{"id":59867,"date":"2018-06-11T09:52:20","date_gmt":"2018-06-11T14:52:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/?p=59867"},"modified":"2018-06-24T06:15:39","modified_gmt":"2018-06-24T11:15:39","slug":"the-stiff-necked-people-the-perfect-nation-to-receive-the-torah","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/inspiration\/the-stiff-necked-people-the-perfect-nation-to-receive-the-torah\/","title":{"rendered":"The Stiff-Necked People: The Perfect Nation to Receive the Torah"},"content":{"rendered":"

Throughout our history<\/a>[1]<\/sup><\/a> the Jews have received many appellations. \u00a0Among the more famous \u2013 and positive \u2013 are \u201cThe Chosen People\u201d, \u201cPeople of the Book\u201d, \u201cEternal People\u201d, and \u201cLight unto the Nations.\u201d \u00a0Exodus chapter 32 finds our ancestors receiving yet another tag \u2013 one that evokes mixed feelings, yet in whose depth may lie the secret of our eternity.<\/p>\n

The source of the appellation is Hashem himself, who says the following to Moses in the terrible aftermath of the Golden Calf: \u201cI have seen [observed] this people, and behold they are a stiff-necked people. \u00a0Now leave Me alone and My wrath will blaze against them and destroy them. \u00a0I will then make you into a great nation.\u201d <\/a>[2]<\/a><\/sup>\u00a0 Rashi explains that the Jews are \u201cso called because they turn their stiff necks towards those who reprimand them and refuse to listen.\u201d<\/p>\n

One chapter later, Hashem informs Moses that He will be now be sending a proxy, an angel, to watch over Israelites instead of leading them directly. \u00a0In explaining why, Hashem invokes this notion twice again:<\/p>\n

I will send an angel before you, and I will drive out the Canaanites\u2026 [You will then] enter a land flowing with milk and honey\u2026 for I will not go up among you, for you are a stiff-necked people and I may destroy you along the way.<\/a>[3]<\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n

Say to the Israelites: You are a stiff-necked people. \u00a0Were I to go up among you\u2026 I would destroy you.\u201d<\/a>[4]<\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n

Given this context, one can reasonably assume that \u201cstiff-necked people\u201d is a pejorative label, connoting a noxious combination of impudence and stubbornness.<\/p>\n

The Problem<\/strong><\/p>\n

Here\u2019s the problem: In defending the people Israel, Moses uses the very same notion as the essential rationale for our salvation: \u201cMoses hastened, bowed to the ground\u2026 and said, \u2018If I have found favor in Your eyes my Master, let my Master go among us, because (ki)<\/em> it is a stiff-necked people.\u00a0 Pardon our iniquity and our sins, and take us as Your own possession.\u2019\u201d <\/a>[5]<\/a><\/sup> \u00a0In this case, Moses employs the term \u201cstiff-necked\u201d as a reason to receive God\u2019s mercy.\u00a0 How could Moses be using this term to win Hashem\u2019s favor?<\/p>\n

Four Classic Solutions: Ibn Janach, Ibn Ezra, Zohar H<\/u>adash, and Midrash<\/strong><\/p>\n

Ibn Ezra presents two possible solutions to the problem. \u00a0First, he cites the opinion of Rabbi Mereinos (Rabbi Yonah Ibn Janach) who explains that the word ki<\/em> in our context (\u201cki<\/em> it is a stiff-necked people\u201d) should be rendered as even though<\/em> it is a stiff-necked people, for the word ki <\/em>can also mean \u201ceven though.\u201d<\/a>[6]<\/sup><\/a>\u00a0 Thus Moses is asking Hashem to find the Israelites deserving of mercy despite<\/em> their stubbornness.<\/p>\n

Opting for the standard usage of the word ki<\/em> as a causative, Ibn Ezra offers a different approach. \u00a0He explains that what Moses means is \u201cbecause<\/em> (I admit) <\/em>that we have sinned, that we are a stiff-necked nation, therefore you should forgive.\u201d\u00a0 Hashem, we don\u2019t attempt to redefine truth in light of our behavior, nor do we make a theology of our weaknesses \u2013 a tendency from which frail man often suffers.<\/p>\n

