Midrash sobre Josué 5:13

(Fol. 10, b) And it came to pass in the days of Ahasuerus. R. Levi, and according to others, R. Jochanan, said: "There is a tradition among us from our ancestors [who reicev it from] the men of the Great Assembly, that wherever Vayehi (it came to pass) occurs, it refers to some disaster. (Ruth 1) And it came to pass in the days of Ahasuerus, there was Haman; (Jud. 1) And it came to pass in the days of the Judges, there was hunger; (Gen. 6, 1) And it came to pass when men began to multiply, and soon after this it is written, And the children of man, etc. — [which caused the flood]; (Ib. 11, 2) And it came to pass as they journeyed toward the east, then there came the dispersion; (Ib. 14, 1) And it came to pass in the days of Amraphel … there was a war. (Josh. 5, 13) It came to pass when Joshua was by Jericho, etc. and he saw a man with a drawn sword in his hand; (Ib. 6, 27) And the Lord was (Va'yehi) with Joshua, and soon after this. And the children of Israel committed a trespass; (I Samuel) There was (Va'yehi) a certain man of Romathaim, and afterward, Hannah he loved, but the Lord had shut her womb; (Ib. 8, 1) It came to pass when Samuel became old … and his sons walked not in his way; (Ib. 18, 14) And David was successful all his ways, and soon follows, Saul was in dread of him; (II Sam. 7, 1) And it came to pass when the king dwelt in his house. But thou canst not build the Temple. But is it not written (Lev. 9, 1) And it came to pass on the eighth day, and we have been taught in a Baraitha: "That particular day caused as great rejoicing before the Holy One, praised be He! as did the day of creation, for it is written here. And it came to pass (Va'yehi) on the eighth day, and it is written (Gen. 1, 5) And it was (Vayehi) evening and it was morning the first day. [Hence we find Vayehi when a misfortune does not follow.] There also the tragedy of Nadab and Abihu happened (Lev. 10, 1-7). But is it not written (I Kings 6, 1) And it came to pass in the four hundred and eightieth year after the going forth of the children of Israel out of Egypt, and it is also Written (Gen, 29, 16) While Jacob saw Rachel, and in Genesis (1, 5) And it was evening, and it was morning, the first day — and so on the second and third days although no disaster occurred? We must therefore say that wherever it is said, (Vayehi) It came to pass, there may or may not be a calamity; but whenever it is said, (Vayehi Bimai), And it came to pass in the days of, there a misfortune surely took place. There are five expressions, It came to pass in the days of, viz., in the days of Ahasuerus, the Judges, Amraphel, Ahaz (Is. 7) and Yehoyakim (Jer. 1) [and in every instance there was trouble] .

R. Levi said: "Whoever decides a legal question in the presence of his teacher, will die childless, for it is written (Num. 11, 28.) And Joshua ben Nun, the servant of Moses from his youth, answered and said: 'My Lord Moses, forbid them,' (Ib. b) and it is written (I. Chr. 6, 27.) Nun, his son, Joshua, his son [showing that Joshua had no children]." This is in contradiction to the opinion of R. Abba b. Papa, for R. Abba b. Papa said: "Joshua would not have been punished had it not been for the sin that he neglected his family duties for one night, as it is said (Jos. 5, 13.) And it came to pass, when Joshua was in Jericho, etc., and it is written (Ib. ib. 14.) And he said. No; for I am a captain of the host of the Lord; now am I come, i.e., the angel said to him 'Yesterday you neglected to bring the perpetual afternoon offering and now you are neglecting the study of the Torah.' So Joshua asked the angel. In regard to which one did you come?' Whereupon the angel said, 'Now I am come' [i.e., for the neglect of this moment] . Immediately following And Joshua lodged that night among the people (Ib. 8, 9); and it is also written (Ib. ib. 13.) And Joshua went that night into the midst of the valley; and R. Jochanan said: 'We infer [from the expression 'of the valley'] that Joshua lodged within the profoundness of the law [he studied over night]. And we have a tradition that whenever the holy ark and the Shechina rest without its proper place, the Israelites are forbidden to live together with their families. [Hence the sin of neglecting family duties.] R. Samuel b. Avia, in the name of Rab, said: "To study the Torah is a virtue greater than the offering of the perpetual sacrifices, for it is said Now I am come [showing he came on account of the latter's sin which was the neglect of studying the Torah]."

