Yehoshua 5 יהושע ה׳

אשר בעבר הירדן ימה. לצד שעברו בני ישראל הוא צד של מערבי, ועד עכשיו היו בעבר מזרחי:

Who were on the western side of the Jordan. On the side to which Bnei Yisroel crossed, which is the western side, since they had been on the eastern side.

חרבות צורים. כתרגומו: אזמלון חריפין, וכן (תהלים פט מד): אף תשיב צור חרבו, כשהחריפות נהפך לצדדין ואינו חותך יפה, וכן (ישעיהו נד יז): כל כלי יוצר עליך:

Sharp knives. As translated by Targum, sharp knives. Similarly, ‘You also turned back the sharp edge of his sword.’¹Tehillim 89:44. When the sharp edge is turned sideways it does not cut well. ‘Similarly, ‘Every weapon that is sharpened against you?’²Yeshayahu 54.

שנית. שמלו כבר בליל יציאתם ממצרים קהל גדול יחד, וזו פעם שנית, שכל הארבעים שנה שהיו במדבר לא נשבה להם רוח צפונית, ולא היה להם יום נוח למול, כמו ששנינו ביבמות (עא ב) ורבותינו אמרו (שם): שנית, זו פריעת מילה, שלא נתנה לאברהם אבינו:

The second time. For there had already been a circumcision— on the night of their departure from Egypt a large assembly were collectively circumcised, and this was the second time; because during the entire forty years that they were in the wilderness the north wind did not blow for them, and they did not have a suitable day to circumcise themselves, as we learned in Maseches Yevamos.³Yevomos 71b. Certain atmospheric conditions were beneficial for the healing of the wound caused by circumcision. The north wind created this condition. These winds were withheld during the forty years in the wilderners in order that the “Clouds of Glory” that led and protected the people would not disperse. Our Sages said, “The second time refers to exposing the corona at circumcision. [This particular aspect of circumcision] was not commanded to our Patriarch, Avrohom.

גבעת הערלות. על שם המאורע נקרא, שנעשה כמין גבעה:

Gival Ha-orlos. [Lit. Hill of the foreskins] It was so called, because of the event, [i.e., the mass of foreskins that were circumcised] which were made into a hill.

וזה הדבר. על ידי דבור מל אותם, אמר להם סבורים אתם לירש את הארץ ערלים, לא כך נאמר לאברהם (בראשית יז ט): ואתה את בריתי תשמור וגו', (שם שם ח): ונתתי לך ולזרעך אחריך את ארץ מגוריך:

And this is the reason. [Lit. and this is the thing] After this speech he circumcised them. He said to them. “Do you think you will inherit this land while you are yet uncircumcised? Was it not said to Avrohom, ‘And you will preserve My covenant etc.’ ‘and I will give you and your descendants after you, the land of your sojournings.’”⁴Bereishis 17:8,9. Thus the inheritance of the land was dependent on their preserving the covenant, which was the rite of circumcision.

כל העם היוצא. לא היה אחד מהם כאן, שכלם מתו והם היו מולים, שנאמר: כי מולים היו:

All the people that went out. Not one of them was here for they had all died, and they had all been circumcised, as it is said, ‘for they were circumcised.’⁵Next verse.

לא מלו. כמו שפירשתי שלא נשבה רוח צפונית, והם שמלו עכשיו:

Were not circumcised. As I have previously explained, the north wind had not blown.⁶See Rashi to verse 2. It was these who were now to be circumcised.

ואת בניהם הקים תחתם. ואת בניהם שהקים תחתיהם הם הילודים במדבר, אותם מל יהושע:

And their children whom He brought up in place of them. And their children whom He brought up in place of them, they were born in the wilderness it was them whom Yehoshua circumcised.

וישבו תחתם. באתרהון, ולא צרו על העיר:

They remained in their places. They remained in their places and they did not besiege the city.

עד חיותם. מן המכה:

Until they were healed from their wounds.

