Parashat Ha’azinu, which consists almost entirely of the
”Song of Moses” - Shirat Ha’azinu in Hebrew - is the crescendo that has been building up in the Dvarim (Deuteronomy) account. It is a recitation which summarizes the Israelites’ history, projecting future situations, while at the same time continually revolving around a central pivot - YHVH as the Almighty and as the loving Father of His people. Shirat Ha’azinu (the Ha’azinu song or poem) was to bear testimony for future generations. Last week heaven and earth were also summoned as “witnesses,” as they are, indeed, here too: “Give ear, O heavens, and I will speak; and hear, O earth, the words of my mouth” (32:1, italics added). The imperative “ha’azinu” (“listen”) is a derivative of “ozen” – “ear,” and would therefore be best translated “give ear.” Psalm 80 also opens up with: “Give ear- ha’azina - O Shepherd of Israel, You who lead Joseph like a flock; You who dwell between the cherubim, shine forth!...” Perhaps if we “give ear” the Shepherd of Yisrael will also give ear to our cry.
”Song of Moses” - Shirat Ha’azinu in Hebrew - is the crescendo that has been building up in the Dvarim (Deuteronomy) account. It is a recitation which summarizes the Israelites’ history, projecting future situations, while at the same time continually revolving around a central pivot - YHVH as the Almighty and as the loving Father of His people. Shirat Ha’azinu (the Ha’azinu song or poem) was to bear testimony for future generations. Last week heaven and earth were also summoned as “witnesses,” as they are, indeed, here too: “Give ear, O heavens, and I will speak; and hear, O earth, the words of my mouth” (32:1, italics added). The imperative “ha’azinu” (“listen”) is a derivative of “ozen” – “ear,” and would therefore be best translated “give ear.” Psalm 80 also opens up with: “Give ear- ha’azina - O Shepherd of Israel, You who lead Joseph like a flock; You who dwell between the cherubim, shine forth!...” Perhaps if we “give ear” the Shepherd of Yisrael will also give ear to our cry.
The common Hebrew word for “scales” is “moz’na’yim”. The ancients must
have known that it is the ear which is responsible for balance, thus connecting
the two words which stem from the root a.z.n (alef, zayin, noon). With that
said, the picture depicted before us is of the heaven and earth acting as
scales which are to weigh Israel
You will notice that many of the verses are made up of
couplets, where the same point is stated once and then repeated with a slight
variation. The first two verses of the poem serve as a good example of this
poetic device, which is so typical of biblical poetry:
Give ear, O heavens, and I will speak;
And hear, O earth, the words of my mouth.
My doctrine shall drop
as the rain;
My speech shall drop
down as the dew,
As the small rain on the
tender plant,
And.aslthe;showerslon;the;grass((vs.1-2).
YHVH’s
love and care for Yisrael form the backdrop against which Yisrael’s past and
future are respectively described and cast. According to the poem, the people’s
relationship with and toward YHVH appears to be a primary cause of the events
(past, present and future) which befall them.
Verse 4 exclaims that YHVH is “the Rock whose work is perfect.” The word
used here for rock is “tzur.” This word is repeated a number of
times in our song, and thus we read in verse 13, in reference to YHVH’s
benevolence toward Yisrael, “He made him suck honey
from the rock and oil out of the flinty rock” (italics
added). In response, Yeshurun (Jeshurun) – rooted in “straight,”?acts?more?like?apYa’acovt(derived?from “crookedness”),land;“scorned9the?Rockbofftheir Salvation” (v. 15). Verse 18 reads thus: “You forgot the Rock who
birthed you.” The verb used here for “forgot” is “teshi,” of the
root n.sh.h (noon, shin, hey), which is also the root for the name Menashe
(Manasseh). The imagery of the “rock,” a substance that is definitely not
associated with tenderness, much less with motherhood, is juxtaposed with
metaphors related to birthing and suckling. This type of unusual imagery is
echoed somewhat in 1st Corinthians 10:1 and 4, where we read: “Our
fathers…. all drank of the spiritual Rock that
followed them, and that Rock was Messiah.”
