Ha'azinu- הַאֲזִ֥ינוּ - Deuteronomy/Devarim 32:1-52 Making Torah Personal #Mussar

Discussion of selected verses of the parsha through the lens of Mussar, and the middah of Teshuva.

Even though the sounding of the shofar on Rosh HaShanah is a Biblical decree, nevertheless, it contains an allusion for us. It is as if [the sound of the shofar] is saying:
Wake up you sleepy ones from your sleep, those who slumber arise from your deep sleep, inspect your deeds, repent, and remember your Creator.
Those who forget the truth in the vanities of time and foolishly devote their entire year to vanities and meaningless endeavors, which do not benefit or save [the soul] – look into your souls and improve your ways and your deeds, and let each of you abandon his evil ways and negative thoughts.
Therefore, during the entire year, each individual must look at himself as equally balanced between merit and sin; and [he must look at the] entire world as equally balanced between merit and sin. If he commits one sin—he tips his balance and that of the entire world to the side of guilt and brings destruction upon himself. ~Rambam, Laws of Teshuva, 3:4

Bullet Points /key phrases:

Moses delivers his last speech - Ha'azinu / Listening which is a 70 verse 'song' to Am Yisrael on the last day of his life on earth.
Moses calls heaven and earth as witnesses, asking all the people to remember their days prior, of many generations.
He gives the people an idea of who they were, what they will become, and the pitfalls of being removed from the covenant with God.
After trials, there will be reconciliation.
God instructs Moses to go up to Mount Nebo, where he will be able to see the land promised to his people. There, he will die.

...teshuvah is not merely repentance, something which comes only where there was sin. It means the return of the soul to its source. “And the spirit shall return to G‑d who gave it.”
Even the righteous man who serves G‑d with love and fear and the totality of his being has not yet reached that stage of complete closeness to Him, which the soul experienced before birth. Earthly existence creates a distance between the soul and G‑d which not even righteousness can wholly bridge, and this is the grief of the righteous and the source of his tears. He senses, even in the highest human life, a descent of the soul from its heavenly enthronement. His tears, like those of the ordinary Jew, are born of a consciousness of distance from G‑d. ~Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks, zt"l, adapted from the Lubavitcher Rebbe

דברים ל״א:י״ט

(יט) וְעַתָּ֗ה כִּתְב֤וּ לָכֶם֙ אֶת־הַשִּׁירָ֣ה הַזֹּ֔את וְלַמְּדָ֥הּ אֶת־בְּנֵֽי־יִשְׂרָאֵ֖ל שִׂימָ֣הּ בְּפִיהֶ֑ם לְמַ֨עַן תִּֽהְיֶה־לִּ֜י הַשִּׁירָ֥ה הַזֹּ֛את לְעֵ֖ד בִּבְנֵ֥י יִשְׂרָאֵֽל׃

Deuteronomy 31:19

(19) Therefore, write down this song and teach it to the people of Israel; put it in their mouths, in order that this poem may be My witness against the people of Israel.

שִׁיר Song הַשְׁרָאָה inspiration ; induction
...music’s immediacy — it unfolds in real time and captures our attention in a way that cannot be negotiated — makes it an ideal vehicle for creating specific experiences in the brain. With both immediate and long-term exposure to music, a person’s neurons will fire in new ways, helping to shape communication pathways over time. ~Harvard Medicine
Researchers now realize music is not just processed in one part of the brain. Performing and listening to music gives big chunks of your brain a workout. ~Your Brain on Music

19th-century commentator, Rabbi Naftali Zvi Yehuda Berlin (the Netziv) on Deuteronomy 31:19
In poetry, there is a richness that comes from it having been adorned with all kinds of hints, in a way that isn’t done with prose. Like the custom of using the first letter in each line to spell out the alphabet, or to write out the poet’s name. There is a richness that is special to this fragmented language and not to prose. And it is well known that in order to achieve this level of richness, the poet is often forced to bend the language, so that the beginning letters end up being the ones he is seeking...
Aside from the most basic, simple reading, there is in every word many secrets and hidden ideas. Because of this, there are many instances when the language of the Torah is not to be read literally. And all this is not true for the Holy Torah alone, but with all sacred scripture.

