Dear Friends;

I hope that you’ll enjoy the following Parsha summary followed by a Dvar Torah;

” Parsha in a Nutshell “

Parshat Ha’azinu is comprised primarily of Moshe’s “poem” about the horrible tragedies and supreme joy which will make up the Jewish people’s future history. Not your classic piece of rhyme and music, Moses’ “song” is nevertheless comparable to a great work of art in that it blends together otherwise disparate ideas into a beautiful symphony of thought. It expresses the recognition that every aspect of Creation and everything that Hashem does – past, present, and future – somehow fits together into a perfect harmony, although with our limited human understanding we do not always recognize it to be so. Moshe calls heaven and earth to bear witness that if the Jewish people sin and display ingratitude to Hashem for the many wonderful favors He bestowed upon us, we will be punished, while if we remain loyal to the Torah and Hashem we will receive the greatest blessings. Even though the Jewish people will stray, Hashem guarantees our survival and ultimate redemption. The parsha concludes with Hashem’s command to Moshe to ascend Mount Nebo, where he will view the land of Israel and then pass away.

” Dvar Torah “

Poetry! What a beautiful concept! It is the art of rhythmical composition, written by beautiful and imaginative thoughts. It is used in every culture, religion and society. What words cannot describe, poetry can! It’s a language for the heart and not for the mind. It is used to describe feelings of love, hatred, glory, triumph, defeat, happiness and sorrow. The beauty of poetry lies in its multiple interpretation. What the actual words say, might be totally different to what the poet meant to say. Although it’s difficult to understand poetry, but once you get it, the satisfaction is beyond belief.

This week’s Parashat Ha’azinu, also consists of a long poem, a very special one. As Moshe is about to die, he offers a poetic presentation of the history of the rocky relationship between Israel and its Creator, the present, and the future of the Benei Yisrael. The poem is very difficult to understand because even if you speak fluent Hebrew, it is not easy to get at the exact sense of the words and verses. However, Moshe does not finish the parsha with the poem. He warns them to take his words seriously and apply them to their hearts. Then he recaps the most popular theme of all his teachings by saying: ” be careful to perform all the words of this Torah, for it is not an empty thing for you, for it is your life!”

Rashi explains the verse by saying that Moshe is trying to say that every single word in the Torah is meaningful and is very relevant to our lives. Moshe tells them about this point right after the poem so that the people will know that no parts of the Torah is empty including this poem.

But you may ask yourself, how can every single word in the Torah be relevant to my life? There are many things in the Torah which seems to be outdated or irrelevant. For example, why do we need to know the male descendants of Esau and if so, why on earth do we need to know that one of the descendants with the name “Lotan” had a sister called “Timna”?! It’s very difficult to adapt to Rashi’s reasoning. How can the “entire” Torah be meaningful and relevant to us?

Well, as I was reading the commentaries on this topic, I came across a story told by Rabbi Mordechai Kamenetsky which goes at follows:

There was a tour organized for the American tourists to see the Louvre Museum in Paris. On the tour was an elderly woman, whose appreciation for art must have begun and ended with her grandchildren’s works which hung proudly on her refrigerator. As the group reached the Mona Lisa, the “wows”, the “oohs” and the “ahs” of the crowd were suddenly drowned out by the cynicism of the old woman.

“Is she smiling or not? Couldn’t DiVinci make up his mind?” she moaned in a loud voice.

The Tour Guide ignored her comment and began to explain the distinction of painting style, the differences of oils and brushstrokes and a host of other amazing facts and analysis. But the women still could not hold herself. So she let out a sigh of impatience and said: “I really don’t see what is so special about this painting! My granddaughters’ drawings.…” But this time, the guide cut her short. Then, in perfect English with a French accent, he began to talk.

“My dear madam, when you come to visit the Louvre you must realize the paintings are no longer on trial. They have already been scrutinized and analyzed by those who have spent their entire lifetime studying art. Every stroke of the brushes have been praised and criticized. What hangs here are the best of the art that has been gathered over the centuries by the greatest of artists.

“Now, my dear Madam”, he continued, “let me reveal to you a secret. At the Louvre, the paintings are not on trial. It is you who are on trial! The paintings have passed the test. But, unfortunately, it’s you who have failed.”

Rabbi Kamenetzky explains that in order to appreciate every detail of the Torah and to understand that every fact, figure, and seemingly trivial detail contain endless depth and countless meanings, one must first make the Torah his life. If one makes a serious career of Torah study, if he analyzes and commits himself to Torah knowledge, only then, he will be amazed at the never-ending lessons. But for most of us who are just taking a glance from the outside, we have no rights to criticize the Torah. The Talmud explains that the Torah is not an empty thing, and if we find it empty, the emptiness is within us and not in the Torah. It’s our lack of understanding which makes us not to appreciate all the beautiful things that the Torah has to offer!

Yes my friends, when we study the Torah, we should know that the Torah is no longer on trial, but we are. If we don’t understand a part, or if we think that a part is irrelevant, it’s our failure to understand. When I was in high school, I once asked my English teacher, how would we know if a book is good or not?! Should we just look at the reviews?! She said no! “First you should see who is the author. If the author has excellent record for writing good books, then the book must be good!” Well, the author of our Torah is the G-d Almighty himself who is perfect in every aspect. So His Torah must be perfect too. We should try to learn as much as we can from the Torah. As Moshe puts it so well, ” the Torah is not an empty thing for you, for it is your life! “

Shabbat Shalom & Regards;

Martin