In verses 30 and 31 there are several more references to
“tzur,” while in verse 37 the “rock” is the one in whom “refuge is taken” (“chasayu”,
ch.s.h., chet, samech, hey – to “take refuge”), being a more
conventional usage of the rock metaphor. Because the idols of the peoples were often
made of stone, or carved into a rock, “tzur” is also used here in relation to
the gods of the pagans (e.g. verse 31), contrasting the term with Yisrael’s
Elohim, who is totally detached from the literal substance of the rock.
Other parts of our text appear to highlight different
attributes of Elohim, one in particular is found in verse 27, but let us also include
verse 26. YHVH says about His treacherous people: “I will make an end of them, I will make their
memory cease from among men. Were it not that I dreaded the enemy’s
provocation, lest their adversaries should misconstrue, lest they should say,
‘our hand is exalted and not YHVH has performed all this’” (italics added). This
last verse (27) contains a very daring anthropomorphism
[personification-humanization of YHVH], “indeed attributing to Him the
sentiment of fear, as it were… and has no parallel in the Torah.” In this
commentary Nechama Leibowitz includes other instances where Moshe expresses
concern over the desecration of YHVH’s name among the nations and concludes:
“This concern over desecrating the Divine name… assumes a much more intense and
extreme form in our sidra [Parasha]. Here it is the Almighty Himself who is, as
it were, “concerned” over the world being misled and diverted from the path
leading mankind spiritually forward. He is filled with apprehension lest His
name be brought into disrepute instead of sanctified and His sovereignty
universally recognized and acknowledged, which is the ultimate goal of all
creation.”[1]
“I will make an end of them…” (back to verse 26) is
couched here in a very unique term, which appears nowhere else in the Tanach
(O.T.) - “af’ey’em.” Several possible interpretations of this term have
been extrapolated. Most “have traced its meaning to the word pe’ah –
“corner,” others to af (“anger”).” Rashi breaks up the word into its
three syllables, and comes up with: “af ey hem,” which is a question that reads
as follows: “In anger (“af,” meaning YHVH’s anger), where are they?” Thus
implying that YHVH’s anger has reduced them to non-existence.[2]?Da’attMikra4offersyanother
interpretation, with the same “pe’ah” – “corner, edge” in mind: “I will not
leave of them as much as an edge.”[3]
Another verse that requires some attention is verse 5 - where it says:
“They have corrupted themselves: they are not His sons; it is their blemish;
they are a crooked and perverse generation.” And although the Hebrew there is
somewhat obscure, according to Da’at Mikra it should read, “His sons’ blemish
is theirs” (literal translation), that is to say: “their perversion is of their
own making, and therefore they are “lo-banav,” “not-His-sons.” This is similar
to the name that will be given at a much later date to Ephraim -
“not-My-people”0(“Lo-Ami,”oHos.1:9).rIn?contradistinction, verse 6 names YHVH as “your
father, the One who purchases you” – “kone’cha.” Quite often the term “koneh”
(k.n.h, kof, noon, hey) – to “buy, or purchase” – is synonymous
with redeeming, and lends the latter act its graphic meaning, as the role of
the redeemer is primarily to pay for and buy that which is lost (such as
freedom or property). In 1st Corinthians 6:20 and 7:23, Shaul (Paul)
reminds the redeemed community: “You are bought with a price.” “Kone’cha,” with
its similarity to “ken” (a “bird’s nest”), inspired Rashi to suggest that this
is a reference to the nest that YHVH is making for Yisrael (see also verse 11) [4].
