Shabbat Vayigash

Belief

“And when the brothers told Yaakov and said, ‘Yosef is still alive, and he rules over all of Egypt, his heart missed a beat, and he did not believe them.’ (Bereishit 45:26).

This word, belief, Emuna, is one of the most crucial words in the Torah and is much misunderstood. Particularly because it has such important theological ramifications. In some religions, it is enough to declare that you believe, and belief is the foundation and test of belonging. And if you ask most people what the first of the so-called Ten Commandments is, they will reply “Belief in God.” Although the text does not say that. Only that “God is” but no obligation “You Must Believe.” With the implication that each one of us has to find their way to this fundamental concept. But can one command anyone to believe? And how can one ever check if someone does, actually, believe?

There are many words in Hebrew that share the root AMN אמן (that has been borrowed by Christianity also to signify assent. It means trust, rather than believe. Yaakov just did not believe his sons when they told him Yosef was alive, given the extent to which he knew they had misled him and he could not trust them. It is interesting the extent to which the Hebrew words for mother and for a nurse have the same root אמ. Someone you trust, you feel secure with. The words Amen, Amen come twelve times in a single chapter (Devarim Chapter 27) always asserting assent and agreement. But clearly not belief.

When Moshe held his hands up in the battle against Amalek and Aaron and Chur held them up as he grew tired, the word the Torah uses is that his hands were EMuNa, firm, strong until the battle was won (Shemot17:12). When the Torah wants to show how close Moshe was to God it says that he was the most trusted of God’s servants, NeEMaN, (Bamidbar 12:7). When Moshe struck the rock, and Hashem said that Moshe did not believe in him, surely the meaning was that he had not trusted him or had allowed his temper to get in the way (Bamidbar 20:12). To make matters more obscure, when it says that Avraham “HeEMiN BaShem” (Bereishit 15:6) clearly it means he trusted, not that he believed. And when God is described as Hael HanEMaN it too has nothing to do with theological belief, but trust. Yosef uses it with regard to whether to believe the brothers (Bereishit 62.20). Or “VayAMiNu baShem ubMoshe avdo” “they believed in God and Moshe” at the dividing of the sea (Ex 14.31). God is described as El EMuNa (Deuteronomy 32.4). All examples of trust rather than belief.

Why am I going into the meaning of words in the Bible in such detail? Because these words are so often misused and mistranslated. They have become invested with such theological significance that they are often used out of context and used religiously as tools of faith. They become invested with meanings not originally intended. How often are we asked such questions as “Do you believe in God “, or some other concept of theological fundamentals? Belief is such a nuanced term.

A similar issue applies to the word Truth, EMeT. In our prayers, we say that God is truth. But that is not how the word EMeT was used originally. It is used empirically in the Torah to mean verification. Did these events take place? (Devarim 20:20). Nowadays, truth has other connotations. In Jewish terms, truth should be a commitment to behave, to accept a spiritual reality on a personal level. But a previous Chief Rabbi of Britain got into trouble simply because he had said that there are different truths. The Holy Squad condemned him and argued that there can only be one truth. When clearly, there can be different realities. But trying to impose one, leads to Inquisitions.

This is why words are so important and so dangerous at the same time. We can verify how a person behaves, but how do you verify what a person believes, other than by action? Can two people both be telling the truth even when they disagree? Or shouldn’t we say that what is true for you, may or may not be true for me? Did Yaakov believe or did he not?

 

Rabbi Jeremy Rosen lives in New York. He was born in Manchester. His writings are concerned with religion, culture, history and current affairs – anything he finds interesting or relevant. They are designed to entertain and to stimulate. Disagreement is always welcome.