How can the Parasha help us grow this week?
In this week’s Parasha of Pinchas we read about Yehoshua’s appointment as the one who will lead Bnei Yisrael into the Land. Moshe’s tenure as leader was coming to a close. His trusty disciple was appointed by Hashem as the most appropriate replacement.
Bnei Yisrael were no longer the same group of slaves that had been rescued from Mitzrayim. Rather, they were now a nation of free citizens who were about to set up a Jewish nation in the Holy Land. They were to be a holy nation, a kingdom of priests, a light unto the nations. Some commentators have suggested that a different style of leader was now needed.
The Gemara[1] compares Moshe to the sun and Yehoshua to the moon. The sun shines so brightly that no other light source can add much value in its presence. For instance, a candle in the middle of the day would be superfluous. In contrast, other light sources can still add value while the moon is shining. A candle at night does add value, even though the moon is shining. Similarly, Yehoshua’s style of leadership would leave room for others to share in the limelight and take a more active role. That is precisely what was needed for this stage of Bnei Yisrael’s development.[2] The people no longer needed a leader that would do the work for them, rather they needed a leader who would inspire them to do things for themselves and to be more independent and responsible.
Yehoshua’s leadership occurred during an important transitional phase for Bnei Yisrael. They would be leaving behind their miraculous existence in the Midbar, where all their needs were taken care of by Hashem. Upon entering the Land, they would need to take responsibility for setting up all of the institutions of Nationhood. They would need to farm the land and be actively involved in obtaining their sustenance.
This transition was a difficult test for Bnei Yisrael. Though they certainly grew spiritually and enjoyed successes, it seems that there was still room for improvement. We can see a clue from the reaction to Yehoshua’s passing. The Midrash[3] teaches us that Hashem was angry at Bnei Yisrael for not paying their respects to Yehoshua in accordance with what he deserved. The reason? They were too busy working the land and worrying about their parnasah!
However, it seems that Yehoshua need not have taken this lack of respect personally. A similar issue would come up again in the future. A few hundred years later, Bnei Yisrael asked the prophet Shmuel to appoint a king. The people wanted to be like all of the surrounding nations. Since Shmuel was the ostensible leader of the people at that time, he had reason to feel offended. However, Hashem reassured Shmuel:
“And the thing was displeasing in the eyes of
Shmuel, when they said, “Give us a king to judge us,”… and Hashem
said to Shmuel, “Listen to the voice of the people, according to all that
they will say to you, for they have not rejected you, but they have
rejected Me from reigning over them.”
(Shmuel
Aleph 8:6-7)
In other words, Bnei Yisrael were too caught up in the physical world and they were not cleaving to Hashem like they should have been. Shmuel was Hashem’s representative amongst the people, but the people wanted a regular king as their leader. It seems that a similar root cause was underlying Bnei Yisrael’s failure to provide Yehoshua with the proper respect. As the leading prophet, Yehoshua represented Hashem. When Yehoshua passed away it should have been a tragedy second only to the passing of Moshe himself. But even though Bnei Yisrael had lost a powerful means of connecting with Hashem, they had become more interested in tending to their crops.
Perhaps one of the most tangible legacies that Yehoshua left for us is the well-known prayer, Aleinu. Many commentators believe that Yehoshua composed this beautiful tefillah after conquering Jericho, soon after crossing the Jordan River. One of the hints to Aleinu’s authorship is that the first letter of each verse spells out the name Hosea (Yehoshua’s original name).[4] This is a common technique used by composers of tefillot and zemirot to sign their name. However, in Yehoshua’s humility, he re-arranged the order of the letters of his name.[5]
The Aleinu prayer includes fundamental principles, such as our duty to praise Hashem, the special role of the Jewish people and the fact that there is nothing else other than Hashem. It is such an exalted prayer that it is recited at key points of the tefillot of Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur. The Ark is opened and the congregation bows and kneels – one of the few times that we actually kneel on the ground in the post Bet Hamikdash period. At some point in our history, Aleinu was added to our daily prayers – we now recite it as the final prayer of our thrice daily prayer service. Some have suggested that Aleinu was added to our daily prayers to give the Jewish people extra chizuk at a time in history when this was needed.[6]
There is an interesting parallel here. Yehoshua represented the transition from a more spiritual, miraculous life in the Midbar to the more “down-to-earth” and “real-life” existence in the land of Israel. Similarly, the Aleinu prayer, composed by Yehoshua, is placed at the end of our prayers. Thus, it represents the transition between our spiritual experience in shul, davening and connecting to Hashem, and our return to the “real life” of our mundane daily affairs.
