Beryl and Shmeryl were two brothers who were always up to mischief at the community yeshiva. Whenever anything was missing, the principal knew that they were involved. One day, the principal called in Beryl, hoping to inspire him to change his ways. He began gently, “Beryl, I’d like to ask you something. Where is G-d?”

Beryl’s eyes grew large and he said nothing. The principal asked again, “Where is G-d, Beryl?” Beryl’s mouth dropped open and he stared back silently.

The principal tried again, “Beryl. Listen to me. I’m asking you a question! Where is G-d?” Beryl screamed and ran into the hallway, bumping into Shmeryl.

“What’s wrong?” Shmeryl asked. Beryl replied in a terrified hush, “We are in big trouble this time! G-d is missing, and they think we did it!”

The job of a leader is to help people find G-d.

* * *

Shelach: The Sun that Never Sets

In this week’s Torah portion, Moshe chose twelve spies to scout out the Land of Canaan, to discover the best way to conquer it. However, ten of the spies came back with a negative report about the Land. This created a damaging spiritual effect in the community. Two of the spies, however, remained positive and faithful. One of these spies was named Hoshea Bin Nun–’Hoshea the son of Nun’.[1]

Before Hoshea left on his mission, Moshe added the letter Yud to his name, changing it from ‘Hoshea’ to ‘Yehoshua’. Rashi gives us an inner reason for this name-change. Moshe foresaw that when he went to scout out the Land, Hoshea would need an extra infusion of faith in order to counter the negativity of the other spies. The new name, ‘Yehoshua’, is an acronym of the phrase Yud-Hei yoSHiachA, meaning, “G-d should save you”–’He should save you from the negative report of the other spies.’[2]

WHY ‘BIN’?
Why is Yehoshua called “Bin Nun”–which is like an Arabic spelling for “the son of Nun”–rather than the proper Hebrew spelling, “Ben Nun”? The difference between ‘Ben’ and ‘Bin’ lies in the vowel beneath the word. Instead of a Segol (), the vowel “eh”, Bin has a Chirik (), the vowel “ee”.

THE SHUFFLE
The Chasam Sofer gives a profound insight into this question. The Torah tells us that G-d changed the name of Sarai, Avraham’s wife, to Sarah.[3] The Yud, the last letter in the name Sarai, was exchanged for a Hei. The Midrash explains that the Yud, having been removed from the name Sarai, complained before G-d: “Why have You severed me from the name of this holy matriarch?” G-d replied, “Until now, you were the last letter in the name of a righteous person. I will soon place you as the first letter in the name of a righteous person–Yehoshua.”[4]

The Chasam Sofer points out that the Yud in the name ‘Sarai’ doesn’t have a vowel mark beneath it. Therefore when it is placed in front of the name ‘Hoshea’, it should remain silent. However the Torah borrows two of the vowel dots from the Segol beneath ‘Ben’, leaving one dot—’Bin’. These two borrowed dots form the vowel Sh’va (). When a Sh’va is placed under the Yud, it has a vocalized sound–’Yih-hoshua’.[5]

A question arises: why does the Torah borrow two dots, instead of just one? Hoshea’s new name could have had a Chirik, making it ‘Yee-hoshua’. Pardes Rimonim explains that the two dots of the Sh’va symbolize the Sun and the Moon. The Sun is the dot on top, and the Moon is the dot on the bottom.[6]

SUN AND MOON
Yehoshua never left the tents of Torah study.[7] He was totally immersed in the words of his teacher, Moshe. Perhaps Yehoshua’s consuming dedication to Moshe is the reason that he didn’t even get married until after Moshe’ passing. In Yehoshua’s mind there was no world without Moshe, the Faithful Shepherd of Israel. In response to this complete devotion, Moshe changed his name as he empowered Yehoshua to be his successor.

Therefore, in addition to adding the Yud to his name, Moshe adds a Sh’va. By doing so, Moshe hints: ‘I am the Sun and you, Yehoshua, are the Moon. The Moon has no light of its own–it must be perfectly aligned with the Sun to reflect its light. Therefore, Yehoshua,

I) ‘If you deviate from even one letter of the Torah, or change even one dot, you will no longer emanate this light into the world. You will then be on your own, susceptible to failure, and ultimately, destruction, G-d forbid.

II) ‘So know, Yehoshua, that when the Sun goes behind the horizon, the Sun’s light will cause the Moon to shine brilliantly. The time will come when I will disappear physically, yet I will always be with you, reflected in you. This light will guide your every step as my successor.’

THE FAITHFUL SHEPHERD
Each Shabbos blesses the following week. From year to year, the Shabbos of the portion of Shelach often precedes and blesses Gimmel Tamuz, the Third of the month of Tamuz. This is the day the soul of the Lubavitcher Rebbe, the Moshe of our generation, the Faithful Shepherd, the Light of the World, ascended on high. Even if we don’t see the Rebbe physically, however, we must believe deeply in our hearts that the ‘sun’ continues to shine. The love and concern that the Rebbe has shown for the Jewish People, and the blessings that he has showered upon all those in need, continue to this day more than ever. The holy Zohar says, “A tzaddik that departs (from this world) is found throughout the world–even more than in his lifetime.” The Rebbe’s impact is truly felt today more than ever before.

The Rebbe’s greatest desire was to prepare each of us, and the whole world, “to receive the countenance of our Righteous Mashiach”.[8] Therefore, may we merit to reflect the Rebbe’s light, and to realize his dream and ours: to greet the countenance of our Righteous Mashiach, mamash.

A STORY
The sixth Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Yosef Yitzhak Shneerson, noted that on the passenger trains of his time, there were three sections corresponding to three classes of travelers. The first-class seats were reserved for the elite, famous and wealthy. The second-class seats were for businessmen. The third-class seats were for farmers and poor people. The Rebbe then asked, “But where does a fundraiser sit? Since they’re not spending their own money anyway, they might as well travel first class.” The Rebbe concluded, “A chassid travels first class, because he travels by means of his Rebbe’s empowerment alone. Through this empowerment, he has the ability to accomplish things beyond his wildest dreams.” The Rebbe is the Sun and the chassid is the Moon.

ACTION: Study a teaching from the Lubavitcher Rebbe. Attend a Chassidic farbrengen in honor of Gimmel Tamuz. In this way, you will create a tangible bond with this great tzaddik.[9]

FOOTNOTES
[1] Numbers, 13-14
[2] Rashi on Numbers, 13:16
[3] Genesis, 17:15
[4] Bereishis Raba, 47:1. Also found in Rashi on Genesis, 17:5.
[5] As quoted by the Itturei Torah
[6] See Letters of Light, Chapter on Sh’va, and reference there.
[7] Exodus, 33:11
[8] Sefer HaSichos 5752, Chayei Sarah
[9] See Hayom Yom, 9 Adar II, and 24 Sivan.