This poem and its message—that God takes our commitment to Him seriously and that our behavior can determine the course of history—are meant to infuse our lives and our relationship with God with enthusiasm, focus, and yes, even joy.
This becomes even clearer when we note that the finale of the poem is God’s promise of messianic redemption. From this perspective, all our turbulent history can be seen as leading toward our ultimate radiant destiny. The fact that this review of past failings and prophetic admonition for the future ends on this positive, hopeful note transforms the en- tire poem from a dirge into an exultant, joyful hymn. ~Chabad of California, Commentary on Ha'azinu

דברים ל״ב:א׳

(א) הַאֲזִ֥ינוּ הַשָּׁמַ֖יִם וַאֲדַבֵּ֑רָה וְתִשְׁמַ֥ע הָאָ֖רֶץ אִמְרֵי־פִֽי׃

Deuteronomy 32:1

(1) Give ear, O heavens, let me speak;
Let the earth hear the words I utter!

I have previously informed you that the Gaon says that the meaning of heavens is the angels and the meaning of the earth is the people of the earth. On the other hand, its meaning might be that the rain that comes down from heaven and the fruit which the earth produces are called to bear witness. I believe that the correct interpretation is that Moses called heaven and earth to witness because they last forever. ~Ibn Ezra

And why did He call heaven and earth as witnesses against them? Moses thought: “I am a being of flesh and blood (mortal); tomorrow I shall be dead. If the Israelites will once say, ‘We have never accepted the covenant’, who can come and refute them?” Therefore he called heaven and earth as witnesses against them — witnesses that endure forever (Sifrei Devarim 306:15). And a further reason was that if they should act worthily, the witnesses might come and give them their reward: the vine might yield its fruit, the ground give its increase, the heaven bestow its dew; while if they should act sinfully, the hand of the witnesses might first be against them (Rashi uses a phrase similar to that used of human witnesses; cf. e.g. Deuteronomy 13:10): “and He will restrain the heaven, that there be no rain, and the earth will not give its increase; and you shall perish quickly” (Deuteronomy 11:17) — through the attacks of other nations (Tanchuma 5:10:1). ~Rashi

The language of the Torah is not always straightforward. Each word is deliberate, Divine, and has a deeper meaning that requires extra thought and interpretation. When one studies Torah, to truly understand it, one must become deeply familiar with each word, study it intently and through this process, extract the deeper principles found within the text itself. Additionally, the Torah contains all kinds of allusions and hints that must be teased out from the text. Each letter is important, and so to understand the deepest and most important messages of the Torah, one must examine it closely. This is the same principle to understanding poetry. The meaning of a poem can grow as you become more familiar with each letter and word. The more you study it, the more new meanings can spring to light. ~Nomi Kaltmann, Torah as Poetry, Yeshivat Maharat

With Ha’azinu we climb to one of the peaks of Jewish spirituality.....For a month Moses had taught the people. He had told them their history and destiny, and the laws that would make theirs a unique society of people bound in covenant with one another and with God. He renewed the covenant and then handed the leadership on to his successor and disciple Joshua. His final act would be blessing the people, tribe by tribe. But before that, there was one more thing he had to do. He had to sum up his prophetic message in a way the people would always remember and be inspired by. He knew that the best way of doing so is by music. So the last thing Moses did before giving the people his deathbed blessing was to teach them a song.

The rabbis enumerated ten songs at key moments in the life of the nation. ..The tenth song has not yet been sung. It is the song of the Messiah. ~Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks

דברים ל״ב:א׳

(א) הַאֲזִ֥ינוּ הַשָּׁמַ֖יִם וַאֲדַבֵּ֑רָה וְתִשְׁמַ֥ע הָאָ֖רֶץ אִמְרֵי־פִֽי׃

Deuteronomy 32:1

(1) Give ear, O heavens, let me speak;
Let the earth hear the words I utter!

