EMOTIONS MUST BE CONTAINED WITHIN THE CONFINES OF OUR INTELLECT.

 

"וירץ הנער ויגד למשה ויאמר אלדד ומידד מתנבאים במחנה. ויען יהושע בן נון משרת משה מבחריו ויאמר אדני משה כלאם" (במדבר י"א – כ"ח)

A young lad ran and told Moshe that Eldad and Medad were prophesying in the camp.  Yehoshua Ben Nun, Moshe's attendant since the time of his youth, spoke up and said, "My lord, Moshe, imprison them!!"  [Bamidbar 11:28]

 

When Yehoshua was informed that Eldad and Medad were prophesying in the camp, he felt that this behavior was most offensive and said, "My lord, Moshe, imprison them!!"

What was it, exactly, that Eldad and Medad were prophesying?  Chazal (Sanhedrin 17a) offer various opinions.  One opinion states that they were prophesying regarding an immediate issue at hand, namely that Hashem would supply Klal Yisroel with meat by providing quails to feed them.  Another opinion states that they were prophesying concerning the apocalyptic wars of Gog and Magog in Messianic times.

 

What exactly did Yehoshua find improper about these prophecies? According to one opinion in the Gemora, he felt that Eldad and Medad’s prophesying in the presence of their very own leader, Moshe Rabbeinu, constituted a grievous breach of conduct. They were moreh halacha bifnai rabom, disciples who were deciding questions in the presence of their Rebbe.  He, therefore, requested that Moshe deal with them most severely.

 

To recap, according to these opinions of Chazal, Eldad and Medad were prophesying regarding the quails or regarding Gog and Magog.  Yehoshua felt that their speaking prophecy before their Rebbe Moshe, was moreh halacha bifnai rabom, which was forbidden.  This, led Yehoshua to defend the honor of Moshe Rabbeinu.

 

Although Yehoshua's zealous defense of Moshe’s honor was most commendable, the Gemorah elsewhere (Eiruvin 63) states that Yehoshua himself was punished by not having any sons[1] for saying this very statement:  "My lord Moshe, imprison them!!"  By saying this, he himself, was moreh halacha bifnai

rabo, since he was telling Moshe Rabbeinu to punish Eldad & Medad, a judgment that should have been left for Moshe himself.

 

This is mystifying.  Yehoshua assesses Eldad's and Medad's prophecies to be a forbidden act of moreh halacha bifnai rabam, an action by disciples rendering decisions in the presence of their Rebbe.  This in turn stimulates Yehoshua to zealously defend the honor of Moshe Rabbeinu.  He expresses outrage toward them, requesting, "My lord Moshe, imprison them!"  Was not Yehoshua himself guilty of the very same thing that he accused Eldad and Medad of doing?  His expression of outrage was in itself moreh halacha bifnai rabo!  How in good conscience can a rational person, especially a person of the intellectual caliber of Yehoshua, accuse Eldad and Medad of being moreh halacha bifnai rabom. He was, in fact, violating this very same interdiction himself by telling Moshe to punish them?  Didn't Yehoshua perceive this double standard?  Didn't he see the irony?

 

It seems that all of these questions are accurate.  There is no possible way to conceive that Yehoshua thought that he was permitted to rule in front of Moshe, while Eldad and Medad were not so permitted. There is no double standard; there is one Torah for all people alike.  Rather, Yehoshua's expression of, "My lord, Moshe, imprison them!!"  constituted an emotional outburst stemming from his heartfelt desire to punish those that would dare undermine the honor of Moshe.  Yehoshua assessed the halacha to be that Eldad and Medad were guilty of being moreh halacha bifnai rabam and were undermining the honor of Moshe.  He then gathered his deepest feelings and emotions and zealously exclaimed, "My lord Moshe, imprison them!"  His feelings and emotions for the sacred honor of his beloved Rebbe were so deep that his intellect was unable to restrain them.  His intellect was no longer in control. 

 

An individual, even one of the stature of Yehoshua, whose reason and intellect are dominated by his emotions, can become a living paradox in his actions.  He can act in constant contradiction to what he intellectually stands for, without ever realizing the contradiction.  He can perform entirely inconsistent actions and never detect the inconsistency.  He walks in darkness – day is night, and night is day.  The halacha which he assesses to be permissible, may in reality be forbidden.  A person in this frame of mind cannot serve Hashem properly.

 

However, if a person has the proper balance, his emotions are contained within the confines of his intellect – he can then serve Hashem properly.  He does not allow his emotions to carry him away.  On the contrary, his feelings and emotions, working in tandem with his intellect, will add both neshama and warmth to his actions.  He can truly serve Hashem "with all his heart and with all his soul."

 

May we aspire to attain this high and lofty plateau in life – to subordinate our emotions to the rule of our intellect; this alone will make a significant difference in all of our service to Hashem. Amen