Illustration Credit: Elad Lifshitz, Dov Abramson Studio
Commentary פַּרְשָׁנוּת
What songs do you know by heart? Do you know any poems by heart?
In this pasuk in our parashah, God tells Moshe to make sure that Benei Yisrael know a certain שִׁירָה (shira, song or poem) really, really well.
וְעַתָּה כִּתְבוּ לָכֶם אֶת הַשִּׁירָה הַזֹּאת וְלַמְּדָהּ אֶת בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל שִׂימָהּ בְּפִיהֶם
לְמַעַן תִּהְיֶה לִּי הַשִּׁירָה הַזֹּאת לְעֵד בִּבְנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל׃
Therefore, write down this shira and teach it to Benei Yisrael; put it in their mouths,
in order that this shira may be My witness for Benei Yisrael.
Our פַּרְשָׁנִים (parshanim, commentators) wonder: What shira are we talking about here?
"הַשִּׁירָה" – סִדּוּר דְּבָרִים קָרוּי שִׁירָה.
"הַזֹּאת" – פָּרָשַׁת הַאֲזִינוּ…
“Shira” – A poem means words that have been arranged [with a specific structure].
“This shira” – this is Parashat Ha’azinu…
Rashbam thinks the pasuk is talking about next week’s parashah, Ha’azinu. It has a unique poetic structure and is often called a shira. Open up Ha’azinu and you’ll notice right away that it looks and sounds different from most of the Torah!
Try to look through Ha’azinu a little. Why do you think it’s important to study and know this shira so well?
אָמְנָם לִי נִרְאֶה שֶׁבְּמִלַּת שִׁירָה עַצְמָהּ הַמּוּבָן בּוֹ לֹא שִׁירַת הַאֲזִינוּ בִּלְבַד, כִּי אִם אֶת כָּל דִּבְרֵי הַתּוֹרָה מִ"בְּרֵאשִׁית" עַד "לְעֵינֵי כָּל יִשְׂרָאֵל."
It seems to me that the word shira doesn’t just refer to Ha’azinu. It includes the whole Torah, from “Bereishit” (the first word) to “before all Israel” (the last words).
According to R. Yaakov Tzvi Mecklenburg, author of Haketav Ve-Hakabbalah, the whole entire Torah can be described as one giant song or poem! That’s the shira we’re being told to write down, learn, and place in our mouths.
Poetry isn’t just about making sure things rhyme. It’s often about sharing thoughts in a beautiful way, and looking for ways that words can have many meanings. How does that connect to the Torah?
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