(Ib. 5, 13-14) And it came to pass, when Joshua was by Jericho… . And he said. No, for as a captain of the host of the Lord, am I now come. And Joshua fell on his face to the earth, etc. How could Joshua do so? Did not R. Jochanan say: "One must not greet a stranger with peace, at night, for fear lest he might be a demon?" There it was different, because he said: I am a captain of the Lord, I come now. But perhaps he lied? We have a tradition that even the demons do not pronounce the name of Heaven in vain. (Ib. b) The angel then said to him: "Yesterday you abolished the daily eve-offering, and today you abolished the studying of the Torah." Joshua asked him: "For which of the two [transgressions] hast thou come?" He answered: "I am now come; i.e., for that of to-day." Hence it reads (Ib. 8, 18) And Joshua lodged that night into the midst of the valley. And R. Jochanan said: "Infer from this that be had occupied himself the whole night with the intricacies of Halacha." Samuel b. Unya in the name of Rab said: "The study of the Torah is greater than the sacrifices of the daily offerings, as the angel said: I came for that of to-day."

Rabbi Tanḥuma in the name of Rabbi Ḥiyya the Great, and Rabbi Berekhya in the name of Rabbi Elazar: This midrash came up with us from the Exile:¹⁸From Babylonia. Presumably, this is a way of stating that it is an ancient tradition. Any place that “It was [vayhi]” is stated, [it alludes to] trouble. Rabbi Ḥiyya the Great: Any place that “It was [vayhi]” is stated, it can serve [to allude to] either trouble or joy. If it is trouble, there is none like it. If it is joy, there is none like it. Rabbi Shmuel said: There are five [instances of] “during the days of [bimei].” “It was [vayhi] during the days of [bimei] Amrafel” (Genesis 14:1) – what was the trouble there? They waged a war. [It is analogous] to the friend of a king who was located in a certain province. Because of him, the king took care of the province. One time, barbarians came and beset him [the king’s friend]. They say: Woe for us, the king will no longer care for the province as he had done. Likewise, the entire world was created only due to the merit of Abraham our patriarch; that is what is written: “They turned back and came to Ein Mishpat,¹⁹Ein Mishpat literally means ‘eye of justice’. which is [hi] Kadesh” (Genesis 14:7). Rabbi Aḥa said: They came to beset the eyeball of the world.²⁰Abraham. The eye that overcame the attribute of justice in the world you seek to blind?²¹The midrash is rhetorically addressing the kings that attacked Abraham. “Which is [hi] Kadesh” – Rabbi Aḥa said: Hu Kadesh.²²The word hi, meaning ‘which is,’ is spelled with a vav as the middle letter, which could be read as the masculine hu. The midrash is reading hi Kadesh as hu kidesh, he sanctified. He [Abraham] sanctified [kidesh] the name of the Holy One blessed be He in the fiery furnace.²³See Tanḥuma, Lekh Lekha 6. When everyone saw that all the kings came to beset him, they began screaming: Woe [vai]; that is, “It was [vayhi] during the reign of Amrafel.”
“It was during the days of Aḥaz” (Isaiah 7:1) – what was the trouble there? “Aram from the east and the Philistines from the west” (Isaiah 9:11) – [it is analogous] to the son of a king who had a tutor who sought to kill him. He [the tutor] said: If I kill him, I will be condemned to death by the king; instead, I will withhold his wet nurse from him, and he will die on his own. So did Aḥaz say: If there are no kids, there are no rams, and if there are no rams there is no flock, and if there is no flock there is no shepherd. So Aḥaz thought to say: If there are no children, there are no adults, and if there are no adults there are no students, if there are no students there are no scholars, if there are no scholars, there are no synagogues and study halls, if there are no synagogues and study halls, the Holy One blessed be He, as it were, cannot rest His Divine Presence in the world. Therefore, I will seize all the synagogues and study halls. That is what is written: “Bind the testimony, seal the Torah in my disciples” (Isaiah 8:16).
