Weekly Parsha

HAAZINU

There are songs and there are songs. The song of Moshe and the people of Israel at Yam Suf is a song of victory and exultation. It is read in the synagogue with a special haunting melody that accompanies it. It is recited every morning in our daily prayer service and it is referred to every evening in the Maariv service. It is a song of hope and triumph. The song of Haazinu, which is read in this week�s Torah reading is of an entirely different nature. It carries no special melody with it, its content is mainly dark and somber and it forms no part of any Jewish prayer service. It is a song of realism, not based on any special event or wondrous miracle as is the song of Yam Suf. Notwithstanding this, it is the song that has accompanied Israel in its long journey through time and space and it is this song that has allowed Israel to persevere and triumph in spite of the challenges and vicissitudes of that journey.

Moshe does not minimize the dangers and hardships of the journey. Nevertheless, he guarantees Israel�s success and ultimate redemption. The song of Haazinu was the song chosen to be committed to memory by Jewish children over the ages. The song of Yam Suf was not so chosen. Hardheaded realism, honest discussion of problems and ironclad faith in the face of adversity always trumps temporary miracles no matter how impressive the latter may be. Moshe�s song of Haazinu is his last great bequest to Israel. Its value and importance has never diminished over the millennia.

Our grandson, Eliezer Wein, will be celebrating his bar mitzvah here in Jerusalem this parsha of Haazinu. I pray that God grant him all blessings and great accomplishments. But I also pray that he internalize within him this message of the song of Haazinu. In that song is the entire history of his heritage and past. It also contains the outline of his future and of the tasks that lie before him as a faithful and loyal Jew. The message and predictions of the song are inescapable. The covenant between God and Israel is an unbreakable one with no escape clauses built into it. The song of Haazinu with its demands and challenges is indelibly committed to the collective memory of the Jewish people. It accompanies us, nationally and personally, throughout our lives and their events. It is the witness to our achievements and weaknesses, our progress and regressions. Moshe calls on heaven and earth to hear this song for it will never be forgotten from the hearts and souls of the eternal people of Israel. The song, so to speak, has become part of the natural order of things in the world. By measuring our lives and actions by the yardstick that the song lays out for us, we can determine our correct course in life. Every choice in life demands first listening to Haazinu before making choices. Ultimately, Haazinu is the song of soaring hope and human achievement. Mazal tov, Eliezer and learn the song!

Shabat shalom.
Gmar tov.

Rabbi Berel Wein