Manasseh as America
Extract from Ephraim
by Yair Davidy
NAMES LINKED WITH THE SONS OF JOSEPH
The nickname "Yank" applied to someone from the U.S.A. is
derivable from a possible pronunciation of the Hebrew name
Yaacov or Jacob rendered as "Yankel" in Yiddish. THE NAME
"MENASSEH" IN HEBREW ENCAPSULATES THE MEANING OF NORTH AMERICAN
DEMOCRACY!
The Patriarch Joseph son of Israel had two sons, Ephraim and
Menasseh, whose names testified to aspects of their national
destiny: "And unto Joseph were born two sons before the years of
famine came, which Asenath the daughter of Potiphera priest of
On bare unto him.
"And Joseph called the name of the firstborn Manasseh: For God
has caused me to forget [Hebrew: `Nashani'] all my troubles and
my father's family (Genesis 41;50-51). The Hebrew word
translated above as "forget" is derived from a root, "NOSHE",
connoting "movement from its proper place": One forgets when
something "slips one's mind", as if to say that whatever has
been forgotten has moved from its proper place in the brain's
retrieval system. Similarly, "And Jacob was left alone and there
wrestled a man with him....... "And when he saw that he
prevailed not against him, he touched the hollow of his thigh,
and the hollow of Jacob's thigh was out of joint as he wrestled
with him........ "Therefore the children of Israel eat not of
the displaced nerve [Hebrew: "Gid HaNosheh")... (Genesis
32;24,25,32).
The sciatic nerve is called "Gid HaNoSHeh" meaning "the sinew
that was displaced" (Genesis 32;33) when Jacob wrestled with the
angel, and consequently (though victorious) limped away..By the
same principle a creditor in Hebrew is called a "Nosheh" since
what is rightfully his he has moved out of his domain and placed
in charge of another and may demand an accounting of his own.
Women collectively are called in the Plural "NoSHim" [and not
"Ishoth" as they should logically be] since communally their
collective rights are delegated elsewhere, i.e. in their
husbands upon whom they have a claim to be represented by them.
It follows that any name derived from this root "NoSHeH" has
several possible connotations including "forget", "move, or
slip", "credit or oblige an accounting" (i.e. hold responsible),
or be responsible to and "represent". It seems that the name
Menasseh (derived from the root "NaSHeH") may be understood to
mean "responsible representation" which is the type of
Democratic Government the U.S.A. sometimes seems to base its
whole being upon.
A linguistic analysis (freely translated) of the name
"Manasseh" by Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch (1808-1888) extracted
from his Commentary on the Book of Genesis serves as background
to the above interpretation: [Genesis 41;51:`.."Forget" is not
the only meaning of "Nosheh". "Nosheh" also means: to be the
bearer of a claim, to be a creditor.
[Genesis 32;33:]` "Nosheh" ...to have body or property in
anothers trust. Thus the "NoSHeH" (Creditor) has passed to
another person part of his property and as a result he demands
something from him.....a woman in the singular [Hebrew: "Ishah"]
...complements (her husband) and stands by his side as an equal.
In the plural [i.e. in the plural name for women, "NoSHim"],
however, is revealed the communal status of woman, who
surrenders some of her rights to the man and these rights are
represented by him. Only in the mass, in the life of the general
whole group, do women reveal themselves as weak and lacking
resourcefulness. - Women, however, are "Noshim" (i.e.
"creditors") with a claim [to be represented] on the husband who
owes it to them' (S.R. Hirsch on Genesis 32;33).
The relevant verse regarding the name MENASSEH, Genesis 41;51,
says: "And Joseph called the name of the firstborn Manasseh: For
God has caused me to forget [Hebrew: `Nashani'] all my troubles
and my father's family (Genesis 41;50-51). S.R. Hirsch on the
above states that "nashani" does not mean "forget" in case of
the name "Menasseh" (Genesis 41;51 continued) but rather
delegated representation: `The correct interpretation therefore
of "Nashani" [from which the name "Menasseh is derived] is that
God has made my tragedy and my [loss of] family credit claims.
>From that which till now appeared to be tragedy and torment God
has made a tool to form my happiness. I am greatly obligated to
my tragedy and [loss of] family'.
In the light of the above observations and the Commentary of
Rabbi S.R. Hirsch, the verse (Genesis 41;512) may be
re-formulated and understood as saying: "And he called the name
of the firstborn Menasseh: for of all my troubles and [loss of]
my father's family, God has made representative agents [Hebrew:
"nashani"=] acting on my behalf and to whom I am obliged".
The name MENASSEH is therefore derivable from the root "Nosheh"
as demonstrated in the above verse. A Creditor is a "nosheh"
because he has a claim on somebody else; women are "noshim"
["nosh-im" = plural of "noshe"!] because as a group they have a
claim on their husbands to represent their interests. Joseph
named his firstborn "Menasseh" because (through God's agency) he
"owed" his success to his personal troubles and loss which had
become both his creditors and agents on his behalf. "MENASSEH"
according to the above study actually means: "RESPONSIBLE
REPRESENTATION OBLIGATING THE REPRESENTED"!
The U.S.A. was founded and dominated by descendants of
Menasseh. Before the foundation of the U.S.A. North America was
settled by migrants mainly from the British Isles. Friction
developed between the British Government and the settlers who
adopted the slogan: "No Taxation Without Representation". In
other words they demanded the application of those very
principles embodied in the name "Menasseh" according to the
above explanation!!
When these demands were not met, Revolution resulted and all
those ("Loyalists") who were not prepared to fight against the
"mother country" were driven out and moved to Canada. The
Americans were prepared to kill or be killed and to engage in
fratricidal strife all for the sake of an ideal which in Hebrew
could be termed "MENASSEH"! After the War of Independence 13
colonies (representing 13 Tribes of Israel?) formed the U.S.A.
It was proposed and seriously considered to adopt Hebrew as the
national language and the Mosaic Code as obligatory
Constitutional Law. A picture of the Israelites crossing the Red
Sea was suggested as the National emblem. The Constitution of
the United States of America laid the basis for Responsible
Representative Government. Foreign observers are constantly
surprised by the importance attached by Americans to their
Constitution.
Whether something is right or wrong or whether or not it is
"Constitutional" appear to be synonymous considerations to the
American mind, as if the principle embodied in the name
"Menasseh" is part of their very personal being!! Much of the
U.S.A.'s foreign policy often seems dedicated ideally to
encouraging forms of representative responsible government
(resembling that of the U.S.A.) being adopted by others. Other
countries are Democratic but only the U.S.A. makes Republican
Democracy an expression of itself. Only the U.S.A. is Menasseh!
The American Civil War was brought on by several factors
including the issue of slavery but the immediate cause was over
the Constitutional right claimed by some States to secede from
the UNION.
Regardless of which side was or was not in the right, the
victorious "Yankee" northern "Union" side believed it was
fighting for the principle enunciated by Abraham Lincoln of:
"Government of the people, by the people, and for the people".
Another aspect of the name "Menasseh" according to the
explanation of S.R.Hirsch was that through representation (in
this case before God) Joseph had been enabled to turn his
failure and deprived status into the basis of his later success:
The American belief in equality of opportunity reflects this
same principle.