Introduction to the Chapter
Chapter 5 in Sefer Yehoshua is a chapter of preparation. Am Yisrael has already crossed the Jordan, and now, before the first conquest, they are required to make three preparations: circumcision, the Pesach offering, and the revelation of the angel of Hashem before the battle of Yericho. The chapter opens with the reaction of the kings of Canaan to the miracle of the Jordan, continues with the circumcision of the entire nation at Givat HaAralot, with the removal of the disgrace of Egypt and the cessation of the man, and concludes with Yehoshua's encounter with the commander of Hashem's army. We will follow the order of the pesukim in light of the explanation of the Malbim.
Their Hearts Melted - The Fulfillment of the Promise
וַיְהִי כִשְׁמֹעַ כׇּל־מַלְכֵי הָאֱמֹרִי אֲשֶׁר בְּעֵבֶר הַיַּרְדֵּן יָמָּה וְכׇל־מַלְכֵי הַכְּנַעֲנִי אֲשֶׁר עַל־הַיָּם אֵת אֲשֶׁר־הוֹבִישׁ יְהֹוָה אֶת־מֵי הַיַּרְדֵּן מִפְּנֵי בְנֵי־יִשְׂרָאֵל עַד־עׇבְרָם וַיִּמַּס לְבָבָם וְלֹא־הָיָה בָם עוֹד רוּחַ מִפְּנֵי בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל׃ - And it was, when all the kings of the Emori who were beyond the Jordan to the west, and all the kings of the Canaani who were by the sea, heard that Hashem had dried up the waters of the Jordan before Bnei Yisrael until they had crossed, that their hearts melted, and there was no longer any spirit in them because of Bnei Yisrael.
The Malbim says: the verse comes to teach us that here was fulfilled what was stated at the end of the previous chapter - "so that all the peoples of the earth may know the hand of Hashem, that it is mighty." Here before you is the result: "their hearts melted," the nations already recognize the hand of Hashem. This is a kind of "softening operation" toward the war: the nations see our strength and the miracles that Hashem performs for us, dread falls upon their hearts, and thereby the conquest is made easier for us.
This verse also contains an answer to a great question: Yehoshua is about to be commanded to circumcise the entire nation. In the natural course of things, circumcising an entire nation creates a situation of danger, for you are weakening them. If the enemies were to come and attack now, the matter would be like in Shechem - "and it was on the third day, when they were in pain" - and you would place the entire nation in danger. How is Yehoshua not afraid? To this the verse responds: "and there was no longer any spirit in them because of Bnei Yisrael" - the nations are utterly deterred. In addition, the Holy One, blessed be He, promised him "do not fear and do not be dismayed." These two together bring Yehoshua to a state in which he performs the mitzvah without concern.
Flint Knives and Circumcision a Second Time
בָּעֵת הַהִיא אָמַר יְהֹוָה אֶל־יְהוֹשֻׁעַ עֲשֵׂה לְךָ חַרְבוֹת צֻרִים וְשׁוּב מֹל אֶת־בְּנֵי־יִשְׂרָאֵל שֵׁנִית׃ - At that time Hashem said to Yehoshua: Make for yourself flint knives, and circumcise Bnei Yisrael again a second time.
A grammatical note: some read "חַרְבוֹת" and some read "חַרֲבוֹת." This is a dispute among the grammarians as to whether the sheva under the reish is a resting sheva or a moving sheva, and it depends on the question of whether a short vowel that has a meteg sets the following sheva into motion. According to those who say it does - the chet has a patach and with it a meteg, and consequently the sheva is moving. And according to those who say the meteg makes no difference - here we have a short vowel, and the sheva is resting.
The Malbim is precise in the wording "and circumcise Bnei Yisrael again a second time." As we recall, Yisrael were circumcised at the Exodus from Egypt, before they ate the Pesach offering, for one cannot eat of the Pesach while uncircumcised. And there too the matter was not easy, until the Holy One, blessed be He, brought forth from Gan Eden the aroma of the roasting Pesach offering, and then everyone came to ask where one could receive a portion - and then Moshe sent them to be circumcised. Before that there was no one to talk to; but after He brought forth the aroma of Gan Eden, apparently at the barbecue they understood well. They smelled the aroma of the roast, and came to be circumcised.
And since they had already been circumcised then in Egypt, the verse says "a second time" - that is, whoever you circumcised the first time, you shall circumcise a second time. And according to what will be explained, that the tribe of Levi did not neglect circumcision, neither in Egypt nor in the wilderness, the verse comes to be precise: the tribe of Levi is not included in this. The sons of Levi were circumcised even in Egypt, before Moshe Rabbeinu spoke with them about it at all; they did not cease for a moment to hold fast to the mitzvah of circumcision, and in the wilderness too they circumcised their sons. If so, whom must be circumcised a second time? The rest of the nation, who were circumcised at the Exodus from Egypt, and their sons. But the tribe of Levi - required neither a first nor a second time.
Why They Were Commanded About Circumcision Specifically Now
First, circumcision unites us. This is what characterizes Klal Yisrael and distinguishes us from all the nations - we all carry one sign in our flesh. And when there is unity, we prevail in war.
