The 3rd of Tammuz: An Especially Long Day

On the third of Tammuz in the year 2488, Yehoshua bin Nun led the Jewish people in a critical battle to conquer the Land of Israel. Victory was close, but darkness was about to fall. Yehoshua prayed for a miracle and commanded the sun to “stand still at Gibeon” (Yehoshua 10:12). A profound miracle then unfolded: the sun stopped in its tracks. It paused twice – once at midday and once before sunset – granting the Israelites the extra time they needed to complete the battle.

From the Book of Yehoshua:

“Then Joshua spoke to HaShem on the day when HaShem delivered up the Amorites before the children of Israel, and he said in the sight of Israel, ‘Sun, stand still upon Gibeon, and Moon in the valley of Ajalon.’ And the sun stood still, and the moon stayed, until the people had avenged themselves upon their enemies. Is this not written in the book of Jashar (which is the Torah)? So the sun stood still in the midst of the heaven, and it did not hasten to go down exactly a whole day. And there was no day like that before it or after it, that HaShem hearkened to the voice of a man, for HaShem fought for Israel.” (Yehoshua 10:12–14)

The Rebbe’s Question

On one hand, the stopping of the sun was a phenomenal miracle. On the other hand, it had distinct limitations. Yehoshua stopped the sun to gain the time needed to defeat the Canaanites – which was miraculous – but the battle itself was fought through entirely natural means.

This poses an interesting question: Seemingly, Yehoshua could have asked Hashem to perform a complete, sweeping miracle all at once. Had he done so, there would have been no need to fight at all! Why did Yehoshua ask “only” for the sun to stop? Why didn’t he simply ask Hashem to defeat all of his enemies in a purely supernatural way?

The Battle of Yehoshua: An Exceptionally Long Day

From the Rebbe’s Explanations

Our Sages declared: “Everything which the Holy One, blessed be He, created in His world, He created solely for His honor.” The very nature of the world (the Hebrew word for world, olam, shares a root with the word helem, meaning “hiddenness”) is to conceal its G‑dly life-force. Yet, at the same time, each particular entity in the world exists for one purpose alone: to reveal G‑d’s glory.

This logic is further reinforced by the Baal Shem Tov’s teaching that creation is an ongoing process, occurring at every single moment of existence. G-d could have created the world in an entirely different manner; He could have initially invested enough energy for the world to sustain itself for 6,000 years!

Instead, He chose to create it in a way that requires Him to constantly invest Himself to continuously bring it into existence.

In this way, every created being has the potential to enhance and elevate the positive nature of the world by revealing G‑d’s glory. Not only does a person follow G‑d’s will, but they are also capable of actively contributing to creation. This, in turn, brings a person profound joy, because human nature inherently desires to be a contributor rather than merely a recipient.

The Battle of Yehoshua: The Sunstroke

To maintain this constant connection with creation, G-d granted each individual entity the potential to reveal His glory at every moment.

This explains the specific nature of the miracle performed in the time of Yehoshua. The intention of this miracle was not to bypass the laws of nature entirely, but rather for the supernatural to assist Yehoshua’s army in winning a natural war. Even though “HaShem fought for the Jewish people,” the victory still had to be enclothed within the “ways of nature.” This dynamic allowed the people to actively contribute to their imminent victory and feel like an integral part of it, revealing the glory of HaShem through their own actions.

Based on the Rebbe’s address on Parashat Korach, 5751.

Learn more here:

• The sicha in Hebrew.
• English translation.
• “The Gimmel Tammuz. Who will stop the sun?”. Selected episodes.
• “The Festival of Geulah: Celebrating Miracles Clothed in the “Nature”: interactive class based on the Rebbe’s explanations and insights about the liberation of the Rebbe Rayatz.