[Joshua, 3:5–7; 5:2–6:1]
“Joshua said to the people” [3:5]. Joshua said to the people. Prepare yourselves, tomorrow the Holy One will show His wonders among you. He said to the priests: carry the Ark with the Tablets before the people and the people should follow.
“The Lord said to Joshua” [3:7]. God said to Joshua: This day I will begin to make you important in the eyes of all of Israel, expecting that Israel may know that I will show with you, just like I showed with Moses, that you are a prophet as proper as Moses. I split the sea for him, so too I will also split the Jordan before all of Israel through your hand.1Radak, Joshua, 3:7.
“At that time, the Lord said” [5:2]. At that time the Holy One said to Joshua: sharpen your flint knives and circumcise Israel a second time, since Abraham Our Father did not do the periah.2Periah, is the uncovering of the corona, a part of the circumcision. Therefore, the Holy One commanded Joshua that he should do the periah for Israel, as something new when they came across the Jordan. The Israelites did not circumcise themselves or their children in the desert because the north wind did not blow for forty years. Israel were in the desert and it is not good for someone to circumcise themselves and cause a wound. Why did the north wind not blow for the full forty years? The reason is that Israel were as if they had been excommunicated for the forty years and that is why the good wind from the north did not blow. Another reason that the wind was not there in the desert is that He spread the good clouds over them. The good clouds surrounded Israel and therefore there was no wind from the north. Israel took all the foreskins and the blood from the circumcisions and they made a big pile from them and covered it with ashes. When Balaam saw that there was a large pile of foreskins, from those who had been in the desert, he said: who can count the ashes that Israel used to cover their foreskins in the desert. That is to say, Balaam said that nobody could do anything to Israel because they have the commandment of circumcision. They were warned not to have illicit sex, because the Holy One loves them very much. That is why Balaam later gave advice that they should cause the Israelites to sin with the daughters of Midian. He said that God hates those who pursue illicit sex. They caused many thousands to fall because of illicit sex. Therefore, Balaam said: Israel has the commandment of circumcision, and they made a big pile of foreskins in order to loved in the eyes of God. They do not pursue illicit sex because they are circum- cised with the circumcision. The Israelites observed the commandment of circumcision until the days of the prophet Elijah. They did not circumcise themselves and the prophet Elijah adjured the heavens that they should not give rain and dew. Jezebel, the wife of Ahab, heard about this and wanted to kill Elijah, and Elijah ran away to Mount Horeb. The Holy One came to him. What are you doing here Elijah? Elijah said: I had to run away because Israel did not observe the [commandment of] circumcision and I wanted to take revenge against Israel. The Holy One said: You, Elijah, are always zealous and do not want to tolerate that Israel should commit sins in the city of Shittim. When the Israelites had illicit sexual relations with the daughters of Midian, you killed a prince because of illicit sexual relations. Now too that Israel did not observe the circumcision, you are taking revenge. Therefore, you should also enjoy the merit and Israel should not make a circumcision without having a separate chair for you to sit upon during the circumcision.3Yalkut Shimoni, Joshua, Remez, 15.
Our sages say that Elijah was Phinehas, who killed a prince of Israel in the desert because of illicit sexual relations. He lived for four hundred years and he went up to heaven alive. Because Elijah had taken revenge in the desert because of illicit sexual relations and also because of the circumcision, whoever observes [the commandment of] circumcision, does not come to illicit sexual relations. As a result of the two acts of revenge that Elijah did, he has the merit that a chair is prepared for him at every circumcision.4Pirke de Rabbi Eliezer, chap. 29; Yalkut Shimoni, Joshua, Remez, 15.
