Hoshea to Joshua: Torah for this Season of Transitions
This week's Torah portion, Shelach, features a story about the twelve spies who Moses sends across the Jordan River on a reconnaissance mission to scout out the Promised Land on behalf of the Israelite community. The reports they bring back, both positive and negative, create ripple effects. The story is worth reading in its entirety -- as it's a dramatic and interesting case-study of rebellion, dissent, leadership challenges, and the cycle of sin and repair. For now, though, I want to focus on just one small detail: how Joshua is introduced.
The parasha opens with God's command to Moses to "Send agents (Shelach lecha anashim) to scout the land of Canaan," which is followed by a list of these twelve such agents, one chieftain per ancestral tribe. At the tail end of that list, Numbers 13:16 reads:
אֵ֚לֶּה שְׁמ֣וֹת הָֽאֲנָשִׁ֔ים אֲשֶׁר־שָׁלַ֥ח מֹשֶׁ֖ה לָת֣וּר אֶת־הָאָ֑רֶץ וַיִּקְרָ֥א מֹשֶׁ֛ה לְהוֹשֵׁ֥עַ בִּן־נ֖וּן יְהוֹשֻֽׁעַ׃
These are the names of the men whom Moses sent to scout the land; but Moses changed the name of Hoshea son of Nun to Joshua.
The phrase I've bolded above is interesting and a bit strange. While the name "Hoshea bin Nun" just appeared in the list referenced above -- as the representative of the tribe of Ephraim -- this character has already been known to us since the book of Exodus, always referred to by the name "Yehoshua" ("Joshua"). Why talk about a name-change here, then, if this isn't really a new name at all?! There must be some deeper meaning behind Moses's re-naming, and behind the transition from Hoshea to Joshua.
Rashi's interpretation on this verse seeks to provide an explanation. He cites the Talmud (Sotah 34b) when he comments: "By giving him this name יהושע (Yehoshua), which is a compound of יה (Yah) and הושע (Hoshea) “God may save”, he [Moses] in effect prayed for him: “May God save you from the evil counsel of the spies.”
As Rabbi Zev Farber unpacks further in this article: "According to the Talmud, Moses suspected that the scouts would rebel, and this is why he changed Joshua's name: Moses was trying to grant his beloved pupil divine protection. ...Moses has an inkling that something terrible is about to happen with the behavior of the scouts themselves. This may even be why he chooses Joshua for this mission in the first place -- he needs at least one person whom he trusts on this mission."
When the twelve spies return, Joshua will end up being one of only two of them who return with a positive scouting report. He will also ultimately become Moses's successor, leading the Israelites tribes in the conquest of the land of Canaan. The transition from Moses's leadership to Joshua's will take place in a number of stages -- for example, it's later in Numbers (chapter 27) when Moses is instructed to lay hands on Joshua and invest him with authority, but it is not until after Moses's death at the end of the Torah that Joshua fully assumes the mantle of leadership.
In this portion, however, what we see is the Torah signaling clearly that this big leadership transition is already underway. While elsewhere in the Torah (in Deuteronomy, for example), Moses seems disappointed and depressed about not being able to lead the Israelites into the Promised Land himself, here, this anticipated leadership transition is cast in a wholly positive light! Even before the spies depart on their mission, Moses acknowledges Joshua's role -- as a member of the group and as a stand-out. Just as God has, in the past, changed the names of important biblical figures such as Abram and Sarai to Abraham and Sarah respectively, through the addition of a heh, a godly letter, so too here does Moses change Hosea's name to Joshua through the addition of a yod, a godly letter. And, according to the rabbinic understanding of this verse brought by Rashi, Moses effects this name-change out of genuine concern for the future and in an attempt to set his successor up for success!
This feels like a great bit of Torah to be focusing on at this time of year, as June is the season of transitions of all kinds: graduations, promotions, new jobs, moves. [A quick aside -- Reminder to Kavana partners: we'd love to know if someone in your household is graduating this season or embarking on a new chapter so that we can recognize them in an upcoming newsletter -- please email us!] One such transition took place last evening, at the final Kavana board meeting of this fiscal and program year. In addition to saying goodbye to one outgoing board member (Dana Bettinger) and welcoming two new members onto the board (David Cook and Robin Schachter), we also marked a leadership transition, as Steve Lewis concluded his two-year term as Kavana board president and Katie Gustainis stepped into the role. (Our website already reflects these changes, and you're cordially invited to click here and scroll down to read about each of our board members.) Board turnover and smooth leadership transitions are a sign of good health in a non-profit organization like ours: they introduce fresh perspectives, prevent stagnation, and ensure long-term well-being.
On the flip side, we can also see clearly right now just how dangerous it is when those in power want to prevent smooth leadership transitions from taking place. From Trump's attempts to pardon and even pay the January 6th protestors and rioters to his building of a bunker under the east wing of the White House, it's easy to get the impression that he does not believe in the peaceful transfer of power and has no intention of leaving office when his term ends. If we care about the long-term health and well-being of our country, it is incumbent on us -- as voters committed to American democracy -- to work to protect smooth leadership transitions, including free and fair elections. Many organizations are doing great work around these issues; two that I particularly like are Fair Fight (fighting voter suppression and protecting voter rights) and A More Perfect Union (a Jewish organization working to mobilize the American Jewish community to protect and strengthen American democracy). Although the next big round of national elections is still months away, now is really the perfect time to get involved in this work -- whether by donating, volunteering, or promoting the values and ideals that lie behind smooth leadership transitions.
This Shabbat, as we read one short line about Moses changing Joshua's name, we are called to consider how each of us can contribute to building the world we want to see -- not only through our own leadership, but also by empowering and lifting up leaders of the future. This work -- of thinking forward, setting each other up for success, and investing in our collective future -- may feel quite intuitive to those of us who have already opted into a cooperative Jewish community like this one. However, in our society at large, smooth leadership transitions feel far from guaranteed, and so this is precisely the kind of moral Torah that we need to be thinking about and teaching in this moment.
As we read Parashat Sh'lach and begin to transition from Moses's leadership towards that of his successor Joshua, may we go from strength to strength! Wishing each of us a Shabbat Shalom, in this season of transitions,
Rabbi Rachel Nussbaum
