Tough Love

Joshua Chapter 18, the Strange and the Spectacular

Verses: 28

Is It Read At Synagogue?: No.

Famous Quotes/Phrases: We see another couple of references to a drawing of lots, a practice made more famous by the story of Esther and the plot of the story of Purim.

Basic Plot: With the Israelites gathered in Shiloh, Joshua blames seven of the tribes for not taking possession of their portions of the land. He asks three men from each tribe to explore the unsettled land, report back to him, and then he would draw lots to decide each tribe’s precise territories. The Benjaminites are assigned first, and the boundaries and towns are recorded in the remainder of the chapter.

What’s Strange: This item isn’t necessarily strange, but rather a neat bit of trivia: a town is mentioned in verse 26 called Moza. According to the Mishnah of tractate Sukkah, the Jewish people of Moza started a tradition at some point during the holiday of Sukkot in which they would gather willow branches on the final day of Sukkot, known as Hoshanah Rabbah. On that day, they established the practice of circling their sanctuary seven times while carrying these branches, and after their last rotation, they bashed the branches against the ground or another hard surface. This marked the end of Sukkot and the climactic moment of the High Holiday season, asking God to save us one last time.

This small-town practice is now observed by Jews around the world every year on Hoshanah Rabbah, and is perhaps the defining custom of the day.

What’s Spectacular: Joshua is getting a bit fed up. At least, that’s how I read his exhortations to the seven tribes who hadn’t established their territories in the Promised Land. What exactly are they waiting for? We could sympathize with the tribes of Judah, Ephraim, and Manasseh, who, in earlier chapters, each find their own way to deal with local alien people before putting down roots. But the other tribes don’t seem to have this same excuse.

I argued last week that Joshua had taken on the role of Head Cheerleader of the Israelites. Now, he seems to be Head of Nagging. He sounds like a parent, doesn’t he? A lot of us can relate to this. You almost want him to say, “Ugh, do I have to do everything for you?” While it’s not the most positive question, it’s sometimes the very thing we need to hear from an elder when we’re not at our best. A little bit of tough love might be just what we need to succeed.

Shabbat Shalom!