Vampire Weekend's Surprising Jewish Stories
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Bereishis, 45:12: “And behold, your eyes see and the eyes of my brother, Binyamin, that my mouth is speaking to you.”
Rashi, Bereishis, 45:12: “In my honor, and that I am your brother, and that I am circumcised like you, and moreover, that my mouth that is speaking you is in lashon hakodesh (the holy language).”
When Yosef dramatically reveals himself, he offers a number of proofs that he is indeed, their long-lost brother, and not an impostor who happened to meet the real Yosef and gather information about his past and family. The Midrash, cited by Rashi teaches that one of his proofs is that he demonstrates that he can speak in lashon hakodesh (the holy language) – the language of the family of Yaakov.
The Ramban asks a strong question on this Midrash. He wonders why the fact that Yosef could speak in the same language as the brothers was a proof at all – it was surely common for the ruler of a country to be conversant in the languages of nearby areas! An additional point that Rabbi Immanuel Bernstein makes is that Yosef had a translator who clearly spoke the same language as the brothers, and yet they did not deduce that he was related to them.1
One interesting answer given is that the proof came not from the fact that Yosef knew their language, but that when he spoke in that language to them, they recognized his voice. Having grown up with Yosef, they would surely recognize his voice, but as long as he was speaking in Egyptian, a language that they did not understand, they could not recognize that it was him speaking, but once he reverted to Hebrew, they could then recognize that it was him.2
One of the commentaries on Rashi, the Nachalat Yaakov3 offers a different, fascinating answer to the Ramban’s question. The Ramban assumed that the Hebrew commonly spoken and lashon hakodesh are the same language, but the Nachalat Yaakov argues that this is not so simple. He notes that when Rashi describes the role of the translator between Yosef and the brothers, he states that the brothers spoke to him in ‘lashon ivri’ – the Hebrew language.4 However, when Yosef seeks to prove that he is their brother, Rashi writes that Yosef spoke to them in “lashon hakodesh” – the holy tongue, indicating that Hebrew and lashon hakodesh are not identical.
This idea seems to be vindicated by a fascinating Gemara.5 The Gemara notes relates that when Yosef first met Pharaoh to interpret his dreams, Pharaoh began conversing with Yosef in each of the seventy known languages. Yosef knew all these languages as he had been taught by the Angel, Gavriel, the previous night, so he was able to respond to Pharaoh in each language. In addition, Yosef began speaking to Pharaoh in lashon hakodesh, which Pharaoh did not understand. Consequently, Pharaoh made Yosef take an oath that he would never reveal that Pharaoh could not speak lashon hakodesh. If lashon hakodesh was simply the language of the nearby Israelites that even Yosef’s translator could speak, then why was it so complicated for Pharaoh to learn the language? Rather, it must be that lashon hakodesh was distinct from the Hebrew language.
The Gemara continues that Yosef tried to teach Pharaoh lashon hakodesh but Pharaoh could not understand it. Why was it so difficult to learn lashon hakodesh? The Chatam Sofer6 explains that in order to speak lashon hakodesh, the person himself needs to possess holiness. However, Pharaoh was lacking in kedusha, and could not learn how to speak it. All this does not mean that lashon hakodesh is totally unrelated to Hebrew. Yet, there is an underlying difference – in the words of Rabbi Immanuel Bernstein:
“Apparently, lashon hakodesh is more than a set of words and accompanying grammatical rules. It is the ability to use words in a way that compacts layers of meaning into a minimum of expression, to a degree, the way that the Torah does. That is something one cannot do without kedushah: Pharaoh knew enough to realize this. Accordingly, the words themselves which lashon hakodesh uses in this special way may well be words from lashon ivri (Hebrew), and using them in a more mundane form may simply be what we call speaking Hebrew.”7
Returning to Yosef’s revelation to his brothers. It is possible that by speaking lashon hakodesh to his brothers Yosef was not just looking to prove his identity. He was also trying to demonstrate that he had not lost his holiness in the many years that he was living among the immoral Egyptians.8 Why was it important to convey this message? Yosef was trying to persuade his brothers to bring Yaakov down to Egypt.
For Yaakov to do this was no simple matter. Apart from his reluctance to leave the land of Canaan, there was another fundamental issue. A key aspect of Yaakov’s spiritual greatness, and his relationship with God was his ruach hakodesh (a form of prophecy). The rabbis teach that Yaakov was without prophecy during the time that he believed Yosef was dead. Now, upon hearing that he was alive, Yaakov could once again enjoy that exalted level and connection with God. Obviously, he would certainly not want to lose it again, but living in the impure environment of Egypt would pose the serious danger of removing his prophecy again. In order to alleviate this concern, Yosef needed to communicate that it was possible to live in Egypt and still be on the level to merit prophecy. He did this by speaking in the language of holiness, lashon hakodesh. As we have learnt, only a person on very high level could speak that holy language, thus Yosef was proving that Yaakov could gladly come to Egypt and still have prophecy.
We have seen the spiritual power of lashon hakodesh. One way in which this pertains to us nowadays, is the language in which we learn Torah. There is a proliferation of excellent translations in all areas of Torah, and these are wonderful in that they help make Torah accessible to people who do not have the tools in lashon hakodesh. However, this is certainly not the ideal way to learn Torah, given the inherent holiness of lashon hakodesh, in addition to the incredible wisdom inherent in the language itself. For anyone who has the time, he will greatly enhance his understanding of Torah by becoming proficient in lashon hakodesh.
