There is a famous question asked in this parsha. We suggested numerous answers over the years. This year, we will present two new approaches suggested by Rav Yaakov Kamenetsky in his sefer.
The pasuk says that Moshe changed the name of Hoshea bin Nun to Yehoshua (Bamdibar 13:16), invoking (according to Rashi) a prayer by Moshe on Yehoshua’s behalf that Hashem should save him from the scheme of the Meraglim (Spies). All the meforshim ask why Moshe was more concerned about Yehoshua than he was about Calev.
Earlier in the same perek (Bamidbar 13:4-15), when the Torah lists the various Meraglim by tribal affiliation, the Ramban and other meforshim are troubled at the sequence with which these individuals are listed. Their names don’t appear to be listed in any particular order.
The Ramban notes that the names are not enumerated by flag configuration, nor by size, nor by birth order. The Ramban suggests that perhaps they are ordered by the prestige of each individual, rather than his shevet (tribe). In other words, maybe they are listed in order of their personal importance, rather than by the significance of the shevet they represented. According to the Ramban’s theory, Rav Yaakov points out that Shamua ben Zachur and Shafat ben Chori would have been greater in prestige than Calev ben Yefuneh and Yehoshua bin Nun. This is difficult to accept because we never hear from Shamua ben Zachur or Shafat ben Chori again.
Rav Yaakov himself explains the order of the listing of the Meraglim in a different fashion: The first two Meraglim listed represented respectively Reuven and Shimon. That makes perfect sense. Levi is not mentioned because Shevet Levi (the Tribe of Levi) did not send a representative. That we understand as well. Next, we would expect Shevet Yehudah to be listed and indeed that is the case: Calev ben Yefuneh, the third spy listed, is from Shevet Yehudah. So far, so good. Then, however, the next pasuk lists Hoshea bin Nun, who was from Shevet Ephraim, one of the youngest shevatim. Why?
Rashi comments (Devarim 1:22) that they approached Moshe Rabbeinu b’irvuvya (in a tumult). He saw the youngsters pushing away the elders. He saw the pushing and shoving and lack of any appropriate order. Moshe Rabbeinu invoked something here that I am sure everyone who has ever been a parent has said sometime in his life when confronted by such situations: “This is not going to end well!” In other words, when Moshe saw this irvuvya of the youngsters pushing away their elders, he said “Uh-oh. This is not being done the way Jews should behave and the way Jews should act.” Therefore, at this point in time, Moshe Rabbeinu was inspired to say to his disciple: “May Hashem save you from the scheme of the Spies.”
Up until this point, things were going according to the proper sequence: Reuven, Shimon, Yehudah. All was fine. But when Moshe saw this situation, where the “ne’arim” (youth) were pushing aside the “zekainim” (elders), he saw that this mission was not being undertaken for the sake of Heaven. This is not the way things are supposed to be done. Earlier in the narration, when Calev was mentioned, there was not yet a need to invoke the prayer “May Hashem save you from the scheme of the Spies” because at that point, everything was still going properly.
Rav Yaakov gives a second answer to his question of why Moshe gave Yehoshua a bracha, and not Calev. This answer contains a tremendous truth within it. He says the reason Moshe felt compelled to give Yehoshua abrachaand not Calev is that Calev was married to a righteous woman (Miriam haNeviah). Certainly, Calev would therefore not fall prey to the evil schemes of the Meraglim, and so Calev was not in need of a blessing. At the time, Yehoshua was still single. Calev, who was married to a tzadekes, had a spiritual anchor.
Therefore, Moshe could be confident that Calev would not “get caught up” in the plan of the Meraglim. Rav Weinberg used to advise unmarried young men who were contemplating going to graduate school (whether it be law school, medical school, dental school, or whatever) that they should not start graduate school until they were married. “Yes, you can go to graduate school, but you should be married first.” When someone is in Yeshiva, even if he is going to college on the side, the Yeshiva is his anchor. But when someone goes to graduate school and is in school full-time, all day, he is in a world which presents its own set of nisyonos (spiritual tests). A person needs an anchor. He needs the anchor of a home and the anchor of a wife.
That is why, Rav Yaakov explains, Calev did not need Moshe’s bracha. It was because he was married to Miriam. When someone is married to a woman like Miriam, he has a solid anchor. Yehoshua was not married at this time, and therefore Moshe had to pray for him: “May Hashem save you from the scheme of the Spies.”
