Q. I heard that the lyrical poem Nishmat (recited on Shabbat and festivals) was authored by Peter, the leader of the Apostles. Could this be true?
A. Shabbat and the festivals have a longer Shacharit service than weekdays, and the number of psalms we read is expanded on Shabbat and chagim.
On all occasions the "Pesukei DeZimra" (passages of song – i.e. psalms) conclude with Psalm 150, with its call to the whole world, "Kol HaNeshamah Tehallel Y-ah" – "Let all breath praise the Lord".
On Shabbat and festivals, the words and theme are continued with "Nishmat Kol Chai", which is known as "Birkat HaShir", the Song Benediction. It avers that however much we try ("even if our mouths were full of song"), the Creator is beyond all human praise.
Nishmat has three parts, which say:
· There is only one God ("We have no King but You").
· His greatness is beyond human praise.
· He has cared for His people throughout their history.
The authorship of the passage is controversial. There is a medieval legend that the first section is by one of the most "Jewish" of Jesus’ supporters, Simon Peter, who is thought to have been disconcerted by the way the early Christians made compromises with Jewish monotheism.
It is true that Simon Peter was reluctant to abandon Jewish belief and practice, but his insistence on retaining Jewishness is probably exaggerated.
The claim that he wrote part of Nishmat is rejected by Rashi (Machzor Vitry, p. 282), who argues that the real author is Shimon ben Shetach and that the legend confused two Simons. Rashi’s grandson Rabbenu Tam still believes that this Simon was a Jewish liturgical poet and wrote a Yom Kippur hymn, "Etein Tehillah" ("I will utter praise").
Some liturgists think that Simon Peter also wrote the benediction "Ahavah Rabbah" ("You loved us with exceeding love") which precedes the morning Shema, but this too is highly improbable.
Some midrashic passages suggest that (like some other early Christians) Simon Peter hovered between Judaism and Christianity and ended up as a Jew who attempted to prevent Christians from changing Jewish belief and practice. This is one of a number of stories of apostates (even a pope) who left Christianity and returned to Judaism.
BLESSING CHILDREN
Q. I am puzzled by the blessing, "God make you like Ephraim and Menasheh". Were they such role models?
A. Ephraim and Menasheh were the grandsons of Jacob. He foresaw that his descendants would bless their children in this way (Gen. 48:20).
The Hertz Chumash praises them as Jews who would not barter their heritage for status or power.
However, the text (verse 5) gives a different explanation, that Jacob regarded these two as his own sons: "They will be to me like Reuben and Simeon".
In this sense the parental blessing prays that every Jewish child will fulfil their potential to become as important in history as the original twelve sons of the patriarch.
AN EGYPTIAN MAN
The Torah describes how Moses rendered assistance to the shepherd girls. The girls had no idea who he was, only that he was "an Egyptian man" (Ex. 2:19).
If they had had more details, they might have said that he was "an Egyptian Hebrew"; it is unlikely that they would have called him "a Hebrew Egyptian" because in Egypt the Hebrews were an alien group, not real Egyptians.
The episode reminds us of something Pinchas Peli wrote about Jews in America, that they are "American Jews", not "Jewish Americans". Their Jewish identity is somehow their main distinguishing factor even though at the same time they are full participants in American culture.
Thinking about my life in Australia, I would have called myself an Australian Jew even though at the same time I was a Jewish Australian.
The distinction may be that Australianism is an ethos whilst Jewishness is an arbiter. If ever there were a conflict between the two, my Jewishness would judge my Australianism.
Franz Rosenzweig was asked which part of his being was paramount, the Jewish or the German. He replied that the only way to find out was to cut open his heart, but the operation would kill him.
HE KNEW NOT JOSEPH
The first chapter of Sh’mot tells us that a new king arose over Egypt who knew not Joseph (Ex. 1:8).
The general view is that this means that all that Joseph had done for Egypt in time of bitter famine had been forgotten. Since the "new king" could mean a new regime which dislodged the previous government, it could be that the newcomers did not know Joseph personally, i.e. the new leaders had had no dealings with their predecessors.
There is a quite different rabbinic interpretation which says that the new regime "did not fulfil the decrees of Joseph": i.e. they were a new broom that swept out the policies which Joseph and his generation had introduced for the benefit of the Egyptian people.
30 YEARS
Next week begins the thirtieth year of weekly issues of OzTorah.
Week by week for these three decades OzTorah has conveyed the message of Torah to hundreds of readers and their families.
It might not have said strikingly original things but it has sought to open people’s minds, souls and hearts to the thinking and character of Judaism.
OzTorah has in its own way represented all of the three patriarchs of Jewish history – Abraham, who climbed mountains and raised eyes to heaven; Isaac, who dug his father’s wells and found the lifegiving waters of tradition; and Jacob, who struggled with outside forces and emerged triumphant.
Producing OzTorah has sometimes been hard work but it has brought inspiration to the writer and editor and we hope it has illumined the lives of its readers.
Rabbi Raymond Apple was for many years Australia’s highest profile rabbi and the leading spokesman on Judaism. After serving congregations in London, Rabbi Apple was chief minister of the Great Synagogue, Sydney, for 32 years. He also held many public roles, particularly in the fields of chaplaincy, interfaith dialogue and Freemasonry, and is the recipient of several national and civic honours. Now retired, he lives in Jerusalem and blogs at http://www.oztorah.com
