Verses: 45
Is It Read At Synagogue?: There is an Italian custom to read the first eight verses of this chapter as the conclusion of the Haftarah of the Torah portion of Mattot, the second-to-last portion from the book of Numbers.
Famous Quotes/Phrases: The conclusion of the chapter reminds us that the land God had promised “לַאֲבוֹתָם” (la’avotam), “to their fathers”, is now in the Israelites’ possession. Remembering the promise made to our ancestors is a prominent feature of the Amidah, one of the key daily prayers in Judaism, as well as a recurring theme of the High Holidays.
Basic Plot: Pastures, pastures, and more pastures: we learn where all of them are in this chapter. The Levites, whose territorial rights are different than those of the 12 tribes, ask for room for their cattle to roam. The request is fulfilled, and so ends the lengthy process of assigning portions of land to the Israelites. The people are ready to live fully settled lives … almost.
What’s Strange: Once again, we encounter the text’s bizarre claim that the Israelites now control the promised land completely, even though we’ve read several examples elsewhere in the book that the Canaanites are still hanging around certain areas where specific Israelite tribes live. We often think of the book of Joshua as a story in which everything ends in a neat and tidy way, and that is mostly the case, but it’s not absolute, and when we begin the book of Judges in a few weeks (spoiler alert), we’ll see that this unfinished business impacts the new cycle of leadership the Israelites must adopt.
What’s Spectacular: In the book Congregation (edited by David Rosenberg), Max Apple of Rice University views this moment in Israelite history with a wider lens: “All sons tremble before their inheritance, but Joshua has the hardest task. He cuts his teeth on history. When Joshua leads the tribes across the Jordan, childhood is over for Israel, but so is their status as refugees. The tribes will take the land and become a people, a great nation. Over the millennia, exile will become the destiny of their descendants, and the longing for return will fill the prayers of a hundred generations.”
I’ve sometimes said that the journey of the Israelites from the time of the Exodus mirrors that of moving from a child into an adult. When they leave Egypt, the children of Israel really are like children, being led from a bullying master to a more reasonable one. The subsequent encounter at Mount Sinai can be likened to their B’nai Mitzvah, and the years of wandering in the wilderness resembles teenage struggles (and frequent complaining). Then, Moses’ death and the transfer of leadership to Joshua can be seen as moving from high school to college. Now, as we near the end of Joshua’s leadership, college is almost over, and adult decisions await.
In the upcoming years, the Israelites will make plenty more mistakes, as all adults do. But just like adulthood, there will be less of a safety net than ever before. It will be a long time before they have a leader quite like Moses or Joshua.
Shabbat Shalom!
Fascinating story. Shabbat Shalom 🙂!