Thursday, September 27, 2012

Parshas Ha’azinu

The power of song!

This week’s parsha, Ha’azinu, begins discussing the contents of the fourth prophetic song, Ha’azinu. The song poetically depicts the future of the Jewish people until the end of days. The song goes into detail about what will happen if they transgress their covenant with Hashem.  Each of the nine songs had sadness that followed; however, the tenth song, which is the greatest, will be sung at our redemption, marking the end of our suffering and exile!

Order of songs composed by:
1.      Adam, who recited the first song in Gan Adan (he composed Mizmor shir leyom Shabbot, a song to praise the greatness of Shabbot).
2.      Moshe and Bnai Israel, composed a song at the Red Sea.
3.      Bnai Israel, composed a song at the Well of Miriam (Parshas Chukas).
4.      Moshe, taught Bnai Israel the song of Ha’azinu on the day of his passing.
5.      Yehoshua, sang a song when he fought the Emorites in Givon, when the sun miraculously stopped, so that Bnai Israel could continue fighting.
6.      Devorah and Barak, composed a song when Hashem delivered their enemy to their hand.
7.      Chana, sang a song after giving birth to Shmuel (she was childless for many years, so she praised Hashem with a prophetic song).
8.      King David, composed a song at the end of his life, in order to thank Hashem for saving him from his enemies.
9.      King Shlomo, composed Shir Hashirim.
10.  The Jewish people will sing this final song when we are redeemed from our present exile.

RAIN RAIN DON’T GO AWAY! Dvar Torah in under a minute!

The parsha continues with Moshe comparing the Torah to rain. Just as rain is a life giving force, the Torah too is vital for our survival.  Just as rain descends from above, we too received the Torah from above. Rain enables plants to grow; however, the rain does not create the seed or plant, similarly, the Torah allows the seed in one’s heart to grow and to develop to its full potential. Once a person dedicates his heart and mind to the Torah, only then will his studies be fruitful!

Why G-d? WHY?!

In the course of this prophetic song, Ha’azinu, Moshe predicts the harsh punishments the Jews would incur if they abandoned the Torah. Despite the punishments that the Jews would incur if they transgressed, Moshe defended Hashem’s ways as being absolute just (Hashem only punishes people justly and never out of anger).  Hashem is a just G-d who will ultimately reward the righteous and punish the wicked.

 Unfortunately, too many times we see righteous people suffer and we question why and how is God being just? We cannot come to understand Hashem’s infinite wisdom and see how that suffering can be good; however, what we can do is accept the suffering. By recognizing that the suffering we endure is temporary, and an extremely relative experience, we can lift some burden off our shoulders. Moreover, many times the suffering we experience in this world is atoning for any sins we have committed; thereby, we will not suffer in the World to Come, where the delights of that world are incomparable to this world.  What seems fortunate now, may be an impediment to a person in this world, and conversely, what seems unfortunate now, may not be so in the World to come, (also that misfortune can build a person into someone remarkable, allowing him to fully benefit in the future world).

The moral of the story is that we should not look at our physical existence as absolute. If G-d forbid a person is struck with misfortune, he should accept the fact that, this is what Hashem wants, and everything He does is for the best. This attitude can only be acquired from studying Torah, because the Torah teaches us how to develop our bitachon- faith- in Hashem, all allowing us to recognize His handiwork in every aspect of our lives.