This week’s parasha, Ha’azinu is a lyrical farewell
from Moses to the Children of Israel. As
a literary unit, is serves as a rhythmic bridge between the charge to Joshua
and the Levites at the end of last week’s portion, VaYelech “Be strong and
resolute (hazak v’ematz): for you shall bring the Israelites into the
land that I promised them on oath, and I will be with you” (Deuteronomy 31:23)
and the blessings Moses gives to each of the tribes in the closing portion, V’zot
HaBrachah which we read on Simchat Torah.
In an unusual, maybe even unique event, the retirement of
Moses is timed to coincide with the death of Moses. People have died in office, and people have
died on the job. Most of our biblical
protagonists continue to live for a time after their period of action or
leadership has ended (notably Abraham, Jacob and Joseph) but the Torah is
relatively silent (in the way my teacher, Prof. Nehama Leibovitz taught us to
ask, “What isn’t the Torah telling us?”) about what their final years are
like. Not so with Moses. He is working, teaching and preparing for the
transition to Joshua right up to the day God has decided he will die. His death is private, quiet, even secretive,
tradition teaching us that God took care of the details of his burial.
As Moses reaches the end of the poetic discourse, the Torah
attributes to Moses a strong message to those assembled:
And
when Moses finished reciting all these words to all Israel, he said to them:
Take to heart all the words with which I have warned you [made you witness] this
day. Enjoin them upon your children,
that they made observe faithfully all of terms of this Teaching. For this is not a trifling thing for you: it
is you very life; through it you shall long endure on the land you are to
possess upon crossing the Jordan. (32:45-47)
The Hebrew phrase at the end of verse 46 provided a very
strong echo for me, “lishmor, la’asot et kol divrei haTorah hazot” that
they may observe faithfully all of terms of this Teaching (Hebrew, HaTorah
hazot). The echo comes from the
daily [Ashkenazic] liturgy, the paragraph immediately preceding the morning Sh’ma,
known as Ahavah Rabah (God’s Great Love for Us) (discussed in the
Babylonian Talmud, Tractate B’rachot 11b, i.e. it is an old prayer).
In Or Hadash, his commentary on the Rabbinical
Assembly Prayer Book, Sim Shalom for Shabbat and Festivals (p. 111), Rabbi
Reuven Hammer provides in his note the literal translation of that prayer,
“Permit us to understand, to discern, to heed, to learn and teach, to observe,
perform and fulfill all of the words of instruction of Your Torah in love.”
Rabbi Hammer goes on to teach that this sentence gives us a step-by-step
progression. From “understanding” we
proceed to greater depth, “discernment”. From these intellectual exercises we
progress to “heed”, which expresses commitment.
Then comes “learning” i.e. true, in-depth understanding, which is both
intellectual and emotional. This leads
to teaching others. Learning that
remains only inward is insufficient. Finally there is observance and total
fulfillment of the Torah, both in letter and spirit.
Rabbi Hammer’s understanding of Ahavah Rabah enhances
my understanding of the urgency of Moses’ message in Ha’azinu. It’s not enough to have heard these words
from me; future generations won’t have that opportunity. You have to hear them, but also, work to
understand them. That, however, will not
be enough. You have to follow them, to
set an example for your children and for others. By following these rules and setting this
example, you will be teaching others and preserving and completing those
practices described in the Torah. It is
a strong prescription for parenting and teaching by example; it seems that
Moses intends for Torah to be a How-To manual for our lives, and if so, God
promises that the Children of Israel “will long endure on the land that you are
to possess upon crossing the Jordan”.
11.
Do you think Moses worried about the future
without his being able to lead the people?
Do you think it was hard for him to let go?
22.
The Torah doesn’t record
Joshua’s side of any conversations with Moses about taking over as leader. If you were Joshua, what questions would you
ask Moses before he died?
33.
Tradition teaches that the
place of Moses’ burial was kept secret to prevent it from becoming a shrine,
that we don’t worship people but rather that we worship God (compared to the
Pyramids of Egypt as a burial place for their leaders). How do our mourning practices today focus
more on the spiritual existence and memory of people and de-emphasize their
physical existence?
Steve Kerbel, an education consultant, is a past chair of
the Education Director’s Council of Greater Washington and a national vice
president of the Jewish Educators Assembly.