The Gemara relates an incident with Rabbi Tanchum, who was asked by the king: Why shouldn't Israel become one with the gentiles, why don't we unite? Rabbi Tanchum said to him: There is no problem with uniting, meaning that we become identical. But one who is circumcised cannot undo his circumcision, there is no such possibility. Therefore, if you wish to unite with us, you must circumcise yourselves. In short, the question came right back to him. The king said: You are right, but whoever defeats the king is sentenced to death. With the ancient kings there was no way to come out ahead: if you did not win, they would take off your head, and if you did win, woe and alas, you defeated the king, they would take off your head. Once you got there, you were in trouble either way. It is related that they threw him to wild beasts, to lions and leopards, and in the end they did not harm him at all. There was one heretic there who said to the king: My lord the king, perhaps the animals are not hungry. The king said to him: We shall test that. He threw the heretic inside, and it turned out that they were very hungry indeed. He saw, then, that a miracle had been done for Rabbi Tanchum.
Second, they were about to bring the korban Pesach, and no uncircumcised person may eat of it, so there was urgency to circumcise now.
Third, the Land was promised to Am Yisrael only on condition that they keep the covenant of milah: "And I will give to you and to your seed after you the land of your sojournings, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession, and I will be their God," and immediately afterward: "And God said to Avraham, And you shall keep My covenant, you and your seed after you throughout their generations. This is My covenant which you shall keep, between Me and you and your seed after you: every male among you shall be circumcised." The Torah makes the giving of the Land contingent on keeping the covenant.
We already expanded on this matter in our study of Sefer HaKuzari, based on the holy Zohar, that Eretz Yisrael is designated solely for those who fulfill and keep the covenant of milah. Therefore, says the Zohar, those who dwelt here while we were exiled from the Land are the children of Yishmael, for the children of Yishmael circumcise. But all their merit is only during the time when Eretz Yisrael is empty, that is, when we are not here, and the reason is that their circumcision is empty: milah without periah, and one who circumcises but does not perform periah is as though he did not circumcise. And when Am Yisrael return to their land, they push out the feet of the children of Yishmael, until with Heaven's help Mashiach will come and all the dominion will be ours. Even now we see that when Am Yisrael return to their land, our merit is greater than theirs, and we are the ones who inherit the Land. And if so, when coming to inherit the Land, they must circumcise themselves.
Who Circumcised and With What
Who would circumcise them all? Yehoshua. It is written that one should seek out a God-fearing mohel, and Yehoshua was fit in every respect: he was an expert mohel, who had already circumcised them forty years earlier, and there it involved tens or hundreds of thousands, there was no mohel more expert than he, and no mohel more righteous and God-fearing than he.
And with what would he circumcise? "Make for yourself knives of flint" - with a knife made not of metal but of stone, a sharpened stone. And why not with metal knives? Several reasons: One, it is written that with stone the circumcision heals more quickly. Two, the circumcision resembles the mizbeach, and as it is written regarding the sandak, one does not raise iron upon the mizbeach, for iron shortens a person's days. And why today do we not take care in this? Because the command "Make for yourself knives of flint" was said uniquely to Yehoshua and not for the generations, and for the generations we circumcise with a knife. Three, it was said of Avraham Avinu "Look to the rock from which you were hewn" - Avraham was like a rock, like a stone that bears no fruit, and the Holy One, blessed be He, changed his nature and Am Yisrael came forth from him. This came to hint to them that circumcision would not be difficult for them even though they were older: Avraham was circumcised at the age of ninety-nine, and if so you too can be circumcised while older, even without anesthetics. And Tzipporah too circumcised with flint.
There is a midrash, whose source is still unknown to us, but the early authorities cited it, and from them we know that such a midrash exists, in which it is asked: When did circumcision change from flint to a metal knife? When David threw the stone at Goliath's forehead, and his helmet made of metal was not willing to be pierced before the stone. The stone said to it: I will grant you the merit that people should circumcise with metal. Then the metal agreed to be pierced before it, and the stone penetrated Goliath's brain. And from then on the reality changed, that people are circumcised with metal.
The Malbim adds a reason: since at that very time he was to sprinkle upon them to purify them from the impurity of the dead, he could not circumcise with a sword of iron, for a sword vessel is like a corpse, and if it became impure it would return and become impure again.
The Hill of Foreskins
וַיַּעַשׂ־לוֹ יְהוֹשֻׁעַ חַרְבוֹת צֻרִים וַיָּמׇל אֶת־בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל אֶל־גִּבְעַת הָעֲרָלוֹת׃ - And Yehoshua made for himself knives of flint and circumcised the children of Israel at the Hill of Foreskins.
"The Hill of Foreskins" was named after the event: once they were circumcised, the foreskins formed a kind of hill, which he then covered with earth. This came to hint that Israel would multiply and increase like the dust of the earth. When Bilam wanted to curse Israel, he saw this matter in his prophecy and said "Who can count the dust of Yaakov" - who would dare curse a nation that keeps such a precious mitzvah.
