The rabbis tell us their thoughts about what happened when the Israelites crossed the Jordan to finally reach Ha'aretz. It is clear that the rabbis are trying to make sense of source texts. How did the water flow backward? How did it rise to such heights? How did the water suddenly retract again? How did the different groups of Israelites manage? And what about the Ark?
The rabbis look at the speed of the water; the rate at which it would rise or fall. Based on descriptions in the books of Numbers and Joshua, they describe precisely who carried the Ark on poles; how the people were placed as they crossed the Jordan. They disagree with each other about the formation of the people. The rabbis also speak about the spies: if their accounts were accurate, what were they describing? And if their accounts were false, what was the context within which trusted spies would lie?
It is again fascinating to witness these arguments recorded in seemingly disparate places in the Talmud.
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