SELECTIONS FROM KEDUSHAT LEVI
Ongoing Text Study Program
The Institute for Jewish Spirituality
Devarim
s.v., be’ever hayarden b’eretz mo’av ho’il moshe be’er et hatorah
”On the other side of the Jordan, in the land of Moab, Moses undertook to expound
this Torah, [saying:]”(Deut.1:5).
Check out Rashi’s comment on this verse: “He explained it to them in seventy
languages.” Why did Moses explain the Torah to them in seventy languages at this
particular time? We can explain this with reference to the verse, “The Lord will inscribe
in the script of nations that this one was born there. Selah” (Ps.87:6). Now,
sometimes we find Aramaic words in the Torah, such as “y’gar sahaduta (the mound of
witness)” (Gen.31:47). So, too, words in other languages appear, such as “‘totaphot’:
‘tat’ in Coptic means ‘two’ and ‘pat’ in African means ‘two’” (Zevachim 37b); likewise
we read, “‘hen’ in Greek means ‘one’” (Shab.31b). Similarly the languages of all the
other nations appear in the Torah.
There is one reason for all of this. The language of any nation is its root vitality, but
“l’shon hakodesh (the holy tongue; Hebrew)” is only for the Jews. Now, in truth, Israel
heard the Torah at Sinai only in Hebrew. But, the Holy One sees both beginning and end
at the same time, and saw that Israel would someday wind up in exile. Therefore, God
included the language of all the other nations in the Torah. In this manner the Jews would
gain access to their vital forces, through their language as it appears in the Holy Torah,
and thus they would be able to survive in exile.
This is hinted at in our verse: “The Lord will inscribe in the script of nations,” that is,
the Holy Blessed One wrote in the Torah the script of the nations, of all the other peoples
– “this one (zeh) was born there, selah” – that is, so that the Tzaddik will be able to
survive there. The Tzaddik is called “this one (zeh),” as the Sages taught (Berachot 6b),
“the whole universe was created only in order to obey this one (zeh).” That is the import
of “this one was born there, selah”: so that the Tzaddik will be able to survive in exile.
That is why this was taught in the land of Moab, since in the Land of Israel there was
only “l’shon hakodesh.” But in the land of Moab, a land of the nations outside of the
Land of Israel, Moses needed to expound the Torah in all of the languages, so that Israel
would be able to survive in exile.
For Further Thought:
That Levi Yitzhak finds such significance in the Hebrew language is not a surprise.
Further, it is not surprising that he would consider the experience of exile, of “golus,” so
difficult, so distancing from the Divine source that we might have to get our vital force
from the language of our neighbors. It is through their language, which we know and in
some sense has been sanctified through the Torah, that we are able to draw strength even
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in exile. And, yet, there is something worth noting in that move – a sort of redemption,
not only for Israel, but for their neighbors. As debased as the language of the “goyim”
might be (and let us not ignore the ethnocentrism – and, possibly outright racism – in
some of Levi Yitzhak’s comments), it still has the power to help sustain, and even
ultimately redeem Israel. The spark in foreign languages derives from Torah, too.
Nothing is so cut off that it cannot ultimately be lifted back to its source.
There is a problematic phrase in the text, obscured by the translation. We read above,
“The language of any nation is its root vitality.” A more literal translation would be, “The
language of all nations is the vital force of that nation.” This way of reading the text
makes a deep connection between language and identity. Not only is it a determining
factor in national consciousness, the language itself is generative. It calls a people into
being (and separates them off from others, in turn). The very form of the language shapes
consciousness, forms the world and gives energy for national purposes.
It might be possible, on the other hand, to translate this phrase as “The language of any
nation derives its vitality from the people.” In this sense, it is the use of the language,
how it is expressed and employed by its speakers, that gives it force and purpose. In a
sense, this sounds like a Hasidic/mystical concept: the letters are the building blocks of
creation. Their use in language vivifies all things (in that things have names made up of
letters; in that words of speech employ letters) and the intentional speech of the Jewish
people transforms the world (for good and ill).
Guide:
1. In a similar vein, Levi Yitzhak wrote that language of the other nations appears in
the Torah so that Israel would have access to their vital forces, “bikhedey
sheyisrael yukhlu l’hiyot lahem tekumah bagalut.” The word “lahem” seems to be
redundant. Is this a reinforcing word, referring back to “Israel”? Or, could Levi
Yitzhak be suggesting that when Israel derives vitality through the language of the
host nation it also helps to support them – that is, the nations? How do you read
this phrase, and how do you conceive of the relationship between “Jewish”
language and “other” language?
2. Let’s say that the answer to the question above is that indeed Levi Yitzhak meant
to say that Israel’s use of the host nation’s language is to provide support for the
hosts. Is this an argument for a vital Diaspora? Does this reflect an understanding
of the contributions of Jews to global culture? Is there something Kaplanian in
this – suggesting the importance of the American expression of the Jewish
civilization and its place in American democracy? Or, is this idea still too
ethnocentric – all blessing ultimately is through Israel? How do you read this?
3. In sociology there is a concept of “first language, second language” that has to do
with the foundational way we experience the world, and then the secondary
manner through which we may later engage it. There may be something like this
in our spiritual lives. Think of what it takes to write prose, let alone poetry, in a
second language. Now, consider the language in which you pray. Which prayers
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are in English, which in Hebrew or some other language? Consider your own
experience of kids (and even adults) who know very little Hebrew, but when they
are in a tight spot and feel the need to pray, they start out by saying “barukh atah
adonay…”, either repeating that over and over or adding their personal petition in
English. In what language to experience “chiyyut”? Through which words does
God’s vital force flow for you?
Practice:
A clear-eyed reading of Jewish history reveals that the Jewish people have adapted and
adopted practices and beliefs from their host cultures. We have dressed like them; we
have shaped our cuisine to be like theirs; we have spoken their languages and brought
their words and concepts into our speech. It may be unique in our time, however, that
Hebrew as a language of the Jews has fallen so far from popular awareness. True, many
of our ancestors may only have had “siddur” knowledge of Hebrew, but it was a language
toward which they had positive attitudes. It is only a small minority of American Jews
today who can read or speak Hebrew, let alone write.
What does this lesson suggest about the role of language in shaping a people? What
might it mean for us as we consider what it will take to sustain the Jewish people in
America in their Jewish lives? Which language should we struggle to teach (if we have to
select only one): Hebrew or the symbolic/ideational language of traditional texts? How
easy have you found it to teach the latter without some sensitivity to the former?
Pay attention to how you express yourself, how you formulate your thoughts. How easily
can you map Hebrew terms onto your primary concerns? When do you find that some
concept in English (and more: when the English word is an import from another spiritual
system, from another culture altogether) expresses your deepest truth and awareness
better than Hebrew? How have you found that living in the American culture has
enlivened you? How have you found that the American language has helped to sustain
you as an individual and as a Jew? When do you sense that your Jewish language is what
preserves you in the American “exile”?
Reflect.
Translation and Commentary by Rabbi Jonathan Slater
© Institute for Jewish Spirituality 2012
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