The Repeated Verses - The Malbim's Questions
וְזֶה הַדָּבָר אֲשֶׁר־מָל יְהוֹשֻׁעַ כׇּל־הָעָם הַיֹּצֵא מִמִּצְרַיִם הַזְּכָרִים כֹּל אַנְשֵׁי הַמִּלְחָמָה מֵתוּ בַמִּדְבָּר בַּדֶּרֶךְ בְּצֵאתָם מִמִּצְרָיִם׃ כִּי־מֻלִים הָיוּ כׇּל־הָעָם הַיֹּצְאִים וְכׇל־הָעָם הַיִּלֹּדִים בַּמִּדְבָּר בַּדֶּרֶךְ בְּצֵאתָם מִמִּצְרַיִם לֹא־מָלוּ׃ כִּי אַרְבָּעִים שָׁנָה הָלְכוּ בְנֵי־יִשְׂרָאֵל בַּמִּדְבָּר עַד־תֹּם כׇּל־הַגּוֹי אַנְשֵׁי הַמִּלְחָמָה הַיֹּצְאִים מִמִּצְרַיִם אֲשֶׁר לֹא־שָׁמְעוּ בְּקוֹל יְהֹוָה אֲשֶׁר נִשְׁבַּע יְהֹוָה לָהֶם לְבִלְתִּי הַרְאוֹתָם אֶת־הָאָרֶץ אֲשֶׁר נִשְׁבַּע יְהֹוָה לַאֲבוֹתָם לָתֶת לָנוּ אֶרֶץ זָבַת חָלָב וּדְבָשׁ׃ וְאֶת־בְּנֵיהֶם הֵקִים תַּחְתָּם אֹתָם מָל יְהוֹשֻׁעַ כִּי־עֲרֵלִים הָיוּ כִּי לֹא־מָלוּ אוֹתָם בַּדָּרֶךְ׃ - This is the matter concerning which Yehoshua circumcised: all the people who came out of Egypt, the males, all the men of war, had died in the wilderness on the way, after they came out of Egypt. For all the people who came out had been circumcised, but all the people born in the wilderness on the way, after they came out of Egypt, had not been circumcised. For Bnei Yisrael walked forty years in the wilderness, until all the nation, the men of war who came out of Egypt, had perished, because they did not obey the voice of Hashem, to whom Hashem swore that He would not show them the land that Hashem swore to their fathers to give us, a land flowing with milk and honey. And their children He raised up in their place; these Yehoshua circumcised, for they were uncircumcised, because they had not circumcised them on the way.
I read all the verses together deliberately, so that the lack of order and the repetition would be heard: first "This is the matter concerning which Yehoshua circumcised, all the people who came out of Egypt... had died in the wilderness," then "but all the people born in the wilderness... had not been circumcised," and finally once more "because they had not circumcised them on the way." The same principle is stated again and again. The Malbim comes to clarify the matter, and prefaces several difficulties:
First: how can it be said that all of Israel were uncircumcised? The tribe of Levi were not uncircumcised, and they circumcised themselves and their sons even in the wilderness, and so it is brought in the Midrash Rabbah that the tribe of Levi did not neglect circumcision in the wilderness, as it says "and Your covenant they kept." Second: those who were under twenty at the time of the sin of the spies did not die in the wilderness, and they had been circumcised at the exodus from Egypt; upon entering the land they are under sixty, and they are circumcised. If so, how can it be said that none of them were circumcised? Third: why did Moshe Rabbeinu not compel them to circumcise? And if you say, as the Sages say, that the north wind did not blow (which is what heals the circumcised) so as not to shift the Clouds of Glory, well, today we circumcise even without a north wind, and the Gemara says "nowadays, since many have trodden this path, Hashem guards the simple." And if you say it was because they did not know when they would set out on the way, and one who circumcises and then travels endangers himself, then why did He not command them during the time they dwelt in one place for a long period, "and we dwelt in Kadesh many days," and it is brought that they dwelt there nineteen years? And above all: the tribe of Levi did circumcise and did not fear the danger, so why did all the rest not circumcise without fear? They gave their lives for the mitzvah of circumcision. And beyond this, says the Malbim, the verses themselves are doubled and superfluous and cannot be explained without heaviness and strain.
The Malbim's Explanation: Who Was Circumcised and Who Was Not
"This is the matter concerning which Yehoshua circumcised" - this was the reason Yehoshua circumcised specifically those in whom the reason and need for circumcision had arisen, that is, only those who needed to be circumcised. One should not say that all of them were uncircumcised: those who were under twenty, as well as the members of the tribe of Levi, were circumcised. It was only the children who came after them whom they had not circumcised on the way.
And why did they not circumcise them in the wilderness? Because they had a pretext, a reason and cause to set aside the mitzvah: they were wandering on the way, they did not know which day was the day of travel, and consequently they did not know whether it was possible to circumcise today, since perhaps tomorrow they would travel, "I will circumcise and then set out" - this is dangerous to the child, as the Gemara says in Nedarim 31. And so the Sages said in Yevamot 72 that the north wind did not blow for them. However, the tribe of Levi, and likewise the righteous among them (and not specifically the tribe of Levi), did not fear this and circumcised their sons. For if you argue from the north wind, the Gemara says "nowadays, since many have trodden this path, Hashem guards the simple": when many do the thing, there is no need to fear. Is a person forbidden to travel through the wilderness just because the wilderness is a place of danger? Is one forbidden to sail the sea just because the sea is a place of danger? Rather, many have trodden this path and Hashem guards the simple. This is not comparable to one who casts himself into a lions' den. And if you argue from the weakness of travel, says the Malbim, they stayed outside the cloud until they healed, and relied on Hashem's providence. Moreover: Moshe Rabbeinu was punished for delaying the circumcision, "and it happened on the way, at the lodging place," and Tzipporah circumcised him on the way - showing that even on the way one can circumcise, and even in such a situation there is a way to fulfill it.
Rather, says the Malbim: those whose hearts were not wholehearted with Hashem sought pretexts and excuses, and therefore did not circumcise their sons. If one goes by true reasons, it is possible to circumcise, and there are several ways. And behold, you will see that the seekers of truth circumcised, while the seekers of excuses did not circumcise. And regarding Moshe Rabbeinu's ruling - he could not compel them, because they had a pretext. A person who comes with no argument at all is compelled to observe each and every mitzvah; but here, since they had a reason, it was impossible to compel them.
"Had Died in the Wilderness on the Way, After They Came Out of Egypt"
"All the men of war," those who were over twenty, died on the way. And the cause of their death - "after they came out of Egypt": they had not yet been purified from the impurity of Egypt, from the corrupt beliefs and the idolatrous notions of Egypt, and this caused them also not to circumcise themselves.
