Translation by Yehoshua Siskin
I have embarked on a one-year program of daily Bible study that covers all the books of the Prophets (Nevi'im) and the Writings (Ktuvim). This is achieved by reading just two chapters a day. I have already finished the book of Joshua and here is my attempt to summarize the experience.
I seem to recall studying the book of Joshua in primary school. It was boring to me and I never imagined that this was a holy text that could be relevant to my life. Did I really think that I would some day return to it? And what about the rest of the Prophets and the Writings that we never read? How are they pertinent to our lives?
Whatever the Torah says will happen actually happens and several cases of this are found in the book of Joshua. Moreover, the concept of "measure for measure" is amply illustrated here. We remember Joshua and Caleb in the story of the spies. They alone were not swept up in a negative assessment of the Land when they proclaimed: "The Land is very, very good." When Joshua and Caleb arrive in the Land they receive their inheritance in it. Do you remember the daughters of Zelophechad? Their love for the Land is rewarded when they too receive their portion in it. What about the cities of refuge? They are established in this book.
Everything that was promised materializes. As stated in the book of Joshua: "Not a thing was lacking from all the good things that the Lord spoke to the house of Israel; all of them came to pass."
A friend of mine who joined the program told me that, through this daily study, she feels a stronger connection to what is happening to the Jewish people today since all the wonderful prophecies in the Torah, as proven in the book of Joshua, do come true.
We have finished the book of Joshua and now begin the book of Judges (Shoftim).
