Fish Out of Water

Parshas Ha’azinu

“Listen Heaven! I will speak; earth, hear the words of my mouth” (32:1).

Why does the Torah use the word “listen” when addressing the heavens and change it to “hear” when addressing the earth? The world was created for the sake of man (Sanhedrin 37a and Koheles Rabbah 7:13). Man was created to uphold the Torah (Avos 2:8). Man is part of the earth. On the other hand, the heavens were created to serve man. Their task is to provide the rain that sustains man. They are programmed to provide rain if man upholds the Torah and to withhold rain if man does not (11:17).

In that sense the heavens are the servants of man. Nobody likes to be someone else’s servant. So, when G-d appoints the heavens to be witness to the covenant, he tells them to listen carefully. And when he appoints the earth as witness, He doesn’t have to tell it to listen carefully because it is easier to hear that you are being served than to accept that you are the servant.

Another way of explaining it is as follows. 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, 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 mitzvos, we will be happy to comply, because the rewards are persuasive.

My Torah, “likchi,” shall descend (ya’arof) like rain (32:2). The word ya’arof comes from the root “oref,” which means neck. The Torah calls us as a stiff-necked people. Baked in to our characters is a high dosage of impertinence. That is why we were given 613 commandments to mellow us (Beitzah 25b). Arrogance is a by-product of wealth. Even a king is humbled by drought and is a servant of the earth (Koheles 5:8). When drought hits, the gaps between rungs of wealth collapse. Everyone, kings and paupers alike, fast and go to the synagogue to pray for rain.

But it shouldn’t have to come to that. Our inherent obstinacy should not be allowed to become so obdurate that only famine and drought can set us right. Rather, the words of the Torah that should ya’arof – decapitate our egos. They will do so if we just study the Torah and keep its commandments. It will have the same effect as famine and drought, except it will be painless.

“The deeds of the Almighty are sincere – tamim – for all his ways are just. He is a Kel Emunah (a faithful G-d), never unfair, righteous and moral is He” (32:4). The word “tamim” is in the plural because we must reciprocate G-d’s sincerity towards us with sincerity towards Him. This 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” (Koheles 5:12). G-d does not give us more money than we can cope with. He knows how exactly much that is and that any more may move us out of Torah circles into the lands of excess and decadence.

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 rabbinical 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.

“It is not G-d’s corruption but the blemish of his sons” (32:5). It is easy to blame G-d for one’s faults. After all, if He had given one the money to buy food and clothes, one wouldn’t have had to steal. But G-d does not ask us to do things beyond our abilities. Yes, it might be hard, but not impossible and the failure to rise to the occasion is not His defect, it is our shortcoming. “G-d has made man straight and honest, but man has finagled crooked and manipulative ways” (Koheles 7:29).

G-d alone did lead him and there was no strange G-d with him (32:12). All nations are guided by mazal, astrology and we are no exception. But astrology is a strange god for us, because it robs us of the power to change our fate. Avram’s fate was that he was destined not to have children. But as soon as he rose above the stars and incorporated the letter heh, the name of G-d in his name, he was able to overcome that destiny and beget a child. It was G-d alone who led him, no other force. Avraham gave birth to a nation that was destined never to exist. It only survives on 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 be like the other nations of the world, we will perish.