Spiritual and
Ethical Issues in the Historical Books of Tanach;
JOSHUA, JUDGES, SAMUEL, KINGS (Nevi’im Rishonim) These four books ostensibly are merely the history of Israel from the entry into the Promised Land until the destruction of the Temple and the temporary loss of independent statehood. In fact they are actually, in a specifically Jewish sense, the most deeply religious and spiritual books of the Bible. One does not have to be specifically Jewish to see or feel the religion and spirituality in the revelations of the prophetic writings or in the words of the Tehillim. They speak to all people, as evidenced by the fact that the Bible is still the world's bestseller and there are millions of non-Jews who regularly recite the Psalms. However, it is specifically and intrinsically Jewish to understand that G-d is revealed in the prosaic material, in the political, social and military events in the lives of ordinary men and women, kings and leaders that are described in the Nevim Rishonim. Here are described the ideology and religious thoughts in Judaism, while in Chronicles we have the purely historical. It is easy to see the first incursion of Israel into the Promised Land and the conquest of Jericho, in purely military and strategic terms. Israel was encamped on the banks of the Jordan River facing Jericho that is the key to the Promised Land. It represents one of the few points of entry from the East and opens the way to the whole of the land. An oasis in the wilderness, it became a synonym for fertility and plenty. The preparation for this first conquest should by rights have been to ascertain the weaknesses of the enemy and the best way to assure the military success. Throughout history, people have understood that victories in wars are determined by the genius of commanders, by the quality of armaments and by the size and ability of the combatants or their bravery. It was normal to expect that the same would apply here. After all, when they crossed the Jordan, the miraculous food, the Manna, ceased and they ate of the natural food. Despite this, the spies that Joshua sends to Jericho went only to ascertain the moral and psychological state of the enemy, while he took Israel through three spiritual changes before the actual conquest. The first non-military stage was when they had to cross the Jordan, not through the normal technical method of constructing bridges, but rather through crossing on dry land. This Divine miracle mode of crossing is reminiscent of the crossing of the Red Sea after the Exodus. However, there were differences in that this time there was no enemy pursuing them and there was no Moses with his outstretched arm. Instead, there was only the Kohanim and the Aron HaShem and they entered the Jordan first, unlike during the wanderings in the desert where they traveled always in the midst of the camp of Israel. All this, “in order that the people of the world should know the hand of the Lord, for it is powerful” (Joshua, 4: 24). After that, they had
to circumcise all the sons born after the Exodus and that was for two
reasons. Pesach was upon them and an uncircumcised male was not permitted
to partake of the Pascal lamb, while not doing so was punishable by karet
- being cut off from the Jewish people. There was, however, another non-halakhic
and non-ritualistic reason, one that involved Israel’s very right to
conquer the Promised Land. This right flowed from one source only, viz.
HaShem’s promise to Avraham that that land would be given eternally to his
descendants. To lay claim to that inheritance without keeping Avraham’s
part of the covenant - Brit Mila, would not only bar them from benefiting
from it, it would also be arrogance and chutzpa. All the preparations were finally completed, now the conquest could begin. The fall of the walls of Jericho was conquest through miracles, seemingly another link in the chain that had seen the Tribes of Israel out of Egypt and through the desert. However, this miracle acquired a special religious and spiritual significance because of the vow - the cherem - that Joshua made and that Israel accepted. He declared that the whole city, all its inhabitants and all the booty that it held were declared cherem, either to be destroyed or to be given to the treasury of G-d. Not only did they not fight for Jericho but the fruits of conquest were to be denied to the Israeli conquerors. Even the emotional and psychological pleasure and satisfaction of victors was denied to them. Jericho was erased not only physically but even from the future. “Cursed be the man before the Lord, that will re-establish this city, Jericho” (Joshua, 6:26). Our Sages learnt from the wording of the verse that not only was it forbidden to rebuild Jericho, but even a city by another name on the same site or a city elsewhere but bearing the name Jericho (Tosefta, Sanhedrin, chapter 14). The people of Israel would be unable to erect a monument to their first victory nor would the warriors to be able to bring their children and grandchildren to this place and boast of what brave deeds and mighty acts they had done at Israel’s first conquest. So Israel, and through them the whole world down the generations, would learn and recognize, that there is a Master to the world and that all success and achievement flowed from Him. There are many mitzvot that come to teach the same message. The Omer is brought on the first day of Chol HaMoed Pesach of the new barley crop and until we paid on that day, as it were our dues to the Owner, we may not eat any products of the new grain. This comes to teach that the harvest is due not to the diligence or luck of the farmer nor to the natural, but solely to the blessings of HaShem. Then we count seven weeks until Shavuot and on that day we bring to the Temple an offering from the new wheat. That offering permits the use of the new grain in the Temple service. This is a public acknowledgement, just like the Omer, that national wealth or military success are not the result of human prowess nor of human wisdom nor of geo-political factors, but solely of the blessings of HaShem. This is a difficult lesson for mankind to accept and to live by as we see from the two sequels to the story of Joshua and Jericho: the theft by Achan (Joshua 7) and the rebuilding of Jericho by Hiel (1 Kings 16:34,35), despite the cherem. In the first case, Achan, in defense of his theft from the spoils of Jericho, argued that Joshua had no halahkic basis to prevent Israel from benefiting from it because the Torah promised that they would “eat the spoils of your enemies” (D’varim, 20: 14). Furthermore, he said that for the same reason he had stolen from the spoil of the Midianites (Bamidbar 31). In both cases he made it clear that he was the wealthiest person in the tribe of Judah (Midrash Bamidbar Raba; Eliyahu Raba). He could not accept that in the name of the G-d who was the real owner and source of all success and wealth, it was possible to curtail the legal rights and activities of human beings. Hiel, a member of the royal house of Judah, set about rebuilding Jericho. His first-born son died when he laid the foundations of the city. As the building progressed so did his other sons, until with completion of the walls and gates, finally his youngest died as well. All this was foretold in accordance with the oath of Joshua, However, Ahab, then king of the Northern Kingdom of Israel, refused to accept that, arguing that like everything else in the world, their deaths were accidents or the workings of fate or due to blind forces of nature. He dismissed the cherem of Joshua saying: “Who was greater - the master or the disciple? The master [Moses] said that prosperity and success were the Divine reward or punishment for human behavior, yet my kingdom is wealthy and prosperous even though I and my people worship every form of idolatry and commit every sin of sexual immorality. How then can the words of the disciple [Joshua] come true”? (Sanhedrin, 111a) Both Achan and Ahab rejected the message of Jericho that Joshua had made into a form of Bikurim, First Fruits. There the farmer had to bring of the new fruit to the Temple and make a public confession that all of the crop was due to Divine providence, even the land and the farmer himself who emerged from slavery only through the same providence. The same was true of Israel’s military campaigns. [The
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