Rabbi Ḥanina said: Why was he named Aḥaz? It is because he seized [aḥaz] the synagogues and study halls. Rabbi Yaakov bar Abba in the name of Rabbi Avin: Isaiah said: “I will wait for the Lord, who conceals His face from the house of Jacob” (Isaiah 8:17). There was no time that was as difficult for Israel as that time, as it is stated: “I will conceal My face” (Deuteronomy 31:18) – in this world. But from that moment, “I hoped for Him” (Isaiah 8:17), as it is written: “As it will not be forgotten from the mouths of their descendants” (Deuteronomy 31:21). Was it [this verse] fulfilled for him [Isaiah]? “Behold, I and the children whom the Lord gave me” (Isaiah 8:18) – were they his [Isaiah’s] children? Were they not his students? It teaches that they were as dear to him as his sons. Once everyone saw that he seized the synagogues and study halls, they began screaming: Woe [vai]: that is, “It was [vayhi] during the days of Aḥaz.”
“It was during the days of Yehoyakim” (Jeremiah 1:3) – what was the trouble there? “I saw the land, and behold, it is emptiness and disorder, and the heavens, and their light is not” (Jeremiah 4:23) – [it is analogous] to a king who sent a proclamation to a province. What did the residents of the province do to it? They took it, ripped it, and burned it in fire. They said: Woe to us when the king becomes aware of these matters. That is what is written: “It was, as Yehudi would read three columns or four” (Jeremiah 36:23) – three or four verses. When he reached the fifth verse: “Its besiegers are ascendant” (Lamentations 1:5),²⁴This is the fifth verse of the first chapter of Lamentations. immediately: “He would cut it with a scribe’s razor and cast it into the fire that was in the fireplace, until the end of the scroll, upon the fire that was in the fireplace” (Jeremiah 36:23). Once they saw that it was so, they began screaming: Woe [vai]; that is, “it was [vayhi] during the days of Yehoyakim.”
“It was during the days of Aḥashverosh” (Esther 1:1) – what was the trouble there? [It was] “to kill, and to eliminate all the Jews” (Esther 3:13). [It is analogous] to a king who entered a vineyard and three enemies beset him: The first began picking unripe grapes, the second began trimming the clusters, and the third sought to uproot all the vines. Likewise, the wicked Pharaoh begin picking the unripe grapes; that is what is written: “[Pharaoh commanded all his people, saying:] Every son who is born you shall cast into the Nile” (Exodus 1:22).
The wicked Nebuchadnezzar began trimming the clusters; that is what is written: “[He exiled Yehoyakhin.…] and the artisans and the smiths, one thousand” (II Kings 24:15–16). Rabbi Berekhya in the name of Rabbi Yehuda said: One thousand artisans and one thousand smiths; Rabbi Yoḥanan said: All of them were one thousand. Rabbi Shmuel bar Rabbi Yitzḥak said: These are the notables. Rabbi Yehuda son of Rabbi Simon said: These are the Torah scholars.
Haman the wicked sought to uproot the entire egg;²⁵Egg, in the sense of the very origins of Israel. [as] they say buy [the hen] with the egg²⁶A aphorism meaning that he sought to complete the task, leaving no future. – “to destroy, to kill, and to eliminate” (Esther 3:13). When they saw that it was so, they began screaming: Woe [vai]; “it was [vayhi] during the days of Aḥashverosh.”
“It was during the days when the judges judged” (Ruth 1:1) – what was the trouble there? “There was a famine in the land” (Ruth 1:1) – [it is analogous] to a province that owed a tax to the king. What did the king do? He sent a tax collector to collect it. What did the residents of the province do? They took him, struck him, and extracted it [the money] from him. They said: What he sought to do to us we did to him. Likewise, during the days when the judges judged, an Israelite person would worship idols, and a judge would seek to bring him to trial, and he would come and flog the judge. He would say: What he sought to do to me, I did to him. Woe unto a generation whose judges are judged;²⁷The midrash is reading the verse to mean that it was in the days that the judges were judged, i.e. punished. that is, “It was during the days when the judges judged.”