And here we will mention what we have already brought once before: Yosef, when people came to ask him for grain, told them to go and be circumcised. And they ask: does Yosef have nothing to do but circumcise gentiles? It is told that once one of the maskilim met a rabbi and said to him: how is it that you still cling to all sorts of mitzvot from pagan times, mitzvot of idol worshippers, may his mouth be filled with dust. The rabbi said to him: I always wondered, why should Yosef circumcise gentiles? Now the question has been resolved for me. Yosef knew that there are Jews who will only be satisfied if they see a gentile doing something. If only Jews do it - "this is outdated, this is idol worshippers, its time has passed." But if he sees the gentiles doing it - ah, now that is a reason to imitate. Therefore Yosef told the gentiles: go and be circumcised, and then Israel too will be willing to be circumcised. If the gentile does it - it is fine, it is fit to enter the congregation. And so too today, when one wants to persuade people who are distant, and they say "circumcision, what for?", one tells him: the British royal family circumcise their children. Ah, apparently they know what they are doing, apparently they understand that it removes diseases. There are people with whom this is the language one must speak. But we know the mitzvah that lies in it, the purification and the removal of the foreskin.
"כי מולים היו כל העם היוצאים" - all those who left Egypt were circumcised, for Moshe had circumcised them before they ate the Korban Pesach. And some of them, those who were under the age of twenty and entered the land, Yehoshua did not need to circumcise. "וכל העם הילודים במדבר בדרך בצאתם ממצרים לא מלו" - those born in the wilderness, their fathers did not circumcise them; this is the meaning of "they were not circumcised." Those very fathers who initially sought excuses did not circumcise their sons either.
A gem from the Chatam Sofer: "For they were circumcised"
The Chatam Sofer asks: the plain meaning of the verse implies that they died in the wilderness "כי מולים היו כל העם היוצאים" - but what connection is there between their being circumcised and their dying in the wilderness?
He prefaces this with another difficulty: those who died in the wilderness died because they spoke lashon hara and slandered wood and stones, that is, the land. From here we derive a kal vachomer: how much more so when a person speaks against Hashem and against His anointed one - surely he deserves a far greater punishment. If so, why is it that at the end of the forty years, when it says "and the people spoke against God and against Moshe," they were punished with fiery serpents, and immediately the Holy One, blessed be He, had mercy on them, made a serpent of bronze, they were healed, and it was over? If those who spoke only against wood and stones were punished with forty years of wandering and death in the wilderness, why was the punishment lightened for those who spoke against God and against Moshe?
Rather, says the Chatam Sofer, it is well known - and we have already mentioned this on other occasions - that the covenant of the sign (the bris of circumcision) is connected to the covenant of the tongue. According to Kabbalah there is a direct link between a person's tongue and the sanctity of the bris. If you want to know who is flawed in his bris, look at who is flawed in his tongue. A person who always speaks lashon hara, always seeks to disparage others, whose tongue runs wild - know that just as he brings out evil words, so too he brings out evil and damages his bris. From here it follows: a circumcised person has attained a level of sanctity, and if he speaks lashon hara the flaw is far greater, since he already possesses a level of rectification regarding the bris. Whereas one who is not circumcised and spoke lashon hara, his flaw is weaker.
According to this the verse is wondrous: the people who left Egypt, even though they spoke only against wood and stones, died in the wilderness - why? "כי מולים היו כל העם היוצאים." Since they were circumcised, their flaw made a great impression and caused great damage. Not so those born in the wilderness, who were not circumcised - even though they spoke against God and against Moshe, the flaw was not so great, and therefore Yehoshua circumcised them. And the words of a wise man's mouth are gracious.
Why the court of Moshe did not compel them
"כי ארבעים שנה הלכו בני ישראל במדבר" - here the verse explains why the court of Moshe did not compel them to be circumcised. The court could not compel them, for forty years they were wandering and moving about, and they had an excuse due to the weakness of travel. And if you say: had they been proper people they would not have relied on this excuse, for the tribe of Levi did not rely on it and circumcised themselves despite the danger - to this the verse adds "until the entire nation had perished... who did not heed the voice of Hashem": you see for yourself that they were not righteous, for Hashem caused them to wander in the wilderness because they rebelled against Him and despised the desirable land, and in the end He did not bring them into the land - "which Hashem swore to them not to show them the land." These people did not want to listen regarding circumcision and did not heed the voice of Hashem. Therefore it is no wonder that they had no self-motivation to circumcise, for they were not righteous; and to compel them was impossible, since they had a reason. One cannot say their reason was unjustified - they had a reason, but we would define it thus: it is a good reason for one who seeks excuses. One who wishes to give his life acts like the tribe of Levi and circumcises himself.
"ואת בניהם הקים תחתם" - their sons who were born to them in the wilderness, as it says "and your little ones whom you said would be prey" and I brought them in, they will inherit the land. "אותם מל יהושע כי ערלים היו" - for their fathers did not circumcise themselves, and certainly did not circumcise their sons along the way, because of that same excuse. In contrast, the tribe of Levi circumcised themselves and their sons, and likewise those who were under the age of twenty and had already been circumcised in Egypt - those Yehoshua did not need to circumcise, they were proper people. Only the sons of those who refused to circumcise themselves in the wilderness did Yehoshua circumcise. This is the emphasis in the verse: he did not circumcise all of them, there were those he did not need to circumcise.
And they remained in their places until they were healed
וַיְהִי כַּאֲשֶׁר־תַּמּוּ כׇל־הַגּוֹי לְהִמּוֹל וַיֵּשְׁבוּ תַחְתָּם בַּמַּחֲנֶה עַד חֲיוֹתָם׃ - And it came to pass, when all the nation had finished being circumcised, that they remained in their places in the camp until they were healed.
