Shabbos Parashas Nitzavim-Vayeilech - 5780

Shabbos Parashas Nitzavim-Vayeilech - 5780

Rabbi Hal Miller

Moshe summoned Yehoshua and said to him before the eyes of all Israel,

"Be strong and courageous, for you shall come with this people to the land

that Hashem swore to their fathers to give them, and you shall cause them

to inherit it." [Devarim 31:7]

What was Moshe's purpose in telling Yehoshua to "be strong and courageous"? He

even repeated it, as a 'command', in verse 23, "And he commanded Yehoshua son of

Nun and said, 'Be strong and courageous, for you shall bring the children of Israel to

the land that I have sworn to them and I shall be with you.'" All this was immediately

after having said exactly the same thing to the people as a whole in verse 6, "Be strong

and courageous, do not be afraid and do not be broken before them, for Hashem your

God, it is He Who goes before you, He will not loosen you, nor will He forsake you."

What is the tie between these incidents that the same phrase is used?

Rav Hirsch explains that our phrase means, "Be firm in resistance and strong in

overcoming", and in verse 6 tells the people that they will be victorious in the upcoming

war of conquest. For Yehoshua, though, the two times were necessary to cover the

two parts of his task.

The Brisker Rav identifies these two parts of Yehoshua's task as kingship and head of

the Sanhedrin, which is also a reference to the religious leadership. We know from

elsewhere that the tribe of Levi is assigned the religious leadership, in particular the

subpart descended from Aharon, and that the kingship comes from the tribe of Yehuda.

Up until this time, Moshe held both roles. At this time of transition, both roles were to go

to Yehoshua, but after him there would be a division. The two instances of "be strong and

courageous" apply one to each of these portions of Yehoshua's role.

But why is the phrase also applied to the nation as a whole? If Rav Hirsch is correct that

it was telling the people to be brave, listen to God, and they would be victorious, why is

the identical phrase used in that context when something else could have been?

Rav Moshe Feinstein answers that there is a difference, that to Yehoshua Moshe added

that God would not release nor forsake him. Rav Moshe says, "From this we see that

both teachers and students need strength and courage." A teacher must persevere

even when he thinks his students are not paying attention, trusting that at some point

they will hear. But students also need strength to persevere, that even when they find

it difficult, they must know that with effort they will eventually succeed in learning. thus

Moshe had to tell both Yehoshua and the people as a whole to stay strong and work

together.