Out of the One - Many
Ps. 62:12-13
On the eve of the day that marks American Independence - it’s worth celebrating a nation that pays attention to the freedom of speech, even if there’s still so much more to explore here and so many more freedoms and protections to perfect and protect.
The Great Seal of the Unites States includes the Latin Motto E Pluribus Unum - From the Many - One. What was formed from a collection of colonies became one ‘united’ nation. How real that is these days or not -- only time will tell. And there’s another way to read into this motto - and also turn it the other way. That’s what today’s psalm suggests, quite radically.
Words are weaponized today - perhaps more than before - the ones we can or can’t say in public, the ones with which we do or don’t denounce or identify with.
Every text has subtext. Every word can be interpreted in different ways - depending on the tone and tenor, whether it is written or spoken, shouted or whispered. When it comes to the divine word or the letter of the law - the art of interpretation is an intricate science that dances on the thin rope between original intention and the necessity of adaptation. How can there ever be a single understanding of what we mean by what we write or say? What will prevent mass misunderstanding that shifts reality away from whatever this or that word meant? This is the central question at the core of the ongoing project of interpretation, and the methods that enable us to comment on whatever came before us.
In today’s psalm a single verse opens the portal into the complex art of exegesis - or in other words - the freedom to read more into a text than what meets the eye upon the first encounter. The poet claims that there are multiple readings of what was heard from the divine source itself:
אַחַ֤ת ׀ דִּבֶּ֬ר אֱלֹהִ֗ים שְׁתַּֽיִם־ז֥וּ שָׁמָ֑עְתִּי כִּ֥י עֹ֝֗ז לֵֽאלֹהִֽים׃ וּלְךָֽ־אֲדֹנָ֥י חָ֑סֶד כִּֽי־אַתָּ֨ה תְשַׁלֵּ֖ם לְאִ֣ישׁ כְּֽמַעֲשֵֽׂהוּ׃
One thing God has spoken;
two things have I heard:
that might belongs to God,
and faithfulness is Yours, O my Sovereign, to reward everyone according to their deed.
Ps. 62:12-13
Why must the divine word be assumed as multivalent? A Rabbinic teaching quoted in the Talmud quotes this verse to justify the entire body of the ongoing commentary of Torah - the divine words must be open source, and open to multiple expressions. It’s a radical view - which is what makes this sacred tradition still elastic and fluid, despite what more traditional and conservative voices would prefer to pretend.
Babylonian Talmud, Tractate Sanhedrin 34a quotes the Babylonian sage Abaye:
“Scripture declares, “God speaks once yet I hear two things; strength is God’s” (Psalms 62:12). A single verse yields several meanings and a single meaning does not emerge from multiple verses.”
This bold claim for multiple meanings that are equally sacred meets another building block of our pluralistic attitude - the famous rabbinic claim, also from the Talmud, Tractate Eruvin 13B, that claims more than one way to rule in matters of law:
“Both these are those are the living words of God.”
In the binary blame game that we are in the middle of, with so many falsehoods and fake news, it’s incredible to reimagine that the truth, even the words from the divine origin carry multiple meanings that can defy a static reading. How can we ever guarantee or grant what is valid or authentic? Somehow, our tradition teaches, it’s upon each and every teacher, and upon the trust that we bestow on those who read both text and subtext in ways that resonate with us. That is the radical and pluralist power of the oral tradition that has been the backbone of Jewish life for so many centuries despite so many attempts to offer a monolithic or orthodox way to make sense of the sacred or of life.
Can we handle the both/and approach to life with respect to our differences? The poet of the psalms suggested so, as did so many generations after. This remains a serious challenge for our global, multicultural shared realities, in the US and around the world. From one word of God, the poet hears that there is power, love and justice. Can we live up to that?
Happy Birthday, American Nation: Let democracy grow stronger and all voices be heard, celebrated, respected and equally applied.
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