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September 11, 2010
PARASHAT HA’AZINU
(“GIVE EAR”)
1ST Aliyah (P. 896, verse 1 )
The song of Moses is a late addition to Deuteronomy. It may have
been written in response to some tragedy, in an attempt to make
sense of the events and provide hope for the future. The song’s
literary form is a revised and expanded prophetic lawsuit. The
beginning is similar to the opening remarks in Isaiah 1, which, in itself,
is a type of legal complaint concerning Covenant violation by the
Israelites. Isaiah begins by saying, “Hear, “O’ heavens, and give ear,
O’ earth”, while Moses begins by saying “Give ear, O’ heavens, let me
speak; Let the earth hear the words I utter!” The basic structure starts
with an introduction and the summoning of witnesses. It continues
with a summary of the accusations of Israel’s disloyalty and then goes
on by reciting God’s loving actions on Israel’s behalf. Israel is indicted
for disloyalty. Then there is a declaration of the decision to punish
Israel. Just when things couldn’t look worse, God interrupts His own
judicial sentence to recognize a risk to His honor—other nations might
conclude that Israel’s God was weak should they see Israel
destroyed. Like a miracle, God shows mercy. Of course, we are now
entering a sacred period when we, ourselves, are asking God for His
Divine mercy. God cancels the just punishment and decides, instead,
to punish Israel’s enemies so as to vindicate Israel. The “ears” to
which this poem is referring are not of just the ancient Israelites but of
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Jews of any generations, including us who make up today’s Shabbat
minyan [provided that there is a minyan this Shabbat]. On Yom
Kippur, the congregation recites its sins. It ends with the stirring
chant, “for all these sins, O’ God of mercy, forgive us, pardon us,
grant us atonement”. After being condemned by Moses’ poem, our
hope rests with our personal repentance and God’s mercy or, in the
case of this particular poem, to God’s honor.
2nd Aliyah (Sha ne) (P. 897, verse 7)
Shirat Ha’azinu, “give ear”, exhibits the defining features of Biblical
poetry. Ancient Hebrew poetry does not know rhyme, although it
does use the resemblance of sound. It is characterized primarily by
rhythm, meter, parallelism and repetition. Lines are written in a
special way. Each line contains two phrases—parts which are
separated by a central space. In Torah manuscripts, the poem is thus
written in two columns. Biblical poetry typically contains two,
sometimes three lines that relate to one another in a variety of ways.
Parallel lines often appear to mirror one another, with one line
seeming to echo the general sentiment of the other. Listen, or to use
the term in Ha’azinu, “give ear” to the first few lines:
Give ear, O’ heavens, let me speak
Let the earth hear the words I utter!
May my discourse come down as the rain,
My speech distills (drops) as the dew,
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Like showers on young growth,
Like droplets on the grass.
The repetitions are obvious: Give ear/let the earth hear is a type of
repetition. My discourse comes down as the rain/My speech distills as
the dew. It continues with showers on young growth/droplets on the
grass. Each repetition parallels the other line—God’s words or the
words of Moses are compared to rain, droplets, and showers. The
parallel lines here, as in other parts of the poem, often appear to
mirror one another, with one line seemingly responding to the general
sentiment of the other. The poem uses water as an important
metaphor. Just as water is essential for sustaining life, the Torah is
also essential to life. This water metaphor is displayed in magnificent
poetic parallelism. The lines echo each other, almost as if we are
listening to it in a canyon, with each word rebounding off the stone
walls. In the first part, heaven and earth, and maybe everything in
between, are called upon to listen to Moses’ song. That is quite a
wide audience. The Torah is a book that has justifiably attracted
worldwide attention for its universal message. Moses’ message is so
powerful that it cannot be contained to just the Jewish people.
Words, in this magnificent biblical poem, are not wasted but are used
sparingly in a terse manner to create awesome soul-inspiring
imagery. If only we knew Hebrew better to appreciate the inner and
outer beauty of Hebrew poetry. Reading it in translation, however,
does open a small window of appreciation. Try reading Ha’azinu for
its beauty. Look for its similes, metaphors and its repetitious
parallelism. Don’t become frightened by its message, although take
heed of its warnings, just as we should take heed of the sound of the
shofar.
