My Soul Thirsts - Parshat Shelach Lecha

Parshat Shelach Lecha, from the words of the esteemed Rav Rabbi Eliezer Berland shlit"a. All of Israel heard the prophecy of Eldad and Meidad, "Moshe will die and Yehoshua will lead." All of Israel heard this terrible prophecy, which spread throughout the camp. Eldad and Meidad said, "Know that Moshe is going to die; the moment we reach the border of the Holy Land, Moshe will die!" And Yehoshua will be the leader and he will bring the people into the land." The entire nation was in panic, they were gripped with terror, and everyone cried, saying if we enter the land, then Moshe will die!

Rebbe Natan explains that the dispute between the spies and Yehoshua bin Nun was that the spies claimed, "We love Moshe Rabbeinu, we want Moshe Rabbeinu, we will not leave him. We are for Moshe, we want him to live and not die. We do not want to enter the land for one reason only, which is so that Moshe will continue to live and lead us. We do not care if we remain in the desert, the main thing is that Moshe lives." The holy Arizal explains in Shaar HaPesukim, Parshat Shelach Lecha, that this was the terrible dispute between the spies and Yehoshua. The spies said to Yehoshua bin Nun, "You heard the prophecy that Moshe will die and Yehoshua will lead, and therefore you want to enter Eretz Yisrael so that your teacher will die. You are simply a murderer, you simply want your teacher to die, you want to inherit your teacher, you want to be the leader." Whereas Yehoshua argued, "Moshe lives! Moshe is alive and enduring, there is no such thing as Moshe dying, Moshe cannot die." Yehoshua bin Nun explained to the spies that Moshe Rabbeinu is eternal.

The tzaddikim are forever alive and enduring; there is no such thing as Moshe Rabbeinu dying, there is no such thing as Rashbi dying, there is no such thing as the Arizal dying, there is no such thing as the Baal Shem Tov dying. The tzaddikim never die; Moshe Rabbeinu is alive and enduring, he descends and is infused into every tzaddik of the generations. Moshe can be infused into anyone; the purer and holier a person is, the more they can merit the revelation of Moshe, for Moshe's neshamah (soul) to be infused within them.

The spies claimed, "We love Moshe, we will not give up on Moshe. Yehoshua wants to be the leader... fine, let him go himself, let him take the people of Israel with him, we will not leave Moshe alone, we are loyal to Moshe." So what was the mistake of the spies here? Rebbe Natan explains that the spies disgraced Moshe Rabbeinu with the greatest disgrace in the world. Not only did they not listen to his voice when he told them to enter the land, but our Rebbe says they also did not believe in the eternity of Moshe Rabbeinu; they did not believe that Moshe Rabbeinu is eternal and that his words and conduct are alive and enduring forever and ever, and he can be infused at any moment into anyone.

By wanting Moshe Rabbeinu alive, wanting the body of Moshe Rabbeinu to be with them, they materialized him; they materialized the matter of Moshe, they turned Moshe Rabbeinu into a body. Rebbe Natan explains that what the spies claimed, that they wanted to stay with Moshe, revealed the opposite—they were waiting for Moshe's passing, for Moshe's departure. They revealed that they wanted to be rid of Moshe, to be rid of Moshe's difficult conduct. Moshe was serving Hashem with all his might, Moshe would rise at midnight, pray at dawn, do Hitbodedut, study Torah day and night, etc., and they said, "We will stay with Moshe Rabbeinu in the desert for another ten years, another 20 years in the desert, in the end, we will be rid of him, and then we can get up at 10, at 12, and enjoy life. There's no choice, we will suffer a little more, we've already fallen into Moshe Rabbeinu's trap, what can we do?"

And indeed, they knew that Yehoshua bin Nun would continue the path of Moshe Rabbeinu, the conduct of Moshe Rabbeinu. They did not want Yehoshua bin Nun; they wanted Moshe, they wanted to stay with Moshe just to wait for his passing. Rebbe Natan says, what did Caleb ben Yefuneh do? Where was he in this dispute? Caleb was silent; Caleb did not know who was right, whether Yehoshua was right or the spies were right. The spies claimed they wanted Moshe Rabbeinu to live and did not want to enter the land, and they said Yehoshua bin Nun is a murderer! Yehoshua bin Nun wants to enter the land and is waiting for Moshe's passing. Caleb said to Yehoshua bin Nun, "Yehoshua, what are these rumors? Look at what they are saying here, ten righteous men, elders to the land, thick peyot, look at what they are saying about you? How are you not afraid to enter the land, for Moshe Rabbeinu will die?" Yehoshua said to Caleb, "I know that Moshe is eternal! Moshe is not dependent on the body; I do not see Moshe's body, I see his neshamah, his neshamah is eternal, present everywhere, can be infused in you, can be infused in the leaders, in Eldad ben Kisalon, in Gadi ben Susi, in whoever Moshe's neshamah will be infused, I will listen to his voice. If there is a passing, I know that immediately Moshe's neshamah will be infused into someone because Moshe is alive and enduring!"

And Caleb did not know who was right, Yehoshua or the spies; he stood between the hammer and the anvil. How would he know who was right? How could he clarify such a thing? So what did Caleb do? He traveled to Hebron and reached the graves of the holy forefathers, and there the truth was revealed to him. How was it revealed to him? The moment he prostrated at the graves of the forefathers, he saw that the forefathers are alive and enduring! He saw that Avraham is alive! That Yitzchak is alive! That Yaakov is alive! It was revealed to him that what Yehoshua says is true; a tzaddik never departs, he never dies. Rashbi is alive, the Arizal is alive, the Baal Shem Tov is alive. It was revealed to him that Avraham Avinu, 400 years after his passing, speaks to him and tells him Yehoshua is right, Moshe will live forever, Yitzchak tells him Moshe will live forever, Yaakov tells him Moshe will live forever.

Rebbe Natan says this is what was revealed to Caleb at the graves of the forefathers—that the tzaddikim are not a body, it is not what is seen with the eyes; the tzaddik is an eternal neshamah, forever and ever.