Rabbi Yissachar Frand
This commentary on the weekly Torah portion of Shelach is suitable not only for a Shabbat meal, but also makes a wonderful addition to "sheva brachot". In his commentary on our weekly Torah portion, Rav Yaakov Kamenetsky saw praise for the virtues of righteous Jewish wives, described in the Shabbat hymn Eshet Chayil - "Who can find a worthy wife? She is more precious than pearls".
At the beginning of the weekly Torah portion of Shelach, Moshe changes the name of his closest disciple—Hoshea bin Nun—to Yehoshua (Bamidbar, 13:16), saying (according to the midrash): "May the Almighty save you from the counsel of the other spies" (Midrash Tanchuma 6; Sotah, 34b). Moshe knew that Yehoshua would need this blessing to stand firm against the words of the other spies, and that is precisely why he chose these words to send him on his way.
Many ask: why was Moshe concerned only about Yehoshua? Why did he not consider it necessary to bless Kalev as well?
Did he not deserve additional strength to stand against the opinion of most of the spies? Rav Yaakov Kamenetsky offers an interesting answer. As is known, Kalev was married to Miriam, who was renowned for her righteousness. Knowing how righteous Kalev's wife was, Moshe was confident that he would not succumb to a bad influence. Yehoshua was unmarried at that time (Rahab of Jericho later became his wife). Since, at the time of the events described, Yehoshua did not have a wife to support him, he particularly needed the blessing "May the Almighty save you from the counsel of the other spies."