True heroes don't dodge rebuke — they grow from it

Picture this: you're about to face the biggest challenge of your life. Your team is counting on you. The pressure is enormous. And right at that moment — someone taps you on the shoulder and tells you you've been doing it wrong.

How would you react? Defensively? Dismissively? Most of us would. But Yehoshua bin Nun — the man chosen by Hashem to lead Klal Yisrael into Eretz Yisrael — did something extraordinary. He listened. And that single choice reveals what true heroism really looks like.

The rebuke no one expected

The scene is dramatic. Yehoshua is near Yericho, scouting and preparing for the battle ahead. A Malach appears before him with a drawn sword. You'd expect the message to be about military tactics — flanking strategies, weapon counts, troop formations.

Instead, the Malach delivers a rebuke. Yehoshua had made an error. He had been so focused on battle preparations that he had let Torah study slip. The Malach's message was clear: tonight is not the time for war planning. That can wait. What cannot wait is Torah.

Think about the context for a moment. Klal Yisrael is standing at the threshold of their first battle in the Promised Land. Everything they've waited for — 40 years in the desert, the passing of Moshe Rabbeinu — has led to this point. And the Malach's priority? Keep the fire of Torah burning.

Why Torah always comes first — even in a crisis

This wasn't a minor correction. It was a foundational lesson for all of Jewish history. As Hashem told Yehoshua at the very beginning of the Sefer: Lo yamush Sefer HaTorah hazeh mipicha — the Torah must never depart from your mouth.

Not in peacetime. Not in wartime. Not when things are comfortable and certainly not when they're terrifying. The fire of Torah isn't something we tend to only when life is calm. It's the constant, the anchor, the one thing that never gets put on pause.

Rabbi Wolbe teaches that real Avodas Hashem requires an unbroken awareness — a steady, daily commitment that doesn't flex based on circumstances. Yehoshua's mistake wasn't laziness. He was actively serving Klal Yisrael. But even noble efforts can become errors when they push Torah learning aside.

There's a powerful principle here for our own lives. We all have seasons of intensity — a move, a new job, a family simcha, a crisis. And in those moments, we're tempted to say, "I'll get back to my learning when things settle down." The Malach's message to Yehoshua is a message to us: things never fully settle down. Torah can't wait for a convenient time. It is the time.

Embracing rebuke as a path to greatness

Here's where the story gets really inspiring. Yehoshua didn't argue. He didn't justify himself. He didn't say, "But I was doing something important!" He accepted the rebuke.

And that, the Torah teaches, is what makes a hero. Not perfection. Not a flawless record. A hero is someone who stands on the lessons they learn in life and reaches upward to improve. Yehoshua had made an error — and he owned it completely.

This is one of the hardest things a person can do. Our natural instinct is to protect our ego. When someone points out a flaw, our first reaction is often to deflect: "You don't understand the full picture," or "That's not what happened." Embracing rebuke requires a kind of inner strength that most people never develop.

Shlomo HaMelech tells us in Mishlei (9:8): "Rebuke a wise person and he will love you." Not tolerate you. Not grudgingly accept your words. Love you. Because a wise person understands that honest feedback is one of the greatest gifts anyone can give.

Removing the shoe — and the illusion of control

The Malach then instructed Yehoshua to remove his shoe. Wherever a Malach stands with a message from Hashem, the Kedusha is so intense that the ground itself becomes Kadosh. Standing there in a dirty shoe would be disrespectful.

But Yehoshua understood something deeper. As he removed his shoe, he also removed something from his mind: the belief that armor, weapons, or military strategy would determine the outcome of this war. The coming battle for Yericho would be completely beyond the natural order. Hashem had sent His commanding officer. The victory was already decided.

This is a remarkable moment of Emunah. Yehoshua didn't just follow a technical instruction — take off your shoe. He internalized the lesson behind it. If Hashem is running this battle, then the only real preparation is spiritual. The outcome doesn't depend on swords. It depends on Kedusha.

What embracing rebuke looks like in daily life

Yehoshua's response to the Malach isn't just an ancient story. It's a practical blueprint. Here are ways to bring this kind of heroism into your own life, starting today:

Pause before you react. The next time someone offers you criticism — a spouse, a Rav, a friend, a colleague — take a breath before responding. Ask yourself: is there truth here? Yehoshua didn't react defensively. He listened first. Give yourself three seconds of silence before you say a word. Those three seconds can change everything.

Protect your Torah learning like it's non-negotiable. Set a daily learning time that doesn't move — even five minutes. Treat it the way Yehoshua was told to treat Torah: as the constant that never pauses, not for war, not for work, not for anything. Write it into your schedule the way you'd write a doctor's appointment. It's that important.

Find your Malach. Everyone needs someone who will tell them the truth — lovingly, but honestly. A Rav. A Chavrusa. A mentor. Seek out a person you trust enough to hear hard words from, and check in with them regularly. Embracing rebuke is nearly impossible if you've built a life where no one is allowed to challenge you.

Practice "removing the shoe." Before a big challenge — a difficult conversation, a major decision, a stressful week — consciously remind yourself that the outcome is in Hashem's hands. Do your Hishtadlus, absolutely. But let go of the illusion that you control results. Daven. Learn. Trust. That's the real preparation.

The fire that never goes out

The Malach's rebuke to Yehoshua contains one of the most beautiful descriptions of our people: In times of peace and in times of war, in our homes and on the road, when we lie down and when we wake up — our minds are constantly consumed with the blazing fire of Torah.

That's not a poetic exaggeration. It's a mission statement. The fire of Torah is what makes us who we are. It burns in the Beis Midrash and on the battlefield. It burns in comfort and in crisis. And every time we sit down to learn — even when it's hard, even when a thousand other things are pressing — we add fuel to that fire.

Yehoshua's greatness wasn't that he never stumbled. It was that when he did, he accepted correction with humility and grew from it. He didn't let his ego stand between him and truth. And that single quality — the willingness to hear rebuke and act on it — is what made him worthy of leading Klal Yisrael into Eretz Yisrael.

So the next time someone tells you something you don't want to hear, remember Yehoshua standing before the Malach. Remove the shoe. Let go of your defenses. And reach upward.

That's what a real hero does.

Want to bring these Navi stories to life for your family? Torah Live offers beautifully crafted videos, interactive challenges, and engaging games that turn Torah learning into an experience everyone looks forward to. Sign up for free and see how quickly Torah time becomes the highlight of your day.