Enemies Within: Canaanite Nations and Spiritual Struggle in Hasidism

140 Canaanite Nations and Spiritual Struggle in HasidismLewis Enemies Within: Canaanite Nations and Spiritual Struggle in Hasidism

Justin Jaron Lewis

Rebbe Elimelech of Lizhensk (1717-1787) was a major early leader of Hasidic Judaism in Poland. A small but significant part of his literary legacy is his Tsetl ,This is a “little list” of recommended spiritual practices .צטעטיל קטן Kotn including visualizations as well as holy phrases to be recited in specific chal- lenging moments. Among them is the following:

כשיתחיל להתעורר בו מדה רעה ח”ו ממדות רעות שהוא רגיל בהם כגון עקשנות ובושת של גאוה ועצלות ובטלה המביאה לידי שיעמום וכיוצא בהם יאמר תיכף ומיד בזה הלשון ובכל כחו הכנעני החתי האמורי הפריזי החיוי והיבוסי והגרגשי וינצל.1

When a bad trait begins to stir within you, heaven forbid – one of the bad midot) that you are accustomed to, such as stubbornness or מדות) traits prideful shame or laziness and time-wasting which lead to mental dull- ness, and the like – say, immediately, in these words, with all your strength: The Canaanite, the Hittite, the Amorite, the Perizite, the Hivite, the Jebusite, and the Girgashite – and you will be rescued.

This is a remedy for bad midot, qualities or character traits, before they lead you astray. The list of the seven peoples or nations of Canaan, in this particular order, is a mash-up of two biblical verses which each mention six of them: Exodus 3:17, which omits the Girgashites, and Nehemiah 9:8, which omits the Hivites. Indeed, another early Hasidic version of this teaching refers to six nations, probably meaning that one of those verses should be recited verba- tim. The following is from the so-called “ethical will of the Baal Shem Tov” ,containing teachings ascribed to both the Baal Shem Tov ,(צוואת הריב”ש) founding figure of Hasidism (c. 1700-1760), and Dov Ber of Mezeritsh (d. 1772), regarded as his successor:

Usually printed as an addition to the major book of his .אלימלך מליזענסק, צעטיל קטן ה 1 Found on page 10 of the pdf copy of the edition consulted, available .נועם אלימלך ,teachings at . I have deliberately used editions available for free down- load at this invaluable site. Most Hasidic texts cited here can also be found in the searchable electronic database The Responsa Project, published by Bar-Ilan University in various versions on- and off- line.

יג. אם מתאוה לאיזה עבירה, אז יאמר הפסוקים של העבירה ההיא בטעמים ובנקודות בדחילו ורחימו, ואז תלך ממנו. יד. ואם לאיזה מדה רעה מתאוה ח”ו, אזי יאמר הששה עמים הכנעני וגו', בכל כוחו בדחילו ורחימו ומסתלק ממנו...2

If you desire [to commit] some sin, then say the verses [forbidding] that sin, with their melody and vowels, in awe and love, and that desire will depart. And if you desire some bad trait, heaven forbid, then say the six peoples, “the Canaanite…”3 with all your strength, in awe and love, and [the desire] will leave you.

The biblical verses listing these nations refer to the gift of the land of Canaan to Abraham’s descendants. The Torah, of course, promises and commands that the Israelites will receive the gift of the land through genocidal warfare. Those Canaanite nations are to be utterly destroyed – men, women, and children (as stated most clearly in Deuteronomy 7:1-2, 20:16-17, and assumed through most of Joshua). Evidently, these Hasidic practices are not based on a literal under- standing of those passages; rather, the land is a state of holiness or spiritual well-being, and the enemy nations are bad traits that need to be overcome to get there. Perhaps these teachers deliberately did not use Deuteronomy 7:1, which lists all seven nations in Rebbe Elimelech’s list but in a different order, because its context is explicitly about physical destruction. A generation after Rebbe Elimelech, another great Polish rebbe, Jacob Isaac, the Seer of Lublin (1745-1815), wrote that there was a tradition in the name of the Baal Shem Tov that the seven Canaanite nations, in the same order as in Rebbe Elimelech’s teaching, corresponded to the seven lower sefirot of the Kabbalah:

...שמעתי בשם הרב איש אלקים מו”ה ישראל בעש”ט דכל הז' אומות שבא”י הם נגד הז' מדות זה לעומת זה למשל נגד מדות החסד הוא כנען תאוה אחרת וכן חתי כנגד פחד יצחק וכן כולם.4

ישעיה מינוב, צוואת הריב”ש יג-יד )עמוד ו(. 2 3 The edition consulted adds in square brackets “[the Hittite]” suggesting the same order as in R’ Elimelech’s teaching. This passage is .יעקב יצחק מלובלין, זאת זכרון, עמוד קמב, ד"ה וכן שמעתי בשם הרב המגיד 4 giving its sources ,שמעון מנחם מענדיל גאווארטשאב, ספר בעל שם טוב, שמות יא cited in אמור דף ל"ה ע"ב, שלח דף כ"ו ע"א, בלק דף ל"ט as (זאת זכרון from a different edition of) .ע"א