In a couple of weeks from now we will be reading the Parshat called “Shelach”, שלח. The Haftorah reading for this Parshat is from the Book of Joshua. It concerns the sending out of two spies on a dangerous intelligence gathering operation. On one level it is a story of a clandestine insertion of two Jewish operatives on a secret mission, doomed from the get-go, hiding out in a bordello, a tale filled with suspense, danger, betrayal and escape. But on another level; well let’s wait and see.
Chapter 2 begins as follows:
וַיִּשְׁלַח יְהוֹשֻׁעַ-בִּן-נוּן מִן-הַשִּׁטִּים שְׁנַיִם-אֲנָשִׁים מְרַגְּלִים חֶרֶשׁ לֵאמֹר, לְכוּ רְאוּ אֶת-הָאָרֶץ, וְאֶת-יְרִיחוֹ; וַיֵּלְכוּ וַיָּבֹאוּ בֵּית-אִשָּׁה זוֹנָה, וּשְׁמָהּ רָחָב--וַיִּשְׁכְּבוּ-שָׁמָּה
Reasonably translated the text reads:
“Joshua the son of Nun sent out from Shittim two spies secretly, saying: 'Go; see the land and Jericho.' They went; they came to the house of a woman, a harlot, named Rachav, and they slept there”.
All in all the text seems pretty straight forward, but seeing as how we are the People of the Book, maybe there is more than meets the eye here. And if so, then it calls for making interpretations. But how does one do that? We are talking about making a commentary on a biblical text; sounds a little chutzpadik if you ask me.
Most of us have not gone to Seminary or Yeshiva, let alone received Smicha. And there are many of us Olim who are not fluent in Ivrit let alone Biblical Hebrew. This is something like an English speaker having to deal with Geoffrey Chaucer’s Middle English, not exactly a walk in the park. But that does not mean that we should not go forward. So how do we start?
In my opinion the way to start is to look to how the best of the best of Biblical Commentators went about making interpretations. Hands down, that would be the 11th century commentator on the Torah, par excellence, Rashi. What was his interpretive method? And even though we sorely lack Rashi’s knowledge, wisdom and capacity, can we give it a try without thoroughly embarrassing ourselves?
I think so, and I will go so far as to speculate that Rashi would encourage us to do so. Quoting from Avram Grossman’s 2012 book “Rashi” on his interpretive method: “According to Rashi, every biblical verse – and in particular, every verse in the Torah – bears a significance and message that go beyond merely conveying information. Accordingly, one must do more than interpret the literal meaning of the words”.
Ok, let’s start with the opening words: וַיִּשְׁלַח יְהוֹשֻׁעַ, Joshua sent…
Who is Joshua? We have a tradition that you can tell something about a person by delving into the meaning of his name. In this case, יְהוֹשֻׁעַ means “God saves” or rescues or delivers. We have a foreshadowing of what the two spies are going to encounter.
Let’s figure out how and why Rachav is sometimes referred to as an innkeeper and sometimes a hooker. I’m not calling her a harlot; that’s too high blown for me. But on the other hand, although I lived in Detroit for quite a while, I’m not calling her a Ho’; hooker will have to suffice. Semantics aside, put yourself into the shoes of the operatives. Whether Rachav’s establishment is a Bed & Breakfast with optional special room service or an actual inn or a bordello that takes cash and doesn’t ask questions, it is a good place to hide out or a good place to gather information.
It is interesting that although the two men remain anonymous, Rachav is identified by name and profession from the get-go. She is called a זוֹנָה which is ordinarily translated as a woman of Ill-repute. However, not a few commentators go to great lengths in order to clean up her act. One way of doing this is to white wash the word זוֹנָה. Think of the Grace After Meals, the ברכת המזון, particularly the first blessing. In this Blessing we thank Hashem for the nourishment, the זן. Or take a look at the word המזון. It doesn’t take a leap of faith to see that these words share the same root. That’s how a hooker becomes an innkeeper.
You can make your own interpretations. Rashi would like that. If you have a question or a doubt, run your commentary past your Rabbi or maybe your wife. She’s more perceptive than you. Put a smile on Rashi’s face.
The author may be contacted at mick.jaron@gmail.com.