In a third interpretation Moses turns to God and says: \u00a0\u201cHashem, Your people do not want an agent. \u00a0We want the Divine Manager!\u201d\u00a0 Why? \u00a0The words of the Zohar H<\/u>adash<\/em> explain: \u201cFor it is a stiff-necked people and You shall forgive\u201d as meaning \u201cThe Jews are obstinate and wearying and when they sin, the angel can only do judgment and not forgiveness, but You are merciful and gracious.\u201d<\/a>[7]<\/sup><\/a> \u00a0An angel is constricted; he has no access to divine mercy and understanding. \u00a0Therefore when we sin the angel must punish us.\u00a0 But You, Hashem, can fathom us in great depth and can find in our being stubborn the very building blocks of forgiveness.<\/p>\n

A fourth approach is suggested by the Midrash:<\/p>\n

R. Yakim said: Three are the undaunted: among beasts, it is the dog; among birds, it is the cock; and among the nations, it is Israel. \u00a0R. Isaac ben Redifa said in the name of R. Ammi: You think that this is said disparagingly, but it is really in their praise. \u00a0R. Abin said: To this very day Israelites in the Diaspora are called the stiff-necked people.<\/a>[8]<\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n

The Stiff-Necked People: The Perfect Nation to Receive the Torah<\/strong><\/p>\n

Taking up the theme of the Midrash, Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch writes: \u201cThe natural innate obstinacy of the race \u2026 made Israel the most suitable for the revelation of the Divinity of His Torah.\u201d <\/a>[9]<\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n

\u201cStiff-necked\u201d is thus not necessarily pejorative. Stiff-neckedness is a character trait, and character traits are good or bad depending on how they are expressed. \u00a0The Kotzker Rebbe once taught that every emotion and thought has value in the appropriate measure at the appropriate time. \u00a0A H<\/u>asid once asked: \u201cRebbe, of what value is heresy or doubt?\u201d The Kotzker thought for a moment and responded: \u201cWhen a beggar knocks on your door, don\u2019t believe that God will provide. Take out your wallet and give him money.\u201d<\/p>\n

Indeed, our stiff-neckedness has served us well.\u00a0 Does anyone really doubt that by all standards of natural history, we ought to have been a relic of the past, an academic fascination for aspiring PhDs?\u00a0 Instead, thanks to our stiff-neckedness, writers from such as Rabbi Yaakov Emden to Mark Twain have pointed to the immortality of the Jew as one of the great enigmas and miracles of human civilization.<\/p>\n

Dr. Yaffa Eliach relates a story that illustrates how our stubbornness translates into our immortality:\u00a0 A Jewish labor battalion, slaving under brutal Nazi control, refused to eat on Yom Kippur despite threat of execution for failure to comply.\u00a0 After the fast was completed, the Nazi commander approached the group and said:<\/p>\n

\u201cI know that you fasted today, but I am not going to invoke the death penalty you deserve according to the law.\u00a0 Instead you are going to climb that mountain and slide down on your stomachs.\u00a0 Those among you who would like to repent may say they were wrong to disobey army regulations and fast today.\u00a0 Those who wish to do so may raise their hands.\u201d<\/p>\n

Not a single hand went up.\u00a0 And so, the tired, soaked, starving, the emaciated Jews climbed the wet, slippery mountain.\u00a0 When they reached the top, they were ordered to slide down on their stomachs.\u00a0 When they reached the bottom, they were ordered to line up again.\u00a0 They were asked if there were individuals who wished to repent and be spared the ordeal.\u00a0 Mud-covered figures with feverish eyes looked at the clean shaven German officer in silent defiance.\u00a0 And so ten times they repeated the humiliating performance, each time with more determination, each time with more strength, climbing and sliding from an unknown Polish mountain which on that soggy Yom Kippur night became a symbol of Jewish courage.<\/p>\n

After the ordeal was over, \u201ca young German officer of low rank walked over to the group and said \u2018 I don\u2019t know who will win this war, but one thing I am sure of \u2013 people like you, a nation like yours, will never be defeated, never.\u2019\u201d <\/a>[10]<\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n

