Chasidut sobre Josué 2:4
וַתִּקַּ֧ח הָֽאִשָּׁ֛ה אֶת־שְׁנֵ֥י הָאֲנָשִׁ֖ים וַֽתִּצְפְּנ֑וֹ וַתֹּ֣אמֶר ׀ כֵּ֗ן בָּ֤אוּ אֵלַי֙ הָֽאֲנָשִׁ֔ים וְלֹ֥א יָדַ֖עְתִּי מֵאַ֥יִן הֵֽמָּה׃
Mas la mujer había tomado los dos hombres, y los había escondido; y dijo: Verdad que hombres vinieron á mí, mas no supe de dónde eran:
Kedushat Levi
Another approach to our verse: The words: שלח לך אנשים should be viewed in connection with Rashi’s commentary on Joshua 2,4 where we are told that the innkeeper who resided within the walls of Jericho welcomed Joshua’s spies and hid them. On the word: ותצפנו commonly translated as “she hid them,” (but literally meaning: “she hid him”) Rashi explains that the reason why the text uses the word in the singular mode was that Rahav, (the innkeeper) hid each spy separately so that if one were to be discovered the other one would still be able to save himself. Alternately, her reason –according to our sages- was that only Caleb needed hiding as Joshua was able to make himself invisible. When the sages speak about someone being able to make himself invisible, they mean that he could strip himself of his physical desires so that his body had become an אין סוף, as if non-existent. Or, expressed in terms of our explanation above, he could dispose of the potential obstacles, ניצוצות, to his serving G’d with all of his spiritual potential. Accordingly, we have to assume that Calev was not yet on that level.
It is a fact that the Canaanites whom the 12 spies of Moses encountered were on such a low spiritual level that they could not elevate themselves sufficiently to enter celestial regions even in the presence of 12 such outstandingly good men as Moses had chosen as the spies. As proof of this we need only look at Deuteronomy 20,16 where the Torah commands the Israelites about to conquer the Holy Land not to allow a single soul, נשמה, not merely נפש, to remain alive. Keeping all this in mind, i.e. the strength of these Canaanites, viewed as the spies’ potential obstacles in fulfilling their mission, they had to strip themselves completely of any residual earthly concerns if they were to have a chance to fulfill their mission successfully. The fact that Rahav, almost 40 years later had to “hide” Calev, is proof that he had not succeeded completely in divesting himself of earthly concerns when fulfilling G’d’s commandments. At any rate, we see that Rashi already alludes to the absolute single-mindedness necessary in order to serve our Creator optimally.
It is a fact that the Canaanites whom the 12 spies of Moses encountered were on such a low spiritual level that they could not elevate themselves sufficiently to enter celestial regions even in the presence of 12 such outstandingly good men as Moses had chosen as the spies. As proof of this we need only look at Deuteronomy 20,16 where the Torah commands the Israelites about to conquer the Holy Land not to allow a single soul, נשמה, not merely נפש, to remain alive. Keeping all this in mind, i.e. the strength of these Canaanites, viewed as the spies’ potential obstacles in fulfilling their mission, they had to strip themselves completely of any residual earthly concerns if they were to have a chance to fulfill their mission successfully. The fact that Rahav, almost 40 years later had to “hide” Calev, is proof that he had not succeeded completely in divesting himself of earthly concerns when fulfilling G’d’s commandments. At any rate, we see that Rashi already alludes to the absolute single-mindedness necessary in order to serve our Creator optimally.
Ask RabbiBookmarkShareCopy