RABBI AARON Editor, Torah Tidbits GOLDSCHEIDER
Calev’s Voice
O
ne cannot help but be captivated by the personality of Calev. Twelve leaders are assigned to explore the land of Canaan. Only Calev and Yehoshua return with positive reports. Strikingly, it is Calev who emerges as the heroic figure in the drama. It is he who tries to rally the people with the words “ ”עלה נעלה,“We can surely go up!” Calev is singled out for tremendous reward: “I will bring him into the Land”. Hashem calls him “avdi Calev”, “My servant Calev” (Bemidbar 14:24). Very few people are ever given the appellation Eved Hashem, servant of God. When the Jewish people conquer the land of Canaan, Calev is immediately given the city of Chevron as a gift (Yehoshua 14:14). The commentary of the Ohr HaChaim, Rabbi Chaim ben Atar (1693-1743) offers a fascinating insight into Calev’s character. The pasuk states: “My servant Calev had another spirit ( )רוח אחרתwithin him…” The standard understanding of this phrase is that Calev’s ‘different spirit’ meant that he was above and beyond the other spies, he was endowed with elevated sanctity. Ohr Hachaim disagrees. He claims that the term Acheret is not used in the positive 46
TORAH TIDBITS / SHELACH 5780
sense. Simply, it alludes to yetzer hara. It means that Calev had temptations to join the other spies. He would have to battle, he would have to struggle to maintain his faith in the promise. He had to wrestle with himself and the challenging scenario that he faced. The pasuk continues to say, ‘He followed me fully’; despite the struggle he managed to stand against the pressure of the other meraglim and even his own self doubts. This image of Calev is further reinforced by the Talmud which famously states that Calev left the other spies to go pray in Chevron at the burial site of our forefathers and mothers (Sota 34b). He intentionally finds this location in order to gain strength and help overcome the great challenge of returning with a positive report about Israel. It was there that Calev went to pray; just the right setting to fortify the inner strength he would need and identify with the right values. Parenthetically, it has been suggested that this unique trait of Calev is hinted to in his name which translates as “whole heart” ()כל לב. The Hebrew word for dog, kelev, has a similar meaning; it is related to the notion of loyalty or fidelity (the name traditionally given to a dog is ‘Fido’, which comes from the Latin word fidelus). (‘Frameworks’ Vol. 4, Rabbi Matis Weinberg, p.136)