At this point, starting with verse 6 and through 14, the poem expounds
very tenderly on the establishing of the Israelite nation, and on the care and
love bestowed on it by its Maker. That Yisrael, even in its nascent state, had
a major role in global affairs is made apparent from verse 8: “When the Most High divided to the nations their
inheritance, when He separated the sons of Adam, He set the bounds of the
people according to the number of the sons of Israel
A string of verbs, which follow one another in progressive
intensity and describe YHVH’s involvement with Yisrael is introduced in verses
10 & 11. “He found him…He compassed him about … He cared for him…. Like an
eagle that stirs up His nest… He hovers… He spreads his wings… He takes him…
lifts him….” The “desert land,” the
“waste” and the “howling wilderness” mentioned here (v. 10), bring to mind a
lost entity wandering around, and thus these verbs appear as the solution and response
to the people’s dire condition. The usage of these verbs is fraught with
activity: “vay’vone’nehu” (root b.n.h, bet/vet, noon, hey), translated
“cared,” in actual fact could relate to “bina” – “wisdom” and thus may
read: “endowed him with wisdom.” Another possibility is that the above verb
stems from “hitbonen,” which is to “look closely, watch,” or
to “boneh,” “build, build up, or edify.” “Guarded
him” is a translation of “yitz’renhu,” which is of the root n.tz.r,
(noon, tzadi, resh), meaning to “keep, guard, watch, hide,
protect.” It is from this root that “netzer,” the “branch” of Yishayahu
(Isaiah) 11:1 is derived, and the “watchmen” – “notzrim” – of Yirmiyahu
(Jeremiah) 31:6. “Hovers” is particularly interesting, as it is “ye’ra’chef,”
of the root r.ch.f (resh, chet, pey/fey), which is found in B’resheet (Genesis)
1:2 in reference to the Spirit of Elohim. We recall the idea of being protected
from above as well as being airborne in Parashat Va’era, in Shmot (Exodus) 6:7,
8 where we read YHVH’s promise: “And I will take you…. to the land
concerning which I lifted up My hand…” (italics added). In Sh’mot
(Exodus) 19:4 YHVH addressed Yisrael: “I bore you on eagles’ wings and brought
you to Myself.” Parashat Ha’azinu, therefore, echoes and captures promises of
the past, transferring them to the Israelites’ present reality on the threshold
of the Promised Land.
Next is the enumeration of the goodness and plenty that was
conferred upon Yisrael, and with which she shall be blessed in the future (vs.
13-14). Verse 15 witnesses a transition, and once again there is an inventory,
if you will, of densely listed verbs. Unfortunately, not all of them can be
translated into verb form in English: “Yeshurun grew fat… kicked… became fat…
became thick… covered in layers… forsook Elohim his maker….” In Hebrew all these
are in verb form and follow one another thusly: “va’yishman… va’yiv’at… shamanta,
avita, kasita, va’yitosh… vay’na’bel,” almost in stampede fashion. Just as
before, where YHVH’s intense activities around His people were depicted in verb
form, action-laden, so too here - the Israelites’ intent on turning away from their
Creator is described in a chain reaction of fast moves.
The excerpt of verses 28-35 presents a controversy, which
has been engaging the commentators for generations. Who is the subject of
verses 28-29? Is it Yisrael, or is it the enemies? In verse 30, again, who is
being chased, is it Yisrael, or the enemies? Verse 36: “For YHVH will bring His
people justice; and He shall have compassion on His servants…” seems to
indicate that the former section would have referred to the enemy. However,
according to verses 30 and 31, it would appear that Yisrael is the subject of
the section: “How shall one chase a thousand, and two put ten thousand to
flight, unless their Rock had sold them and YHVH had shut them up? For their rock is not as our Rock, even our
enemies themselves being judges.” Who is it that YHVH is “selling”? (Remember
verse 6, where He was depicted as the Father and the “buyer”?) Does He not sell
that which belongs to Him? And in verse 31, in the references to “their rock” and to
“our rock,” is there not a distinction made between Yisrael and the other
nations? Verses 37 and 38 present a
similar dilemma. Again, is it Yisrael or is it the nations that are the subject
of this brief portion? Having just read that YHVH will have compassion on His
people, this could possibly refer to the enemies, whose rock and god (the rock
being the "god" and not a mere metaphor for strength, unlike the
Elohim of Yisrael who is symbolized by the rock, but is not the rock itself) is
unable to help them. Conversely, this could also be talking to Yisrael, who had
been leaning on false gods whom they trusted to no avail. What do you think?
“And Moses made an end of speaking all these words to all Israel Jordan
[1] New Studies in Devarim, Nechama Leibowitz, trans. Aryeh
Newman. Eliner Library, Department for Torah Education and Culture in the
Diaspora. Hemed Books Inc., Brooklyn ,
N.Y.
[2] Ibid
[3] Da’at Mikra, A’ahron Mirski, Rav Kook Inst., Jerusalem
[4] Ibid.
