Sometimes, unexpected guests arrive. It seems that’s what happened in the days before the Israelites crossed the Jordan River into the Promised Land.

Right before his passing, Moses brought the Children of Israel into a renewed covenant with the L‑rd. As with the original covenant they entered into at Sinai, this new covenant included the entire population:

You are all standing this day before the L‑rd, your G‑d – the leaders of your tribes, your elders and your officers, every man of Israel, your young children, your women, and your convert who is within your camp from your woodcutters till your water drawers, that you may enter the covenant of the L‑rd, your G‑d, and His oath, which the L‑rd, your G‑d, is making with you this day…1

Who were the woodcutters and water drawers? Rashi explains:

This teaches us that Canaanites came to convert in the days of Moses just as the Gibeonites came in the days of Joshua. This is the meaning of the verse regarding the Gibeonites, “And they also acted cunningly…”2 [i. e., pretending that they had come from a faraway country. When they were discovered, Joshua made them woodcutters and water drawers for Israel]. Similarly here, Moses made them woodcutters and water drawers.

The Canaanites who approached Moses sought to convert, and there is no indication that their request was rejected. Now, the source for Rashi’s comment is the Midrash Tanchuma, which states that “Moses did not accept” the Canaanite arrivals. Rashi omits this point, however, implying that he considers it more plausible that Moses did not reject them.

But what grounds does Rashi have for his view that Moses did allow those Canaanites to convert? After all, they are singled out as woodchoppers and water carriers and separated from the prior category of “your convert who is within your camp.” It seems more logical that they were not converts. Indeed, Rashi’s own commentary on the Talmud3 states explicitly that the woodchoppers and water carriers were not converts – so why in his commentary to the Torah does he imply that they were?

Understanding Rashi’s Approach

In his classic style, the Rebbe demonstrates how we need to reimagine what Rashi is saying. Rashi is not primarily out to explain who the woodchoppers and water carriers were, as one would assume. Rather, Rashi is mainly concerned with answering the more basic question of why we are being told about them in the first place. There were all manner of professions and occupations among the Israelites, so why specify just these two lines of work?

It must be, Rashi suggests, that the Torah mentions them to teach us something we would otherwise not know. But what could it be? To answer this, we need to conduct some careful detective work. Could they be regular Israelites? That’s not possible, for why would they be singled out from everyone else? Could they be converts? Also not, because, as noted earlier, the Torah already lists them amongst those who entered the covenant. Could they be non-Jews? That is entirely impossible, as they were listed among those who joined Moses to enter into the covenant of faith with G‑d to fulfill all the mitzvot (commandments). So, again, who were they?

Rashi directs us to take a closer look at the text: “Your convert who is within your camp, from your woodcutters till your water drawers.” It would appear that the woodcutters and water drawers are a subcategory of converts. This is a common Biblical form of expression. For example, when the Egyptian firstborns were smitten, the Torah says, “Every firstborn in the Land of Egypt, from Pharaoh’s firstborn who sits on his throne till the firstborn of the maidservant.”4 So it makes sense that they were a type of convert.

But this just brings us back to our original question: If they were merely a category of convert, why single them out? It must be, Rashi concludes, that the entire reason they are specified as a separate category is to teach us a historical fact, namely that just before Moses passed away, a group of Canaanites arrived to convert and that Moses accepted them and invited them to participate in the covenant renewal. In this way, we have an explanation for both things: who they were, and why they are mentioned separately. It also explains why they entered the covenant: because they had converted.

The Scriptural Clues

This makes sense, but how does Rashi know that this is what actually happened? Isn’t it a bit of a stretch to invent an actual event in history just because there are a few words that are difficult to explain? But Rashi is not done with the detective work. It turns out, he shows, that we have two pretty clear clues – one in our text and another in the story of the Gibeonites in the book of Joshua. Rashi draws attention to both.

In the book of Joshua, we read that a group of locals faked being distant travels and duped Joshua into allowing them to join the Israelites. This caused great consternation, and Joshua appointed them as, you guessed it, woodchoppers and water carriers. This similarity seems too much of a coincidence. It is not a stretch at all to imagine that Joshua got his idea from his mentor, Moses.

Now to the second clue. The book of Joshua states “And they also acted cunningly.” “Also” implies this had happened before! But we know of no other recorded case. Unless, of course, this is exactly what the Torah is trying to allude to in our verse: that a group of people had come to Moses to convert, and now this was happening again with Joshua.

Of course, there is one big difference. In the story of Joshua, the text makes it clear that there was deception involved. In fact, we are told in detail how they pulled off their ruse. That is why Joshua refused to allow them to convert. In the case of Moses, however, we know of no such deception, hence they were allowed to join the covenant.

The Jewish People does not close ranks and reject all newcomers. On the contrary, if someone sincerely wishes to join the faith, they have a right to do so, and we have an obligation to welcome them in. The Canaanites were the people inhabiting the land that the Israelites were set to conquer as they prepared to cross the Jordan into the Promised Land. Nevertheless, Moses waived those concerns and brought them into the covenant along with everyone else.

Adapted from Likutei Sichot, vol. 14, Parshat Nitzavim II.