A contranym is a word that has two opposite meanings: although rare, some familiar examples in English are:
"to buckle" - To connect, or to break or collapse
"to cleave" - To adhere, or to separate
"finished" - Completed, or ended or destroyed
"out" - Visible, as with stars showing in the sky, or invisible, in reference to lights
"refrain" - To desist from doing something, or to repeat
"to strike" - To hit, or to miss in an attempt to hit.
Contranyms are thought-provoking; they are profound miniature thought-experiments all rolled up into one simple word. In this 5784 commentary on our Parsha Hashavua - Parshat Va'etchanan - I will invite my readers to ponder the contranymic quality of a very important word: "to inherit" or "to possess" (from the verbal root √ירש). This word - which we will encounter frequently in this Parsha - also has the meaning of to become impoverished / to become poor (even in the qal) / to become dispossessed.
As I write these words, at this urgent moment in history (the 10th of Av 5784 / 17 August 2024), I am particularly interested in interrogating our assumptions about possession / dispossession, what we inherit, what we can inherit that is part of our tradition in terms of ideas, concepts, teachings.
Similarly, I am interesting in asking myself and asking my readers: how are we affected by coming into possession of something when this occurs by means of dispossessing others. Recalling the contranymic quality of the verbal root √ירש, do we unintentionally cause ourselves to be dispossessed as well, to be spiritually or morally impoverished as a result of our acts of dispossessing others?
(כח) וְצַ֥ו אֶת־יְהוֹשֻׁ֖עַ וְחַזְּקֵ֣הוּ וְאַמְּצֵ֑הוּ כִּי־ה֣וּא יַעֲבֹ֗ר לִפְנֵי֙ הָעָ֣ם הַזֶּ֔ה וְהוּא֙ יַנְחִ֣יל אוֹתָ֔ם אֶת־הָאָ֖רֶץ אֲשֶׁ֥ר תִּרְאֶֽה׃
(28) Give Joshua his instructions, and imbue him with strength and courage, for he shall go across at the head of this people, and he shall allot to them the land that you may only see.”
וְהוּא֙ יַנְחִ֣יל אוֹתָ֔ם אֶת־הָאָ֖רֶץ - he shall allot to them the land ....
He (Joshua) will "allot" the land to them (the children of Israel).
Let's pause and explore this verb - יַנְחִ֣יל: the JPS translation has "he shall allot"; let's notice that the verb here is in the Hiphil √נחל; I suggest it could also be translated as, "He will cause them to inherit"...
Cause to inherit, or bring about the experience of inheriting...continuing our thought experiment from Parshat Devarim
please see my 5784 commentary on Devarim:
Devarim 5784 - Virtual Inheritance / Nonfungibility
https://www.sefaria.org/sheets/580838?lang=bi
As 21st century Jews, as 21st Century humans, who may be witnessing the opening (or continuing) moves of a world drama that is in its final acts... when there is an urgent need for new paradigms in which we value peace and diplomacy, in which equity and broad-minded efforts at peace prevail... I suggest that it is imperative for us to bring new Jewish eyes to the phenomenon of inheritance.
Can we bring forward our inheritance of ideas rather than places?
(קיא) נָחַ֣לְתִּי עֵדְוֺתֶ֣יךָ לְעוֹלָ֑ם כִּֽי־שְׂשׂ֖וֹן לִבִּ֣י הֵֽמָּה׃
(111) Your decrees are my eternal heritage; they are my heart’s delight.
So we can see here, in this verse from Psalm 119, that an inheritance can also be something non-material - such as a teaching, or a decree.
And let's situate this verse within the entire Psalm 119: it follows soon after
(קה) נֵר־לְרַגְלִ֥י דְבָרֶ֑ךָ וְ֝א֗וֹר לִנְתִיבָתִֽי׃
(105) Your word is a lamp to my feet,a light for my path.
וְהוּא֙ יַנְחִ֣יל אוֹתָ֔ם אֶת־הָאָ֖רֶץ אֲשֶׁ֥ר תִּרְאֶֽה - he shall allot to them the land that you may only see
I suggest some alternate translations: "the land the you see", "the land that you regard", "the land that you perceive" or even "the land that you consider"; let's remember that "to see" - √ראה in Biblical Hebrew means not only "to see" literally, but also to look at/ inspect/ perceive/ consider.
