Parshas Ha’azinu
“Moshe came and spoke all the words of this poem to the people” (Devarim 32:44).
The word Shirah, poem, refers to the parsha of Ha’azinu, which is written in the Torah scroll in poetic format. Whether it is a celebratory poem or a mournful dirge depends on us. If we learn from its words and conduct ourselves in accordance with its advice, it is a poem. If we reject its message, it will become a song of lamentation.
“Listen Heaven ! I will speak” (32:1). For those who have climbed the ladder of spirituality and find themselves closer in devotion to heaven than to earth, the harsh word “Va’adabera,” is not an alienating phrase. That the good life as we know it can devolve into a life of misery if we ignore the Torah, life’s Book of Instructions, is a fact not a threat.
“Earth, hear the words of my mouth.” For those who are closer to earth, a harsh tone of voice can be counter-productive. Tones of gentle persuasion, conveyed by the words “Imrei fi,” can be more convincing. If told gently that the combination number that unlocks success is 613 mitzvot, we will be happy to comply, because the rewards are persuasive.
If the gentle message of “likchi,” G-d’s Torah, is ignored however, the years of abundance will be overtaken by years of drought which will decapitate, ya’arof, the stiff necks (keshei oref) of obdurate people.
“The deeds of the Almighty are sincere (tamim) for all his ways are just. He is a faithful G-d (Kel Emunah), never unfair; righteous and moral is He” (32:4). The word “tamim” is in the plural because we must reciprocate G-d’s sincerity toward us with sincerity toward Him, which can only come from emunah, faith. We must believe that whatever our lot may be at any given time in life, whether we are wealthy or poor, healthy or sick, it is for the best. Wealth, for example, can lead us astray: “Hoarded wealth is to the detriment of its owner” (Kohelet 5:12). G-d does not give us more money than we can cope with. He knows how much that is and that any more may move us out of Torah circles into the lands of excess and decadence.
It is much healthier for our souls to pray for our sustenance daily than to be given large lump sums. We have to understand that our survival comes from heaven, “from the rains of heaven you will drink water” (Devarim 11:11). That is why G-d sent the mannah down from heaven daily, because that way one realized that one’s day to day survival is dependent on Him (Bamidbar 11:8).
The problem is that often we cannot tell the difference between what is ultimately good for us and what is ultimately bad for us. Not all of our prayers should be answered, because not all of our wishes would benefit us if they were to come true. We pray each Rosh Chodesh, may G-d only fulfill those wishes that will be good for us.
One is reminded of the story of the gadol who could not find a job in Europe, and so, unlike his rabbincal colleagues who found positions there, he had to leave Europe and emigrate to America. Why did G-d do that to me, he might have complained. But he was among the few of his peers who survived the Holocaust.
If misfortune comes our way, it is no use blaming G-d. The fault lies with us, because we have not heeded His words (Devarim 32:5).
“Is He not your Father who acquired you; has he not made you and established you?” (32:6). We are told that G-d made five acquisitions in the world. The first was the Torah. The second was heaven and earth. The third was Avraham. The fourth was the people of Israel (as it is written, “You acquired this nation” (Shemos 15:16)). The fifth was the Beit HaMikdash.
Angels were created in heaven and humans were created on earth (Bereishis 2:7). We too, as Jews, were created from the dust of the earth, but then we were acquired by G-d to spread the message of monotheism throughout mankind. Our existence is in that sense sui generis.
From our very inception, our existence was a miracle. Avram was unable to have children at his advanced age, but Avraham, the Av hamon goyim, the father of all nations, who spread the message of monotheism worldwide, was able to have a child. Ever since, our existence in this world is sustained by the oxygen of Torah, just like the life of fish is sustained by water. We must understand, therefore, that if we cast off that oxygen tank and try to meld into and with the other nations of the world, we will perish.
G-d discovered His people in a desert land in the waste and howling wilderness (32:9). The first demonstration of faith and trust that the Jews placed in G-d was at the time of the Exodus when they followed Moshe into the desert with a mere thirty-day ration of matzos and no water. They asked no questions and even though they did complain on numerous occasions later on, G-d never forgot that initial trust. He reminds Himself of it each year on the day of judgment, “I remember how you were faithful to me in your youth, your love as a bride, how you followed Me in the wilderness a land not sown” (Yirmiyahu 2:2).
G-d reciprocated that trust in so many ways by encircling them with protective clouds in the desert and providing them with food and water and clothes and footwear that never wore out (8:4).
And when the Jews entered the land of Israel, he fed them with fruits that ripened faster and were more wholesome than the fruits of all other lands, and He provided them with honey and oil that flowed from rocks, with the cream of cattle and the milk of flocks and with sweet wine (32:13-15).
But then, when G-d’s presence was no longer obvious like it was in the desert and they could attribute their success to their own efforts. It only took a few generations for them to forget G-d and turn the celebratory poem of Ha’azinu into a dirge and into a song of lamentation.
If we hide our face from G-d, he will hide His from us (32:20).
So, as we traverse these days of awe, let us try to keep Ha’azinu as a chapter in the Jewish book of poetry and not as a lamentation in the Jewish book of tragedy.