"כל הגוי" - the entire people. "עד חיותם" - until they were healed, like the expression "and they laid it on the boil and he recovered," which is meant in the sense of healing. And what is "וישבו תחתם"? The Malbim says: now they were concerned about the danger of travel, and there was no necessity for them to move from their place, and therefore they remained in their place and did not move until they were healed. For in a state following circumcision, it is better that a person not set himself out on the road.
Today I Have Rolled Away the Reproach of Egypt
וַיֹּאמֶר יְהֹוָה אֶל־יְהוֹשֻׁעַ הַיּוֹם גַּלּוֹתִי אֶת־חֶרְפַּת מִצְרַיִם מֵעֲלֵיכֶם וַיִּקְרָא שֵׁם הַמָּקוֹם הַהוּא גִּלְגָּל עַד הַיּוֹם הַזֶּה׃ - And Hashem said to Yehoshua: Today I have rolled away the reproach of Egypt from upon you. And the name of that place was called Gilgal until this day.
"גלותי" means "I have removed," like "remove from me reproach and contempt," "open (gal) my eyes that I may behold," and "and he rolled (vayagel) the stone." Rashi brings a Midrash of Chazal: the Egyptians used to say, "see that evil is before your faces" - there is a certain star named Ra'ah, which is a sign of blood, and that is what we see over you in the wilderness. This is what Moshe Rabbeinu said to Hashem in the wilderness, "why should Egypt say, saying, He brought them out with evil (be'ra'ah)" - we told you that He brought you out under the star named Ra'ah, which is blood and death. But they do not know that it is the blood of circumcision. When they circumcised in the days of Yehoshua and that blood came forth, the reproach was removed. And a reproach before whom? Rashi says: that the mixed multitude who came up with them were still taunting them - that is, tormenting and grieving them over this matter, as in "the nations of the world taunt Israel." And now "gallosi," I have removed it.
Seemingly the place should have been called "Gallosi" or "Gallu," so why was it called "Gilgal"? Here there is an important principle that the Radak states in several places, including here, to understand all the names in Tanach: the names do not come in a precise form. "This one shall comfort us (yenachameinu) from our labor" - and was his name called Menachem? No, but rather Noach. "For from Hashem I asked for him" - and how was he named? Shmuel, though by the meaning he should have been called Shaul. And so on; there are many proofs for this. Here too, do not be surprised that it was called "Gilgal." And sometimes even with the letters reversed, like Yavetz - from the language of grief (etzev), "He has removed my grief," and from etzev came Yavetz.
The Malbim explains: the fact that they were lax in the mitzvah of circumcision was because until now they had not been purified from the idols of Egypt. In Egypt the gentiles were uncircumcised, and from them the Egyptian views clung to them, which caused laxity in circumcision. Therefore "today I have rolled away the reproach of Egypt from upon you" - that very foreskin that they received from Egypt, that I have rolled away from upon you. And you see that the foreskin is a reproach, as it says, "to a man who has a foreskin, for it is a reproach to us." This reproach we inherited from Egypt, and once I circumcised you today, I rolled it away.
There are further explanations of "the reproach of Egypt": some say that the Egyptians would revile them and say, "you are uncircumcised like us." Some say it refers to the deeds of Egypt - "like the deeds of the land of Egypt you shall not do," the deeds of illicit relations. And some say that the Egyptians would revile them, saying, "you will not inherit the land; you will wander in the wilderness forever" - since Hashem is unable to bring you into the land, and you will all die in the wilderness. Now, when you enter the land and conquer it, their reproach will be removed, for behold, what they reviled you with did not come true, and the people of Israel enter their land.
The Offering of the Pesach in the Plains of Yericho
וַיַּחֲנוּ בְנֵי־יִשְׂרָאֵל בַּגִּלְגָּל וַיַּעֲשׂוּ אֶת־הַפֶּסַח בְּאַרְבָּעָה עָשָׂר יוֹם לַחֹדֶשׁ בָּעֶרֶב בְּעַרְבוֹת יְרִיחוֹ׃ - And the children of Israel camped in Gilgal, and they offered the Pesach on the fourteenth day of the month in the evening, in the plains of Yericho.
The verse emphasizes the offering of the Pesach, says the Malbim, because as long as they were uncircumcised they were barred from it - "and no uncircumcised person shall eat of it." Now, after Yehoshua circumcised them, they are able to offer the Pesach. The verse further teaches us that although they were near the city of Yericho, they did not fear that the enemies would rise against them "on the third day when they were in pain," as happened in Shechem - complete were they in their trust in Hashem, may He be blessed.
As for what it says, "on the fourteenth day of the month in the evening," the Metzudat David explains that it means toward evening, and not at night, for the Pesach offering is brought during the day and is not brought at night.
The Produce of the Land, the Crops of the Land, and the Ceasing of the Manna
וַיֹּאכְלוּ מֵעֲבוּר הָאָרֶץ מִמׇּחֳרַת הַפֶּסַח מַצּוֹת וְקָלוּי בְּעֶצֶם הַיּוֹם הַזֶּה׃ וַיִּשְׁבֹּת הַמָּן מִמׇּחֳרָת בְּאׇכְלָם מֵעֲבוּר הָאָרֶץ וְלֹא־הָיָה עוֹד לִבְנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל מָן וַיֹּאכְלוּ מִתְּבוּאַת אֶרֶץ כְּנַעַן בַּשָּׁנָה הַהִיא׃ - And they ate of the produce of the land on the morrow of the Pesach, matzot and parched grain, on this very day. And the manna ceased on the morrow, when they ate of the produce of the land, and the children of Israel no longer had manna, and they ate of the crops of the land of Canaan in that year.