AND LET THE EARTH HEAR. And why did He call heaven and earth as witnesses against them? Moses thought: “I am a being of flesh and blood (mortal); tomorrow I shall be dead. If the Israelites will once say, ‘We have never accepted the covenant’, who can come and refute them?” Therefore he called heaven and earth as witnesses against them — witnesses that endure forever (Sifrei Devarim 306:15). ~Rashi

Sefat Emet, Deuteronomy, Ha'Azinu 1:3
Rashi (Devarim 32:1) explains that the Heavens and earth were called to testify because they will carry out the reward or punishment, similar to how a witness in Beis Din carries out the punishment. The primary testimony of Heaven and earth is that their power depends on the service of Bnei Yisrael. The Mishna in Avot (6:10) states that Hashem has five possessions: Heaven and earth, the Torah, Bnei Yisrael, etc. Just as Bnei Yisrael connect the Oral Torah with the Written Torah, so too must the possession of Heaven and earth be connected by Bnei Yisrael serving Hashem. Without this service, Heaven and earth have no cause for existence.

Give ear, O heavens...Let the earth hear. Listen to me -- you spiritual people whose thoughts are in heaven, and also you down-to-earth people whose concerns are more material. This message is meant for all of you ~ Chatam Sofer

דברים ל״ב:ב׳-ג׳

(ב) יַעֲרֹ֤ף כַּמָּטָר֙ לִקְחִ֔י תִּזַּ֥ל כַּטַּ֖ל אִמְרָתִ֑י כִּשְׂעִירִ֣ם עֲלֵי־דֶ֔שֶׁא וְכִרְבִיבִ֖ים עֲלֵי־עֵֽשֶׂב׃ (ג) כִּ֛י שֵׁ֥ם יְהֹוָ֖ה אֶקְרָ֑א הָב֥וּ גֹ֖דֶל לֵאלֹהֵֽינוּ׃

Deuteronomy 32:2-3

(2) May my discourse come down as the rain,
My speech distill as the dew,
Like showers on young growth,
Like droplets on the grass.(3) For the name of יהוה I proclaim;
Give glory to our God!

In this verse, the Torah is likened to both rain and dew. The significant difference between the two is that the extent to which rain falls is dependent on our merits, whereas the extent to which dew condenses is not. Thus, God tells us that “if you study My commandments continuously…in order to serve...with all your heart and soul…I will give you the rain for your land in its time,” and if “your heart is misled…and you neglect to study…and you worship insentient deities…there will be no rain,”but there is no similar pronouncement regarding dew. Rain therefore alludes to the aspects of Divine beneficence that we must elicit through our good behavior, whereas dew alludes to the aspects that we do not have to elicit ourselves. ~Chasidic teaching

יַעֲרֹ֤ף כַּמָּטָר֙ לִקְחִ֔י here my teachings will pour down and flow without interruption like rain for those who understand and are prepared to receive it from the fountain, the source of wisdom. תזל כטל אמרתי, and it too will contribute in accordance with the information which has been revealed to ordinary people. Even though these scraps of information are sparse, they are as useful to the recipients as is dew for the grass. The reason is that both in quantity and quality it is כשעירים עלי דשא, intelligent people can discern wonderful insights by listening to these words of mine. ~ Sforno

מי השלוח, חלק א, ספר דברים, האזינו ב׳

כשעירם עלי דשא. פירש"י כל עשבים בכלל נקראים דשא כשהארץ מתלבשת בדשאים, והיינו כל תרי"ג מצות בכלל ששייכים לכל ישראל. וכרביבים עלי עשב, פירש"י כל מין ומין בפני עצמו קרוי עשב, היינו נגד כל איש ישראל בפרט אשר כל אחד מכיר נגע לבבו, והחסרון שיש לזה אינו דומה לזה, ע"כ באותה מדה שיודע כל אחד חסרונו בה, צריך להטיף שם תמיד אותו ד"ת השייכים לאותו חסרון עד שיושלם באותו מקום והיינו כרביבים עלי עשב, כרביבים הוא לשון רב היינו שתרבה ד"ת באותו מקום אשר יש לך החסרון.

