Two Hands - Two Mesorahs

In Parshat Pinchas we read about the appointment of Yehoshua as Moshe’s successor. Hashem told Moshe to give Yehoshua “Semicha” (his position of leadership) by literally leaning on Yehoshua with one hand (Bamidbar 27:18). A few pesukim later Moshe goes “all in” and leans on Yehoshua with both hands. Rabbi Soloveitchik explained that the two hands represent two traditions that need to be maintained. The first hand represents the intellectual transmission. Judaism contains a lot of facts, data and information. Before the Oral tradition was written down, this information needed to be committed to memory, preserved and transmitted to future generations. This required tremendous effort and dedication. Even today, with lots of books published, we need a transmission of Torah that helps us organize, prioritize and utilize all of the information passed down as part of the Oral Tradition. Moshe taught many students, but Yehoshua was his most devoted and reliable student.

As Pirkei Avot (1:1) makes clear: After Moshe, Yehoshua was the next link in the chain of the intellectual Mesorah. And even others, such as Pinchas or Elazar HaKohen, had faster recall or asked sharper questions, Yehoshua was still the heir to the mantle of Moshe’s leadership because he possessed something more than the intellectual Mesorah.

Rav Soloveitchik quoted the Midrash that Yehoshua also tended to the physical needs of Moshe and the Beit Midrash. For instance, he would arrange the chairs in preparation for the shiur. As the pasuk in Shemot testifies (33:11) Yehoshuia never left the tent of Moshe nor the tent of the shiur.

Rav Soloveitchik points out that only Yehoshua paired his intellectual tradition with a living tradition through service and physical exertion. This is what the Rabbis call Shimush Talmidei Chachamim, situating oneself in the presence of role models- people from whom you can learn from their deeds and their values as much as from their words and their insights. To paraphrase a quote from Maya Angelou, great people are not only memorable for what they say and what they do- but also for how they impact those around them and how they make other people feel.

This impact is what Rav Soloveitchik refers to as the experiential Mesorah. It is what Yehoshua is uniquely known for and it is the reason why Moshe leaned his second hand on Yehoshua as part of the succession ceremony. In a memorial lecture for his wife Rav Soloveitchik once noted two experiences from his childhood that shaped his religious persona: “In my experience, that is in my experiential, not intellectual memory, two nights stand out as endowed with unique qualities, exalted in holiness and shining with singular beauty. These nights are the night of the Seder and the night of Kol Nidrei. As a child I was fascinated by these two nights because they conjured a feeling of majesty. As a child I used to feel stimulated, aroused, and deeply inspired. I used to experience a strange peaceful stillness.

As a child I used to surrender, using the language of the mystics, to a stream of inflowing joy and ecstasy. In a word, as a child I felt the presence of kedusha on these nights.” This is the experiential aspect of Jewish tradition, one that can be taught through words- but only to a degree. To be fully understood it must be experienced and felt. Many of our youth are now at Jewish summer camp or other Jewish summer experiences. The “secret sauce” of the power and impact of these programs is that a) they are immersive- they remove kids from their familiar environment, routine and comfort zone and b) they are experiential. Many of our Jewish day schools have noticed the power of Jewish summer camp and have found ways to bring some of the magic into their schools. Such experiences can be impactful for adults just as they are for children. At our shul I want to encourage people to seek out such experiences – as well as think about ways in which we can bring some of that experiential magic onto our shul campus and into our own programming.