Rashi brings the words of Chazal that they ate "from the produce of the land" meaning from the new grain, and "on the morrow of the Pesach" meaning the sixteenth of Nisan, after the offering of the Omer. As is known, one does not eat from the new grain until the following day, when they begin to offer the Omer - and this is also the matter of the counting of the Omer, from the first day on which the Omer is offered, the sixteenth of Nisan.
But the Malbim raises a difficulty and says that this contradicts the plain meaning: everywhere in the Torah "on the morrow of the Pesach" means the day after the slaughtering of the Pesach, and the slaughtering of the Pesach is on the fourteenth, so "on the morrow of the Pesach" is the fifteenth. From where do you arrive at the sixteenth? It does not speak of "the morrow of the festival of Pesach," but of the morrow of the slaughtering of the Pesach. Its slaughtering is on the fourteenth and its eating on the fifteenth, and on the fifteenth one cannot eat from the new grain, which is permitted only on the sixteenth.
He asks further: why is it said first "from the produce (avur) of the land" and afterward "from the crop (tevuah) of the land of Canaan" - what is the difference between "avur" and "tevuah"? And further: why is it said "in that year," when from here onward, every single year, they eat from the crop of the land?
The Malbim explains: according to the plain meaning of the words there is a difference between "avur" and "tevuah." "Avur" is the grain from the previous year, from the term avar (passed) - "the land carried over its fruit yet again," or from the expression of years that have passed, as the Radak explains. "Tevuah," by contrast, is the crop of this year, what the new season grew, upon which one must offer the Omer. And "on the morrow of the Pesach" throughout the Torah is the fifteenth of Nisan, the day after the slaughtering of the Pesach, as it is said in Bamidbar 33 "on the morrow of the Pesach the children of Israel went out from the land of Egypt" - did they go out on the sixteenth? They went out on the fifteenth.
According to this: on the fifteenth of Nisan they ate matzot in order to fulfill the obligation of the day, and they also ate kali, roasted grain, as a delicacy. And from what did they eat? "From the produce of the land" - from the old grain, from the previous year, for they could not eat from the new, since the Omer had not yet been offered. And in passing the verse teaches you: "and the manna ceased no more for the children of Israel and they ate from the crop of the land of Canaan in that year" - since they had no manna, they had no choice but to eat from the crop of the land; but had they had manna, without any doubt they would have preferred the manna over the crop of that year.
"And the manna ceased on the morrow, when they ate from the produce of the land" - the day after they ate from the produce of the land, that is, on the sixteenth of Nisan, the manna ceased. And then what did they have to eat? "And they ate from the crop of the land of Canaan" - now they eat from the new grain, for the Omer had already been offered, and the moment the Omer was offered they could eat from the crop of that year.
Rashi says that they preferred the manna, and brings a parable: they say to a child, why do you eat barley bread? Because I have no wheat bread. Therefore it is said "there was no more" - this is the emphasis: on the sixteenth there was already no manna, and then there was no choice but to eat from the new crop.
The Gemara in Kiddushin 38 says: "And the children of Israel ate the manna forty years until they came to an inhabited land," and on the other hand "they ate the manna until they came to the edge of the land of Canaan." One cannot say "until they came to an inhabited land" - which is the land of Sichon and Og - for it already says "to the edge of the land of Canaan," that is, until they actually entered inside, across the western Jordan, into the land of Israel proper; and one cannot say "to the edge of the land of Canaan," for it already says "until they came to an inhabited land." How is this so? Rather, on the seventh of Adar Moshe died and the manna stopped falling, for the manna was in his merit, and they sustained themselves from the manna in their vessels until the sixteenth of Nisan. And this is what is said in our verse "and the manna ceased on the morrow" - it does not mean the manna that used to fall, which had already ceased on the seventh of Adar, but the manna in their vessels, and do not ask how much - it is a matter of enormous quantities, they would eat a little and it would be blessed in their innards.
The Gemara brings another baraita: "And the children of Israel ate the manna forty years" - did they really eat it for forty years? They ate it for forty years less thirty days, for the manna began on the fifteenth of Iyar, and here it ceased in Nisan. Rather, this is to tell you that the cakes they took out of Egypt - from the fifteenth of Nisan until the fifteenth of Iyar - in them they tasted the taste of manna. And then it comes out to exactly forty years, from the fifteenth of Nisan until the fifteenth of Nisan.
The Encounter with the Captain of Hashem's Host
וַיְהִי בִּהְיוֹת יְהוֹשֻׁעַ בִּירִיחוֹ וַיִּשָּׂא עֵינָיו וַיַּרְא וְהִנֵּה־אִישׁ עֹמֵד לְנֶגְדּוֹ וְחַרְבּוֹ שְׁלוּפָה בְּיָדוֹ וַיֵּלֶךְ יְהוֹשֻׁעַ אֵלָיו וַיֹּאמֶר לוֹ הֲלָנוּ אַתָּה אִם־לְצָרֵינוּ׃ - And it came to pass, when Yehoshua was by Yericho, that he lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, a man stood opposite him with his sword drawn in his hand. And Yehoshua went to him and said to him, Are you for us or for our adversaries?