Mei HaShiloach, Volume I, Deuteronomy, Ha'Azinu 2

“… as the light rain upon the herb, as the heavy rain upon the grass.” (Devarim, 32:2)
Rashi explains that all grasses (eisev) in general are called “herb,” deshe in Hebrew, when the land is dressed in herbs. This means that all the 613 mitzvot are suited for all of Israel in general. “Like the heavy rain on the grass.” Rashi explains that each particular kind of herb specifically is called a “grass” or eisev. The intention of the verse is each particular soul in Israel, where each one recognizes the negia (personal motive, partiality), of his heart. No one’s deficiency is similar to any others; therefore in that particular aspect where each one knows that he is deficient, the corresponding aspect in Torah must be reinforced in that very place until it is eventually completed. This is “the heavy rains upon the grass,” “heavy” meaning in great measure, or to increase the measure of Torah specifically in the place that is lacking.

"...as we approach the advent of the messianic Redemption, we are granted a taste of this future revelation of the Torah’s inner dimension, especially in light of the fact that all the future revelations of the Torah were implicit within the Torah as it was first given, at Mount Sinai, such that any new revelation of Torah, rather than being a novel innovation, is simply a matter of exposing what is latent within the Torah as it has already been revealed to us." ~teachings of the Lubavitcher Rebbe

דברים ל״ב:ז׳-ט׳

(ז) זְכֹר֙ יְמ֣וֹת עוֹלָ֔ם בִּ֖ינוּ שְׁנ֣וֹת דֹּר־וָדֹ֑ר שְׁאַ֤ל אָבִ֙יךָ֙ וְיַגֵּ֔דְךָ זְקֵנֶ֖יךָ וְיֹ֥אמְרוּ לָֽךְ׃ (ח) בְּהַנְחֵ֤ל עֶלְיוֹן֙ גּוֹיִ֔ם בְּהַפְרִיד֖וֹ בְּנֵ֣י אָדָ֑ם יַצֵּב֙ גְּבֻלֹ֣ת עַמִּ֔ים לְמִסְפַּ֖ר בְּנֵ֥י יִשְׂרָאֵֽל׃ (ט) כִּ֛י חֵ֥לֶק יְהֹוָ֖ה עַמּ֑וֹ יַעֲקֹ֖ב חֶ֥בֶל נַחֲלָתֽוֹ׃

Deuteronomy 32:7-9

(7) Remember the days of old,
Consider the years of ages past;
Ask your parent, who will inform you,
Your elders, who will tell you:
(8) When the Most High gave nations their homes
And set the divisions of humanity,
[God] fixed the boundaries of peoples
In relation to Israel’s numbers.
(9) For יהוה’s portion is this people;
Jacob, God’s own allotment.

דברים ל״ב:י׳-י״א

(י) יִמְצָאֵ֙הוּ֙ בְּאֶ֣רֶץ מִדְבָּ֔ר וּבְתֹ֖הוּ יְלֵ֣ל יְשִׁמֹ֑ן יְסֹבְבֶ֙נְהוּ֙ יְב֣וֹנְנֵ֔הוּ יִצְּרֶ֖נְהוּ כְּאִישׁ֥וֹן עֵינֽוֹ׃ (יא) כְּנֶ֙שֶׁר֙ יָעִ֣יר קִנּ֔וֹ עַל־גּוֹזָלָ֖יו יְרַחֵ֑ף יִפְרֹ֤שׂ כְּנָפָיו֙ יִקָּחֵ֔הוּ יִשָּׂאֵ֖הוּ עַל־אֶבְרָתֽוֹ׃

Deuteronomy 32:10-11

(10) [God] found them in a desert region,
In an empty howling waste.
[God] engirded them [hovered over], watched over them,
Guarded them as the pupil of God’s eye. (11) Like an eagle who rouses its nestlings,
Gliding down to its young,
So did [God] spread wings and take them,
Bear them along on pinions;

Hovering over its fledglings: [The eagle] does not impose its [whole] body upon them. Rather, it hovers above them, touching them and yet not quite touching them. So too, is the Holy One, Blessed is He. .... When He came to give the Torah to Israel, He did not reveal Himself to them from one direction [thus concentrating His power at one point, as it were], but rather, from four directions...~ Rashi, quoting Sifrei

שמות י״ט:ד׳

(ד) אַתֶּ֣ם רְאִיתֶ֔ם אֲשֶׁ֥ר עָשִׂ֖יתִי לְמִצְרָ֑יִם וָאֶשָּׂ֤א אֶתְכֶם֙ עַל־כַּנְפֵ֣י נְשָׁרִ֔ים וָאָבִ֥א אֶתְכֶ֖ם אֵלָֽי׃

Exodus 19:4

(4) ‘You have seen what I did to the Egyptians, how I bore you on eagles’ wings and brought you to Me.

