Towards the end of Pinchas, Moses asks God to appoint a new leader while he is still alive. God immediately instructs Moses to anoint Joshua as his replacement.

The translation of the words in the Torah describing this episode tell one story, while the Midrashic sources tell quite a different story.

What was really going on here? Did Moses want Joshua to replace him, or did he have someone else in mind? What qualities did Joshua have that set him apart from any other potential leader? What defines a leader of the Jewish people?

Rabbi Dunner addresses these and other questions, through the eyes of the classical commentators, including Rashi, Seforno, and Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch.