After being told that he will soon die, Moshe (Moses) asks God to appoint a successor so that the Jews "not be as sheep that have no shepherd."  (Numbers 27:17)  God responds by telling Moshe to appoint Yehoshua (Joshua).  In the words of the Torah, "take Yehoshua, the son of Nun, a man in whom is spirit, and lay thy hand upon him." (Numbers 27:18) 

One wonders why Moshe did not recognize that Yehoshua was his successor on his own.  After all, the Torah had previously described Yehoshua as ministering to Moshe.  (Numbers 11:28) 

Rabbi David Silber argues that, in truth, Moshe did not want Yehoshua to succeed him.  Moshe was a teacher par excellence who reached out to his people with extraordinary compassion and love.  Yehoshua on the other hand, sees the world through a military lens where there is a clear delineation of right and wrong.  Several examples underscore this difference.

Yehoshua leads the Jews in the war against Amalek.  “And Moshe said to Yehoshua, choose us men and go fight with Amalek.”  (Exodus 17:9)  Interestingly, as Yehoshua battles Amalek, Moshe’s hands are raised in fervent prayer to God.  (Rashi, Exodus 17:11)

When Moshe descends from Mt. Sinai, when the Jews worshipped the golden calf, Yehoshua meets him and tells him that he hears the noise of war in the camp.  Moshe responds that he does not hear the voice of victory or defeat—rather he hears a tortured cry (kol anot).  (Exodus 32:17,18)  Yehoshua hears a war cry.  Moshe, the teacher par excellence hears the angst of his people—nothing more than a painful calling out for help. 

When Moshe is told that two men Eldad and Medad are prophesying in the camp, Yehoshua suggests that they be done away with.  In Yehoshua’s words, “my Lord Moshe, shut them in (k’laim).”  (Numbers 11:28).  This is the language of the general.  Moshe on the other hand, suggests that Eldad and Medad and all others be given the chance to prophesize.  In Moshe’s words, “would that all the Lord’s people were prophets.”  (Numbers 11:29) 

In requesting an heir, Moshe couches his language using the terminology that the people need a shepherd.  This was Moshe’s hope that the new leader be much like himself—a shepherd of Israel.  He could not perceive that Yehoshua, a more warlike figure, was a suitable successor.

It is here that God tells Moshe to take Yehoshua “a man in whom is spirit and lay thy hand upon him.”  God is telling Moshe that while Yehoshua, at this point, lacks the characteristics of being a shepherd, if Moshe would but place his hands on his head teaching him his style of leadership, he would be endowed with spiritual teaching.

Rabbi Silber argues that not coincidentally, the Torah at its conclusion, when describing the death of Moshe, points out that “Yehoshua, the son of Nun, was full of the spirit of wisdom, for Moshe had laid his hands upon him.”  (Deuteronomy 34:9)  In other words, Moshe had succeeded in teaching Yehoshua the values of the shepherd.  The expression, placing his hands atop Yehoshua, means that Moshe had succeeded in transmitting to Yehoshua the vital qualities of a teacher who is soft, compassionate and sensitive.