From: JoshHoff@aol.com
Sent: Friday, September 29, 2006
2:13 PM
To: AGabbai@aol.com; sweber@normnbbrow.com
Subject:
Netvort: parshas Ha'azinu, 5767
You Don't Need a Title to be a
Leader
By Rabbi
Joshua (historically known as the Hoffer) Hoffman
Towards
the end of parshas Ha'azinu, the Torah tells us that Moshe and Hoshea read the
words of the shira, the poem contained in the parsha, to the Jewish people
(Devarim, 32:44). The Malbim points out that even though we were told earlier in
the parsha that Moshe and Yehooshua read the shira to the people, that time it
was read uninterruptedly, while this time it was reading segments, with Moshe
and Yehoshua explaining the meaning at each interval. In any case, Rashi notes
that the name Hoshea is used here, rather than the name Yehoshua, which Moshe
had given him, to indicate that Yehoshua did not grow haughty as a result of his
appointment on that day to replace Moshe as the leader of the nation. We still
need, however, to understand how this usage of Yehoshua's
original name is a reflection of his humility.
Rav Ya'akov
Kaminetsky, in his Emes L'Ya'akov, explains, based on the remarks of the Rashbam
in parshas Shelach, that when a person is promoted to a new position, his name
is changed. That is why Moshe changed Hoshea's name to Yehoshua when he was
appointed to represent his tribe in the scouting mission which is recounted in
parshas Shelach. Therefore, it would have been appropriate to refer to
Yehoshua by the new name that Moshe had given him at this time, when he was
about to take over the leadership from him. The fact that he is referred
to by his original name, Hoshea, indicates that he felt no different about
himself now than he did previous to his name-change. This explanation, however,
does not explain what connection this feature of Yehoshua's has to the specific
context in which it is stated, namely, the reading of the shira to the people.
In order to understand this level of the Torah's message, we need to look back
at the episode in which Moshe actually changed Hoshea's name to Yehoshua.
Rashi to parshas Shelach (Bamidbar 13:16)., cites the
Talmud, which explains that the insertion of the extra 'yud' to the name
Hoshea was to serve as an allusion to God's name, and that Moshe, in
changing the name, prayed that God should save Yehoshua from the plan of the
spies. Why did Moshe feel that it was necessary to make this change, and offer
this prayer? The Targum Yonasan explains that Moshe made the change after
observing Hoshea's humility. One may ask, isn't humility a good quality, and,
moreover, didn't the Torah testify at the end of parshas Beha'aloscha that Moshe
was the most humble man on earth? Why, then, should Hoshea's humility have been
a cause of alarm for Moshe, to the extent that he felt it proper to change his
name and offer a prayer on his behalf?
In Netvort to parshas
Shelach, 5763 (available at Torahheights.com), we noted that the word
Targum Yonasan uses for humility is 'anvesanus,' a reflexive form of the
word 'anavah,' which is the usual term for humility. We find this form of the
word used in the Talmud, Gittin, 56a, where we are told that the anvesanus of
Rabbi Zechariah ben Avkulas, the head of the Sanhedrin, brought about the
destruction of the Temple. In that incident, an informer on the Jews had advised
the Roman emperor to send an animal with a certain minor imperfection as an
offering to the Temple, to show him that the Jews disrespected him and would not
bring it on the altar. The commentaries there explain that the humility of Rav
Zechariah consisted in not deeming himself worthy to use the extra-judicial
power granted to the Sanhedrin to execute people when the situation requires it,
bypassing the usual strict normal procedures of Sanhedrin in order to avert a
danger to the community. Rav Zechariah, in fact, did have such power, and it was
a false sense of humility that prevented him from doing what needed to be done.
Anavah, humility, does not mean that one denies who he is, that he is blind to
his abilities. A humble person knows who he is, but ascribes his talents not to
himself, but to God, Who granted him the innate capacity for achievement. Rav
Zechariah, then, practiced anvesanus, making himself into someone without
abilities, rather than anivus, true humility.
