Are you a Pronoun?
by Rabbi Mordechai Rhine
This week’s Parsha is unique in that the name of Moshe cannot be found. This is unique because from the time that Moshe was introduced to us in Parshas Shimos until Chumash Devorim when Moshe will review the Torah, there is no Parsha totally missing his name, except this Parsha. Instead Hashem uses a pronoun to refer to Moshe, “And you shall command the Jewish people…”
A variety of commentaries address the uniqueness of Moshe’s missing name. Some observe that this Parsha occurs at the same time of year as Moshe’s yartzeit, the seventh of Adar. It would seem that somehow Moshe’s missing name is like a praise of eulogy. What message is there in Moshe being referred to by a pronoun?
A pronoun is a unique type of communication which presupposes a significant relationship, to the point that people will be able to figure out who is being referred to. When a teacher says, “You’d better behave, or I’m going to call him,” we all realize that the person referred to is someone of authority in the school or in the child’s life. When the Torah refers to Moshe with the statement, “You shall command the people…” and the Torah knows that we will know who the “You” is, it is a great praise for Moshe. It expresses the idea that Moshe is the trustworthy communicator of G-d’s law, and even if a pronoun is used we know exactly to whom it does refer.
Sometimes in life a person can acquire pronoun-status among their friends as they develop a special role in people’s lives. When on a communal level, “Oh, yes, he took care of it,” is accepted to refer to a certain person, that person has attained pronoun-status. It is no longer necessary to give all the identifying information for people to know to whom you refer. Such is their level of dedication; such is their relationship.
I am reminded of the status that Rabbi Moshe Feinstein (d. 1986) held in the Jewish world during his lifetime. “Reb Moshe”, as he was fondly known, was a premier Torah scholar, who was so approachable, and so capable of applying Torah law to new cases in biology, science, and technology. On his shoulders rested much of the tradition that was successfully transferred from Europe to the United States. His name was a household name, as he was known as the Posek Hador (Halachic authority of the generation).
On one occasion a group of yeshiva students heard that Reb Moshe had been hospitalized. They wanted to pray for the Rabbi, but couldn’t recall the name of Reb Moshe’s mother so as to recite the traditional Mi Shebeirach prayer. One of the group stated perceptively, “In heaven, just as on earth, they must know who Reb Moshe is, even if we don’t mention a last name, or his mother’s name. Just pray for ‘Reb Moshe’. Hashem knows who we mean.”
I believe that every person has the ability to become a pronoun to others by the way they conduct themselves. There may be an elderly person you look out for, or a child who needs some extra encouragement. When you develop a relationship, and they refer to you to others gratefully with the words, “He called today,” or “She stopped by,” you know that you have made a difference in someone’s life in such a profound way that it became unnecessary to identify you by your full name. In your own way, you have followed in the trustworthy footsteps of our teacher Moshe. You have become a pronoun.
© 2016 by TEACH613™
Based on an experience from childhood, is there ever a time that referring to one’s parents or a significant authority figure with a pronoun is wrong, and if so, why?
Thank you.
Gut Shabbos
RMR> One should not refer to a parent or great person using a pronoun. Instead they should treasure the name, as in,”Father, Mother, Rebbe, or my teacher, said.” It is indeed considered disrespectful to refer to them as “He” or “She”. Or title and message of pronoun was meant for the message that there is a person in your life who is so critical, that their role is self understood.
An example of this is that when one says a Torah thought he is supposed to cite the source from whom he heard it (see Avos 6:6). This is true except when he is quoting his main Rebbe. In the case of one’s main Rebbe it is understood that his wisdom is sourced in the Rebbe.
My dear Nephew Reb Mordechai, shlit”a,
Another great lesson…
1) I could not find Moshe’s name in Eikev, Re’eh, Shoftim, Ki Seitzei or Nitzavim. It was omitted there because Moshe was the speaker and he referred to himself with first person pronouns.
2) The sentence, “You’d better behave or I’m going to call him…” contains three pronouns, but you do say whether you are speaking of the first-person pronoun, the second-person pronoun or the third-person pronoun of that sentence.
My love to you [a recognizable pronoun] and your [another recognizable pronoun] wonderful family,
Sincerely, Me [Oh no! Not another one].
Thank you for the pronoun dvar torah …
It says a great deal.
– Cindy
Greetings Rabbi Rhine:
I would just comment that, I think, using an actual pronoun when addressing or referring to a Rav or Talmud Chacham is not proper etiquette. That is, when I write this note it would be inappropriate for me to say “as you said in the article,” but rather, “as the Rabbi” said in the article. I don’t think it was the Rabbi’s intent to convey this notion, but one reading the article might infer this.
Yasher Koach and warmest regards for a Good Shabbos,
-Phil
RMR> You are correct. Just because someone has a”pronoun” status in your life, doesn’t necessarily mean that you may refer to them using a pronoun. One should not say, “She lets me,” referring to their mother. Instead we say, “Mom lets me.” Thanks! GSh!
There are some Parashot in Devarim where Moshe’s name doesn’t appear. Re’eh is one of them. Nitzavim is another. Aharon’s name doesn’t appear in Terumah; Moshe’s name doesn’t appear in Tetzaveh. There is a nice explanation in The Midrash Says for both of these failures to appear. Nechama Leibowitz discusses a lot of reasons for the absence of Moshe’s name but does not discuss the common explanation from Moshe’s discussion with G-d after breaking the first Luchot. My first son’s Bar Mitzvah was Tetzaveh; my second son’s was Nitzavim (leap year). Moshe’s name didn’t appear in either — but my second son’s English name (Evan, or “Rocky” from Hebrew) appears 3 times in the first alleyah this week.
Missing the absence of Moshe’s name in some Parashot in Devarim is a very common — most of the absences are during Moshe’s long speeches. Thank you for your outstanding series of Devrei Torah.
One more comment. The “Atah” at the beginning of Tetzaveh is redundant, because Tetzaveh implies “you.” I read the “Atah” as an abbreviation for the normal “Vayidaber H’ el Moshe Lamor” as a further indication that the Torah went out of its way to avoid using Moshe’s name at this point. To me, this language is a further verification that the Torah excluded Moshe’s name because of Moshe’s statement to G-d that He should exclude his name if he wiped out the Jewish people and started over making a nation through Moshe. Of course Moshe had to destroy the first set of Luchot, because the first covenant was based on divine justice. Under the terms of divine justice, G-d would have had to destroy the Jewish people, at least those who took part in the sin of Egel Zahav. Moshe successfully negotiated a new covenant based on divine mercy — under that covenant, G-d (as H’) would forgive those He decided to forgive. This successful negotiation saved the vast bulk of the Jewish people of the generation who left Mitzrayim.