Let's stay with this idea as we return to the second half of our initial verse: consider that what we as contemporary students of Torah can "see" as we engage with this text - is what we can consider, perceive, inspect. And our "inheritance" - our "allotment" - is the result of what we perceive and "see" in the texts.
What must we "see"? What is our "inheritance" today?
At this time - the still-early 21st century - when so much "life" occurs "online" / "digitally" - can we explore and center the idea of an inherited place that is found virtually as well as literally?
The restatement of the Ten Utterances are here, in Parshat Va'etchanan, with a clearly conditional / transactional introductory verse:
(א) וְעַתָּ֣ה יִשְׂרָאֵ֗ל שְׁמַ֤ע אֶל־הַֽחֻקִּים֙ וְאֶל־הַמִּשְׁפָּטִ֔ים אֲשֶׁ֧ר אָֽנֹכִ֛י מְלַמֵּ֥ד אֶתְכֶ֖ם לַעֲשׂ֑וֹת לְמַ֣עַן תִּֽחְי֗וּ וּבָאתֶם֙ וִֽירִשְׁתֶּ֣ם אֶת־הָאָ֔רֶץ אֲשֶׁ֧ר ה׳ אֱלֹקֵ֥י אֲבֹתֵיכֶ֖ם נֹתֵ֥ן לָכֶֽם׃
(1) And now, O Israel, give heed to the laws and rules that I am instructing you to observe, so that you may live to enter and occupy the land that ה׳, the God of your fathers, is giving you.
What is needed - today - on the 15th of Av 5784? What is urgently needed for us as contemporary Jews, what do we need to learn, in order to be in a deep state of reverence and awe of Divine creation?
I propose that something that is not needed is that we cling to / cleave to the blind hatred of militaristic principles.
This verb √ירש occurs 232 times in Tanakh, and by far the largest percentage of these occurrences (71/232, or nearly 31%) occur in the Book of Deuteronomy. (There are 10 occurrences in Genesis; 2 in Exodus; 3 in Leviticus; 16 in Numbers; 28 in Joshua; 27 in Judges; 10 in Isaiah; 11 in Psalms; and very few times in the remaining books of Tanakh).
Considering the preponderance of occurrences in Deuteronomy, Joshua and Judges (a total of 54% of the total occurrences in the entirety of Tanakh), it seems reasonable to speculate that this verb and the concepts it carries are part of the project of this part of Tanakh, insofar as teaching and promoting the idea that "the land" is to be possessed and occupied, with all of the attendant dispossession and violence that this entails.
Do we dispossess ourselves of our humanity, of any of the precepts that we are taught in the Ten Utterances and elsewhere in Tanakh, when we pursue vengeance and dispossession before all other goals? Do we diminish ourselves as a "great nation... a wise and discerning people"?
