TORAH SPARKS Parashat Ha’Azinu October 14-15, 2016 – 13 Tishrei 5777 Annual (Deuteronomy 32:1-52): Etz Hayim P

5) Now that Moshe has completed the task of delivering the poem, he is told to climb to the top of Mount Nebo (32:48-52). What will he do there? Why? [email protected] The Conservative Yeshiva is a Project of the United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism TORAH SPARKS Parashat Ha’azinu October 14-15, 2016 – 13 Tishrei 5777 Annual (Deuteronomy 32:1-52): Etz Hayim p. 1185; Hertz p. 896 Triennial (Deuteronomy 32:1-52): Etz Hayim p. 1185; Hertz p. 896 Haftarah (1 Samuel 22:1-51): Etz Hayim p. 1197; Hertz p. 904 The weekly Haftarah Commentary By Rabbi Mordechai Silverstein, Senior CY Faculty in Talmud and Midrash, may be found at; http://www.uscj.org.il/learn/commentaries/ Listen, O Heavens, O Israel, and Moses, Too Rabbi Daniel Goldfarb, Faculty, Conservative Yeshiva Copyright 2015, The United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism Parashat Ha’azinu is Moses’s farewell song to the Israelites, about their status as God’s chosen people and the consequences of forgetting their dependence on The Conservative Yeshiva offers Jews of all backgrounds the skills for studying הַאֲזִ ינּו “ :God. Moses begins (Deut 32:1) by invoking the heavens as witness Jewish texts in a supportive Jewish community. We are a vibrant, open- ”!Listen, O Heavens- הַשָּׁמַ יִם minded, fully egalitarian community of committed Jews who learn, practice, The root of the word ha'azinu means to listen; through the ozen, the ear. The and grow together. Learning is lishma, for its own sake, without exams or papers. Learning in Judaism is a lifelong process, and the learning of Hebrew language reflects a remarkable biological insight. The word for balance, The .א-ז-ן (”traditional Jewish texts requires skills of language and methodology. Our goal izun, [ma’oznayim = scales] comes from the same shoresh (“root is to give students the ability and the desire to continue Jewish learning and connection between the human ear and “balance disorders” was reflected in practice throughout their lives. the Hebrew language long before we had sophisticated medical knowledge about it. For someone to maintain balance in the world – in relations between New applications are welcome for full or part-time study. people or between nations – we must be willing and able to listen. Even those Learn more at www.conservativeyeshiva.org with whom we disagree may have something to say, something we should hear. Or contact Rabbi Joel Levy, Rosh Yeshiva, Director Ha’azinu is different from sh’ma, the verb familiar from the daily Shema prayer. The Conservative Yeshiva at: [email protected] Where sh’ma means to hear, ha’azinu suggests a more sustained listening, something that requires effort and persistence. In modern Hebrew ma’azinim are “listeners,” as to a concert or radio program. Through Moses’ words, we are invited to tune in and listen, to become receptive. The High Holidays began and ended with the Shofar, seriously listening. The The Shirley & Jacob Fuchsberg Center For Conservative Judaism mitsva is not to blow the Shofar, but to hear it. When we are all together, in 8 Agron Street, P.O. Box 7456, Jerusalem, Israel 94265 Tel: 972-2-625-6386 Fax: 972-2-623-4127 synagogue in a staged environment, there’s not much choice or difficulty. Jonah [email protected] • www.uscj.org/Israel/ is the story of one who heard God's voice but refused to listen, and ironically, was angered that the people of Nineveh did. Shabbat Haazinu comes after the High Holidays and invites us to listen to prosaic things. To each other, to the quiet of nature, to the sounds beyond ear-shot, A Vort for Parashat Ha’azinu and, of course, to God’s voice, which, as Elijah learned, is not to be found in the Rabbi Daniel Goldfarb, CY Faculty wind or in the earthquake, but in kol d’m’ma daka, a still small voice (1 Kings צּור :Ayecha?” God asks each of us, quietly, “Where are you? Who are Moshe, in his parting poem Ha’azinu, accuses Israel of ingratitude to God“ .(19:12 You ignored the Rock that begot you and forgot- יְׁ ָל ְׁדָך ֶת ִּש י, וַ ִּת ְׁש ַכח ֵאל ְׁמחֹ ְׁל ֶלָך you?” It’s hard to hear if our ears are constantly connected to earphones or smartphones. the God who gave you life (32:18). R’ Menachem Mendele of Kotzk, In this parashah Moses also hears, from God, that he is now about to die, and the Kotzker Rebbe (1787-1859, Hasid, Poland) explained the first part ,(תֶּשִׁי) that he will see the land but will not enter it (32:49-52), which cannot be easy positively – God built into the human character the capacity to forget for him. Adina Roth, a Jewish activist, teacher, writer and "occasional" poet in so that we can put behind us the troubles and setbacks we have in life and Johannesburg, South Africa, addresses Moses at this difficult hour in Take it Like move on, an important psychological insight about an important survival a Man (2008). instinct. But all too often, he observes, we use that power negatively, as the verse ends, to forget the God who gave us life. Take it like a man You will not enter the land your life of service in vain now Table Talk Hashem said: Speak to the rock Vered Hollander-Goldfarb, CY Faculty you struck the rock. Take it like a man Most of our Parasha is a poem that functions as a testimony, telling the tantalising green promise glimpsed relationship of the People of Israel with God. The Hebrew in this poem is this dream denied often archaic, making it a bit difficult to understand. your childhood moment mirrored: eye to glittering jewels 1) Who/what is Moshe calling on to listen to this testimonial poem hand directed to burning coals (32:1)? Why are these good “witnesses”? Challenge: Read Isaiah 1:2. clutching singed tongue Why do you think that Isaiah chose to echo Moshe’s words in that aral sefatayim. ["circumcised lips" - DG] prophecy? Take it like a man 2) How will Moshe’s words come forward according to 32:2? Try to your people move on you ascend remember (one of) Moshe’s main objections to going to Pharaoh in to the mountain top Exodus (4:10). What seems to have happened to Moshe over 40 years of of crossings, not arrival leadership? to die there alone. Silence. 3) God chose the People of Israel and gave us an abundance of sustenance (32:13-14). What did we do in return for getting so much Moses Moses good (32:15-18)? Why do you think that people behave in such manner You prayed for us (which might be termed ‘ungrateful’)? Who prays for you now? I plead your injustice 4) What is God’s reaction to the behavior of the people of Israel (32:19- Your yearning denied. 26)? In this section we are told that God will ‘hide My face from them.’ Our thanks to Adina Roth for her permission to include this. What do you think happens when God hides His face? .

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