Adapted by Channie Koplowitz Stein
The incident of the spies, their negative report about the Land, and the dire consequences for the generation in the desert are well known. Of the twelve spies Moshe sent, with Hashem’s permission, only two did not succumb to the lure of speaking negatively about the Land, Calev ben Yehudah and Yehoshua bin Nun, and they indeed merited entering the Land after forty years. Yehoshuah received a blessing to strengthen him from Moshe Rabbenu, while Calev went to Chevron to pray for strength at the tombs of our patriarchs at Meorat Hamachpelah.
Several questions immediately come to mind (besides the overriding question of how the other ten righteous men could come out with their negative report, a question we will not be dealing with in this shiur). First, why is it only Calev who goes to pray at the graves of our ancestors? Second, why had Moshe prayed for and blessed only Yehoshua and not Calev? Most importantly, since Hashem is everywhere, asks the Ohr Doniel, couldn’t Calev pray where he was? What is the significance of prayer, especially at the grave-sites of the righteous?
The Torah mentions that the sons of the giant lived here, giants in their own right. Our sages point out that it was only Calev who had enough faith in Hakodosh Boruch Hu to know Hashem would protect him from them and he would come to no harm. The other spies were afraid, and therefore, although they (plural) all started on that route, only Calev (he/singular) actually arrived in Chevron. And when the spies returned with their report, it was Calev who stood up to them and tried to calm Bnei Yisroel. Why, then, was Yehoshua chosen as the leader of Bnei Yisroel after Moshe’s death and not Calev?
Rabbi Reiss in Meirosh Tzurim, citing the Sefas Emes, makes an interesting point that would seem to mitigate the sin of the spies. The spies were familiar with the prophecy to Avraham Avinu that it would be the fourth generation of slavery who would be redeemed. This was not yet the time, they reasoned, and therefore their mission would fail. However, Hashem Himself had told them to leave Egypt and to inherit the land. Hashem’s command always supersedes man’s logic. Their report was indeed accurate. Only when they arrived at their interpretation, when they said, “Efes/zero/it is of no avail,” did they sin. They were unable to discount their own logic and submit wholly and limit themselves to the words and actual mission with which Moshe had entrusted them. Had they been able to nullify their own egos, accept Hashem’s command completely, the redemption and entrance into the land would have proceeded supernaturally. Calev and Yehoshua were the exceptions.
Because Yehoshua had received the blessing and prayers of Moshe Rabbenu, he already had within himself the capability of self nullification. Calev had to pray for it himself. He first drew upon the name of his ancestor Yehudah a name that embodied Yehudah’s character, the four letter name of God and a daled/lowliness/modesty incorporated into the name. Additionally, Calev wanted to integrate the actions our ancestors modeled in self nullification: For example, Avraham Avinu was promised offspring through Yitzchak. Yet he did not protest when Hashem told him to bind Yitzchak as a sacrifice on the altar, a mission he accepted even though it ran counter to Hashem’s promise and seemed illogical. While the other spies had their own agendas, Calev wanted to keep his own feelings and self out of the mission. Moshe had instructed the spies to go up from the south, alluding to Avraham Avinu, and Calev understood that he needed to ask for the quality of submission from the patriarchs. Therefore, Hashem calls Calev avdi Calev/My servant, just like he calls Moshe Rabbenu, notes Rabbi Kofman,z”l for, like Moshe, Calev was able to nullify his own ego, even go to a dangerous place with strong, giant people, in order to pray to withstand the negative influence of the other spies.
But whom we consider giants (today we would say heroes) is a matter of perspective, adds Rabbi Schwab z”l. Is it those who inhabit and rule the land through power, or is it the spiritual giants buried in Chevron?.
There are two models one can use when confronting opposition, explains Rav Ilan Chanan in Toras Chesed quoting the Chafetz Chayim z”l. One can be in opposition from the start, as was Yehoshua. The other spies knew he would not go along with their interpretation. He would be in physical danger. Therefore, Moshe blessed him and prayed for him. On the other hand, one can appear to go along with the opposition, and, when the opponent drops his guard, he then reveals his true stand. This was Calev’s method. But a strong leader needs to be able to go against popular opinion when necessary to do what is right. That’s why Yehoshua was the appropriate choice for leadership rather than Calev. In fact, King Shaul lost his sovereignty precisely because he was influenced by the people in the war against Amalek, and let King Agog and prime animals live, counter to Hashem’s orders. The greatness of Calev was that after Moshe’s death, he was able to submit to Yehoshua’s leadership.
