Vestiges of the Holy Tongue

Bind (these words) as a sign on your hand, and let them be an emblem (totafot) in the center of your head.                               Deuteronomy 8:6 Rabbi Akiva maintains that the word totafot is composed of tot which means two in Katpi (perhaps the Coptic language) and fot which means two in Afriki (the language of North Africa).             Babylonian Talmud, Sanhedrin 4b

            At first glance, Rabbi Akiva understands the meaning of the word “totafot” based upon two foreign words! It seems strange indeed that the Torah would abandon the Holy Tongue and use words borrowed from languages of the nations of the world. Rabbi Yehoshua ibn Shueib (c.1280 – 1340) phrases his astonishment at this possibility thus: “heaven forbid that we should learn about the holy mitzvot from the languages of the gentiles, or adduce proofs from their inferior tongues.”

            Rather, explains Rabbi ibn Shueib, the Holy Tongue is the primal language, the language of creation, and the sole language of all mankind until the generation of the Tower of Babel. When God “confused the world’s language” [Genesis 11:9] in response to the plan to build the tower, He taught each nation a different language and left the Holy Tongue for His nation Israel, albeit in diluted manner. Nonetheless, the Creator left vestiges of the Holy Tongue in each of the new languages He taught the nations of the world. Thus, Rabbi Akiva’s comment is to be understood that “tot” in the language of Katpi and “fot” in the language of Africa are words from the Holy Tongue which have been left in those languages.

            While Rabbi ibn Shueib’s comments are a reasonable explanation of Rabbi Akiva’s statement, the questions which beg asking are: Why did the Creator see fit to leave vestiges of the Holy Tongue within all languages and why did He choose to leave His people with a diminished version of the Holy Tongue?

            We can suggest that the Holy One, blessed be He, left hints both for the nations and for Israel. In leaving a small part of the Holy Tongue in every language, God hinted to the nations that they have the ability to achieve a higher level of sanctity, and indeed they should strive to advance themselves spiritually. For Israel, God’s flock, the message is a warning that we not satisfy ourselves with our current level of sanctity, thinking that we have maximized our spiritual development, rather we should always strive to reach the highest level possible.