On Saturday night,
in the series of prayers recited in many communities at the close of Shabbos, we
read a passage from the Talmud, Megillah 31a, that wherever we find a
description of the greatness of God, there we will also find a description of
His anvesanus, His humility. God, we are told, acts in a humble way and provides
for the unfortunates in the world. The use of the reflexive form for humility
there makes sense, because everything comes from God, and therefore when He
displays humility, it is really an affectation. The reason He displays humility
is to guide others in doing so, as well, following the Biblical requirement to
walk in God's ways. However when it comes to a human being, the humility he
needs to exhibit, attributing his accomplishments to the abilities given him by
God, is not an affectation. A person needs to understand what he is capable of
doing, and strive to actualize his potential, but realize that he is only able
to do so because of God's kindness.
Perhaps, then, what Moshe saw in
Hoshea bin Nun was a failure to recognize his own greatness. He may have feared
that since Hoshea was his devoted student, and reflected his master's teachings,
he would deem himself unworthy to take an independent stance if the spies would
bring back a bad report of the land. This self- perception constituted
'anvesanus,' a sense of humility that consists of a failure to recognize one's
own abilities, rather than 'anavah,' the attribution of one's properly perceived
qualities to the kindness of God, Who endowed him with them. Moshe, observing
this faulty self - perception on Hoshea's part, changed his name and prayed that
God help him resist the evil designs of the other spies.
Returning
to our parsha, we can now understand why, in the context of reading the shira of
Ha'azinu to the people, the name Hoshea is used, rather than Yehoshua. The
thrust of the shira in Ha'azinu is to demonstrate that it is God who directs
history, and has a plan behind the way events unfold in the world. The Ramban
and Rabbeinu Bachya, in their commentaries to Ha'azinu, both
write that this shira includes all of Jewish history, past ,.present and
future. Moreover, we read in the shira that God established seventy nations to
correspond to the seventy families that would emerge among the children of
Yisroel, so that the general history of the world is also encompassed in the
shira, as well. I n Netvort to Ha'azinu, 5766,we mentioned, in the name of
Rav Yechiel Michel Feinstein, zt'l, that when one looks at the broader
sweep of history, he is able to see that God's providence behind all that
occurred. An acceptance of this process of divine providence over history,
in fact, can be seen as an exhibition of humility, based on a beautiful
explanation offered by Rav Avraham Yitzchak haCohein Kook of a prayer we
say repeatedly on Yom Kippur.
On Yom Kippur at the end of the
confession- prayers we recite following each private Shemoneh Esreh,
we say, "My God, before I was formed I was unworthy, and now that I have been
created, it is as if I had not beenformed." Each person, explains Rav Kook, was
placed on this earth at a particular time and place because he was given a
specific assignment in life, as part of the historical process, that could only
be carried out under those particular circumstances. in order to make his
own particular contribution to the progression of the historical process. On Yom
Kippur, when we take stock of our lives, we recognize that God gave us our
particular talents in order to make a unique contribution to the world, and we
have not as yet lived up to our calling. When Yehoshua joined Moshe
in presenting the shira to the people on the day he was appointed to take over
the leadership, he needed to view his new role in this context.
.Rabbi Ya'akov Moshe Charlop, a close student/colleague of Rav
Kook, wrote, in an essay on prayer that serves as an introduction to his
commentary Mei Marom on the daily siddur, that true humility comes from a
recognition that God is truly the only force in the universe ( 'ein od milvado'-
there is none besides Him). This recognition leads one to subjugate all of his
abilities to God's will, out of a realization that he only has those abilities
because God gave them to him in order to do His bidding. Thus, while
reading the shira, which presents a broad look at all of history as being
directed by God's providence, it was the proper time for Yehoshua to
exhibit humility. This humility consisted in a recognition that his
leadership abilities were given to him by God at that time in history for
a specific purpose, and that he now needed to embark on the actualization
of his potential in order to advance the divine plan for the universe in
general, and the Jewish people, in particular. For this reason, his original
name, Hoshea, which placed an emphasis on his humility, was mentioned by the
Torah at this time.
The entire Netvort staff extends wishes for a
meaningful Yom Kippur and a wonderful new year to all our readers and to
all of Klal Yisroel.
Please address all correspondence
to the author (Rabbi Hoffman) with the following address - JoshHoff @
AOL.com.
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