Comentário sobre Êxodo 17:9

בחר לנו CHOOSE OUT MEN FOR US — for me and for you: he (Moses) placed him (Joshua) on the same level with himself. They (the Rabbis) derived from here the teaching: let thy disciple’s honour be as dear to thee as thy own. And whence may we derive the next statement in thee well-known passage: and thy colleague’s honour as dear to thee as the reverence due to thy teacher? Because it is said, (Numbers 12:11) “And Aaron spake to Moses, “I beseech thee, my lord” — but surely Aaron was older than his brother and yet by addressing him as “my lord” he treated his colleague (Moses) as his teacher! “And the reverence due to thy teacher as the reverence due to God” — whence may this be derived? Because it is said, (Numbers 11:28) “[And he (Joshua) said (to his teacher, Moses)] “My lord, Moses, כלאם”, destroy them (כַּלֵּם) from out of the world! they who rebel against thee deserve to be destroyed just the same as though they had rebelled against the Holy One, blessed be He (Mekhilta d'Rabbi Yishmael 17:9:1).

AND MOSES SAID TO JOSHUA. It would appear from here that from the day he came before him, Moses called him Joshua, and so it is also written: And Joshua heard the noise of the people.⁴⁴³Further, 32:17. Scripture which states in the case of the spies, And Moses called Hoshea the son of Nun, Joshua,⁴⁴⁴Numbers 13:16. must then be referring to the beginning, [when Joshua first came to minister before him]. The verse informs us that this Hoshea the son of Nun, who was chosen to be among the spies, is the same one that Moses called Joshua. Our Rabbis commented⁴⁴⁵Sotah 34 b, and quoted by Rashi, ibid. [that Moses gave him this name of Yehoshua, which is a compound of Y-ah (G-d) and hoshea (help), because] he in effect prayed for him, “May G-d help thee that thou mayest not follow the [evil] counsel of the spies.” The intent of this comment is to state that because of this event of which Moses knew in advance, i.e., that Joshua was destined to go with the spies, he called him by that name [Yehoshua — Joshua] at the outset. We may also say that at that time [when the spies were chosen], Moses designated that name in front of the assembly, i.e., that his name henceforth be not Hoshea but Joshua.
The reason that Moses commanded Joshua to fight with Amalek was so that he [Moses] might pray with the raising of hands on the top of the hill.⁴⁴⁶Verse 10. He went up there so that he might see the Israelites engage in battle and train his sight on them to bring them blessing. They too, upon seeing him with his hands spread heavenward and saying many prayers, would have trust in him, and they would thus be endowed with additional valor and strength.
In Pirke d’Rabbi Eliezer,⁴⁴⁷In the middle of Chapter 44. we find additionally: “All Israel went outside of their tents, and they saw Moses kneeling on his knees, and they did likewise. He fell on his face to the earth and they did likewise. He spread his hands heavenward, and they also did so. [From here, you learn the principle that] as the public reader of prayers⁴⁴⁸Literally: “the deputy of the congregation.” recites, so do all the people respond after him.⁴⁴⁹See Berachoth 49 b: “After the fashion of his benediction, so do the others answer him.” See my Hebrew commentary, p. 371, for further elucidation of this point. And thus the Holy One, blessed be He, caused Amalek and his people to fall by the hand of Joshua.” But if so, [i.e., if Moses’ hands were spread heavenward], the sense of the expression, with the rod of G-d in my hand, must be that when Moses went up to the top of the hill and saw Amalek, he stretched forth his hand with the rod to bring down [upon the Amalekites] strokes of pestilence, the sword and destruction,⁴⁵⁰See Esther 9:5. just as it is said in the case of Joshua: Stretch out the javelin that is in thy hand toward Ai, for I will give it into thy hand.⁴⁵¹Joshua 8:18. From the moment Moses began to pray and his hands were spread heavenward, he held nothing in his hand.
Moses our teacher did all this because Amalek was an enduring nation⁴⁵²See Jeremiah 5:15. and very powerful. The Israelites, on the other hand, were not accustomed to battle and had never seen it, just as Scripture says, lest peradventure the people repent when they see war.⁴⁵³Above, 13:17. In addition they were faint and weary, as it is written in the Book of Deuteronomy.⁴⁵⁴Deuteronomy 25:18. Therefore, he [Moses] feared them, and it became necessary for all this prayer and supplication.
It is possible that Moses feared lest Amalek be victorious with the sword, for he was the nation that inherited the sword by virtue of the blessing of the patriarch [Isaac], who said [to Esau, Amalek’s ancestor], and on thy sword you shall live.⁴⁵⁵Genesis 27:40. The first and final wars against Israel stem from this family, as Amalek is of the descendants of Esau.⁴⁵⁶Ibid., 36:12. It is from him who stood at the head of the nations [in power]⁴⁵⁷Numbers 24:20. Amalek was the first of the nations. See Ramban, ibid., where he interprets it to mean: “Amalek is the ‘mightiest’ of the nations. This was why he dared to come to fight Israel,” it is clear that Ramban’s intent here is similar. that the [first] war came against us. From Esau’s descendants, [namely, Rome],⁴⁵⁸See Vol. I, pp. 445, 568-569. the [present] exile and the last⁴⁵⁹Ramban pointedly uses the word “last” and not “the second” in order to indicate that the Third Sanctuary, for the restitution of which we pray, will never suffer destruction. The second destruction by the hands of the Romans was thus the “last” destruction. destruction of the Sanctuary came upon us, just as our Rabbis have said⁴⁶⁰Gittin 57b. See also above, Note 458. that today we are in the exile of Edom. When he will be vanquished, and he together with the many nations that are with him will be discomfited, we shall be saved out of it [i.e., the exile] forever, just as [the prophet] said, And saviors shall come up on Mount Zion, to judge the mount of Esau; and the kingdom shall be the Eternal’s.⁴⁶¹Obadiah 1:21. Now whatever Moses and Joshua did with them [the Amalekites] at first, Elijah and Mashiach ben Yoseph⁴⁶²Succah 52b. See Ramban’s Sefer Hag’ulah (Kithvei Haramban, Vol. I, pp. 255-295) for further elucidation of his views of the process by which the final redemption will come to pass. For the purpose of illuminating his language here, suffice it to say that Mashiach ben Yoseph — or as Ramban calls him there, “Mashiach ben Ephraim,” since Ephraim was a son of Joseph — will first accomplish the ingathering of the exiles and fight their wars. Then Mashiach ben David will come. will do with their descendants. This was why Moses strained himself in this matter.

