[Jewish] [Mindful Torah] Psalm for Thursday: Psalm 81, verse 5

[Rabbi Steven Nathan]

עדות ביהוסף שמו בצאתו על־ארץ מצרים ;שפת לא־ידעתי אשמע׃
I believe this is the most difficult verse to translate of all that
I've come across so far. I looked at any number of translations, and
all of them differed in significant ways. After thinking about the
verse for quite some time I would like to propose the following
translation:
It is a testimony that he (God) placed in Yehoseph (Joseph) when he
went out over the land of Mitzrayim (Egypt); a language that I did not
know I shall hear.
I still am not sure what I believe these words mean. So I am going to
simply present what I have arrived at right now and hope that some of
my readers in cyberspace will perhaps offer some additional
interpretations:
At first, the verse seemed to refer to the previous verse, which
commanded the sounding of the shofar on the new moon and full moon.
This verse referred to the shofar as both a חק hok, a law not easily
understood, as well as a משפט mishpat, a law that is easily understood
(see my blog commentary from Thursday May 13).
Somehow this law of the shofar seems to be viewed as a testimony that
God placed within Joseph. But why is this particular law seemingly
implanted in him by God? One possibility is that the shofar is an
instrument the sound of which symbolizes joy, freedom, battle and
teshuvah (repentance/return). These were qualities that were essential
to Joseph's existence and survival.
Joseph was the joy of his father's old age. He later brought joy to his
father, and brothers, by being the catalyst for repentance/teshuvah
when he forgives his brothers and reunites his family, including his
beloved father.
As we know, Joseph was also sold into slavery and later set free when
he interpreted Pharaoh's dreams. It was through this freedom that he
was able to save Egypt and the surrounding lands from famine. It was
also his freedom that allowed him to grow personally and to gain fame.
This fame, and the power that came with it, eventually enabled him to
take action when his brothers came to Egypt.
Finally, the shofar is a sound of battle or war. Joseph may never have
fought in a war or lifted a bow or a spear, but his life did depend on
his ability to struggle and defend himself. Even though he was the
pampered favorite child, he somehow survived being sold into slavery
and being enslaved again in Egypt. It is possible to view this
particular phase of his life was a battle which he fought and won. This
enabled him to eventually become the equivalent of a general over the
land of Egypt and also to use his courage and his power when he
eventually faced his brothers.
In these ways the shofar was indeed a testimony of some of the
qualities which Joseph possessed. But what is interesting in this psalm
is that Joseph's name is written as ye-ho-seph יהוסף and not yo-seph
יוסף, as it is written throughout the Torah. There are other instances
in the Torah and elsewhere in the Hebrew Bible where a person's name is
spelled two different ways. In those instances, including Elijah and
Joshua, the extra י or י–ה is interpreted as adding the first letters
of the ineffable four-letter name of God) to the person's name. More
simply stated, adding the letters adds God to the person's name.
Therefore, one could say that implanting within Joseph the spirit of
the shofar also imbued him in an intimate way with the knowledge that
his name - his being - was inextricably linked with the Divine. God was
within him.
It was this knowledge of being part of God and connected to all
creation through God that enabled him to go out "over" Egypt not only
as a lord or vizier, but as an emissary of the Divine. He went out over
Mitzrayim (Egypt), which can be translated as "the narrow or
constricted places" and through his actions brought the Divine spirit
to the people. In this way he released them from the narrowness and
suffering brought about by the famine.
But what about the last verse: "a language that I didn't know, I shall
hear"? What could this mean? Who is speaking it?It seems to me that not
the psalmist, but Joseph, is uttering these words. I imagined that
perhaps these were words that Joseph heard within himself as began to
recognize the Divine Presence that was within him. At the moment when
he recognized his oneness with the Divine and with all of humanity,
whether Israelite, Egyptian, or other, he knew on a deep level that he
was one day to hear a language that was foreign to him. This language,
however, was not Egyptian or any other "foreign tongue".
I believe the language, the words, that he did not know and which he
was perhaps to hear in the future was the language of forgiveness and
the language of compassion.
At the moment in time referred to in the first part of the verse, one
could imagine that Joseph was not yet ready to utter words of
forgiveness to his brothers. Nor could he ever imagine that the
brothers that had nearly killed him and instead sold him into slavery
could ever show compassion to anyone in their family. All they cared
about themselves. And the same could really be said about Joseph up
until that point.
These were words of compassion that he had never before heard from his
brothers. And so he responded with words of forgiveness, which he never
imagined he would speak to them.
It is the union of compassion and forgiveness that brings about the
reuniting of the brothers. All this is made possible by Joseph - and, I
believe, his brothers as well - letting go of their ego and instead
recognizing the Divine Presence within. They then acknowledged that it
was this connection with Divinity that connected them not only as
brothers but as part of the human family.
Coming full circle, I believe that this experience of compassion and
forgiveness, the language he did not know, is also a testimony to God's
presence, as referred to at the beginning of the verse.
We all must do our best to negate the ego so that we can experience the
testimony of the Divine within us as well. This can then lead us to the
expression of compassion and forgiveness. It can also allow us to
recognize the divinity within all humanity, whether we have thus far
labeled them friend, enemy or neutral. And this, God willing, is what
will ultimately unite us all in Peace שלום.

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Posted By Rabbi Steven Nathan to Mindful Torah at 5/27/2010 01:02:00 AM
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