Yehoshua Bin-Nun

Born: Egypt, 2406 (1354 BCE.) Died: Eretz Yisrael, 2516 (1244 BCE.)
Yehoshua married Rachav, who gave shelter to the two spies (Yehoshua 1). In Shaar HaGilgulim
(hakdama 36) the Ari, Rabbi Yitzchak Luria, says that Rachav was a very holy soul.
Three were crowned with the titles of "age" and "days," and all three were heads of distinguished houses,.
Avrohom was the head of the Patriarchs, Yehoshua the head of the Kingship of the Tribe of Ephraim,
and Dovid the head of the Kingship of the Tribe of Yehudah (Bereishis Rabbah 59:6).
The face of Moshe (Moses) was like the sun, the face of Yehoshua like the moon (Bava Batra 75a). When
HaShem told Moshe whom to choose as the next leader, he said to him, "Take yourself Yehoshua son of
Nun (Numbers 28:18) who is a hero like yourself" (Sifri Vayeilech 305). Yehoshua did not call himself a
servant of G-d, but the Holy One, Blessed is He, called him that (Sifri Va'eschanan 27).
The poor man uses entreaties (Proverbs 18:23) refers to Moshe who did not enter the Holy Land. But the
rich man answers impudently (ibid.) refers to Yehoshua who entered and said, "Would that we had
been content and dwelt beyond the Jordan (Yehoshua 7:7), and not entered the Land of Israel!" He said
this when thirty-six Jews fell in the battle of Ai (Sanhedrin 44a).
When Yehoshua left the camp of Israel to wait at the bottom of Mount Sinai for the return of Moshe,
manna fell for Yehoshua just as it fell for the whole community of Israel (Yoma 76a). Manna fell on his
limbs, and he would take it and eat it (Mechilta Beshalach 4:3).
Yehoshua led Israel for twenty-eight years (Seder Olam Rabbah 12). Yehoshua was five cubits tall. On his
head sat a royal crown inscribed with G-d's Name (Otzar HaMidrashim 210). He engaged in Torah
study from childhood to old age (Tanna d'Bei Eliyahu Zuta 13). Yehoshua was elevated only because
he occupied himself with Torah study continuously (Mishnas Rabbi Eliezer13).
Yehoshua sat and expounded, and everyone knew that he was expounding the teachings of Moshe
(Yerushalmi Shekalim 2:5). Even in matters that he had not heard from Moshe, his own reasoning
corresponded with what had been told to Moshe at Sinai (Yerushalmi Pe'ah 1:1). Seeing how precious
the words of Torah were to Yehoshua, the Holy One, Blessed is He, said to him, 'This Book of the
Torah will not leave your mouth" (Yehoshua 1:8) (Menachot 99b). He made himself like a fool before
our teacher Moshe, whom he troubled to teach him Torah every minute until he had learned the entire
Torah (Midrash HaGadol, end of Devarim).
Yehoshua wrote his book (i.e., the Book of Yehoshua) and the last eight verses of the Torah, Pinchas the
Kohen Gadol completed the Book of Yehoshua (Bava Batra 14b).
Yehoshua was fluent in the book of Deuteronomy (Devarim), which he studied constantly. When the Holy
One, Blessed is He, appeared to him, He found him sitting with the book of Deuteronomy in his hand
and said to him, "Strengthen yourself, Yehoshua, persevere, Yehoshua. This book of the Torah will not
leave your mouth" (Yehoshua 1:8).
Yehoshua took the Book of Deuteronomy, displayed it to the sun, and said, "Because I have never ceased
studying this book, you should cease your movement at my request" (Bereishis Rabbah 6:9).
If someone asks, "Why did Yehoshua build an altar on Mount Eval? Was there no Tabernacle?" answer
him that the Holy One, Blessed is He, said, "It is I who told him to do so" (Bamidbar Rabbah 14:1).
When our teacher Moshe was about to depart for Paradise, he said to Yehoshua, "Ask me all the questions
that you have." "My teacher," replied Yehoshua, "did I ever leave you for a short time and go
elsewhere? Did you not write of me, He does not leave the tent (Exodus 33:11)?" Immediately
Yehoshua's intellectual powers were weakened so that he forgot 300 laws and had 700 uncertainties.