The eagle, regal as it is, large as it is, does not bear down its weight on the nest that holds its precious babies. It hovers ever so gently above them—"nogeah v'eino nogeah," "touching yet not quite touching"—awakening them to its presence without crushing them on account of it. It stays close enough to its young to protect them, but far enough away also to protect them. So too does God, says the midrash. At God's most powerful showing, at Mount Sinai, God demonstrated this dynamic of compassionate hovering....the midrash imagines God fluttering lightly above them with an invitation. Come to me. Hear me. Not through loud commands from on high, but through soft whispers enveloping you down below. And know that, as an act of love, I will come close to you, but never too close. ~Rabbi Erin Smokler

The world is sustained and we are sustained when we can both come extraordinarily close—to God and to other people—and also step back to make room for the agency of another. It is an exquisitely subtle line, indeed one that threatens the stability of the whole world. As such, it is a life sustaining one. We must learn to care fiercely without crushing those we love. We must learn to hover just close enough not to hurt those beneath our wings. And we must learn to fly, where we can, so that we might carry others. ~Rabbi Erin Smokler

דברים ל״ב:ט״ו-י״ז

(טו) וַיִּשְׁמַ֤ן יְשֻׁרוּן֙ וַיִּבְעָ֔ט שָׁמַ֖נְתָּ עָבִ֣יתָ כָּשִׂ֑יתָ וַיִּטֹּשׁ֙ אֱל֣וֹהַּ עָשָׂ֔הוּ וַיְנַבֵּ֖ל צ֥וּר יְשֻׁעָתֽוֹ׃ (טז) יַקְנִאֻ֖הוּ בְּזָרִ֑ים בְּתוֹעֵבֹ֖ת יַכְעִיסֻֽהוּ׃ (יז) יִזְבְּח֗וּ לַשֵּׁדִים֙ לֹ֣א אֱלֹ֔הַּ אֱלֹהִ֖ים לֹ֣א יְדָע֑וּם חֲדָשִׁים֙ מִקָּרֹ֣ב בָּ֔אוּ לֹ֥א שְׂעָר֖וּם אֲבֹתֵיכֶֽם׃

Deuteronomy 32:15-17

(15) So Jeshurun grew fat and kicked—
You grew fat and gross and coarse*coarse Meaning of Heb. kasitha uncertain. —
They forsook the God who made them
And spurned the Rock of their support.
(16) They incensed [God] with alien things,
Vexed [God] with abominations.
(17) They sacrificed to demons, no-gods,
Gods they had never known,
New ones, who came but lately,
Who stirred not your forebears’ fears.*Who stirred not your forebears’ fears Meaning of Heb. uncertain; Arabic sha‘ara suggests the rendering “Whom your forebears did not know.”

There are four essential elements to repentance: (1) feeling remorse for past sins; (2) desisting from them and renouncing them; (3) confessing them and asking forgiveness for them; (4) undertaking, in one’s heart and innermost being, not to repeat them. ~Bahya Ibn Pakuda, Duties of the Heart, the Gate of Repentence, chapter 4

Imagine standing in court, awaiting sentencing for a crime you've committed.
Fear grips you—until you look up and see that the judge is your own mother or father. Relief and hope flood your heart, for you know they love you and will show you mercy.
This is the experience we have on Rosh Hashanah.
As the Beis Aharon said, "We have a compassionate Parent. When we do teshuvah, Hashem forgives us. You need not fear."
On this holy day, we stand before our Parent, not with fear, but with trust in Hashem's boundless love and mercy. [adapted for gender] ~ Emuna Daily

