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PINCHAS 5785
Learning to Play 2-Hand Touch
Did you ever play 2-hand touch football? Today, it has morphed into Flag Football. The rule for 2-hand touch football in Brooklyn in the 1960s where I grew up was simple enough. Instead of tackling the ball carrier on the concrete and asphalt streets where we played to end a play, one had to simply place 2 hands simultaneously upon the ball carrier.
We often argued whether a touch was defective—meaning whether both hands actually touched at the same time. That we continued to play day after day is a testament to the strength of our teenage friendships, and our willingness to overlook the indignities that we repeatedly hurled upon each other.
Of course, the problem could have been substantially abated had we adopted a 1-hand touch rule. And indeed, we contemplated such a rule change many times but always rejected it. After all, who were we to tamper with the sacred rule of “2-Hand Touch”? It would have been as sacrilegious as, say, letting a major league pitcher avoid having to bat by substituting a designating hitter!
My friend and colleague, Rabbi Jeffrey Miller, points out that 2-hand touch vs. 1-hand touch is found in today’s Torah reading. Gd tells Moses that the time has arrived for passing the torch (Num. 27:18): “Take Joshua, son of Nun, a man in whom there is spirit, and lay your hand [singular] upon him.” It was to be a gentle touch, a transfer of power and authority, not unlike an outgoing American president passing the “football”—or the pouch containing the nuclear codes—to his successor. In this case, Moses was transferring something even more powerful than nuclear codes. He bestowed a portion of what the Torah calls hodcha (his splendor) or some of the special light of Gd that was within him.
The Torah is quick to tell us (27:22): Vayaas Moshe kaasher tziva Hashem (that Moses did as Gd commanded). But if you read the text carefully, you’ll see that Moses made a rule change without getting permission from the Supreme Referee (23): Vayismoch et Yadav alav (and he leaned his hands upon him). Did you catch the change? Moses went with a 2-hand touch when Gd had clearly asked for a 1-hand touch.
And yet, Gd doesn’t rebuke Moses. On the contrary, the commentators applaud Moses. As Rabbeinu Bachya comments, Moses’s gesture filled Joshua “like a brimming vessel of wisdom.” In other words, if one hand could bestow so much light, how much more with 2 hands. Moses then gave Joshua even more of his light than Gd had requested.
But how could he do that? Remember, not too long before this, Moses changed a small detail of Gd’s command by striking the rock instead of speaking to it to bring forth water with disastrous results—Moses was forbidden to enter the Promised Land! So, why take such a risk here? Why is this different?
In some ways, adding a hand is worse than striking the rock, for the Torah (Deut. 4:2) forbids us to add to Gd’s laws. For example, we must not show extra piety by placing 5 tzitzit on a tallis instead of the 4 the Torah prescribes, or fast for 2 consecutive days on Yom Kippur instead of one. How could Moses us 2 hands when Gd told him to use only one?
The difference is that the striking of the rock was an act of anger. Earlier in his life, Moses had also let his anger flare as he killed an Egyptian taskmaster who was beating a Jewish slave with a single Mike Tyson-like punch. In each case, Moses channeled his frustration through a single, powerful blow from his dominant hand.
The Pesikta D’Rav Kahana (12) introduces us to the following Midrash: The Holy One, blessed be He, said: “The hands of Moshe are honored for Me. They received the Torah, they received the Tablets of the Covenant, they received the 10 Commandments, they brought upon Pharaoh the 10 plagues, they split the sea and led Israel through it.”
Moses understood that his hands were more than just limbs. They carried the weight of Gd’s redemption, revelation, and covenant which were effectuated through them. Thus, when Gd told Moses to place his hand on Joshua and invest him with the mantle of leadership, he wasn’t upset or angry that he wouldn’t be the one to lead the Jewish people into the Promised Land. He there was more at stake than his ego. He was content, and even joyful that the people would have Joshua, his ever-faithful chief of staff, his aide-de-camp that he trained to lead them.
Moses was no longer the angry young man in Egypt. He understood Gd’s teaching (Shabbat 105b) that an act of anger is an act of idolatry. Now, as he passes the mantle to Joshua, he uses 2 hands—not to strike, but to bless. Gd didn’t punish Moses for using his 2nd hand. In fact, He approved despite the prohibition of making changes to Gd’s commands, because Moses did not act in anger.
Research at Duke University, the University of North Carolina and elsewhere is emphatic: anger and hostility can shorten your life! In fact, being prone to anger was a stronger predictor of dying young than were other risk factors such as smoking, high blood pressure, and high cholesterol.
So my friends, knowing that anger is a grave sin like idolatry and that it can shorten our lives, how shall we handle our anger? Here’s some advice from children: Morgan, age 10 says, “When your mom is mad at your dad, don’t let her brush your hair.” Lezlee, age 11 advises, “When your mother is mad and asks you, ‘Do I look stupid?’ it’s best not to answer!”
And can you believe this? Sometimes it’s a mitzvah to get angry. Be angry at injustice; be angry at poverty; be angry at evil. But, the Torah says, even then we should emulate Gd and be one who is erech apayim, “slow to anger.” Slow down before you get too hot as you feel the anger raging inside. Don’t burst out with accusations only to find out later that you misjudged.
How many times have we all done that? She walked by at kiddush and didn’t even say hello??? And then we find out what was going on in her life at that moment and why she was so preoccupied. He didn’t give as much to my favorite charity when I called and asked as I thought he should??? And then we find out what other financial burdens he was carrying, and we’re embarrassed at having misjudged.
The way we played 2-hand touch football in Brooklyn wasn’t just a safety precaution. It was a code of honor. We were kids —full of energy and ego—learning how to win and how to lose without bruising more than our knees. Every game was a lesson in trust, in restraint, in the unspoken brotherhood of the playground.
So too with Moses. The same hands that once struck down the Egyptian taskmaster with righteous fury … the same hands that hit the rock … are now placed softly upon Joshua’s head with love. In his final act of leadership, Moses, with BOTH hands blesses Joshua. It’s one of the most tender scenes in the Torah. In that moment, Moses teaches us that true strength is not found in attacking, but in compassion.
Moses, who on occasion had misused one hand with severe consequences, now anchors his blessing with 2 hands to show restraint, love, and the power of letting the softer hand hold back the power of force.
So my friends, don’t ever lay an angry hand on those you love or anyone. But if you do lay a hand, make sure it’s Moses’ 2-hand touch—giving more of yourself and your love than expected. Amen!
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