A Thought on Parshas Shlach

"...va'yikra Moshe l'Hoshea bin Nun Yehoshua..." "...and Moshe called Hoshea son of Nun "Yehoshua"..." (13:16) Moshe Rabbeinu had a faithful student named Hoshea. In this verse, the Torah relates how Moshe called him by the name "Yehoshua." Rashi brings us an interpretation, which has become very well known, that Moshe wanted Hoshea to have the extra letter yud in his name to fortify him with spiritual strength. With the addition of that letter, the name of HaShem which is written with yud and hae would now preface his name. This would empower Hoshea (now called Yehoshua) to withstand, with HaShem's help, the wiles and conniving of those fellow travelers who sought to disillusion the nation. A number of questions have been raised about this interpretation. Firstly, we have earlier references in the Torah to Moshe's student being called Yehoshua. This passage, the prelude to the reconnaissance mission of the scouts, is seemingly not the place or time when the name change was made. Secondly, if Moshe's concern was to protect Hoshea via this adding-a-letter, why didn't Moshe similarly outfit the loyal Kalev with a name change? The Panae'ach Raza offers an alternative interpretation of the verse. He suggests that immediately from the time that Moshe took Hoshea on as a disciple and found him worthy, he changed his name to Yehoshua via the additional letter. This happened much earlier, well before the current episode in our parsha.The reason for this name change, he opines, is that we find a precedent for that elsewhere. When a person finds favor and is viewed as a trusted servant, his status is elevated through a name change. Avram became Avraham. Yaakov became Yisroel. Yosef became Tzafnas Panae'ach. Daniel became Beltshazar. Chanania, Mishael and Azaria became Shadrach, Meshael and Abed-nego. Moshe altered the name of his trusted servant to confirm that he was worthy of respect and this paved the way for the nation of Israel to view him, eventually, as the natural and hand-picked successor of their great leader Moshe. ************************* "v'im nefesh achas te'cheta..." "...and if a soul sins..." (15:27) Earlier this year, on Parshas Emor, I presented the view of the Panae'ach Raza who holds that the term nefesh is a reference to the soul which is eternal, and which lives on after life has ended. His view emphasized that it is the nefesh which is of the highest importance in a mortal's existential reality, for the nefesh is the transcendent dimension of human potential. During mortal existence, we "have a nefesh" but in life after life, we are a nefesh. That Parsha Thought generated great discussion. There was considerable back-and-forth from people who get my Parsha Emails. In particular, the exceptionally bright Westreich brothers of New York and Los Angeles took me to task on this Panae'ach Raza. After quite an exchange, I agreed to continue developing the concept. Well, the above verse is used by the Panae'ach Raza to shed more light on his thinking. He notes, as should we, that the person who sins is referred to here as a "nefesh", rather than as an "odom" (person) or "ish" (man). Why no reference to the person, the body, the corporeal? After all, if a person lacks a body, his soul cannot sin. The departed spirits, in their higher realm, can do no wrong. At a physical level, they probably do nothing at all! What the Torah is hinting at here is that when a (living) person commits a sin, it does not really affect his physical body. Sooner or later, that body will die and decay, returning to dust. What is damaged, however, is the soul. The nefesh comes from a place of holiness and purity. When one fails in his mission to maintain a mortal life of kedusha v'tahara, he compromises the supernal sanctity of the only aspect of self which endures, and which, in the plan of eternity, is all that matters. The impact of iniquity is, for all purposes and intents, on the soul alone. Thus, when a person sins, it is the nefesh asher te'cheta - the soul alone which will bear that sin. Good Shabbos. D Fox