Shimon bar Rabbi Abba said in the name of Rabbi Yoḥanan: Everywhere that it [“it was,” vayhi] is stated, [it alludes to] trouble or to joy; if trouble, there is no trouble like it, if joy, there is no joy like it in the world. Rabbi Shmuel bar Naḥman came and suggested a [different] distinction: Everywhere that it says, “it was [vayhi],” [it alludes to] trouble, everywhere that it says “it will be [vehaya],” joy.
But it is written: “God said: Let there be light, and there was [vayhi] light.” He said to them: Even that is not light of joy, as the world did not merit to use that light. By the light that was created on the first day, a person could look out and see from one end of the world to the other end. When He perceived that the wicked were destined to appear, like the generation of Enosh, the generation of the Flood, and the generation of the Dispersion,²⁸After the Tower of Babel. and like the people of Sodom, He took it [the light] away. That is what is written: “From the wicked their light is withheld” (Job 38:15). He sequestered it for the righteous in the future, as it is stated: “Light is sown for the righteous” (Psalms 97:11).
They objected to him: “It was [vayhi] evening and it was morning, one day” (Genesis 1:5). He said to them: That, too, is not joy, as the heavens are destined to wither; that is what is written: “As the heavens will be eroded like smoke” (Isaiah 51:6).
They objected to him: Is it not written: “It was [vayhi] evening and it was morning, a second day.… third.… fourth.… fifth.… sixth” (Genesis 1:8–31). He said to them: That, too, is not joy, as everything that was created during the six days of Creation requires action, e.g., it is necessary to sweeten mustard, lupines must be sweetened, and wheat requires grinding.
But it is written: “The Lord was [vayhi] with Joseph” (Genesis 39:2). He said to them: That, too, is not joy, as it is written: “For they placed me in the pit” (Genesis 40:15). But it is written: “It was [vayhi] on the day that Moses completed [assembling the Tabernacle]” (Numbers 7:1). He said to them: That, too, is not joy, as it was sequestered when the Temple was built, as it is stated: “Moses was not able to enter into the Tent of Meeting” (Exodus 40:35).²⁹The verse does not seem to be related to the point. Perhaps it is brought to communicate that even on the day that the construction of the Tabernacle was completed, the celebration was tempered by the fact that Moses could not enter the Tent of Meeting. But it is written: “It was [vayhi] when Joshua was [at Jericho]” (Joshua 5:13). He said to them: That too is not joy, as Joshua rent his garments, as it is stated: “Joshua rent his garments” (Joshua 7:6).³⁰After the setback at Ai. But it is written: “It was [vayhi] on the eighth day” (Leviticus 9:1).³¹The day of the dedication of the Temple. He said to them: That too is not joy, as on that day Nadav and Avihu died.³²See Leviticus 10:1–2. But it is written: “It was [vayhi] when the king³³David. dwelled in his house” (II Samuel 7:1). He said to them: That too was not joy, as it was then that Natan the prophet came and said to him: “However, you will not build the House” (I Kings 8:19).
They said to him: We said ours, now you say yours.³⁴Prove that every place it says vehaya it is an expression of joy. He said to them: It is written: “It will be [vehaya] on that day, the mountains will drip with nectar” (Joel 4:18). “It will be [vehaya] on that day that spring water will emerge [from Jerusalem]” (Zechariah 14:8). “It will be on that day that the Lord will set His hand again the second time, [to recover the remnant of His people]” (Isaiah 11:11). “It will be [vehaya] on that day, each man shall keep [a calf of the herd and two sheep] alive” (Isaiah 7:21). “It will be [vehaya] on that day, that a great shofar will be sounded, [and they will come…and bow down to the Lord on the holy mountain in Jerusalem]” (Isaiah 27:13). “It will be that one who is left in Zion and he that remains in Jerusalem [will be called holy]” (Isaiah 4:3). They objected to him: It is written: “And it was [vehaya] when Jerusalem was captured” (Jeremiah 38:28). He said to them: Even that is not trouble but joy, as on that day, Israel made complete penance for their iniquities, on the day that the Temple was destroyed.