“This is the reason why Joshua had the circumcision performed” [5:4]. For this reason, Joshua circumcised the Israelites because the children that were born in the desert had not been circumcised in the desert. Therefore, they now had to be circumcised. Another reason was that he admonished Israel that they circumcise themselves so that they should know that they would not come into the Holy Land. You must circumcise yourselves since the Holy Land, the land of Israel, belongs to the Holy One. That is to say, the Holy One is the king of the land of Israel. Other lands have kings placed over them. That is why whoever pursues illicit sex in the land of Israel, the land spits them out and throws them out. However, in other lands that have kings over them, if they pursue illicit sex, the land is not so holy. Therefore, they remain in their land. That is why Joshua said to Israel, you are coming into a holy land. Therefore, circumcise yourselves in the hope that you will not come to illicit sexual relations.
“All the people were circumcised” [5:5]. The verse tells us that the Israelites did circumcise themselves in Egypt, but they all died out because they commit- ted sins and Joshua circumcised their children. As they were all circumcised, they stayed in one place until they were all healed from the circumcision.
“And the Lord said to Joshua” [5:9]. The Holy One said to Joshua: today I will remove the disgrace of Egypt. The Egyptians said that an evil star appeared in the desert over Israel. That is to say, the Egyptians said that the Israelites should not go into the desert because of the star. It showed that the Israelites would be killed because of the [golden] Calf. However, the Holy One reversed the star over the blood of circumcision. That is to say, Israelite blood was shed through the circumcision. It was for good that they were injured. Therefore, the Holy One said that the disgrace that the Egyptians said that a bloody star is over Israel, would be removed through the circumcision. The Egyptians would say that the blood of the star means the blood of the circumcision. That is, the Israelites should have been killed because of the [Golden] Calf, since there was illicit sex at the incident of the [Golden] Calf, as the verse says, “they rose to revel” [Exodus, 32:6]. Rashi interprets it as, they engaged in illicit sex. However, now that the Israelites had been circumcised, they no longer went after illicit sex. The sin of the [Golden] Calf, that is illicit sexual relations, had been removed through the circumcision.5Rashi, Joshua, 5:9; Yalkut Shimoni, Joshua, Remez, 15.
“And the Israelites rested” [5:10]. And the Israelites rested in Gilgal and they celebrated the Passover in the plains of Jericho.
“They ate the produce of the land” [5:11]. The Israelites ate the grain of the land of Israel the day after Passover. They brought the Omer offering from the new grain that they ate. Some sages say that they made unleavened bread from old grain, since they had not yet brought the Omer.6Radak, Joshua, 5:11.
“The manna ceased” [5:12]. The manna ceased to be given to Israel on the seventeenth day of Nisan. They had gladly eaten manna, but when the manna ceased they had to eat the grain of the land of Israel.7Radak, Joshua, 5:12.
The Tosefta writes. The Israelites ate the manna for forty years because of the merit of Moses and even though Moses had died, they still ate the manna because of his merit. Moses died on the seventh day of the month of Adar and the manna fell on that day. The Israelites collected the same manna and ate from it for thirtynine days, until the sixteenth day of Nisan. The offered the Omer, a baked cake made of new barley. This was called the Omer sacrifice and they were not supposed to eat the new grain. They first had to offer the Omer.8Tosefta Sotah, 11.2; Yalkut Shimoni, Joshua, Remez, 15.
“Once when Joshua was near Jericho, he looked up and saw a man” [5:13]. When Joshua passed Jericho he saw an angel standing before him with a drawn sword. Joshua went up to him and said, have you come to help us or to fight with us? The angel responded: I am an angel of God. You have not seen me walking, but I have come down from heaven in an instant. Joshua immediately fell upon his face, bowed down and said to the angel, what do you desire? The angel said: take off your shoes; you are standing on holy ground. The angel said: I have come because you have abrogated the Torah.9Radak, Joshua, 5:13.
“Jericho was shut up tight” [6:1]. The city of Jericho was completely closed. No person could go out or come in. They were afraid of the Israelites.
“The Lord was with Joshua” [6:27]. God was with Joshua and his voice went out over the whole world.