Changes
                   By Rabbi Joshua ( alternatingly known as The Hoffer) Hoffman
                           
                           
       Towards the end of this week's parsha,the Torah tells us, "Moshe came and spoke all of the words of this song in the ears of the people, he and Hoshea son of Nun," ( Devorim, 32:44). Rashi cites a midrash which says that, at this time, authority was taken from Moshe and given to Yehoshua,so that, after Moshe's death,people would not be able to say that Moshe did not approve of his assumption of the  leadership.  Why does the Torah refer to him, at this point,  by his original name,Hoshea, rather than by the name Yehoshua, which Moshe called him when he sent him on the mission to search out the land together with the other eleven scouts,or spies? Rashi explains that this comes to teach us that Yehoshua did not become haughty as a result of his promotion to greatness.Rav Ya'akov Kaminetsky,in his Emes L'Ya'akov,writes that Rashi here is referring to what his grandson,Rashbam,writes,that Moshe changed Hoshea's name to Yehoshua when he appointed him as the leader of the tribe of Ephraim, at the time of the mission to search out the land.in accordance with the usual practice at that time of giving a person a new name when he was appointed to a new position of higher stature.This explanation is difficult,for two reasons. First,Yehoshua received that promotion thirty-eight years before,and it would have been more appropriate to  teach us about this feature then. Moreover,Moshe was now appointing him as the leader of the entire nation, so why would the Torah teach us about his attitude to being appointed merely as the head of the tribe of Ephraim?I believe that an insight of Rabbi Moshe Sternbauch, in his Ta'am VeDa'as, can help us answer these questions,and better understand why the appellation Hoshea was used at this point of time.
      
      
       Rabbi Sternbuch notes that the name Yehoshua, as explained by Rashi, based on the midrash, constitutes a prayer that Moshe offered on behalf of his student,that God should save him from the counsel of the spies.Now,however, that Yehoshua was embarking on a new mission, to lead the entire nation in conquering the land, he could not simply rely on God and relinquish his own responsibility to take charge and aggressively lead the people. In this regard, Rabbi Sterbauch refers to an innovative explanation, ascribed to Rav Chaim of Volozhin, of a statement in a mishneh at the end of tractate Sotah. The mishneh there enumerates all of the problems that will confront the Jewish nation at the end of days,and interrupts the list, three times, with the statement, 'and we have only our Father in heaven to rely on." Unlike the popular explanation of this statement,that this is a solution to the problems of the time, Rav Chaim said that it was part of the problem. People at that time will throw their hands up,say that they can do nothing to help, and that  all they can do is rely on God.Rav Sternbuch does not mention this, but  Rav Chaim's son, Rav Yitzchak, reportedly referred to this teaching of his father's at a meeting of rabbis and Jewish leaders in St. Petersburg, convened to find ways of bettering the situation of the Jews in Czarist Russia at the time.The rabbis there, apparently frustrated in their efforts, simply referred to the mishnah at the end of Sotah,and said  that they couldn't do anything,but  could  only rely on God's mercies. Rav Yitzchak answered them by citing his father's explanation of the statement, and urged them to increase their efforts to help out. According to Rav Sternbuch, this was also the message that Moshe was conveying to his student by referring to him by his original name. Based on this explanation,I believe that we can accept Rav Kaminetsky's explanation of Rashi,with a somewhat different twist,as I will explain.
      
      
       The rabbis tell us that there are three classes of people who have all their sins forgiven: newlyweds, converts to Judaism ,and people who have been appointed to positions of leadership. We also learn, in the Talmud, tractate Yoma,and as formulated by the Rambam in his Laws of Repentance that changing one's name is a means of keeping on the path of teshuvah, or repentance, as if to say , "I am not the same person I was before my repentance.' A repentant has completely reconfigured his relationship with God,and, in this sense, he really is anewperson.In the same way,a person who assumes a position of leadership and is forgiven of all his previous sins is really a new person,as well. In order to feel this change of personality, it is beneficial to change one's name at the time he is appointed as a leader. Perhaps,then, this is the meaning behind  the Torah's reference to Moshe's successor  as Hoshea, rather than Yehoshua. This appellation constitutes a change of name,and reflects  Yehoshua's realization  that he was now a new person,and that he must now take an aggressive stance and lead the people in the proper direction,rather than simply rely on God to protect him from any sinister plans that may be contemplated by certain elements in the nation. Ultimately,of course,the people needed to understand that it was God who gave Yehoshua and them the ability to conquer the land and prosper there,and perhaps that is why the name Yehoshua,meaning that God should save him, is subsequently  used to refer to him. However,Yehoshua himself had to  take over the reigns of leadership, and not simply assume that God would do everything for him. His change of name to Hoshea, indicating that he was a new person and needed to take charge of matters, in his new role of leadership,was, thus,  a matter of his inner awareness,rather than his public identity. In this season of soul- searching and repentance,may we all leave behind any failings we have had in the past,and become new personalities, determinedly focused on performing God's will in this world.
      
                                The entire Netvort staff wishes a g'mar chasimah tovah to all.

 Please address all correspondence to the author (Rabbi Hoffman) with the following address - JoshHoff @ AOL.com.

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