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3rd Aliyah (Shileshe) (P. 898, verse 13)
The poem’s first main theme is that God had treated Israel with
complete justice. The text refers to Adonai (nigh) as a rock or
protector. Other words in Ha’azinu refer to God as faithful, never
false, true, upright, Father and Most High. Then the poem introduces
the second major theme, which in contrast to God, is calling the
people faithless, crooked, unworthy, dull and witless. To prove this
point, the song asks the Israelites to remember the past and to ask
their elders about the wonders that occurred on the Israelite journey
through the wilderness. The key is to remember and to ask. This
Commandment is explicitly carried out during the Pesach Seder. It is
also fulfilled when we read the daily Torah portions and ask questions
about it. The Talmud constantly discusses Torah and brings up
question after question about its meaning. Accounts of different
responses are given. This is the way we can learn and grow as Jews.
Tradition wants us to ask questions and seek answers. Ha’azinu was
explicitly written to educate the new generation and to warn them
about breaking the Covenant. It gives examples of the misfortune
that followed the Israelites when they failed to live up the mitzvoth.
The poem reminds the people that when they were in the desert---a
place of howling waste--- God, like an eagle, encircled and watched
over Israel. God guarded Israel as the pupil of His eye. Like an eagle
that rouses his nestlings, gliding down to his young…” God then set
the people atop the highland so that they could feast of the yield of
the earth. They ate honey from the crag, curds and milk from the
flocks, the finest of wheat and foaming grape. With success and
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wealth, the Israelites grew fat and gross and coarse. They forsook
the God who made them and spurned God’s support. All this, of
course, is stated in mesmerizing poetic beauty. The point is to
remember and to follow the Covenant. In our personal lives are we
seeking to follow the Covenant? Do we follow Torah’s ethical
Commandments? How many Shabbats do we honor? Do we
prepare for the holidays? Are we just three days a year Jews? Do
we always appreciate our Blessings? Do we remember that it is God
who set us atop the highlands to feast on the yield of the earth?
4th Aliyah (Rivee) (P. 899, verse 19)
This section, although skillfully written, is not easy to read. It is almost
like reading from the Book of Lamentations on Tisha B’Av.
Deuteronomy 13:20 states, “I will hide My countenance from them…”
If the people reject God’s Word by engaging in idolatry and unethical
behavior, it is, in actuality, the people who have lost the vision to
encounter God. The result of Israel’s rejection of the Covenant,
according to Ha’azinu, is misfortune. Famine, ravaging plague,
deadly pestilence, fanged beasts, death by the sword and terror will
follow. It attributes Israel’s misfortunes solely to Israel’s infidelity. The
fifth book of the Torah doesn’t include the world of science to explain
disasters. It doesn’t view history, as we might, as a separate entity
from God. Deuteronomy is primarily concerned with the spiritual side.
Of course, in Judaism, the physical and spiritual world is often
combined. Human behavior can lead to spiritual elevation. This is the
season of finding, discovering and mending the spiritual side of our
lives. We need to return to God in order to restore the happiness in
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our lives. A Yom Kippur prayer from the Reform Siddur, catches the
spirit of Deuteronomy and the season:
We are tenants in the house of life; our days on earth are but a
span.
Time, like a river rolls on…
Now they come back to accuse us, and we tremble to think of
them.
But Your purpose gives meaning to our fleeting days, Your
teachings guide us, and Your love sustains us.
Deliver us from bondage to the past.
Liberate us from the fear of death
Though our lives be short, let them be full.
Let us seek the spiritual and holy path that brings us closer to the
Eternal.
5th Aliyah (Ha meshe) (P. 900, verse 29)
You might think that God would change His judgment because He felt
sorry for the people who, because of their behavior, were suffering
from starvation, death by war and poor crops. Instead, it is God’s own
honor that must be protected. What does this tell us about God?
How should we react to God’s decision to relent and punish Israel’s
enemies because of His honor and not because of His compassion
for Israel. Perhaps the explanation, according to the Woman’s Torah
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Commentary, is in Verse 32 when the poem mentions Sodom and
Gomorrah. As part of the announcement of the punishment in store
for Israel’s enemies, this verse states, “Ah! The vine for them is from
Sodom,/From the vineyards of Gomorrah.” Through the metaphors,
in this verse, the song maligns the nations as corrupt and
foreshadows their fate. This calls to mind when God threatened to
destroy those cities, prompting Abraham to protest, “Must not the
Judge of all the earth do justly (Genesis 18:25)?” Perhaps Parashat
Ha’azinu can be seen as an invitation for us to act like Abraham and
protest against what seems to be an indiscriminate wholesale
destruction. It is an opportunity to raise questions such as—Where is
Your compassion, God, not only toward us but toward all of Your
creation? Why frighten us with Your threats? Will Your threats really
work? Such questions express what it means to be Covenantal
partners, willing to challenge God. Beyond protesting, this Parashat
can prompt us to examine who we mean by God. It also can remind
us of what is required in order to create a just society and uphold a
Covenantal relationship. The real message intended, in this poem,
however, is to remind Israel and the world what happens when the
Torah is disgarded. It is appropriate to question God and His
decisions but we must also bear in mind that Adonai (nigh) becomes
part of this world through us. Our actions count and determine our
own fate.