Conclusion of the prologue to Rut Rabba

(Exod. 23:20:) BEHOLD, I AM SENDING AN ANGEL <BEFORE YOU TO GUARD YOU ON THE WAY>…. This text is related (to Jer. 3:19): THEN I SAID: HOW WOULD I⁴¹This translation fits the context of the midrash. PUT (rt.: ShYT) YOU AMONG THE CHILDREN,… !⁴²Tanh., Exod. 6:17; see below, Tanh. (Buber), Numb. 4a:15. R. Eleazar ben Pedat says: What is this <expression>: WOULD I PUT (rt.: ShYT) YOU? It had occurred to me that we, I and you, would be < alone > in the world.⁴³Tanh., Exod. 6:17, adds, “I as father and you as children.” How did you manage for me to bring the peoples of the world in among you?⁴⁴Cf. Tanh., Exod. 6:17: “How did you manage to bring the peoples of the world in between me and you?” This expression is nothing but an expression of setting apart (as in Gen. 30:40): AND HE PUT (rt.: ShYT) HIS OWN FLOCKS <APART>…. R. Hama bar Hanina said: What is the meaning of WOULD I PUT (rt.: ShYT) YOU?⁴⁵Cf. Exod. R. 32:2. There was a great love between me and you.⁴⁶Below, Tanh. (Buber), Lev. 7:12; Numb. 4a: 15; Exod. R. 32:2. How did you manage that I should hate you? (Jer. 3:19:) HOW WOULD I PUT (rt.: ShYT) YOU AMONG THE CHILDREN! This expression is nothing but an expression of hatred, as used (in Gen. 3:15): I WILL PUT (rt.: ShYT) ENMITY <BETWEEN YOU AND THE WOMAN>. Another interpretation (of Jer. 3:19:) HOW WOULD I PUT (ShYT) YOU AMONG THE CHILDREN ! R. Joshua ben Levi said: I spoke in <your> defense.⁴⁷Gk.: synegoria. You behaved toward me so that I denounced you and pronounced you guilty (rt.: HYB). The expression (rt.: ShYT) is nothing but an expression of guilt (rt.: HYB), as used (concerning one guilty of negligence in Exod. 21:30): IF A RANSOM IS PUT (rt.: ShYT) UPON HIM, <HE SHALL GIVE WHATEVER IS PUT (rt.: ShYT) UPON HIM TO REDEEM HIS LIFE>. Another interpretation (of Jer. 3:19:) HOW WOULD I PUT (ashit; rt.: ShYT) YOU AMONG THE CHILDREN! R. Berekhyah the Priest said: You were as dear to me as someone who has a single field, which he fertilizes, cultivates, and weeds. So dear were you to me. Your behavior toward me was for you to commit lawlessness. Now this word (ashit) is nothing but an expression for lawlessness, as used (in Is. 5:6): AND I WILL MAKE (ashit) IT (i.e., the Holy One's vineyard) A DESOLATION. (Jer. 3:19, cont.:) AND GIVE YOU A DESIRABLE LAND, a land that the great ones of the world (i.e., the patriarchs) desired.⁴⁸Below, Tanh. (Buber), Numb. 4a: 16. Abraham said to the Hittites (in Gen. 23:4): GIVE ME A BURIAL SITE. The Holy One also endeared it to {the children of} Isaac, as stated (in Gen. 26:3): RESIDE IN THIS LAND, <AND I WILL BE WITH YOU AND BLESS YOU>…. Jacob said (according to Gen. 50:5): IN MY GRAVE WHICH I DUG FOR MYSELF <IN THE LAND OF CANAAN, THERE YOU SHALL BURY ME>. Ergo (in Jer. 3:19): A DESIRABLE LAND. (Ibid., cont.:) <THE MOST> [BEAUTIFUL HERITAGE] <OF ALL THE NATIONS>. What is the meaning of <THE MOST> BEAUTIFUL (tsevi) HERITAGE? Just as in the case of a deer (tsevi), when one slaughters it, strips off its hide, and tries to return the flesh into the hide, it does not contain it, so the land of Israel does not contain its produce. What is written (in Is. 30:24)? AS FOR THE OXEN AND ASSES THAT WORK THE GROUND, THEY SHALL EAT FERMENTED FODDER, WHICH HAS BEEN WINNOWED WITH SHOVEL AND PITCH FORK. First they winnow with the SHOVEL and after that with the PITCH FORK. Why? Because there was more grain than straw. Even so there was produce in <further> winnowing the straw. Where is it shown? Where it is stated (ibid.): FERMENTED MASH, WHICH