The text hinges on the seemingly simple phrase, "Craft for you." (Numbers 10:2) It's all about the personal nature of leadership and the instruments that come with it. "Craft for you," the Midrash emphasizes, means "for yourself you craft, but not for another." These trumpets, made of silver, were specifically for Moses. He could use them, but no one else could. It's a concept that raises some interesting questions, doesn't it?
The Midrash then presents a compelling case: if these trumpets were so powerful, why didn't Joshua, Moses’s successor, use them? After all, Joshua had a monumental task: conquering Jericho.
Now, get this: according to Rabbi Shmuel bar Naḥmani, Jericho wasn't just any city. It was "the safeguard of the Land of Israel." The idea being that if Jericho fell, the rest of the land would soon follow. That's why, the Midrash tells us, seven nations assembled there to defend it (Joshua 24:11).
So, back to Joshua. He’s facing this heavily fortified city, a linchpin of the entire land. And what does he use to conquer it? Shofars! Ram's horns. The verse tells us, "The people shouted, and they sounded the shofars" (Joshua 6:20). Even Joshua, Moses's own disciple, didn't use the silver trumpets. Why?
The Midrash goes further. It wasn't just Joshua; even Moses himself couldn't use the trumpets once he was nearing the end of his life. Rabbi Yitzḥak explains that when Moses prepared to take his leave, he gathered the elders (Deuteronomy 31:28). But where were the silver trumpets to summon them? They were, according to the Rabbis, already sequestered, set aside, even while Moses was still alive.
Rabbi Yehoshua of Sikhnin, quoting Rabbi Levi, drives the point home. It’s about realizing the truth of "There is no dominion on the day of death" (Ecclesiastes 8:8). The trumpets were "craft for you two silver trumpets" – craft them for you, and no one else will use them all the days of your life.
The trumpets, in this understanding, are intrinsically linked to Moses's specific role and time. They weren't just tools; they were extensions of his authority, valid only for him, during his active leadership. The Midrash is highlighting the ephemeral nature of power, the idea that instruments of leadership are personal, and that their efficacy is tied to the individual who wields them and the specific moment in time. It's a powerful reminder that leadership isn't just about the tools, but about the person using them and the context in which they're used.
So, what does this tell us? Perhaps it’s a reminder that true leadership isn't about clinging to power or passing on the same tools, but about empowering others to find their own voices, their own "trumpets," to lead in their own unique way.