(ו) וּשְׁמַרְתֶּם֮ וַעֲשִׂיתֶם֒ כִּ֣י הִ֤וא חׇכְמַתְכֶם֙ וּבִ֣ינַתְכֶ֔ם לְעֵינֵ֖י הָעַמִּ֑ים אֲשֶׁ֣ר יִשְׁמְע֗וּן אֵ֚ת כׇּל־הַחֻקִּ֣ים הָאֵ֔לֶּה וְאָמְר֗וּ רַ֚ק עַם־חָכָ֣ם וְנָב֔וֹן הַגּ֥וֹי הַגָּד֖וֹל הַזֶּֽה׃ (ז) כִּ֚י מִי־ג֣וֹי גָּד֔וֹל אֲשֶׁר־ל֥וֹ אֱלֹקִ֖ים קְרֹבִ֣ים אֵלָ֑יו כַּה׳ אֱלֹקֵ֔ינוּ בְּכׇל־קׇרְאֵ֖נוּ אֵלָֽיו׃ (ח) וּמִי֙ גּ֣וֹי גָּד֔וֹל אֲשֶׁר־ל֛וֹ חֻקִּ֥ים וּמִשְׁפָּטִ֖ים צַדִּיקִ֑ם כְּכֹל֙ הַתּוֹרָ֣ה הַזֹּ֔את אֲשֶׁ֧ר אָנֹכִ֛י נֹתֵ֥ן לִפְנֵיכֶ֖ם הַיּֽוֹם׃ (ט) רַ֡ק הִשָּׁ֣מֶר לְךָ֩ וּשְׁמֹ֨ר נַפְשְׁךָ֜ מְאֹ֗ד פֶּן־תִּשְׁכַּ֨ח אֶת־הַדְּבָרִ֜ים אֲשֶׁר־רָא֣וּ עֵינֶ֗יךָ וּפֶן־יָס֙וּרוּ֙ מִלְּבָ֣בְךָ֔ כֹּ֖ל יְמֵ֣י חַיֶּ֑יךָ וְהוֹדַעְתָּ֥ם לְבָנֶ֖יךָ וְלִבְנֵ֥י בָנֶֽיךָ׃ (י) י֗וֹם אֲשֶׁ֨ר עָמַ֜דְתָּ לִפְנֵ֨י ה׳ אֱלֹקֶ֘יךָ֮ בְּחֹרֵב֒ בֶּאֱמֹ֨ר ה׳ אֵלַ֗י הַקְהֶל־לִי֙ אֶת־הָעָ֔ם וְאַשְׁמִעֵ֖ם אֶת־דְּבָרָ֑י אֲשֶׁ֨ר יִלְמְד֜וּן לְיִרְאָ֣ה אֹתִ֗י כׇּל־הַיָּמִים֙ אֲשֶׁ֨ר הֵ֤ם חַיִּים֙ עַל־הָ֣אֲדָמָ֔ה וְאֶת־בְּנֵיהֶ֖ם יְלַמֵּדֽוּן׃
(6) Observe them faithfully, for that will be proof of your wisdom and discernment to other peoples, who on hearing of all these laws will say, “Surely, that great nation is a wise and discerning people.” (7) For what great nation is there that has a god so close at hand as is our God ה׳ whenever we call? (8) Or what great nation has laws and rules as perfect as all this Teaching that I set before you this day? (9) But take utmost care and watch yourselves scrupulously, so that you do not forget the things that you saw with your own eyes and so that they do not fade from your mind as long as you live. And make them known to your children and to your children’s children: (10) The day you stood before your God ה׳ at Horeb, when ה׳ said to me, “Gather the people to Me that I may let them hear My words, in order that they may learn to revere Me as long as they live on earth, and may so teach their children.”
Looping back to Psalm 119:111 where we learned that an inheritance can be something non-material such as a teaching, or a decree - and one that has real staying power - eternal staying power, in fact:
(קיא) נָחַ֣לְתִּי עֵדְוֺתֶ֣יךָ לְעוֹלָ֑ם כִּֽי־שְׂשׂ֖וֹן לִבִּ֣י הֵֽמָּה׃
(111) Your decrees are my eternal heritage; they are my heart’s delight.
Let's situate this verse in its proximity to Psalm 119:105:
(קה) נֵר־לְרַגְלִ֥י דְבָרֶ֑ךָ וְ֝א֗וֹר לִנְתִיבָתִֽי׃
(105) Your word is a lamp to my feet,a light for my path.
My question for myself, and for my readers as well: at this urgent time in Jewish history, in the history of humanity... how shall our feet be guided by "God's word"?
With which of God's words shall we resonate? Today, this very day - היום - what are we hearing?
Faced with a profoundly challenging contranymic situation - that of possession / dispossession - how shall we study this, how shall we live this out?