HAS BEEN WINNOWED WITH SHOVEL AND PITCH FORK. Mashes are from produce. Ergo (in Jer. 3:19): [A DESIRABLE LAND,] <THE MOST> BEAUTIFUL (tsevi) HERITAGE (understood in the sense of THE MOST DEERLIKE HERITAGE), a land which does not contain its produce, a land which was so good that all the kings of the world desired it. It is written (in Josh. 12:9): THE KING OF JERICHO, ONE; THE KING {FOR AI} [OF AI WHICH IS BESIDE BETHEL], ONE. Now there are only three miles⁴⁹Lat.: mille. between Jericho and Ai; yet it says: THE KING OF JERICHO. It is simply that whoever has a possession outside of the land without having a possession in the land of Israel was not called a king.⁵⁰Sifre, to Deut. 7:12 (37); Gen. R. 85:14. Why? Because they longed for the land of Israel. R. {Isaac} [Johanan] said: What is written (in Josh. 7:21): I SAW AMONG THE SPOILS A <FINE> SHINAR MANTLE, <i.e.> a Babylonian⁵¹Gk.: Babylonikon; Lat.: Babylonicum. robe of royal purple,⁵²Gk.: porphura; Lat.: purpura. which the king of Babylon wore to rule in Jericho. Ergo (in Jer. 3:19): THE MOST BEAUTIFUL HERITAGE OF THE NATIONS.⁵³According to this reasoning, the various kingships were so close to each other in Israel because every king needed a seat in Israel in order to be regarded as a king. (Ibid., cont.:) AND I SAID YOU SHALL CALL ME FATHER. Just as a father is obliged <to provide > for his daughter's enjoyments, so did I bring down rain for you. (Exod. 16:14:) WHEN THE LAYER OF DEW HAD GONE UP, <THERE ON THE FACE OF THE EARTH LAY SOMETHING FINE AND FLAKY>…. (Jer. 3:20:) SURELY AS A WOMAN BREAKS FAITH WITH HER LOVER <SO YOU HAVE BROKEN FAITH WITH ME, O HOUSE OF ISRAEL>. R. Judah bar Simon said: Oh that <you were> like an unfaithful wife. This <kind of> a woman, who has a lover, gives him food, drink, and love. When his power is diminished, she leaves him and goes away. SURELY AS A WOMAN BREAKS FAITH WITH HER LOVER. I have not done so to you. The manna came down for you, and the well rose up. I did not deprive you of anything when you were unfaithful with me. See, I gave you an angel who watched over you. (Exod. 23:20:) SEE, I AM SENDING YOU AN ANGEL <TO WATCH OVER YOU>. When you became worthy and received the Torah, I went before you in person. But now, when you have been found guilty, here I am <merely> (ibid.:) SENDING AN ANGEL BEFORE YOU. [Another interpretation:]⁵⁴Tanh., Exod. 6:18. The Holy One said to Moses: I am sending <an angel> before you but not before them. He said: If you send <him> out before me, I do not want <him>; but Joshua saw the angel and fell down before him. What did he say to him (in Josh. 5:13)? ARE YOU FOR US OR FOR OUR ADVERSARIES? When he said to him: ARE YOU FOR US? he began to cry in great anguish.⁵⁵Literally: “From under the nails of his feet.” (Ibid., vs. 14:) Then he said: NO, BUT [I] AM THE CAPTAIN OF THE LORD'S HOST. NOW I HAVE COME.⁵⁶Gen. R. 97:3 (traditional text only). Here are two times that I have come to give Israel an inheritance. I am the one who came in the days of your master, Moses; but he rejected me. (Ibid., cont.:) NOW I HAVE COME. THEN JOSHUA FELL ON HIS FACE. He saw him and fell on his face, but when Moses saw <him>, he rejected him. The Holy One said (in Exod. 23:20): SEE, I AM SENDING AN ANGEL BEFORE YOU, to you and to whomever observes the Torah [as you <do>. Resh Laqish said: It is written (in Ps. 91:4): HE WILL COVER YOU WITH HIS PINIONS AND YOU WILL FIND REFUGE UNDER HIS WINGS, <i.e.> all who observe the Torah.] (Ibid., cont.:) HIS FIDELITY IS A SHIELD AND BUCKLER. Therefore (in Exod. 23:20): < I AM SENDING MY ANGEL BEFORE YOU > TO GUARD YOU ON THE WAY….

