<b>And Moses said unto Joshua: “Choose us out men, and go out, fight with Amalek” (Exod. 17:9).</b> From this verse it is apparent that Moses treated his disciple Joshua as his equal. This teaches us proper behavior. He did not say to his disciple <i>Choose me out</i> men but rather <i>Choose us</i> out men. In this way he made him his equal. As a consequence of this verse, they declared: Your disciple’s honor should be as precious to you as your own. Whence do we learn that respect for one’s associate must be as important to you as respect for your teacher? You find that this was so in the case of Aaron; <i>And Aaron said unto Moses: “O my lord, lay not, I pray thee, sin upon us”</i> (Num. 11:11). Was not Aaron actually the elder brother? He was. Thus you learn from this that he treated him as though he were his master. Whence do we learn that respect for one’s teacher should be as important to you as the fear of heaven? We learn this from the verse: <i>And Joshua son of Nun, the minister of Moses from his youth up, answered and said: “My lord Moses, shut them in”</i> (ibid. 11:28). Here he was saying to him: My lord Moses, just as the Holy One, blessed be He, shut them in, so you are able to shut them in.
Likewise in regard to Gehazi. When Elijah said to him: <i>Gird up thy loins, and take my staff in thy hands, and go thy way; if thou meet any man, salute him not, and if any salute thee, answer him not</i> (II Kings 4:29), Gehazi walked away leaning upon his staff. When men encountered him and asked: “Where are you going?” He would reply: “To revive the dead!” When they retorted: “Is it not the Holy One, blessed be He, alone who orders death and restores to life?” He answered: “My master likewise orders death and restores to life.”
<i>Choose us out</i>. This alludes to the mighty men who are fearful of sinning. <i>And go out</i>. That is, leave the protection of the clouds, and fight against Amalek tomorrow. Isi the son of Judah said: There are five verses in the Torah in which there are five words whose meanings are unclear: <i>Lifted up, Cursed, Tomorrow, Made like almonds</i>, and <i>Rise up</i>.<sup class="footnote-marker">16</sup><i class="footnote">These words may be construed with what precedes or with what follows, yielding different meanings.</i> <i>Shall it not be lifted up?</i> might be understood as in the verse <i>If thou doest well, shall it not be lifted up?</i> (Gen. 4:7), but on the other hand, it might be understood as <i>Shall it not be lifted up even if thou doest not well?</i> (Gen. 4:6). <i>Cursed</i> might be construed as in the verse <i>For in their anger they slew men, and in their self-will they houghed [an accursed] oxen</i> (Gen. 49:6–7), or it may be construed as in the verse <i>Cursed be their anger</i> (ibid., v. 7). <i>Tomorrow</i> might be understood as in the verse <i>Go out and fight with Amalek tomorrow</i>, or it might be interpreted as in the verse <i>Tomorrow I will stand</i> (Exod. 17:9). <i>Made like almond blossoms</i> might be understood as in the verse <i>And in the candlestick four cups made like almond blossoms</i> (Exod. 25:34), or as in the verse <i>Like almond blossoms the knops thereof</i> (ibid.). <i>Rise up</i> might be understood as in the verse <i>Behold, thou art about to sleep with thy fathers, and this people will rise up</i> (Deut. 31:16) or as in the verse <i>Sleep with thy fathers, and rise up</i> (ibid.).
<i>On the top of the hill</i> (Exod. 17:9). <i>On the top</i> refers to the deeds of the fathers, and <i>the hill</i> to the acts of the mothers. <i>With the rod of God in my hand</i> (ibid.). Moses said: Master of the Universe, with this staff you brought Israel out of Egypt; with this staff you split asunder the sea for them; with this staff you performed miracles and mighty deeds; now with this staff you will perform miracles for them at this time.