ומטה האלוקים בידי, to show the people at what time he would be praying in order that they too would coordinate the time they offered their own prayers with that of Moses. The importance of this harmonising of prayers is demonstrated when the Talmud tells us that in the large synagogue of Alexandria they waved flags so that the people who could not hear the cantor could pray in harmony with him, nonetheless. (Sukkah 51).

ויאמר משה אל יהושע, Moses said to Joshua, etc. As soon as Moses realised that the sin for which the Israelites were being punished was their neglect of Torah he said to himself that the most suitable person to confront Amalek was Joshua. The Torah itself testifies in Exodus 33,11 that Joshua did not move from the tent as he was busy studying Torah. (the word אהל is traditionally equated with the "tent in which one studies Torah). Moses instructed Joshua to choose people of similar stature in order to overcome Amalek. It turned out that this strategy worked.

ויאמר משה אל יהושע, “Moses said to Joshua, etc.” According to Nachmanides it is clear that from this day on when he came to the special attention of Moses, Joshua bore the name Joshua instead of Hoseah. We find him referred to by this name again in Exodus 32,17 when he commented on the sound of the shouting going on in connection with the golden calf. So what do we do with the Torah telling us that prior to dispatching this man as one of the 12 spies, Moses called Hoseah Joshua? (Numbers 13,16) We must assume that the Torah uses that instance to tell us that the man now called Joshua had already experienced this name change in our portion here, as a result of having become Moses’ personal valet. As to the comment by our sages that the additional letters symbolise that his name from now mean ק-ה יושעיך, “may G’d help you!” i.e. that Moses was afraid he might otherwise be influenced by the evil advice of the ten spies, could mean that already at that early stage of the Israelites’ wanderings Moses had feared such a development. It is also possible that as of the time when Joshua became one of the twelve men chosen to spy out the land of Canaan, Moses decreed publicly that he was henceforth to be referred to exclusively as Joshua. The reason why Moses himself did not lead the people in this battle was 1) to enable him to offer the prayers for success on the hilltop, and 2) there was a longstanding tradition that Esau or his descendants would ultimately be vanquished only by a descendant of Rachel. History has born this out, as Amalek was defeated by King Sha-ul, a descendant of Binyamin (son of Rachel). The remnant of Amalek, i.e.. Haman, eventually fell into the hands of Mordechai, also a descendant of Kish, King Sha-ul’s father. Moses relying largely on prayer, was due to the fact that the Israelites were completely ignorant of the art of conducting warfare. He felt that as long as he was a visible symbol for the people they would make up in faith and dedication what they lacked in skill. It is also possible that Moses was deeply concerned that Yitzchok’s blessing that Esau and his descendants would live by the sword would now weigh heavily against the Jewish people. This was the first time that internecine war between the descendants of Yitzchok had broken out, and it would continue at intervals until when the Messiah will come and the remnants of Esau will be resoundingly defeated for the last time. The destruction of the second Temple, the exile we find ourselves in still, are all due to the descendants of Amalek/Esau, and Moses was most aware of the historical implications. [this is why we daily add the relevant verses from the Book of Ovadiah, predicting the defeat of Esau at the end of reciting the victory song by Moses over the Egyptians. Ed.]

בחר לנו אנשים, “choose men for us!” The Amalekites were expert astrologers (compare Rashi; our edition מכשפים, sorcerers). Moses meant that Joshua should select men who according to their horoscopes would not die during the current year, something Moses was aware of due to his own knowledge of astrology. The two armies facing each other would all consist of soldiers who according to their respective horoscopes would not die during that year. As a result of these considerations neither army inflicted fatal casualties on the other during this encounter. This is what is meant when the Torah reports the outcome of the battle as: “Joshua weakened Amalek and his people by the sword.” The Torah carefully refrained from mentioning that the Israelites actually killed any of the Amalekites. When Moses said to Joshua “choose for us,” he compared Joshua to himself and did not say: “choose for me!” Mechilta Amalek section 1 uses this phrase to teach: “the honor of your student should be as dear to you as your own honor.”

