In Parshas Pinchas, Hashem instructs Moshe to ascend to the peak of Mt. Avarim and from there Hashem tells him that he shall “see the land that I have given to the Children of Israel. And you shall see it and you will be gathered into your nation, also you, as Aharon your brother was gathered in” (Devarim 27:12-13).

Upon hearing this Divine command, Moshe — a true leader of the people — thinks not of himself, but of the welfare of Am Yisrael. Moshe’s singular concern was not that he would not merit to see the Land (though he asked that the gezeirah be rescinded many times). His sole concern was: what would happen to Klal Yisrael, and who would lead them once he died? 

Hence, the very next pasukim tell us: And Moshe spoke to Hashem, saying: “Let Hashem, the G-d of spirits of all flesh, appoint a man over the congregation who will go before them, and come before them, and lead them out and bring them in, so that the assembly of Hashem should not be like sheep without a shepherd” (v.15-17).

Hearing this selfless request of Moshe — who, rather than mourning his own fate — he who was condemned to die and be buried on the eastern side of the Yarden River — was worried about the people being left leaderless — Hashem responds: קַח־לְךָ֙ אֶת־יְהוֹשֻׁ֣עַ בִּן־נ֔וּן אִ֖ישׁ אֲשֶׁר־ר֣וּחַ בּ֑וֹ וְסָֽמַכְתָּ֥ אֶת־יָֽדְךָ֖ עָלָֽיו — take for yourself Yehoshua bin Nun, a man in whom there is a spirit, and lean your hand upon him (v.18).

And thus Moshe did, as Hashem commanded him (v.22-23).

In the very beginning of Pirkei Avos, the Mishnah tells us that the transmission of Torah and the Mesorah went from Moshe to Yehoshua:

משֶׁה קִבֵּל תּוֹרָה מִסִּינַי, וּמְסָרָהּ לִיהוֹשֻׁעַ, וִיהוֹשֻׁעַ לִזְקֵנִים, וּזְקֵנִים לִנְבִיאִים, וּנְבִיאִים מְסָרוּהָ לְאַנְשֵׁי כְנֶסֶת הַגְּדוֹלָה

Moshe received the Torah from Sinai, and transmitted it to Yehoshua, and Yehoshua to the Elders, and the Elders to the Prophets, and the Prophets transmitted it to the Men of the Great Assembly (Avos 1:1).

Yehoshua does not only lead the generation into the land of Israel in Moshe’s absence, after his demise. He is responsible as well for the continuity of Torah. 

It is to Yehoshua that Hashem commands these beautiful, timeless, always-relevant, and soul-stirring words:

לֹֽא־יָמ֡וּשׁ סֵ֩פֶר֩ הַתּוֹרָ֨ה הַזֶּ֜ה מִפִּ֗יךָ וְהָגִ֚יתָ בּוֹ֙ יוֹמָ֣ם וָלַ֔יְלָה לְמַ֙עַן֙ תִּשְׁמֹ֣ר לַֽעֲשֹ֔וֹת כְּכָל־הַכָּת֖וּב בּ֑וֹ כִּי־אָ֛ז תַּצְלִ֥יחַ אֶת־דְּרָכֶ֖ךָ וְאָ֥ז תַּשְׂכִּֽיל

This book of the Torah shall not depart from your mouth, and you shall contemplate it day and night, so that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will succeed in your ways, and then you will achieve understanding (Yehoshua 1:8).

Why did Yehoshua merit to become the next leader after Moshe’s demise? The Medrash asks: Were not Elazar or Pinchas more qualified, being from Aharon and of Kohanic descent?

Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik, the Rav zt’l, teaches, “The Midrash (Tanchuma Pinchas 11) asks why the Torah was given to Joshua when others, such as Phinehas and Eleazar, had greater intellectual gifts. In reply, the Midrash quotes a verse in Proverbs (27:18): The one who guards the fig tree will eat its fruit. Joshua was chosen as Moses’ successor because he arranged the chairs and spread the mats in the tent before his shiur. Because of his devoted service, he was the appropriate candidate to replace Moses.

“Often, a leader’s successor was chosen not only because of his intellectual prowess but also because of his devoted service to his teacher… Even though Moshe had numerous disciples, only Joshua merited becoming the conduit for the transmission of the mesorah, because he was  the most loyal student… The fruits of the dedication to Torah study are reaped over a lifetime. Joshua served Moses day and night, he did not leave the tent (Ex.33:11).

“Joshua was not a greater scholar than Phinehas or Eleazar, but the service of Torah [scholars] is greater than its study (Berachos 7b). Service does not merely signify physical toil; it also represents a special closeness and friendship between the teacher and disciple, a type of partnership. The chosen disciple not only receives information from his rebbe, but absorbs his way of life, until they are practically identical in their essence. Moses knew that through his student-colleague, the Torah would be transmitted to future generations” (Chumash Mesoras Harav, Bamidbar, p.218-219).

From here we learn a fundamental lesson in our own leadership — be it leadership over ourselves, our families, a classroom, or a kehilla — and how we must receive the Torah from our teachers, our rabbeim, and integrate that Torah into our very selves. It is not enough to learn, it is not sufficient to be intellectually bright, we must cling to our Torah leaders with devoted service to learn from both their Torah and from their ways.

In fact, the Torah teaches us that to “go in His ways and cling to Him” is to: הִדַּבֵּק בַּתַּלְמִידִים וּבַחֲכָמִים וּמַעֲלֶה אֲנִי עָלֶיךָ כְּאִלּוּ נִדְבַּקְתָּ בּו — cling to talmidei chachamim and then Hashem considers it as if we are clinging to Him (see Devarim 11:22 with Rashi). 

For in this merit, Yehoshua was chosen, and in this merit, it was he who was entrusted with transmitting the Torah to the next generation.

When we absorb this lesson into our own lives, we too will merit to be the link in the chain of transmission of Torah, that began with Moshe Rabbeinu, ad ha’yom ha’zeh.

בברכת בשורות טובות ושבת שלום