Finding Reassurance in the Book of Joshua

I often fail to meet my personal goals for Torah study. This is irrational, because I love the feeling of centeredness, reassurance, and inspiration I get from it. And so, recently I joined the new cycle of Nach Yomi through the Orthodox Union’s Women’s Initiative to try to achieve a new personal best. Nach Yomi (a cousin of the famous Daf Yomi) is a daily chapter-by-chapter audio lesson of all nineteen books of the Prophets (Naviim) and Writings (Ketuvim), a two-year guided tour of Jewish history. It’s an impressive achievement for anyone who completes it.

This cycle began shortly after the Gaza war broke out, adding poignancy to the narrative. 

This cycle began shortly after the Gaza war broke out, adding poignancy to the narrative. Moses had recently died. God told Joshua to be hazak v’amatz (strong and courageous) as he led our people into the Promised Land. The phrase is used four times, a sure indication that conquering and settling the land would be tough going.    

The Book of Joshua was taught by Rebbetzin Dr. Adina Shmidman, director of the OU’s Women’s Initiative, who launched the program. “I saw this as an opportunity to create a sorority of sisters in learning,” she said. “I wanted to showcase the remarkable talent we have among women who are proficient in the texts and had a passion to teach. I wanted to give them a mic.” 

More than 10,000 women signed up to receive the daily learning emails in the last cycle, and about 1,500 completed it. Shmidman is proud of the diversity of the participants: From extremely knowledgeable to newbies; girls as young as 10 to women in their 90s; women living in Switzerland, Mexico, France, South Africa, England, Australia and Brazil.

One letter she received said, “Growing up in the former Soviet Union, I had no clue our heritage was so rich and deep! All I knew was that Jews are filthy and dirty, and nobody wanted to be friends with them. Well, decades later, and I’m now older than Rabbi Akiva (when he started), but I guess it’s never too late to get educated … Thank you for doing this.”

As I listened to the classes, I shook my head in wonder: How are we still battling for full control of the land we were given more than 3,000 years ago? Why must we still battle the corrupt court of world opinion? The Book of Joshua is one of transition and transmission, Shmidman observed: from Moses to Joshua; from dependence on God for everything, including our food, to real life when we had to begin to do the hard work of fighting our battles and settling the land. 

There is drama: Joshua holds up the sun, the walls of Jericho fall, the daughters of Tzelafchad insist on their fair share of land inheritance; the harlot Rahav hides the Jews from the Canaanites who seek to kill them, and is rewarded by the privilege of marrying Joshua himself. The tribes each get their apportioned land according to God’s instructions. The tribes bury the bones of Joseph that they brought out of Egypt, in Shechem, where his sale into slavery had been plotted and carried out — a final act of restitution.    

Shmidman’s teaching was uplifted by the four missions to Israel she participated in since Oct. 7, while she was preparing classes. This shone through when she often referenced the rawness and pain of the war she felt through the eyes of people she met. But she also pointed to bright spots, such as the surge in unity and interest among secular Israelis in taking on mitzvot and study.   

The first women’s Nach Yomi cycle began right before COVID, when the whole world was spinning out of control. “Studying Nach created a sense of security and stability then. Now that feeling is even stronger. We’ve been gifted a holy text that gives us legitimacy and affirmation that this history and destiny are ours. At a time when this is being questioned in such a traumatic and dramatic way, it’s profound to be able to hold it.”

Are the Jewish people now writing the next chapter of Nach, when God’s promise of ultimate redemption will be fulfilled?  Shmidman believes the answer is yes. “We’re part of a movement, and studying affects our destiny. It’s all divine choreography.”

Judy Gruen is the author of “Bylines and Blessings,” “The Skeptic and the Rabbi,” and other books