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Yehoshua 9-10

Yehoshua  Perakim 9-10

The Perek begins  with the story of Yehosua’s conquests getting around to the nations inhabiting Eretz Yisroel and the plan to unite in Canaanite brotherhood to defeat the Jews (proving that as much as things change, they always stay the same). The inhabitants of Givon tricked Yehoshua into setting up a treaty with them. The Nesiim agreed to honor the treaty, assigning the people of Gilad to become the wood choppers and water carriers for Bnei Yisroel.  Yehoshua curses the people who respond that they had no choice because they feared for their lives and accepted their fate – to serve the Jewish people but never to join them.

Something interesting to think about…

The Yirushalmi (Kiddushin 4:1) notes that the real intent of the Givonim was to trick the Jewish people in order to get them to sin. Therefore Yehoshua cursed them like Hashem did to the Nachash.  The Nachash tried to trick Adam and Chavah by pretending to be in with them, the Givonim did the same to the Jews.

The Ari HaKadosh (Likkutei Torah Vayishlach) notes that we find the same aspects in Chamor the son of Shechem who also tried to destroy the Jews from within. The Givonim were the descendants of Shechem, therefore they employed the same tactics.

The Yirushalmi continues that in the future, everything will be healed except the Nachash and the people of Givon. The understanding – according to the Ari, is that those who try to destroy from within, are doomed to remain forever cursed.

Perek 10

The King of Yirushalayim (AdoneeTzedek) heard about what happened in Yiricho and Ai and he got nervous. He banded together with the kings of Chevron, Yarmus, Lachish, and Eglon (all Emori kingdoms) to ojin forces and attack Givon for making a treaty with Yehoshua. The Givonim turned to Yehoshua for help. After receiving Hashem’s support, Yehoshua enters the battle in the middle of the night. Hashem scared the people through hail and into the arms of the waiting Jewish armies. At that point Yehoshua stopped the sun from its regular schedule uttering the famous words – “Shemesh B’Givon Dom V”Yareiach B’Emek Ayalon.” Yehoshua captures the five kings who had hidden in a cave, kills them and then buries their bodies in said cave. In the ensuing following battles, the Jews inhabit Lachish, Makaida, Gezer, Eglon, Chevron and Dvir from Kadeish Barnea until Gazaand from Goshen to Givon. Afterwards, he returned to Gilgal.

Something interesting to think about….

The kings of Yirushalayim always seemed to include the word “Tzedek”. Ramban (Berashis 14:18) notes that this is because even the nations of the world know that Yirushalayim is so holy, it makes its inhabitants righteous.

Shoftim Perakim 17-18 (13 Marcheshvan)

The Story of Pesel Micha: Perek 17 opens with an admission of guilt; a child stole money from his mother. His admission comes with reparations. It is clear that the mother had dedicated it to an idol which Micha then builds. Meanwhile, a person from (Judah), a Levi goes on a trip and Micha makes him his Kohain. Is he a kohain? It seems not, that Micha simply decides that he should have this role which this Levi happily accepts.

Now, in Sefer Yehoshua (19:40-46) we learned the tribe of Dan wasn’t happy with their land. They said: “that there is this section all the way in the North that we want.” They went to go claim it. The people of Dan consulted Micha's Levi to see if they would win the war. Ultimately they won the war and adopted Micha’s levi as their own as they established Jewish  idolatry up in the North.
 

Shoftim Perakim 19-21 (14 Marcheshvan)

The final 3 Perakim of Sefer Shoftim note the stroy of Pilegesh B'Givah and its aftermath. Perek 19 starts off with  a young man and his concubine couple visiting the in-laws. Despite (because of) the father’s hospitality, the couple decides to travel home. On the journey, night falls, and the couple looks for a place to stops and lodge in the neighborhood of the tribe on Binyamin. Unfortunately, no one offers to let them stay for the night. A man from Ephraim, not from the tribe of Binyamin, warns them not to stay in the street and offers to house them for the night. The men of the neighborhood hear about this hospitality and demand that the host send out the concubine of the guest so they can have their way with her. Ultimately, the mob was successful and the woman is returned in the morning dead. In response, the man cuts up her body into 12 pieces to send a clear message to every tribe about this horrific event. (The Irony of reading this story during Parshas VaYera is certainly not to be lost).
Once again, civil war erupts. The tribe of Benjamin is practically decimated because the rest of the people are outraged that they could defile this concubine so. The nation did consult the kohain (Pinchas – another proof that this story was early in the era) and Hashem sanctioned the war; but it was bloody and Binyamin suffered heavy casualties.

Because of the atrocity committed in Gibeah, the other Tribes had sworn at the meeting in Mitzpah not to give their daughters as wives to the Tribe of Benjamin. Now they had a problem: the entire Tribe had been wiped out except for the 600 refugees! What could be done? They couldn't violate their oath, but they also could not allow a Tribe to become extinct. What to do?

First, they determined that nobody had come to the meeting from the town of Yaveish-Gilad. Therefore, nobody from Yaveish-Gilad was bound by the oath. They struck down the population of Yaveish-Gilad, since attendance at the national assembly was mandatory on pain of death. They kept alive 400 marriageable girls for wives for Benjaminite refugees.But this left 200 Benjaminite refugees without wives. How could they renew the Tribe without the other Tribes violating their oath? It was decided that the 200 remaining Benjaminites would go to the yearly festival in Shiloh. When the local girls went out to dance, each man would catch himself a wife. This would be done with the girl's consent, but not the parents', so there would be no violation of their oath not to give their daughters to the Tribe of Benjamin.

Shoftim Perakim 15-16 (12 Marcheshvan)

Shimson had left his Philistine wife with her father. He later went to reclaim her, only to find that the father had given her away to another man. Since she was not divorced from Samson, this was blatant adultery, tacitly sanctioned by the local Philistine community in violation of the Sheva mitzvos Bnei Noach. Shimshon tied foxes together by the tails with torches and let them loose through the Philistines' fields, burning down their crops. When the Philistines heard of this, they burned the adulterous woman and her father. Samson reprimanded them that that's what should have been done in the first place.

The Bnei Yeudah were concerned that Shimson's trouble with the Philistines would come back to bite them. He allowed them to arrest him and to turn him over to the Philistines, but when they handed him over, he broke his bonds, grabbed a donkey's jawbone and killed 1,000 of the enemy troops.

Shimshon's end comes in Perek 16 where he falls for Delilah and let's her in on the secret to his strength. She turns on him and turns him in to the Philistines who knock out his eyes. During a Philistine celebration where he is brought up to   be mocked, Shimshon's strength is returned to him by Hashem in order to deliver a final crushing blow to the Philistines. He rules for 20 years.