Ki Tisa: When Moshe Rabeinu’s Fire Met Yehoshua’s Silence

His assistant, Yehoshua, did not budge from the tent. (Perek 33, Posuk 11)

Yehoshua was the epitome of the perfect disciple. He never left Moshe’s side and absorbed everything that Moshe had to teach. The Gemara (T’murah 16) describes Moshe’s last moments on earth. He turned to Yehoshua and asked him, “Do you have any more questions? This is your final chance to ask me.” To which Yehoshua replied, “I never left your side…I learned everything that you taught me. I have nothing more to ask.”

Surprisingly, Moshe was devastated by his prize pupil’s response and we find that Yehoshua was punished for aggravating his rebbe.

Many aspects of this gemara are puzzling. From Moshe’s reaction it was apparent that he was envious of Yehoshua, who seems to have eclipsed his mentor. For most people this would be an understandable reaction, but not for Moshe Rabeinu who was the most humble of men. In addition, Chazal tells us that one is never envious of his son or student, because it is natural to take pride in their achievements.

Furthermore, when one is departing this world, the knowledge that he is leaving behind children and students that he educated and inspired, offer him a great deal of comfort. A student like Yehoshua is every teacher’s dream. Moshe should be ecstatic that he’s leaving behind a student who absorbed everything that he taught. So why is Moshe devastated and perhaps even envious of Yehoshua? And why is Yehoshua punished for proclaiming that he has been taught and understands everything that Moshe has to offer? He was merely stating the truth.

The inescapable conclusion is that envy was not causing Moshe’s anguish. His anguish was caused by something entirely different. Regarding the relationship between teacher and student, chazal exclaim “more than the calf wants to suckle, the cow wants to feed”

More so by Moshe Rabeinu whose essence was teaching. His lifelong mission as bestowed upon him by Hashem, was to teach Torah to Klall Yisroel. That role would define him until his final breath and Moshe wanted to die with his boots on while teaching his prize pupil.

When he asked Yehoshua if he had any final questions, in reality he was begging for Yehoshua to ask him anything at all. Yehoshua’s response that he had nothing left to ask, indicated insensitivity to Moshe’s urgent need to keep on teaching as long as he was breathing. Whether Yehoshua had a need for this last burst of teaching, was irrelevant. This was about Moshe’s need. Yehoshua did not comprehend this, thus he was punished.

Yehoshua’s punishment was tit for tat. After Moshe’s death, Yehoshua was anxious to begin his new role as leader and teacher. B’nei Yisroel began coming to him with halachic questions and he was unable to answer! Hashem had struck him with a mental block This was in direct reprisal for not allowing Moshe to continue teaching until his very end.