By Rabbi Joshua (historically known as the Hoffer) Hoffman
Towards the end of parshas Ha'azinu, the Torah tells us that Moshe and Hoshea read the words of the shira, the poem contained in the parsha, to the Jewish people (Devorim 32:44). The Malbim points out that even though we were told earlier in the parsha that Moshe and Yehooshua read the shira to the people, that time it was read uninterruptedly, while this time it was reading segments, with Moshe and Yehoshua explaining the meaning at each interval. In any case, Rashi notes that the name Hoshea is used here, rather than the name Yehoshua, which Moshe had given him, to indicate that Yehoshua did not grow haughty as a result of his appointment on that day to replace Moshe as the leader of the nation. We still need, however, to understand how this usage of Yehoshua's original name is a reflection of his humility.
Rav Ya'akov Kaminetsky, in his Emes L'Ya'akov, explains, based on the remarks of the Rashbam in parshas Shelach, that when a person is promoted to a new position, his name is changed. That is why Moshe changed Hoshea's name to Yehoshua when he was appointed to represent his tribe in the scouting mission which is recounted in parshas Shelach. Therefore, it would have been appropriate to refer to Yehoshua by the new name that Moshe had given him at this time, when he was about to take over the leadership from him. The fact that he is referred to by his original name, Hoshea, indicates that he felt no different about himself now than he did previous to his name-change. This explanation, however, does not explain what connection this feature of Yehoshua's has to the specific context in which it is stated, namely, the reading of the shira to the people. In order to understand this level of the Torah's message, we need to look back at the episode in which Moshe actually changed Hoshea's name to Yehoshua.
Rashi to parshas Shelach (Bamidbar 13:16), cites the Talmud, which explains that the insertion of the extra 'yud' to the name Hoshea was to serve as an allusion to God's name, and that Moshe, in changing the name, prayed that God should save Yehoshua from the plan of the spies. Why did Moshe feel that it was necessary to make this change, and offer this prayer ? The Targum Yonasan explains that Moshe made the change after observing Hoshea's humility. One may ask, isn't humility a good quality, and, moreover, didn't the Torah testify at the end of parshas Beha'aloscha that Moshe was the most humble man on earth? Why, then, should Hoshea's humility have been a cause of alarm for Moshe, to the extent that he felt it proper to change his name and offer a prayer on his behalf ?
In Netvort to parshas Shelach, 5763 (which can be seen at Torahheights.com), we noted that the word that the Targum Yonasan uses for humility is 'anvesanus,' a reflexive form of the word 'anavah,' which is the usual term for humility. We find this form of the word used in the Talmud (Gittin 56a), where we are told that the anvesanus of Rabbi Zechariah ben Avkulas, the head of the Sanhedrin, brought about the destruction of the Temple. In that incident, an informer on the Jews had advised the Roman emperor to send an animal with a certain minor imperfection as an offering to the Temple, to show him that the Jews disrespected him and would not bring it on the altar. The commentaries there explain that the humility of Rav Zechariah consisted in not deeming himself worthy to use the extra-judicial power granted to the Sanhedrin to execute people when the situation requires it, bypassing the usual strict normal procedures of Sanhedrin in order to avert a danger to the community. Rav Zechariah, in fact, did have such power, and it was a false sense of humility that prevented him from doing what needed to be done. Anavah, humility, does not mean that one denies who he is, that he is blind to his abilities. A humble person knows who he is, but ascribes his talents not to himself, but to God, Who granted him the innate capacity for achievement. Rav Zechariah, then, practiced anvesanus, making himself into someone without abilities, rather than anivus, true humility.
On Saturday night, in the series of prayers recited in many communities at the close of Shabbos, we read a passage from the Talmud (Megillah 31a), that wherever we find a description of the greatness of God, there we will also find a description of His anvesanus, His humility. God, we are told, acts in a humble way and provides for the unfortunates in the world. The use of the reflexive form for humility there makes sense, because everything comes from God, and therefore when He displays humility, it is really an affectation. The reason He displays humility is to guide others in doing so, as well, following the Biblical requirement to walk in God's ways. However when it comes to a human being, the humility he needs to exhibit, attributing his accomplishments to the abilities given him by God, is not an affectation. A person needs to understand what he is capable of doing, and strive to actualize his potential, but realize that he is only able to do so because of God's kindness.
Perhaps, then, what Moshe saw in Hoshea bin Nun was a failure to recognize his own greatness. He may have feared that since Hoshea was his devoted student, and reflected his master's teachings, he would deem himself unworthy to take an independent stance if the spies would bring back a bad report of the land. This self-perception constituted 'anvesanus,' a sense of humility that consists of a failure to recognize one's own abilities, rather than 'anavah,' the attribution of one's properly perceived qualities to the kindness of God, Who endowed him with them. Moshe, observing this faulty self-perception on Hoshea's part, changed his name and prayed that God help him resist the evil designs of the other spies.
Returning to our parsha, we can now understand why, in the context of reading the shira of Ha'azinu to the people, the name Hoshea is used, rather than Yehoshua. The thrust of the shira in Ha'azinu is to demonstrate that it is God who directs history, and has a plan behind the way events unfold in the world. The Ramban and Rabbeinu Bachya, in their commentaries to Ha'azinu, both write that this shira includes all of Jewish history, past, present and future. Moreover, we read in the shira that God established seventy nations to correspond to the seventy families that would emerge among the children of Yisroel, so that the general history of the world is also encompassed in the shira, as well. In Netvort to Ha'azinu, 5766, we mentioned, in the name of Rav Yechiel Michel Feinstein, zt"l, that when one looks at the broader sweep of history, he is able to see God's providence behind all that occurred. An acceptance of this process of divine providence over history, in fact, can be seen as an exhibition of humility, based on a beautiful explanation offered by Rav Avrohom Yitzchok haCohein Kook of a prayer we say repeatedly on Yom Kippur.
On Yom Kippur at the end of the confession-prayers we recite following each private Shemoneh Esreh, we say, "My God, before I was formed I was unworthy, and now that I have been created, it is as if I had not been formed." Each person, explains Rav Kook, was placed on this earth at a particular time and place because he was given a specific assignment in life, as part of the historical process, that could only be carried out under those particular circumstances, in order to make his own particular contribution to the progression of the historical process. On Yom Kippur, when we take stock of our lives, we recognize that God gave us our particular talents in order to make a unique contribution to the world, and that we have not as yet fully lived up to our calling. When Yehoshua joined Moshe in presenting the shira to the people on the day he was appointed to take over the leadership, he needed to view his new role in this context
Rabbi Ya'akov Moshe Charlop, a close student/colleague of Rav Kook, wrote, in an essay on prayer that serves as an introduction to his commentary Mei Marom on the daily siddur, that true humility comes from a recognition that God is truly the only force in the universe ('ein od milvado' - there is none besides Him). This recognition leads one to subjugate all of his abilities to God's will, out of a realization that he only has those abilities because God gave them to him in order to do His bidding. Thus, while reading the shira, which presents a broad look at all of history as being directed by God's providence, it was the proper time for Yehoshua to exhibit humility. This humility consisted in a recognition that his leadership abilities were given to him by God at that time in history for a specific purpose, and that he now needed to embark on the actualization of his potential in order to advance the divine plan for the universe in general, and the Jewish people, in particular. For this reason, his original name, Hoshea, which placed an emphasis on his humility, was mentioned by the Torah at this time.
