ וַיֵּלֶךְ מֹשֶׁה וִיהוֹשֻׁעַ וַיִּתְיַצְבוּ בְּאֹהֶל מוֹעֵד׃
Hashem said to Moshe: The time is drawing near for you to die. Call Yehoshua and present yourselves in the Tent of Meeting, that I may instruct him. Moshe and Yehoshua went and presented themselves in the Tent of Meeting.
Why only moments before Moshe’s death? Why not ten years earlier? HaEmek Davar says, as long as the sun shines, nobody will see the moon. The moon’s reflection of the sun’s light only becomes apparent once the sun is gone from view and darkness enters. Hakadosh Baruch Hu told Moshe he was approaching his sunset, and the light of Yehoshua would now shine. All that was relayed to him at Har Sinai would now become apparent.
There is one more answer, and related gem, I would like to briefly explore. It is a connection of two ideas found in sefer Chikrei Lev and based on the concept that any time the Torah adds an unnecessary number to its description of multiple people or items, it signals equality between them. There are numerous cases where we would already know the total from the text itself – whether because the items are clearly listed, or because a plural is employed and plural has the default value of two. Two examples are:
וַיַּעַשׂ אֱלֹהִים אֶת שְׁנֵי הַמְּאֹרֹת הַגְּדֹלִים אֶת־הַמָּאוֹר הַגָּדוֹל לְמֶמְשֶׁלֶת הַיּוֹם וְאֶת־הַמָּאוֹר הַקָּטֹן לְמֶמְשֶׁלֶת הַלַּיְלָה.
G-d made the two great lights, the greater light to dominate the day and the lesser light to dominate the night, and the stars.
From inclusion of the number two, we learn that Hakadosh Baruch Hu at first intended for both light sources – the sun and moon – to be of equal size.
עֲשֵׂה לְךָ שְׁתֵּי חֲצוֹצְרֹת כֶּסֶף מִקְשָׁה תַּעֲשֶׂה אֹתָם וְהָיוּ לְךָ לְמִקְרָא הָעֵדָה וּלְמַסַּע אֶת־הַמַּחֲנוֹת׃
Have two silver trumpets made; make them of hammered work. They shall serve you to summon the community and to set the divisions in motion.
Again, from inclusion of the number two, we learn that both trumpets were meant to be the exact same size and weight.
The source for this principle is in Massechet Yoma (62a) and the multiple instances of שְׁנֵי הַשְּׂעִירִים (the two goats) the Kohen Gadol would take on Yom Kippur. We learn from the extra word שְׁנֵי that the goats must be equal in appearance, size, and cost.
Sefer Chikrei Lev points to the blessing in Sefer Ruth (4:11): יִתֵּן ה’ אֶת־הָאִשָּׁה הַבָּאָה אֶל־בֵּיתֶךָ כְּרָחֵל וּכְלֵאָה אֲשֶׁר בָּנוּ שְׁתֵּיהֶם אֶת־בֵּית יִשְׂרָאֵל
May the Lord make the woman coming into your house like Rachel and Leah, both of whom built up the House of Israel!
Based on the above principle, Rachel and Leah were equals in building Beit Yisrael, but Chikrei Lev asks how that can be. Including the children born to their maidservants, Leah had eight children whereas Rachel had only four. Furthermore, Leah’s sons are the ones who represent all three crowns described in the Mishna (Avot 4:13): Keter Kehuna (Levi), Keter Malchut (Yehuda), and Keter Torah (Yissachar). Rachel doesn’t even have half a crown!
Chikrei Lev provides a marvelous answer to this question. Equality doesn’t only mean equal in number. Equality can also mean one compliments the other, and together they form completion. Ma’amad Har Sinai began with Bnei Yisrael resting below the mountain and according to the Gemara (Shabbat 88a), the mountain was lifted above them, in an ultimatum to either accept the Torah or be crushed by it. As a result, when asked in Din why one didn’t observe the Torah, they could rightfully argue Bnei Yisrael were coerced into accepting it and therefore the Torah is not binding. But, Rava says, that argument was only valid until the days of Achashveirosh. After the salvation of Purim, קִיְּמוּ וְקִבְּלוּ הַיְּהוּדִים – they accepted b’ahava, with love, what was accepted earlier b’yirah, through fear and coercion.
Why could Moshe Rabbeinu not get Bnei Yisrael to accept the Torah willingly, out of love? Chikrei Lev highlights that Moshe Rabbeinu was from Shevet Levi, the son of Leah. Full acceptance of the Torah also required the participation of Rachel, who was an equal partner in the building of Beit Yisrael. Mordechai and Esther were from Shevet Binyamin, who was the son of Rachel. Thus, Leah began Kabbalat HaTorah and Rachel completed it. Leah, who was forced upon Yaakov Avinu, had her portion of Torah – תּוֹרָה שֶׁבִּכְתָב – accepted through force, while Rachel, who entered Yaakov’s tent out of love, had her portion of Torah – תּוֹרָה שֶׁבְּעַל פֶּה – accepted through love.
Similarly, Moshe received Torah from Sinai and passed it on to Yehoshua. It needed to be Yehoshua – from Shevet Efraim, a descendant of Rachel – waiting at the foot of the mountain. It could not be Aharon, as there would be no equal partnership between Rachel and Leah, and no longer would it be a case of אֲשֶׁר בָּנוּ שְׁתֵּיהֶם אֶת בֵּית יִשְׂרָאֵל.
When Moshe Rabbeinu ascended to receive the Torah, Yehoshua stepped in to complete the mission and feed Bnei Yisrael. The Meshech Chochma asks how Bnei Yisrael ate manna from the 7th of Adar, the day Moshe died, until the 16th of Nisan when Yehoshua gave them bread in Eretz Yisrael. He answers, those extra 40 days of manna were in the merit of the 40 days Yehoshua camped out at Har Sinai.
What one has, the other receives. What one builds, the other builds together. This yesod here is the shleimut of Bnei Yisrael – the completeness of our people until today. May we merit to see the days of Mashiach ben Yosef, the son of Rachel, followed by Mashiach ben David, the son of Leah.