6th Aliyah (She she) (P. 901 , verse 40)
In this portion, we see the warrior-side of God, who takes on an
anthropomorphic image. His anger is vented on the foes of Israel.
The poem uses such descriptions as: My arrows drunk with blood or
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as My sword devours flesh. After punishing Israel, God turns to
Israel’s foes in the most brutal way. The Bible frames the wilderness
experience with two songs--the beginning song delivers the Israelites
from Pharaoh’s army as God’s chosen is rescued from the Sea of
Reeds in a most dramatic manner. The second song comes at the
end of Israel’s travels. Although framing the Israelite experience in
the wilderness, the poems appear to serve different purposes. The
first poem is a hymn of Thanksgiving while the second one is a poem
of the future. They both, however, deal with Israel’s survival. At the
sea, the physical existence of the nation was assured. After forty
years of wandering, Israel’s existence was in doubt. At the border of
the Promised Land, Moses sings a hymn of hope that Israel will
prevail in spirit as well as body. Shirat ha Yam, or the Song at the
Sea, is an upbeat song of a dramatic miracle that saves Israel from
the Egyptian army led by its chariot forces. It is a triumphant poem
that praises God for His deliverance. Like Ha’azinu, it has its
anthropomorphic elements. The poem is so magnificent, exciting and
elevating that it is included in the Shabbat prayers. On the other
hand, Ha’azinu is more of a pessimistic song involving the decimation
of the Israelites for breaching God’s Covenant. It is not included in
the prayer liturgy because of its brutal negativism, even though Israel
eventually prevails, although not through its own goodness. The
Song at the Sea closes with an affirmation of confidence in the
promise of God’s redemption of Israel. Ha’azinu casts a shadow over
Israel’s redemption but in the end, it, too, proclaims the greatness of
God. In the last stanza, Ha’azinu sings, “O nations, acclaim His
people”. Israel is recognized as God’s chosen. Israel has an
obligation to act like God’s chosen and follow the Covenant. This,
however, comes down to the individual, you and me.
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7th Aliyah (Shive e) (P. 902, verse 44)
Moses completes the poem/song and teaches it to the people, just as
Adonai (nigh) instructed. Ha’azinu implores Israel to diligently follow
the Torah. Moshe tells the people to “Take to heart all the words with
which I have warned you this day. Enjoin them upon your children
that they may observe faithfully…for this is not a trifling thing for you:
it is your very life—through it you shall long endure.” The concluding
poem is indeed frightening and reveals the consequences for not
keeping the Covenant. Ha’azinu concludes with a final invocation,
calling on the nations of the world to acclaim God’s deliverance of
Israel. God’s deliverance is really up to us and what we do. If we are
willing to follow God’s mitzvoth, study Torah, give Tzedakah, do
deeds of loving kindness, celebrate Shabbat and the holiday cycle,
then we might experience a taste of redemption. God then instructs
Moses to climb Mount Nebo to view, the future of the Jewish people—
Eretz Yisrael. Although Moses will never join the people across the
Jordan, he becomes aware, atop of Mount Nebo, that God’s Word will
be nurtured in this the Promised Land and that the Israelite tribes will
forge a worldwide inspiring faith that will allow God’s message to
change the history of mankind.
The old year has run out on us; the new year waits to be welcomed.
Will it be a year of repetition or a year of regeneration? It is within our
power to choose. The quality of our lives will be determined by our
choice. If the change of calendar is a merry-go-round, then we can
look forward to the same, monotonous repetition of the old cycle of
life; if it is a fresh start, we can take a new lease on life and
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experience a new birth. Let us welcome the new year joyously as
another opportunity for noble and creative living.
(Rabbi Max Routhenberg)
Maftir-----P. 903
Haftorah------Shabbat Shuvah (“Return”)------P. 891
Ya-a-mode, Ya-a-mode, Ele-e-ezar ben Daveed v’Shrona, Maftir
Chazak