In the Talmud Bava Basra 75a Chazal remark, “Of your honor – but not all of your honor.” The elders of that generation said, “The face of Moshe is like that of the sun, while the face of Yehoshua is similar to that of the moon. Woe to such embarrassment; woe to such humiliation.” We are taught that Yehoshua’s spiritual brilliance paled in comparison to that of Moshe. Indeed, the elders who observed this apparent disparity viewed Yehoshua as an embarrassment in light of Moshe. We must endeavor to understand Chazal’s statement. Is it common to find someone whose spiritual plateau is compared to the shine of the moon? Is this such a modest feat? They should have been overjoyed that someone had attained such a high level of spiritual progress. They should surely not have denigrated such achievement, simply because Yehoshua’s level was not as lofty as that of his predecessor.
Horav Baruch Mordechai Ezrachi, Shlita, infers from here a profound lesson regarding how far we are from grasping the truth, from perceiving situations with the clarity of vision reflected by the Torah perspective. When we assess the success of a given endeavor, we look at its potential. One who did not maximize his ability reflects limited ambition. If he would have exerted himself even more, if he would not have rested, he would come closer to realizing his potential.
The leaders of that generation had an image of the quintessential leader, Moshe Rabbeinu, constantly before them. A human being should strive to replicate this model, representing the highest potential of a manhig Yisrael, Jewish leader. It is not surprising that anyone short of this achievement simply is not deemed adequate. As great as Yehoshua was, he depicted the stark reality of the disparity between potential and actual achievement. Woe to such embarrassment – woe to such humiliation.
Satisfaction with one’s achievement is a wonderful trait to exhibit. It can, however, be misleading and self- destructive. We tend to be satisfied too easily with our spiritual successes, while the opposite is true regarding our material demands. How often do we measure our spiritual achievement in comparison to our peers, while ignoring the fact that there are so many individuals whose successes outshine our own endeavors? We must be demanding of ourselves in every area of spiritual endeavor, striving with tremendous ambition to reach that plateau of accomplishment which is reserved for those who work for it.