All the Israelites rose to kill him. The Holy One, Blessed is He, said to him, "To tell you what you do
not know is impossible. Go and distract them with war to capture the Land of Canaan" (Temurah 16a).
Three thousand laws were forgotten in the period of mourning for Moshe. The people said to Yehoshua,
"Ask G-d." He replied, "It is not in the heavens" (ibid.). That night Yehoshua went into the valley
(Yehoshua 8:13). He went into the depth of Halachah (Eiruvin 63b).
The Death of Yehoshua
Yehoshua did not rebuke Israel until he was near death (Sifri Devarim 2). He died only because of the
counsel of the serpent (i.e., the sin of Adam and Eve) (Zohar 2:194b).
"As I G-d was with Moshe, so will I be with you" (Yehoshua 1:5). Yehoshua should therefore have lived
for 120 years like our teacher Moses. Why were ten years deducted from his life? At the time the Holy
One, Blessed is He, said to Moshe, "Avenge the Children of Israel of the Midianites, afterward you will
be gathered to your people" (Numbers 31:2). Although he was told he would die, he did not delay, but
acted quickly: And Moshe send them (ibid. v. 6). But when Yehoshua came to fight the thirty-one
Kings of Canaan, he said, "If I slay them immediately, I will die immediately, just as Moses did." What
did Yehoshua do? He began to delay the wars against them. The Holy One, Blessed is He, said to him,
"Since you have done that, I will shorten your life by ten years" (Bamidbar Rabbah 22:6).
When Yehoshua was born, no one took note, when he died, all of Israel took note. However, the Israelites
were lax in doing kindness with Yehoshua son of Nun by mourning him properly. One was busy with
his vineyard, the other with his field, yet another with his coal. The Holy One, Blessed is He, therefore
sought to make the whole world quake, as it is written, “They buried him, north of the Mount of
Eruption” (Yehoshua 24:30) (Midrash Shmuel, ed. Buber, 23:7).
Who is Mr. Nun?
A Wonderous Midrash: (mentioned in ‫ אוצר יד החיים‬and in ‫ יפה מהישועה‬with many differences)
In the early stages of the Jews’ exile in Egypt, there lived a righteous Jew and his wife who did not
have children (remember all their friends where having 6 children at each pregnancy). The wife cried
to her husband that he should pray to HaShem for a child. The Tzaddik prayed and his wife became
pregnant. However, the wife noticed that during the pregnancy that her husband became increasingly
despondent. He would not share the reason with her.
In the proper time, the woman gave birth to one boy and he was extremely beautiful, and the
mother was very happy. But her husband continued to be depressed. So his wife demanded that he
explain the cause for his depression. Finally, the Tzaddik explained that he had been informed by
ruach hakodesh that as part of his request for a son included that his son would kill his father. The wife
responded that her husband was more beloved to her then even 10 sons and she would protect him.
Therefore, the wife/mother took a basket, waterproofed it, and placed the child in the basket and then
put it in the Nile.
HaShem caused a large fish to swallow the basket containing the child. Afterwards the local
fishermen captured the large fish and sold it to the Paroh’s kitchen. The Paroh had a large feast for
which they served the large fish. When, the cut it open in front of the Paroh, they found the basket
containing the beautiful child. The Paroh and Queen had mercy on the child and raised the child in
their palace as their own.
Eventually, the Paroh’s attitude towards the Jews changed. He decided that the education of the
Jewish children stood in the way of their becoming part of the Egyptian culture. Therefore, he decreed
that no one should teach Judaism to the Jewish children upon the penalty of death. Then, he placed his
adopted son in charge of this “program”.
Meanwhile, the Tzaddik was a teacher and refused to stop teaching the Jewish children. The
adopted son discovered that the Tzaddik was still teaching and in the midst of his rage, the son took his
sword and chopped off the head of the Tzaddik.
The wife of the Tzaddik had grown younger and beautiful since the miracle of her giving birth.
The adopted son saw her and now desired to marry her. The woman saw the man and recognized him
as her son. She explained the entire story to him. As part of his grief at the gravity of the events, this
young man did complete Teshuvah and returned to the Jewish people and became a leader in the
Jewish nation. He became known as “Mr. Nun”, since nun in Aramaic was a word for fish. He
married a righteous woman and gave birth to a son, whom he called Yehoshua.