פִּדְיוֹן שְׁבוּיִים קוֹדֵם לְפַרְנָסַת עֲנִיִּים וְלִכְסוּתָן. וְאֵין לְךָ מִצְוָה גְּדוֹלָה כְּפִדְיוֹן שְׁבוּיִים שֶׁהַשָּׁבוּי הֲרֵי הוּא בִּכְלַל הָרְעֵבִים וְהַצְּמֵאִים וַעֲרוּמִּים וְעוֹמֵד בְּסַכָּנַת נְפָשׁוֹת. וְהַמַּעֲלִים עֵינָיו מִפִּדְיוֹנוֹ הֲרֵי זֶה עוֹבֵר עַל (דברים טו ז) "לֹא תְאַמֵּץ אֶת לְבָבְךָ וְלֹא תִקְפֹּץ אֶת יָדְךָ" וְעַל (ויקרא יט טז) "לֹא תַעֲמֹד עַל דַּם רֵעֶךָ" וְעַל (ויקרא כה נג) "לֹא יִרְדֶּנּוּ בְּפֶרֶךְ לְעֵינֶיךָ". וּבִטֵּל מִצְוַת (דברים טו ח) (דברים טו יא) "פָתֹחַ תִּפְתַּח אֶת יָדְךָ לוֹ". וּמִצְוַת (ויקרא כה לו) "וְחֵי אָחִיךָ עִמָּךְ". (ויקרא יט יח) "וְאָהַבְתָּ לְרֵעֲךָ כָּמוֹךָ". (משלי כד יא) "וְהַצֵּל לְקֻחִים לַמָּוֶת" וְהַרְבֵּה דְּבָרִים כָּאֵלּוּ. וְאֵין לְךָ מִצְוָה רַבָּה כְּפִדְיוֹן שְׁבוּיִים:
The redemption of captives receives priority over sustaining the poor and providing them with clothing. [Indeed,] there is no greater mitzvah than the redemption of captives. For a captive is among those who are hungry, thirsty, and unclothed and he is in mortal peril. If someone pays no attention to his redemption, he violates the negative commandments: "Do not harden your heart or close your hand" (Deuteronomy 15:7 , "Do not stand by when the blood of your neighbor is in danger" (Leviticus 19:16 , and "He shall not oppress him with exhausting work in your presence" (ibid. 25:53). And he has negated the observance of the positive commandments: "You shall certainly open up your hand to him" (Deuteronomy 15:8 , "And your brother shall live with you" (ibid. 19:18), "Love your neighbor as yourself" (Leviticus 19:18 , "Save those who are taken for death" (Proverbs 24:11 , and many other decrees of this nature. There is no mitzvah as great as the redemption of captives.
And we much turn our attention to teachings about advocating for those who are vulnerable and blameless.
Here, I will share a section of a poem I wrote on 6 July 2024 / 30 Sivan 5784; the poem is called "fill my hands".
שמע
listen:
I want to argue like Abraham;
I want to do him one better;
(old Abe, he didn’t go far enough)
Yes, I want to argue like Abraham.
I would have said:
listen:
there are
most
certainly
righteous people there
I hope I would have said:
stop
I would have said,
I hope I would have said,
I know that is wrong, and
I know this is right
righteous ones
innocent ones
they are most certainly there,
and we must love them
I want to argue like Abraham
I want to argue
even better than Abraham
(ד) וְשָׁפַט֙ בֵּ֣ין הַגּוֹיִ֔ם וְהוֹכִ֖יחַ לְעַמִּ֣ים רַבִּ֑ים וְכִתְּת֨וּ חַרְבוֹתָ֜ם לְאִתִּ֗ים וַחֲנִיתֽוֹתֵיהֶם֙ לְמַזְמֵר֔וֹת לֹא־יִשָּׂ֨א ג֤וֹי אֶל־גּוֹי֙ חֶ֔רֶב וְלֹֽא־יִלְמְד֥וּ ע֖וֹד מִלְחָמָֽה׃ {פ}
(4) Thus [God] will judge among the nations and arbitrate for the many peoples, and they shall beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks: nation shall not take upsword against nation; they shall never again know war.
(טז) הוּא הָיָה אוֹמֵר, לֹא עָלֶיךָ הַמְּלָאכָה לִגְמֹר, וְלֹא אַתָּה בֶן חוֹרִין לִבָּטֵל מִמֶּנָּה.
(16) He [Rabbi Tarfon] used to say: It is not your duty to finish the work, but neither are you at liberty to neglect it...
In every contranym, there is always a choice.
Shabbat Shalom to all.