Poems and Praise

It’s the middle of the week – and I want to talk about the parsha we’re still studying! Parashat Ha’azinu (Deuteronomy 32) is the next to last in the cycle – then comes Simchat Torah!! I don’t want to miss these last few weeks of Devarim before we go back to the beginning. And moreso, this is still a holiday week as we celebrate Sukkot, a harvest festival, and remember G!d’s provision for his people as they wandered toward a land they had not yet possessed.

More than half of this chapter is a poem recited by Moshe. He praises G!d: “The Rock! – His deeds are perfect, Yea, all his ways are just; A faithful G!d, never false, true and upright is he.” As is also an essential part of prayer today, he does this by proclaiming his attributes. In opposition, he reminds the audience of the wrongs which could separate them from their creator, but G!d in his mercy still loves them. It is in these poems that many, many generations have learned about G!d and extolled him in a similar fashion.

As is often witnessed in biblical poetry (and poetry of other faiths), a story is told, events recounted. The readers are reminded of G!d’s acts towards and for them in times of need and prosperity, desperation and hope. They are also reminded of negative events and punishments, presumably with the force of an admonition against their repetition: “You neglected the Rock that begot you, forgot the G!d who brought you forth.” In fact, what Moshe quotes belies a common tactic he used in his arguments with G!d: ‘I might have reduced them to naught, Made their memory cease among men, But for fear of the taunts of the foe, Their enemies who might misjudge and say, “Our own hand has prevailed; None of this was wrought by the L!rd!'”

Yet, as is noted with the theme of hope for G!d’s people, there is a sense of eventual salvation (but still connected to the blessings and curses): “For the L!rd will vindicate his people…There is no god beside me. I deal death and give life; I wounded and I will heal: None can deliver from my Hand.” Moshe’s last statement to the people teaches how those who trust G!d should live throughout the generations: “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. 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.”

This chapter ends with G!d’s instruction to Moshe of how he is to go and view the land that he will not enter (nor was his brother Aaron, who has already been gathered to his ancestors). They lacked faith in the wilderness of Zin, which proved a terrible consequence. Moshe’s example of leadership and obedience is astounding following such a disappointment of anticipation. It is understandable, then, that he is so respected and upheld for his ultimate faithfulness to G!d. Rabbi Joel Alter says in his commentary: “Nothing in the Torah’s telling suggests that G!d treats Moshe with anything but care and even generous compassion as He escorts him to his death.”

The Wilderness of Zin

Abraham Joshua Heschel in Moral Grandeur and Spiritual Audacity (To Be a Jew: What is It?) says: “Without solidarity with our fathers, the solidarity with our brothers will remain feeble.” The force of all that the Israelites are reminded of in this parsha, in Devarim, in the Torah, and in the Bible is: REMEMBER. Rabbi Danielle Upbin says in a commentary: “[This teaching of Moses seems to suggest] that while the study of Torah is of value in and of itself, the application of Torah to our daily lives is the essential point…Moses’s final words indicate that the study of Torah was never meant to be an activity we merely do as an aside. It is the activity of life – be it mundane or intricate – that permeates everything we do.”

This week’s haftarah, 2 Samuel 22, presents another poem, one by David. It again calls G!d the rock, praises him, and reminds the reader of his attributes. David through this poem tells a personal story of G!d and recounts his actions towards and for him. He speaks of his instruction and statues, and reminds him and the readers of his adherence to what has been set before him. This is a beautiful poem of exultation.

The Torah is a reminder to its audiences of G!d’s love for and faithfulness to his people. Throughout the generations represented in the writing, and those that followed, this merits adoration beyond human understanding and capability. The haftarah this week provides a reminder of lofty language that can move us as we remember our creator. But this week, let’s think about our own poem to G!d – his attributes, actions, and atonement.