We are still left with the question of why Calev felt it necessary to go to the graves of tzadikim. Could he not have prayed where he was at instead of going where he could have been in physical danger? Rabbi Doniel Ochion explains that Calev was afraid he would be influenced by peer pressure. Therefore, he needed prayers stronger than his own to bolster his prayers. He hoped that the additional prayers of tzadikim who had also faced great challenges and who overcame them would help him do the same. He was asking not just for their prayers, but also for their guidance. After all, one must never be too sure of his own resolve, reminds us Rabbi Wolbe z”l.
Chevron held the graves of those who were first called Ivri, of those who first stood up against the prevailing wisdom of their times, from Avraham Avinu on, and for whom our nation is called Ivrim, writes Rabbi Zaks z”l in Menachem Zion. It is because of this that every Shemoneh Esrai prayer beings with the blessing of Avot/Patriarchs, followed by the blessings of God’s might and the sanctification of His Name. Every day we need help to withstand the renewed strength of the yetzer horo, notes Rabbi Zaidel Epstein z”l, for the yetzer horo tries to prevent us from doing mitzvoth as well as enticing us to transgress. We must remain alert and ever ready to question societal norms, writes Rabbi Yaakov Hillel in Ascending the Path. Just as Hashem asked Adam Ayekha/Where are you, so must we always be ready to ask ourselves where we are, to question what we are doing and judging whether it falls within the proper thoughts and behaviors of Jews, irrespective of society at large. Even when performing the mitzvoth, adds Rabbi Epstein z”l, one should still not be on cruise control, but question whether he is doing the mitzvah as best as he can, or does he need improvement. Calev noticed something lacking, and he asked for help.
. Here too we can understand why Moshe prayed for Yehoshua but not for Calev, Rabbi Sternbach notes that one can pray for another’s physical well- being, but in spiritual matters one must pray for oneself, work on oneself, and perhaps take on some resolution. Since Yehoshua would immediately stand up to the spies, he would be in physical danger. Calev, on the other hand, needed to remain spiritually resolute, and therefore needed to pray on his own to be effective.
Why go to the graves of tzadikim? Actually, going to any cemetery would give us a proper perspective on life and on our actions. When we go to the final resting places of tzadikim, writes Rav Moshe Igbui in Chochmat Hamatzpun, we are also hoping to learn from the ways of these tzadikim. On a different level, Rabbi Scheinerman suggests that Calev went to holy ground, where these tzadikim were buried, as his prayers would be more efficacious there.
We daven at kivrei tzadikim so that Hashem should help us is the merit of these tzadikim who are buried there, for we do not pray to the people themselves. Further, if the dead feel our pain, their neshamos will join us in prayer. And when we go to the graves of tzadikim, while we may pray for materialistic and physical things, our main focus should be on spiritual requests. If not for the intercession of tzadikim, notes Rabbi Gamliel Rabinowitz, none of us would survive, for the dead have the power to awaken the mercy of Hakodosh Boruch Hu. Each tzadik is known for a specific trait or work in this world, and so his body remains buried in this world where that work took place, and where we can go so we have a tangible place where we can feel a connection to this tzadik. Coming to this holy place has the power to affect us deeply, notes Rabbi Wolfson, and we will try to emulate them.
It has become customary for a young man and a young woman, when they become engaged, to go the graves of their parents (if they are no longer on this earth), grandparents, ancestors and other tzadikim to invite them to the wedding and ask for their blessings. But just asking for their blessings is not enough. One must make a commitment on his own part to be worthy of blessings, not to be swept up in the negativity of modern culture. After all, if things are going well in this world, writes Rabbi Gedaliah Eisman z”l in Letitcha Elyon, you very possibly have problems in the spiritual realm. On the other hand, if you are constantly facing challenges, Hashem is helping you flex your spiritual muscles so that you can grow. In this world and in the spiritual realm, we must do our share, but we ask our loved ones and the tzadikim who have left this world to help us by joining in our prayers to Hakodosh Boruch Hu and thereby helping us to achieve greater spiritual heights.