At the time of battle, I will stand. [Rashi knows this] because otherwise, why does it say specifically, “Tomorrow [I will stand”]? Perforce, because that is the time of battle. Rashi goes on to say, “I will stand,” to convey that “tomorrow” is connected to “I will stand.” Accordingly, the verse means: Tomorrow, at the time of battle, I will stand and pray for you. This was to encourage Yehoshua and strengthen him for battle, for he will be confident of victory due to Moshe’s prayers during the battle. But if “tomorrow” refers to the preceding, [and the verse reads: “Tomorrow go out to battle Amaleik,”] then what does [“I will stand”] come to teach us?

Moshe said to Yehoshua. Moshe’s special abilities lay in the realm of the supernatural. For this reason he conducted the wars against Sichon and Og personally, since those wars were openly miraculous. On this occasion, by contrast, Hashem hid His face so that they were required to do battle in a natural manner. Therefore Moshe delegated command to Yehoshua, who had been chosen by Hashem to lead the conquest of Canaan, which was to be accomplished through natural wars accompanied by hidden miracles. Nevertheless, Moshe helped in the battle against Amaleik through prayer and urgings to repentance in order that they would enjoy Divine favor. With the staff of Hashem. The staff was called by this name, rather than “Moshe’s staff,” whenever Hashem performed through it a miracle for which the B’nei Yisrael were not worthy, solely to display His power.

VV. 9-12. Angegriffen von Amalek, muss Israel den Kampf wagen, allein es ist nicht Israels Schwert, sondern Mosche Stab, der Amalek besiegt, und es ist nicht eine dem Stab innewohnende Wunderkraft, sondern es ist die durch die emporgehobene Hand zum Ausdruck und Bewusstsein kommende אמונה, das vertrauensvolle sich Hingeben und Anklammern an Gott, das den Sieg erstreitet. אמונה kommt so absolut als Bezeichnung des Charakters oder Inhaltes eines Subjekts vor. כל מצותיך אמונה (Ps. 119, 86), ואמונה עניתני (das. 75) dass du mir Leiden gegeben, war deinerseits אמונה. So auch hier: es war das, was seine Hände bedeuteten, אמונה. Aaron und Chur waren die Repräsentanten des Volkes Mosche zur Seite. Nicht des Führers, sondern das durch den Führer geweckte Gottvertrauen des Volkes führt zum Siege.

בחר לנו אנשים, “select for us some men!” Moses wanted men who had been born in the second month of Adar, (people born in that month were believed to be free of fear of sorcerers and witches (compare a Midrash quoted on this verse in Torah shleymah by Rabbi M. Kasher, item 58) Such people reputedly were not subject to negative influences of the twelve constellations of the zodiac. [This editor does not understand, how, seeing that the lunar calendar for the Jewish people had only been introduced a few weeks before the events in which the events related in our chapter took place, Joshua could have known who had been born during what would have been the second month of Adar. You may also find the commentary of Rabbeinu Bachya on this verse of special interest. Ed.] The Amalekites were reputed to be great astrologists, and able to foretell future events based on that. Seeing that the second month of Adar is the thirteenth month, and not governed by any constellation, people born in that month did not need to fear predetermined events they might be subject to. The sorcerers would be powerless during that month. Another interpretation of our verse: Moses instructs Joshua to mobilise a number of fighting men that would equal the ones at the disposal of the Amalekites.

וצא הלחם GO OUT, FIGHT — go out from the cloud and fight against him (Mekhilta d'Rabbi Yishmael 17:9:3),

אנכי נצב על ראש הגבעה, “I will position myself on the summit of the hill;” Moses wanted to be able to follow the course of the battle while personally watching, and even more, so that the Israelite fighters could see their leader and be encouraged by this visual contact. We find a verse in Joshua 8,26, where the latter, by that time the leader of the Jewish people, emulated Moses’ example by not lowering his spear until victory in battle had been secured. It is a common practice in war that one of the popular heroes positions himself on a hill or tower, holding aloft a flag in order to serve as encouragement to the troops seeing that the flag is a common symbol. As long as the troops can see their flag being held aloft they derive encouragement from this. If for some reason the troops fail to see the flag being held aloft they become demoralised. Moses’ staff in this instance served as a flag for the Israelites fighting Amalek.

מחר TO-MORROW, at the time of the battle, I will take my stand.

בחר לנו אנשים CHOOSE US MEN — brave men, and men who fear sin (אנשים does not mean merely men — males, but men fit for war and at the same time God-fearing) — choose these so that their merit may stand them in good stead (cf. (Mekhilta d'Rabbi Yishmael 17:9:2). Another explanation: בחר לנו אנשים Choose us men who know how to make witchcraft of none effect; he said this because the sons of Amalek were wizards (cf. Rashi on v. 12)