וַיֹּאמֶר לֹא כִּי אֲנִי שַׂר־צְבָא־יְהֹוָה עַתָּה בָאתִי וַיִּפֹּל יְהוֹשֻׁעַ אֶל־פָּנָיו אַרְצָה וַיִּשְׁתָּחוּ וַיֹּאמֶר לוֹ מָה אֲדֹנִי מְדַבֵּר אֶל־עַבְדּוֹ׃ - And he said, No, for I am the captain of the host of Hashem; now I have come. And Yehoshua fell on his face to the ground and prostrated himself, and said to him, What does my lord say to his servant?
The Malbim says: this is very puzzling. If this is a prophetic revelation, that an angel of Hashem appeared to Yehoshua and Yehoshua knows it is a prophetic revelation, then what kind of question is "Are you for us or for our foes?" Is it even possible that an angel of Hashem would appear coming to help the enemies? Hashem had promised him "I will not fail you nor forsake you," so how could Yehoshua fear that Hashem would send an angel to help our foes?
And if you say that it appeared to him not through prophecy, and Yehoshua thought this was a warrior standing before him, that is seven times more difficult: how could Yehoshua approach him alone, without sending one of his soldiers? Imagine this were an assassin who would murder Yehoshua. A man comes before you with a drawn sword, and you approach him? Does the president himself approach? Does the prime minister himself approach? You send one of the soldiers. Furthermore: how could he say to a single individual "Are you for us or for our foes?" Would this one man decide the war? What use to you is the answer? And further: why does he bow down to him? He says he is an angel of Hashem, but perhaps he is mocking him and deceiving him? How can you bow to someone whose identity and nature you do not know? And in general, what is this story meant to teach us, and what is the purpose of the revelation?
The Malbim's Explanation: The Face of the Angel
When Yehoshua goes to conquer Yericho he sees the angel. The angel is always the means through which prophecy arrives, and we have spoken about this several times, and I also wrote about it in "Mishnat HaChalomot," that divine revelation is always carried out through an angel. The Holy One, blessed be He, does not come and speak directly, not even with the prophet; it is always through an angel. Even when He appeared to Avraham, an angel of Hashem appeared to him, "Do not raise your hand against the lad." And even in places where this is not written, the meaning is always through an angel, a force that carries out the mission of Hashem.
The angel first appeared in the form of a man, his sword drawn in his hand, and he was "standing opposite him." The Malbim says: Yehoshua had no doubt that this was an angel. He is a man of prophecy, and knows how an angel of Hashem appears, and an angel had already appeared to him in vision more than once, and the Holy One, blessed be He, had already spoken with him several times. He also knew why it appeared with a drawn sword: to say that the war of Yericho would be waged by the sword. Yehoshua's doubt was something else: why is the angel standing "opposite me"? This is the emphasis in the verse, "opposite him," facing him. If the angel had come to go out at our head and to help us against the enemies, its back should have been toward us and its face toward the enemy, since it symbolizes the war against the enemy. But if I see it facing me, that means, as it were, that its face is set toward war with me.
The Malbim explains: divine help can come in two ways. Either a small measure of help, that we wage the war ourselves and the Holy One, blessed be He, assists us, strengthens and emboldens us, "He is the One who gives you strength to make wealth." Or great help, that we need to do nothing at all, "Hashem will fight for you and you shall be silent," and we merely pursue to strip the corpses and gather the spoil. Had Yehoshua seen the face of the angel facing the enemy, he would have known that a great salvation was about to occur here, that the angel would wage the entire war. But since he saw the angel facing us, he understood that it had come to strengthen us: you wage the war and I will give you help and assistance, the small measure of help. And this is his question: "Are you for us or for our foes?" Did you come to strengthen us, or did you come to fight our foes yourself. Note: there was no thought here that it had come to assist our foes; for Hashem does not send an angel to assist our enemies. Rather, the meaning is: did you come to fight directly yourself against our enemies, or did you come only in the capacity of help and assistance for us as we fight.
The Words of Chazal: The Angel Michael Came to Rebuke
Chazal say that this angel was Michael, and that he came in fact to rebuke him. The Gemara in Megillah, page 3, asks: "And behold, a man was standing opposite him... and he bowed down." How could he do this? For Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi said, a person is forbidden to greet his fellow at night, out of concern that perhaps it is a demon, and he places himself in danger. The Gemara answers: it is different there, for he said to him "For I am the captain of the host of Hashem." And it asks: but perhaps they lie, perhaps he is deceiving you? For it is known that demons lie, and it is known that a dream through a demon is a false dream, in most or all of it. It answers: it is an established tradition that they do not invoke the name of Heaven in vain, since he said "I am the captain of the host of Hashem," and demons do not invoke the name of Heaven in vain, certainly this is the captain of the host of Hashem.
The angel said to him: last evening you neglected the daily afternoon offering, and now you have neglected Torah study. That is, yesterday you did not offer the afternoon tamid, and now you did not engage in Torah, for even though all that day they were busy with the war, at night they should have studied Torah. For Torah is "a shield that protects, a rescue that rescues," it is the power of victory. Yehoshua said to him: for which of them did you come? What is the main matter for which you have come to rebuke us? And this is the explanation of "Are you for us or for our foes?" according to this approach: "for us," did you come because of the neglect of Torah, as it says "The Torah that Moshe commanded us"; "or for our foes," because of the offerings that protect us from our foes. He said to him: "Now I have come," because of the matter of the neglect of Torah. Immediately "Yehoshua lodged that night in the midst of the valley," teaching that he lodged in the depths of halachah. Now, the words "immediately" and "in the midst of the valley" are not in the verses before us, but rather they learn from what is written later applied to what is written here. And Rav Shmuel bar Unya said: Torah study is greater than the offering of the daily sacrifices, as it says "Now I have come," for there were two transgressions here, and he came to rebuke them specifically for the neglect of Torah. Therefore it appeared to him with a drawn sword in his hand, to symbolize to him that the Torah is the double-edged sword to save you from the enemies.
