על השחיקה

And the LORD said unto Moses: ‘Gather unto Me seventy men of the elders of Israel, whom thou knowest to be the elders of the people, and officers over them; and bring them unto the tent of meeting, that they may stand there with thee. And I will come down and speak with thee there; and I will take of the spirit which is upon thee, and will put it upon them; and they shall bear the burden of the people with thee, that thou bear it not thyself alone.

(Numb. 11:16), “Gather Me seventy men [from the elders of Israel].” When the Holy One, blessed be He, said to Moses, “Gather Me seventy men,” Moses said, “How shall I manage to get [them] from all the tribes?⁴⁸Numb. R. 15:19; Sifre to Numb. 11:24-26 (95). If I get five each from every tribe, they will not add up to the number seventy. There will [only] be sixty. And if we get six each from every tribe, they will add up to the number seventy-two. But if we get five from one tribe and six from another, I shall be imposing jealousy among the tribes.” What did Moses do? R. Judah says, “He took seventy pieces of paper⁴⁹Petaqim; cf. Gk.: pittikia (“notes”). and wrote ‘elder’ on them. Then he took another (seventy) [two] blank pieces of paper, mixed them up, put them in an urn,⁵⁰Gk.: kalpis. and said to them, ‘Come and take your pieces of paper.’ Whoever took a paper with ‘elder’ written on it knew that he had been appointed an elder. Whoever came up with a blank paper in his hand knew that he had not been appointed an elder.” R. Nehemiah said to him, “There would still have been a controversy, since [a loser] could have said to him, ‘Where is a paper with "elder" written on it? If it had been there, it would have come up in my hand.’” Therefore, how did he manage for them? R. Nehemiah said, “He took seventy-two pieces of paper and wrote ‘elder’ on them plus [seventy-]two other blank pieces of paper. Then he mixed them up and put them in the urn. He said to them, ‘Come and take your papers.’ If a paper with ‘elder’ written on it came up in [a person's] hand he knew that he had been appointed an elder, but if a blank one came up in his hand he knew that he had not been appointed. Then the officer-in-charge would say to him, ‘Look there is another paper there with “elder" written upon it. If you had been worthy of being appointed, [a paper with "elder"] would have come up in your hand.’” When [Moses had followed this procedure] the elders were appointed. Eldad and Medad were there, but they excluded themselves. They said, “We are not worthy to be in the number of the elders.” Now because they excluded themselves, they were found [to have become] superior to the elders in five respects. The elders only prophesied for the morrow as stated (in Numb. 11:18), “And you shall say to the people, ‘Purify yourselves for the morrow,’” but these men prophesied what was going to happen at the end of forty years as stated (in Numb. 11:26), “But two men had remained in the camp; [the name of the one was Eldad and the name of the other was Medad…; and they were…] prophesying in the camp.” But what were they prophesying? Some say [they were prophesying] about the downfall of Gog and Magog, while others say they were prophesying that Moses would die and Joshua would bring Israel into the Land. You yourself know that they so prophesied, since it is what Joshua told Moshe (in vs. 28), “Then Joshua ben Nun, Moses' attendant from his youth, answered.” And it is written (in vs. 27), “But a lad ran and told Moses.” And who was it? It was Moses' son, Gershom. The elders did not enter the land, but these did enter the land. Eldad is [so listed] (in Numb. 34:21) [as] Elidad ben Chislon. Medad is [so listed] (in Numb. 34:24) [as] Kemuel ben Shiphtan. The elders were not designated by their names, but these were designated by their names. The elders had their prophecy cease, but these did not have their prophecy cease. It is so stated (of the seventy in Numb. 11:25), “they prophesied but did not continue.” In the case of the elders, their prophecy was from what belonged to Moses, even as the Scripture has said (in Numb. 11:17), “and I will set aside some of the spirit which is upon you and put it on them”; but these [two] had their prophecy from that which belonged to the Holy One, blessed be He, as stated (in Numb. 11:26), “and the spirit rested upon them.”
Now if you say, “Since the elders had their prophecy from what belonged to Moses, might it not have lessened his prophecy somewhat?” [The answer is] no. To what may Moses be compared? To a lamp which was lit and⁵¹Sifre to Numb. 11:17 (93). everyone lights up from it; yet its light is in no way diminished. So also in the case of Moses. Although the prophets took of his prophecy, the prophecy of Moses was in no way diminished. [It is so stated] (in Deut. 34:10), “And never again did there arise in Israel a prophet like Moses.”

The spirit of man is the lamp of the LORD, searching all the inward parts.

And the LORD said unto Moses: ‘Take thee Joshua the son of Nun, a man in whom is spirit, and lay thy hand upon him; and set him before Eleazar the priest, and before all the congregation; and give him a charge in their sight. And thou shalt put of thy honour upon him, that all the congregation of the children of Israel may hearken. And he shall stand before Eleazar the priest, who shall inquire for him by the judgment of the Urim before the LORD; at his word shall they go out, and at his word they shall come in, both he, and all the children of Israel with him, even all the congregation.’ And Moses did as the LORD commanded him; and he took Joshua, and set him before Eleazar the priest, and before all the congregation. And he laid his hands upon him, and gave him a charge, as the LORD spoke by the hand of Moses.

15 (Numb. 27:16) “[…] Let the Lord, the God of the spirits [of all flesh], appoint”: Anyone who comes to seek the needs of the community is as if he comes forcefully. (Numb. 27:16) “Let the Lord appoint”: What reason did [Moses] have to request this need after the ordering of inheritance? It is simply that since he saw the daughters of Zelophehad inherit the properties of their father, Moses said, “See it is the time for me to claim my needs. If daughters inherit, it is [also] proper for my sons to inherit my glory.” The Holy One, blessed be He, said to him (in Prov. 27:18), “’He who tends a fig tree will enjoy its fruit.’ Your sons sat [with] their own [concerns] and were not involved with Torah [study]. [Whereas] Joshua served you much and showed you much honor. And he got up early to your house of meeting and left late. He arranged the benches and spread out the mats. Since he served you with all of his ability, he is worthy to serve Israel, so as not to lose his compensation.” (Numb. 27:18) “Take Joshua bin Nun,” in order to fulfill what is stated (in Prov. 27:18), “He who tends a fig tree will enjoy its fruit.”