Talking Torah - There's Waldo!

In Parshat Naso, the man who solved the collective action problem makes a cameo appearance

When my children were young they loved the book series “Where’s Waldo?” For those not familiar with him, Waldo was a bespectacled boy with a red and white striped shirt and pompom hat, who would appear as a small dot in an immense crowd. The game was to find him in scenes like this:

There was a definite rush when you picked him out of a sea of humanity. A fun time, as they say, for children of all ages.

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“Sea of humanity” aptly describes the hundreds of thousands of people who crossed the Red Sea to escape the Egyptians. The Rabbis imagine that the miracle of the parting of the sea did not happen until one brave soul jumped into the waters and by his faith split the sea: Nachshon Ben Aminadav.

The Torah does not mention Nachshon at the Red Sea. He’s presented through a dialogue in the Talmud best described as trash talk, as the rabbis debate which tribe deserved credit for being the first to go in the water, even before it split. Rabbi Meir says the tribe of Benjamin ended a squabble among the tribes about who should go first by simply jumping into the sea. Rabbi Yehuda, faithful to his name, begs to differ:

That is not how the incident took place. Rather, this tribe said: I am not going into the sea first, and that tribe said: I am not going into the sea first. Then, in jumped the prince of Judah, Nachshon ben Aminadav, and descended into the sea first, accompanied by his entire tribe¹

And so Nachshon enters the story of the Red Sea through the Midrash. In fact this may be the most celebrated Midrash ever. In some versions he wades up to his nostrils befor the sea starts to split. In others, the waters are above his head. In any event, Nachshon is an oft-cited symbol of faith and courage and, like Dave Roberts², he’ll never have to buy a drink in this town again.

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Nachshon pops up in several places in the Bible. The first time is at the beginning of Exodus, where we learn that Aaron married Nachshon’s sister Elisheva.³ So Nachshon had high status even before The Jump. And as we begin the Book of Numbers, he’s become the leader of the tribe of Judah, the most numerous of the twelve. It is in this capacity that he appears in this week’s parsha, as the tribal heads bring inaugural gifts for the Mishkan:

The chieftains also brought the dedication offering for the altar upon its being anointed. As the chieftains were presenting their offerings before the altar,

YHWH said to Moses: Let them present their offerings for the dedication of the altar, one chieftain each day.

The one who presented his offering on the first day was Nachshon son of Aminadav of the tribe of Judah.

Nachshon delivers his gift first, signaling his, and his Tribe’s, importance.

This is actually Nachshon’s time of year. He appears twice at the start of Bamidbar, in this week’s portion and last’s. He also has a cameo in the Book of Ruth (which we will read this week on the holiday of Shavuot). That book tells the story of the Moabite Ruth who, after the death of her Jewish husband, remains loyal to her mother-in-law Naomi. When the grieving Naomi wants to return to Israel, Ruth follows her, uttering the famous words “for wherever you go I will go.” Though poor, Ruth ends up marrying the rich Boaz. When they announce their engagement, the people rejoice:

All the people at the gate and the elders answered, “[M]ay the LORD make the woman who is coming into your house like Rachel and Leah, both of whom built up the House of Israel!…

So Boaz married Ruth; she became his wife, … and she bore a son.…Naomi took the child and held it to her bosom. She became its foster mother….

They named him Obed.

The book then ends with a genealogy that links Ruth’s son Obed to bigger things:

This is the line of Perez:
Perez begot Hezron,
Hezron begot Ram, Ram begot Avinadav
Aminadav begot Nachshon, Nachshon begot Salmon,
Salmon begot Boaz, Boaz begot Obed, 
Obed begot Jesse, and Jesse begot David.

So Ruth, a humble Moabite woman, is the grandmother of King David! And notice who’s tucked away in the middle of this ancestral list:

Nachshon ben Aminadav.

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Nachshon is doubly significant at this time. Yes, he is the ancestor of Israel’s greatest king but King David is only partly Israelite. He is also Moabite. The story of Ruth is a pro-immigration narrative, another example of how new arrivals invigorate us.

Nachshon also resonates even though it appears that his most famous moment was invented by the rabbis. To paraphrase what Voltaire said about God, “If Nachshon did not exist it would be necessary to invent him.” To whom do we attribute Red Sea moments, when the tide turns and revolution begins? The rabbis took an iconic historical event and created an inspiring legend that made it hinge on one individual’s courageous action.

Like all good legends, this one doesn’t have to be true to ring true. The legend of Nachshon speaks to us now, when a bully seeks to destroy cherished institutions built up over centuries. People can become immobilized by the “collective action problem” - afraid to be punished for standing up for their rights. All seems lost until, out of the crowd, one brave soul wades into the choppy waters and others follow.

Shavuah tov, Rich

Davar Acher (Musical Coda)

Nachshon, this one's for you!

Van Halen: Jump (Official Music Video)

1. Sotah 37a:2.

2. Surely you remember this daring stolen base that started the miracle comeback in 2004?

3. Exodus 6:23.