"Now I Have Come" - Do Not Push Me Away
The commentators further explain why the angel was sent here. The Holy One, blessed be He, said to Moshe "Behold, My angel will go before you," and Moshe Rabbeinu prayed: "If Your Presence does not go, do not bring us up from here." We do not want an angel, we want only You, Master of the world. And now that same angel who was sent then arrives to accompany them and help them in the conquest of Yericho, and Yehoshua wants to push him away: "Are you for us," did you come to help us so they will not kill us? Hashem will protect us, we do not need angels. "Or for our foes," if you came to kill our enemies, this too Hashem will do, "And I will be an adversary to your adversaries." If so, why did you come? The angel says to him: do not push me away as Moshe pushed me away, for then I had not yet come. The Holy One, blessed be He, said "Behold, I am sending an angel," but the angel had not yet arrived. But "now I have come," I have already arrived, and if you push me away it would be a great disgrace. And another explanation: Moshe your teacher, his power was great, his face was like the sun, and he had the power to push me away; but you do not have the power to push me away. And further: "his sword drawn in his hand," that is, you cannot outsmart the angel. And then Yehoshua accepts him: "What does my lord say to his servant," accepting the angel to assist them.
Remove Your Shoe from Your Foot
וַיֹּאמֶר שַׂר־צְבָא יְהֹוָה אֶל־יְהוֹשֻׁעַ שַׁל־נַעַלְךָ מֵעַל רַגְלֶךָ כִּי הַמָּקוֹם אֲשֶׁר אַתָּה עֹמֵד עָלָיו קֹדֶשׁ הוּא וַיַּעַשׂ יְהוֹשֻׁעַ כֵּן׃ - And the captain of Hashem's host said to Yehoshua: Remove your shoe from off your foot, for the place upon which you stand is holy. And Yehoshua did so.
The angel comes as a herald, to tell him that soon the word of Hashem will be revealed to you, and in order for the word of Hashem to be revealed to you, you must strip yourself of physicality and be ready for prophecy. In other words: I have come to prepare you for prophecy, for the reception of the Divine flow.
We saw something similar with Moshe Rabbeinu, "Remove your shoes from off your feet," while with Yehoshua it says "Remove your shoe from off your foot." What is the difference? Moshe Rabbeinu was to receive prophecies directly from Hashem, "Mouth to mouth I speak with him," a level of prophecy unlike any other, and Moshe was also commanded to separate from his wife. The shoe always expresses physicality; in order for Moshe to be worthy of his level, it was said to him in the plural form, "Remove your shoes from off your feet," to strip himself entirely from physicality. But Yehoshua was not commanded to separate from his wife, nor was he on the level of "Mouth to mouth I speak with him," and therefore it is enough for him with "Remove your shoe from off your foot," in the singular.
The shoe expresses the body: the body is compared to a shoe. This is why when the yevama performs chalitza, she removes the shoe. As we discussed in the study of Masechet Yevamot: the husband places within his wife "one spirit" (chad rucha), and that chad rucha, when the woman bears a son and produces offspring, goes out into the son. And if she did not bear a child, and the husband died and she remained a widow without children, she requires yibum, because that chad rucha he placed in her stirs within her. How does it come out? Either through yibum, whereby the brother of the deceased husband marries the woman and she bears a son, and that chad rucha goes out into the child (and this is essentially a gilgul, a reincarnation). I wrote in "Mishnat HaGilgulim" that this is one of the few cases in which we know who is the gilgul of whom: the newborn is the reincarnation of the deceased. The Pele Yoetz says that there is value in telling him what were "his father's shortcomings," in quotation marks, meaning what were the shortcomings of his previous incarnation, so that he may correct them, for we know that it is the same soul. And if yibum is not performed, how does that chad rucha come out? The yevama performs chalitza, removes his shoe, and in the removal of the shoe she is as though separating the spiritual soul from physicality, for the shoe represents the physicality that touches the ground. And how does that chad rucha come out? Through the spitting: when the yevama spits, and it is written that there must be visible saliva, in that saliva is the chad rucha stirring within her, and thereby it comes to its rectification.
For our purposes, we have learned that the removal of the shoe means stripping oneself of physicality, and this is why on Yom Kippur we remove our shoes and become like the ministering angels, as though stripped of physicality. This is "Remove your shoe." And the angel tells him: You need not worry how you will conquer Yericho, for you have Divine assistance, the Holy One, blessed be He, accompanies you, and the place upon which you stand is holy with the holiness of the Shechina, and therefore remove your shoe from off your foot. Through this you will be able to conquer Yericho without any fear of the enemies.
In summary:
Chapter 5 is the chapter of preparation before the conquest. The hearts of the kings of Canaan melted, and through this was fulfilled "so that all the peoples of the earth may know," and it also opened the possibility to circumcise the people without fear. Yehoshua circumcised with flint knives those who required circumcision: the sons of those fathers who sought excuses in the wilderness, but not the tribe of Levi and not those who were under twenty, who were upright and had circumcised themselves. From here we learned that there are good reasons for one who seeks excuses, and one who wishes to give his life finds a way to fulfill. And in the merit of circumcision, which is unity, which is a condition for inheriting the Land and a condition for eating the Pesach, the disgrace of Egypt was removed, the Pesach was performed, the manna ceased, and the eating of the produce of the Land began. And finally the captain of Hashem's host was revealed with a drawn sword, to teach that two things decide the battle: the Divine assistance, which does not exempt us from action, and the Torah, which is the double-edged sword in our hands.