Behold, I sent an angel before thee (Exod. 23:20). The Holy One, blessed be He, said to Moses: I will send an angel before you but not before them. Whereupon Moses replied: If you send it before me alone, I do not desire it. Rather Let the Lord, I pray thee, go in the midst of us (Exod. 34:9). Observe the difference between the early generations and the later ones. When the Holy One, blessed be He, said to Moses: Behold, I will send an angel before you, he replied: I desire no one but You, whereas, when Joshua the son of Nun beheld an angel, he prostrated himself on the ground, as it is said: And Joshua fell on his face to the earth, and bowed down. And he said to him: “Art thou for us, or for our adversaries?” (Josh. 5:13–14).

"The angel who has redeemed me from all harm[...]" (Genesis 48:16) Rabbi Yosei son of Chalafta said, sustenance is doubly difficult, like birth. Of birth it is written (Genesis 3:16) "In pain [עצב] shall you bear children", and of sustenance it is written (Genesis 3:17) "By toil [עצבון] shall you eat of it [the ground] all the days of your life." Rabbi Elazar and Rabbi Shmuel son of Nachman, Rabbi Elazar said, redemption is deduced from sustenance and sustenance from redemption. Just as redemption is doubled, so too is sustenance doubled. Just as sustenance is daily, so too is sustenance daily. Rabbi Shmuel son of Nachman said, and [sustenance] is greater than redemption, for redemption comes at the hand of an angel and sustenance at the hand of the Holy Blessed One. Redemption by the hand of an angel, "the angel who redeemed me" (Genesis 48:16), and sustenance by the hand of the Holy Blessed One, "open Your hand and satisfy all that lives" (Psalms 145:16). Rabbi Yehoshua son of Levi said, the victuals of man are as difficult as the splitting of the Sea of Reeds, as it says "to the One Who split the Sea of Reeds asunder" (Psalms 136:13) and it is written later "Who gives food to all flesh" (Psalms 145:25). "Bless the lads" (Genesis 48:16), these are Yehoshua and Gidon, for there it says "And it was when Yehoshua was in Yericho, and he lifted up his eyes and saw, and behold, a man stood over him... and he [the man] said 'No, but I am captain of the LORD's host and have just arrived...'" (Joshua 5:13-14). Rabbi Yehoshua in the name of Rabbi Chanina son of Yitzchak, he cried out from within his toenails, as it says "And he said, 'I am a captain of the LORD's host'" (ibid.) - a captain of the Lofty Ones am I, and every place that I am seen, the Holy Blessed One is seen. This is a sign that in every place that Rabbi Yosei was set[?], so too Rabbi would appear. "Now I have come" (ibid.) -- with Moshe your teacher I have come, rather that he was praying and said "Unless You go in the lead..." (Exodus 33:15) - I was unable to ascend above, but now that I have not done my mission, I was not able to descend below, that now I pray and say "Unless You go in the lead." Rather, be warned that you should not do as Moshe your teacher did with me, and I was swayed. "And may they be teeming multitudes [וידגו לרב] on the earth..." (Genesis 48:16). Just as the eye does not penetrate/rule over to see these fish [דגים], so your sons will not be seen/ruled over by the [evil] eye. So it is written, "The sons of Yosef spoke to Yehoshua... [saying, 'Why have you assigned as our portion a single allotment and a single district, seeing that we are a numerous people...']" (Joshua 17:14). He said to them, 'Are you not afraid of the [evil] eye?' [i.e. how can you boast of your numbers?]