Our stubborn nature has enabled us to persist and survive the most extreme challenges imposed upon us, from the brutal atheist rule of the Soviet Union to the challenge of observing Shabbat in the United States in the first six decades of the twentieth century despite the great fear of losing one\u2019s job.<\/a>[11]<\/sup><\/a> \u00a0Our \u201cstiff-necked\u201d tradition has suited us well over the past thousands of years and will, with Hashem\u2019s help, continue to pave the way for our successes in the future.<\/p>\n

We may add that the stubborn nature of the Jewish people adds credibility to our belief that our ancestors received the Torah from God at Sinai.\u00a0 The fact that a most contentious, argumentative, and highly intelligent people accepted the divine origin of the Torah testifies to the veracity of this claim!\u00a0 \u00a0We can now understand that Moses was arguing that Hashem should forgive us, because precisely the fact that we are the stiff-necked people proves the truth of Hashem and the Torah!<\/p>\n

Conclusion\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/strong><\/p>\n

Mark Twain wondered about the secret of the Jews\u2019 immortality.\u00a0 Part of the answer is our natural inclination to be the stiff-necked people.\u00a0 This stubborn nature has allowed us to persevere in our staunch commitment to Torah observance despite enormous challenges in each and every generation throughout the millennia.\u00a0 Thoughtful individuals recognize that we are indeed the stiff-necked people and that this very trait constitutes yet another reason to acknowledge the divine origin of the Torah.<\/p>\n

\n

Excerpted from Rabbi Jachter\u2019s book\u00a0Reason to Believe: Rational Explanations of Orthodox Jewish Faith<\/strong><\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

<\/a>[1]<\/sup><\/a> I thank Rav Asher Brander for allowing me to adapt and expand his article on this topic, \u201cSupremely Stubborn,\u201d published in his work Teachings: In-Depth Reflections on the Parshah <\/em>(Jerusalem: Mosaica Press, 2011) 284-289.<\/p>\n

<\/a>[2]<\/sup><\/a> Ex. 32:9-10.<\/p>\n

<\/a>[3]<\/sup><\/a> Ex. 33:3.<\/p>\n

<\/a>[4]<\/sup><\/a> Ex. 33:5.<\/p>\n

<\/a>[5]<\/sup><\/a> Ex. 34:9.<\/p>\n

<\/a>[6]<\/sup><\/a> Ibn Ezra (Ex. 13:17) cites Rabbi Moshe Ibn Gikatilla, who interprets the word ki<\/em> in this verse to mean \u201ceven though.\u201d\u00a0 In Josh. 17:18 and Ps. 41:5 the word ki<\/em> can also be reasonably understood as meaning \u201ceven though.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/a>[7]<\/sup><\/a> Lekh Lekha<\/em> 41b.<\/p>\n

<\/a>[8]<\/sup><\/a> Ex. Rabba 42:9.<\/p>\n

<\/a>[9]<\/sup><\/a> Ex. 34:9.<\/p>\n

<\/a>[10]<\/sup><\/a> Yaffa Eliach, Hasidic Tales of the Holocaust <\/em>(New York: Oxford University Press, 1982), 101-105.<\/p>\n

<\/a>[11]<\/sup><\/a> I stand in awe of my grandfather (and namesake), Chaim Adler zt\u201dl, who stood firm and was fired week after week for refusing to work on Shabbat, in grand \u201cstiff-necked people\u201d tradition.\u00a0 It took great courage and steadfast determination for my grandfather to do this in the 1920\u2019s, when his wife and five small children depended on him for sustenance, and when government welfare was not extended even to those in the direst of circumstances.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Throughout our history[1] the Jews have received many appellations. \u00a0Among the more famous \u2013 and positive \u2013 are \u201cThe Chosen People\u201d, \u201cPeople of the Book\u201d, \u201cEternal People\u201d, and \u201cLight unto the Nations.\u201d \u00a0Exodus chapter 32 finds our ancestors receiving yet another tag \u2013 one that evokes mixed feelings, yet in whose depth may lie the<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":133625,"featured_media":59868,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_cloudinary_featured_overwrite":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[85],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-59867","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-inspiration"],"yoast_head":"\nThe Stiff-Necked People: The Perfect Nation to Receive the Torah-OU Life<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Our stubborn nature has enabled us to survive the most 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