After the Flood, Noah blessed his son Yefeth:
“May God expand Yefeth, and may he dwell in the tents of Shem.” (Gen. 9:27)
What does this blessing mean? Why should Yefeth live in Shem’s tents?
The Sages noted that Yefeth was the ancestor of ancient Greece. As such, Yefeth’s blessing relates to the special accomplishments of the Greeks, especially in the realm of the arts and aesthetics (the name 'Yefeth' is related to the Hebrew word yofi, meaning ‘beauty'). As the Talmud states in Megillah 9b: “May the beauty of Yefeth reside in the tents of Shem.”
The blessing links Yefeth and Shem together through the cultures of their descendants, Greece and Israel. Yet the relationship between these two nations was never simple. We know from the story of Chanukah that these two civilizations clashed violently during the Second Temple period. How then can the beauty of Greek culture reside harmoniously in the tents of Israel?
No comments:
Post a Comment