. They responded, 'This was our father's blessing for us, "they shall be teeming multitudes on the earth" (Genesis 48:16).' Just as these fish are only caught in the throat, so your sons will only be caught in the throat. "And they said to him, please say 'shibolet,' and he said 'sibolet'." (Judges 12:6). Just as these fish grow in water, and when one drop descends from above they accept it with thirst like one who had never tasted water in their life, so too Israel grow in the water of Torah, and when they hear one new word of Torah they accept it with thirst as one who had never heard a word of Torah in their life. Rabbi Levi said, the women of Israel became impregnated with sixty thousand foetuses in one night, and all were sent to the Nile, and they ascended [out of the Nile?] in the merit of Moshe, since Moshe said "Six hundred thousand are my feet of the people that I am within" (Numbers 11:21) -- they all went up to my feet. Rabbi Zacai....

(Bamidbar 27:17) "who will go out before them and who will come in before them": Not as others, who send others in the vanguard and who bring up the rear. But as Moses did, viz. (Bamidbar 21:34) "And the L-rd said to Moses: Do not fear him (Og, [to confront him in the vanguard]) for I have delivered him into your hand." And as Joshua did, viz. (Joshua 5:13) "And Joshua went up to him, and said: 'Are you for us or for our foes?'" And as Pinchas did, viz. (Bamidbar 31:6) "And Moses sent them to the war, a thousand of every tribe, to the war, them and Pinchas (in the vanguard) etc." (Ibid. 27:17) "who will go out before them" — at the head, viz. (I Chronicles 11:6) "And Yoav ben Tzeruyah went up first, and he was at the head." "who will go out before them" — in a troop. "and who will come in before them" — in a troop. "who will go out before them" — on the way. "and who will come in before them" — on the way. "and who will take them out" — in his merits. "and who will bring them back" — in his merits. "and who will take them out" — with a count. "and who will bring them back" — with a count (i.e., none missing), as it is written (Bamidbar 31:44) "And they said to Moses: Your servants have counted the men of war who were under our charge, and not one of us is missing." And why did they need atonement (viz. Ibid. 50)? For they had "feasted their eyes" on nakedness (i.e., on the Midianite women [viz. Ibid. 16]). (Ibid. 27:17) "And let the congregation of the L-rd not be as sheep without a shepherd": On this the tradition comments (Song of Songs 1:7) "Tell me (Moses), O You, whom my soul loves, etc. for why should I be covered up," as in (Jeremiah 43:12) "And he (Nevuchadnezzar) will cover up the land of Egypt, as the shepherd covers up his cloak." (Song of Songs, Ibid.) "by the flocks of Your companions" — Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Go out and see how the Holy One answers him (Song of Songs, Ibid. 8): "If you do not know, you fairest among the women (i.e., most exalted of the prophets), go out in the footsteps of the flock." (See) what I am destined to do for them in the end (of their "footsteps"), "and graze your kids by the tents of the shepherd" — whence it is derived that the L-rd showed Moses all the leaders who were destined to serve Israel from the day they left the desert until the resurrection. Thus, "Go out in the footsteps of the flock."

"and with an outstretched arm": This is the sword, as it is written (Joshua 5:13) "with his sword sh'lufah in his hand": ("sh'lufah" =) outstretched.