גלותי. הסירותי את חרפת מצרים, שהיו אומרים: ראו כי רעה נגד פניכם, כוכב אחד יש ששמו 'רעה' והוא סימן של דם, רואין אנו אותו עליכם במדבר, והוא שאמר משה במדבר (שמות לב יב): למה יאמרו מצרים לאמר ברעה הוציאם, והם אינם יודעים שהוא דם מילה, וכשמלו בימי יהושע ובא אותו הדם, הוסרה אותה החרפה שעדיין ערב רב שעלו עמהם היו מונים להם, כך דרש ר' משה הדרשן:

I have removed. (Lit. I have rolled) I have removed the ridicule of the Egyptians who had said [when they were leaving], “See that ‘Raah’ is before you.⁷Shemos, 10:10. There is a star named Raah, which is a symbol of blood. We see it overpowering you in the wilderness.”⁸The Egyptians intimated that Bnei Yisroel would meet with disaster if they left Egypt because they would be under the power of the star of blood. This is what Moshe referred to in the wilderness [when he said,] “Why should the Egptians speak, saying, ‘With Raah, He took them out.’” But they did not know that [the blood they saw] was the blood of circumcision. And now when they were circumcised in the days of Yehoshua, and the blood of circumcision appeared, that ridicule was removed; for the mixed multitude that went up with them [from Egypt] were still taunting them. This is the way R’ Moshe, Ha Darshan explained [this passage.]

גלותי. הסירותי, כמו (תהלים קיט כב): גל מעלי חרפה, (בראשית כט י): ויגל את האבן:

I have removed. [Lit. I have rolled] This is similar to: ‘Remove from me humiliation and contempt;’⁹Tehillim 119:22. ‘and he rolled off the stone.’¹⁰Bereishis 29:10.

ממחרת הפסח. יום הנפת העומר שהקריבו עומר תחלה, ומז' באדר שמת משה שפסק המן, היו מסתפקין עד עכשיו ממן שבכליהם שלקטו בשבעה באדר, שנאמר (שמות טז לה): את המן אכלו ארבעים שנה, והלא מ' שנה חסר שלשים יום, שהרי תחלת ירידת המן בט"ו באייר, אמור מעתה בחררה שהוציאו ישראל ממצרים, טעמו טעם מן:

From the day after the Pesach. This was the day of waving the Omer, for they sacrificed the Omer first.¹¹They could not have eaten from the new grain of Eretz Yisroel until after they brought the Omer sacrifice. See Vayikroh 23:14. From the seventh day of Adar, the day when Moshe died, when the manna stopped falling, they were sufficiently supplied with the manna which was in their vessels which they gathered on the seventh of Adar, as it is said, ‘They ate the manna for forty years.’¹²Shemos 16:35. But these forty years lacked thirty days— for the manna began to fall on the fifteenth day of Iyar.¹³Shemos 161, 13. See Rashi’s comments there. We must say therefore that in the [matzo] cakes the Bnei Yisroel took with them from Egypt, they tasted the taste of manna.

ולא היה עוד לבני ישראל מן. לפיכך, ויאכלו מעבור הארץ, אם היה להם מן לא היו אוכלים מן התבואה, שהמן היה נוח להם, משל אומר לתינוק מפני מה אתה אוכל פת שעורין, לפי שאין לי פת חטין, לכך נאמר: ולא היה עוד וגו':

No longer did the Bnei Yisroel have manna. Therefore they ate of the grain of the land. If they would have had manna they would not have eaten of the grain, for the manna was agreeable to them. There is a parable for this: One says to a child, “Why are you eating barley bread?” “Because I have no wheat bread.” That is why it is said, ‘no longer did etc.’

בהיות יהושע ביריחו. מכאן לעיבורה של עיר שהיא מן העיר, שאי אפשר לומר בתוך יריחו:

When Yehoshua was in Yericho. From here we can learn that the outskirts of a city are considered part of the city itself, for it impossible to say that Yoshua was actually inside Yericho.¹⁴Since the Bnei Yisroel had not yet captured Yericho, he could not have been in the city itself.

הלנו אתה. הלמסעדנא אתיתא:

Are you with us? Have you come to support us?

עתה באתי. לעזרתך, שאין אדם יכול להלחם עליה ולתופשה להפיל החומה, אבל בימי משה רבך באתי ולא חפץ בי, שנאמר (שמות לג טו): אם אין פניך הולכים וגו':

I have now come.—“to help you, for it is impossible for man to battle against it [Yericho] and capture it, to knock down the wall. However in the days of your master, Moshe, I came, but he did not want my presence, as it is said, ‘If your Presence [Adonoy] does not go, etc.’”¹⁵Shemos 33:15.

שר צבא ה'. ישראל שהוא צבא לה', ומיכאל היה, שנאמר (דניאל י כא): מיכאל שרכם:

The officer of Adonoy’s host. This refers to Bnei Yisroel, who are Adonoy’s host. The officer mentioned here is the Angel, Michoeil, as it is said, ‘Michoeil, your officer.’¹⁶Daniel 10:21.