So how do we measure up at this transition stage? Unfortunately, many of us mumble Aleinu under our breath with one foot out of the door as we rush off to attend to our “more-important” tasks.
Reuven needed to speak to Shimon about an important matter after davening. But he had to be quick. Before Aleinu was over Shimon was already on his way. Reuven raced after him and finally caught up with him about half a block from the shul. He proceeded to discuss the important matter, but Shimon gestured for him to please wait. Shimon was mumbling something under his breath. Reuven listened closely and was just able to make out some words of the Aleinu prayer.[7]
A number of years ago I was privileged to be davening in a minyan with the pious Rav Galai. One of the things that Rav Galai is known for is his kavana during Aleinu. I remember thinking that I wish I could have as much kavana during my Amidah as Rav Galai seemed to have during his Aleinu!
Perhaps we can suggest that increasing our kavana during Aleinu can act as a form of tikkun (rectification) for the sin of not providing Yehoshua with the respect that he deserved on his final journey to Olam Haba.
However, it is not easy to maintain such an intense level of concentration for a prayer that we recite three times a day, especially as our quick minds are already jumping ahead to our busy schedules and “To-Do” lists. How can we achieve a greater level of concentration for Aleinu practically? In a previous Darchai Noam we mentioned the habit of someone who made sure to physically sit down for a moment each time that he completed davening. This process of sitting down for a moment shows that we are not in such a rush to leave shul. It can help to increase our kavana (concentration) on our prayers as well as our kavod (respect) for the shul.
Let’s try something this week:
1. Try to spend a bit more time on reciting the Aleinu prayer and pronouncing the words clearly. It can be helpful to study the meaning of the words, in English if necessary. They are beautiful and profound words.
2. Try to take on this habit of sitting down briefly before rushing out of shul. Try to perform this regularly, even once a day or once a week. 3. Remember the difficulty of transition points and anticipate them by slowing down and being more patient at these times of your day.
Shabbat shalom, Rabbi Ledder
[1] Baba Batra 75a.
[2] This beautiful analogy was seen in “Losing Miriam” by Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks: https://www.aish.com/tp/i/sacks/Losing-Miriam.html
[3] Midrash Ruth Rabba, Petichta 2.
[4] Moshe added the letter yud to Hosea’s name before the incident of the spies (see Parashat Sh’lach, Bamidbar 13:16).
[5] The first paragraph of Aleinu consists of 4 stitches. The stitches start with the letters ע (עלנו), ש (שלא), ו (ואנחנו) and ה (הוא). These letters can be re-arranged to form the name הושע which was Yehoshua’s original name. Some suggest that Rav, a 3rd Century Tana (a sage who was straddled the period of the Mishnah and the Gemara) was the author of Aleinu. It seems that Rav was the first to institute Aleinu into the prayer service. In my humble opinion, it could be that Yehoshua composed the first paragraph of Aleinu and Rav composed the second paragraph. Indeed, we see that the theme of Aleinu changes dramatically between the first and second paragraphs.
[6] I saw this suggestion in an article which described the history of the Aleinu prayer, however the article did not cite a reliable source. The precise history of Aleinu is not free from doubt, but it seems certain that it appeared in the service of the Yamim Noraim before it was appended to the daily prayers. See further information here: https://www.etzion.org.il/en/shiur-18-aleinu
[7] Unfortunately, this is based on a true story.