דברים ל״ב:מ״ד-מ״ז

(מד) וַיָּבֹ֣א מֹשֶׁ֗ה וַיְדַבֵּ֛ר אֶת־כׇּל־דִּבְרֵ֥י הַשִּׁירָֽה־הַזֹּ֖את בְּאׇזְנֵ֣י הָעָ֑ם ה֖וּא וְהוֹשֵׁ֥עַ בִּן־נֽוּן׃ (מה) וַיְכַ֣ל מֹשֶׁ֗ה לְדַבֵּ֛ר אֶת־כׇּל־הַדְּבָרִ֥ים הָאֵ֖לֶּה אֶל־כׇּל־יִשְׂרָאֵֽל׃ (מו) וַיֹּ֤אמֶר אֲלֵהֶם֙ שִׂ֣ימוּ לְבַבְכֶ֔ם לְכׇ֨ל־הַדְּבָרִ֔ים אֲשֶׁ֧ר אָנֹכִ֛י מֵעִ֥יד בָּכֶ֖ם הַיּ֑וֹם אֲשֶׁ֤ר תְּצַוֻּם֙ אֶת־בְּנֵיכֶ֔ם לִשְׁמֹ֣ר לַעֲשׂ֔וֹת אֶת־כׇּל־דִּבְרֵ֖י הַתּוֹרָ֥ה הַזֹּֽאת׃ (מז) כִּ֠י לֹֽא־דָבָ֨ר רֵ֥ק הוּא֙ מִכֶּ֔ם כִּי־ה֖וּא חַיֵּיכֶ֑ם וּבַדָּבָ֣ר הַזֶּ֗ה תַּאֲרִ֤יכוּ יָמִים֙ עַל־הָ֣אֲדָמָ֔ה אֲשֶׁ֨ר אַתֶּ֜ם עֹבְרִ֧ים אֶת־הַיַּרְדֵּ֛ן שָׁ֖מָּה לְרִשְׁתָּֽהּ׃ {פ}

Deuteronomy 32:44-47

(44) Moses came, together with Hosea son of Nun, and recited all the words of this poem in the hearing of the people. (45) And when Moses finished reciting all these words to all Israel, (46) he said to them: Take to heart all the words with which I have warned you this day. Enjoin them upon your children, that they may observe faithfully all the terms of this Teaching. (47) For this is not a trifling thing for you: it is your very life; through it you shall long endure on the land that you are to possess upon crossing the Jordan.

שני לוחות הברית, תולדות אדם, בית עיר חומה א׳

ומזה נבין היטב מה שנעלם מעיני החוקרים במה שחקרו בענין שינוי רצון ח"ו בהשם יתברך, הקב"ה גוזר גזירה ואח"כ בתשובה תפלה וצדקה נשתנה לטובה, וכן לפעמים נשתנה מטובה לרעה. אבל הם בחשיכה יתהלכו, כי אין שום שינוי חס ושלום, רק הכל אחדות ענין רצון אחד, כי אילו היה השכר והעונש הסכמיי, אז היה ח"ו נראה כשינוי מרוצה לרוצה, כי עתה הסכים כך, ועתה מסכים כך. אמנם ענין הרצון היה סוד גילוי האצילות הכוללים כל ההפכיים לפי התעוררות המתעוררים, כן ממשיך בעצם ובטבע הענין אם מקדש עצמו מלמטה, מקדשין אותו מלמעלה בטבע הענין שהתעורר. ואם מטמא את עצמו, מטמאין אותו מלמעלה בטבע הענין שהתעורר. ואם אחר כך מתעורר ומשליך מעליו גלוליו ומדביק בקדושה, נמצא בטבע נתקדש. ולא נשתנה הרצון של מעלה, כי אדרבה כך הואצל הרצון, והכל צפוי והרשות נתונה:

Shenei Luchot HaBerit, Toldot Adam, Beit Ir Chomah 1

...the one who walks in innocence and straightness, and keeps a good home, receives goodness derived from God Almighty. And he who perverts his path and distances himself, is distanced from the good derived from God and the opposite is derived from Him.

"...the prayers of Rosh Hashanah do not include confession of sins because this day is related to the Jew in his essence, a level of spirituality above sin. Yom Kippur, however, concerns the Jew in this physical world, a place where sin is possible." ~ Rabbi Shaul Yosef Leiter, Eternal Witnesses.