Parshas Bahaloscha 5785
- Torah Tavlin
- Jun 12
- 2 min read
ויראני את יהושע הכה"ג עמד לפני מלאך ה' והשטן עמד על ימינו לשטנו ... (זכרי' ג-א)
Zecharia HaNavi beholds a vision wherein Yehoshua Kohen Gadol was brought to a serious trial regarding his esteemed priestly position due to his “clothes being soiled” Surely, the Kohen Gadol was not being punished for a lack of cleanliness. So what does this really mean?
Chazal explain it refers to Yehoshua’s daughters-in-law who were affected by their Babylonian environs. But in truth, Yehoshua knew about this all along, which is why Chazal offer another reason for Yehoshua’s return to the Kehuna Gedola even after he convinced his sons to divorce their wives. Chazal (Sanhedrin 93a) say that there were two false prophets who convinced the daughter of Nevuchadnezzar to commit an unspeakable act under the false pretense that G-d had ordered them to do so. Nevuchadnezzar was made aware of the situation and decided to test them by throwing them into a furnace as he had done with Chananya, Mishael and Azarya. The pair argued that they were only two while the latter group was three. Nevuchadnezzar agreed and ordered Yehoshua to join them. The two false prophets were burned while Yehoshua’s clothes were only singed by the fire. When questioned about this, Yehoshua answered vaguely that when fire is given permission to burn it burns indiscriminately, but Chazal note that it was due to the fact that he did not rebuke his children earlier about their sinful wives. Chazal add that we should take a lesson in procrastination and how one should not ignore sinful behavior when he has the ability to stop it.