Parshas Ha'azinu: Non-god and Non-people

It is a basic, Jewish theological tenet that the Torah contains everything that has or will happen to the Jewish people. Commentators often point out the odd double language in last week's parsha, hestair astaire panai - I will shortly hide my face - as an allusion to Purim, or the fact that the 25th word in the Torah is ohr, light, and the miracle of Chanukah occurred on the 25th of Kislev. All the more so, it is almost impossible to read the descriptions of Hashem's intended punishments for straying from our relationship with Him, recorded in multiple parshiot, and not see how it has come to pass. The Torah is more than a history book, it is a blue print of history.

Parshas Ha’azinu is almost completely a transcription of the song that Moshe wished the Jewish people to transmit to each of the coming generations. The song ends with redemption, with Hashem stepping in and destroying Israel's enemies. Before that, however, there is a great deal of rebuke-filled prophecy of the times when Bnei Yisrael will fail, will desert Hashem and go in foreign ways.

The Torah uses a wide variety of terms to describe the false gods that might lure Bnei Yisrael, such as asherah, pesel, matseva, elohim, and etc. However, in Parshas Ha’azinu, one finds a fascinating and unique set of terminology: “They provoked Me with a non-god, angered me with their vanities; so shall I provoke them with a non-people, with a vile/foolish nation shall I anger them” (Devarim 32:21). The unique language here is the “non-god,” in Hebrew b’lo-el, which is parralleled by the non-people, b’lo-am.

Perhaps this is the Torah's subtle reference to the Jewish dilemma of the 21st century. We are not being enticed by idolatry. The church is no longer trying to lure in unsuspecting Jews, as it did for many centuries. We are not being threatened with death to force us to convert. In our era, an era that would feel very foreign philosophically (since technologically this would be an obvious statement) to anyone transported from even the 19th century, we must survive something completely new. Bnei Yisrael must maintain our covenant with Hashem in a world that might invoke the “name of the Lord” but whose general idea of religion seems empty compared to era's past. We live in a generation that celebrates "b’lo-el."

And who shall provoke us in this era according to Ha’azinu? B’lo-am, a non-people, which some might say is becoming a definition of North American life where the very ideas of Jewish community, nationality, and unity are being pushed to the side for the rights of the individual. Rashi comments on the phrase “with a vile/foolish nation shall I anger them,” saying: “these are the ‘Minim,’ the heretics. So indeed, it states, (Psalms 14:1) ‘The heretic (נבל) hath said in his heart There is no God’ (Sifrei Devarim 320:10; Yevamot 63b).” And Sforno explained that it referred to a people “possessing neither their own language nor alphabet (Gittin 80)."

So much text in the Torah is dedicated to reminding Bnei Yisrael to stay away from idols or false gods that some might see the growing lack of religion among American youth as a blessing, the dissolution of a threat. But now we can see that this very situation is also warned about in the Torah, and what follows, the Divine retribution that is then described, is terrible. Fire, famine, and general disaster, because falling victim to a theology of b’lo-el is just as terrible as worshipping false gods.

It is commonly understood that we today stand in the shadows of the end of days. It is newly 5,782 on the Jewish calendar and the world as we know it is set, according to tradition, to last until the year 6,000. It is therefore, perhaps, not surprising that the description of the dangers of being enticed by a culture of b’lo-el and b’lo-am is found only here, at the penultimate parsha of the Torah. The song of Ha’azinu is the last thing that Moshe taught the Jewish people, after teaching them this song, he blesses the people and is gathered unto his fathers, as it says, and Joshua takes his place to lead the people forward. Ha’azinu is the song that Moshe wished the people to pass down for generations, so that we today could know that this too was foretold.

Our struggles, our downfalls, and our suffering are the result of cause and effect. Alas, we are victims of our own doing. Parshas Ha’azinu, however, gives us something more than hope. It assures us that while our downfalls may be harsh (ok horrible), Hashem is ready and waiting with our salvation.

This Dvar Torah is dedicated to a refuah shelaima for Dovid Chaim HaCohen ben Tzipora

Parsha Vayeilech: It Might Be My Fault

The human gift for rationalization is a common topic for divrei Torah during the month of Tishrei, during the weeks when the Children of Israel even today spend time in self reflection and teshuva (repentance). Rationalizing is one of the great tools of the yetzer hara (the evil inclination) in that it is the most natural path for convincing oneself that what is right is wrong and what is wrong is right, or even that something is not quite such a bad thing to do. It is a tool that goes hand in hand with shedding accountability, with an inclination to blame.

On a national level, these behaviors have been at the heart of our people’s greatest downfalls, and we were well and truly warned that this would be so. In Parshas Vayeilech, Hashem calls Moshe to the Tent of Meeting to begin the process of Moshe’s end. Hashem tells Moshe quite clearly that when he is gone, the people will go astray. Not only will they look to foreign gods, but Hashem forecasts that “they will forsake Me and break My covenant that I made with them. Then My anger will flare up against them, and I will abandon them and hide My countenance from them. They shall be easy prey, and many evils and troubles shall befall them. And they shall say on that day, ‘Surely it is because our God is not in our midst that these evils have befallen us’” (Devarim 31:16-17).

Reading this verse, one might be astounded at the chutzpah, at the very idea that they who turned aside from Hashem’s ways could then blame their woes on the absence of Hashem’s presence among them. But this is the yetzer hara. This is human nature’s self-defense mechanism protecting the psyche. No one likes to admit when they have caused their own misfortune.

It is interesting to note how wordy verse 17 is. There are 15 words before the people’s reaction (And they shall say…), which is longer than most single pasukim in the Torah. Here too is an allusion to this being more than a happenstance reaction. Hashem is showing the mechanism of the yetzer harah’s tools. Between “they will forsake Me and break My covenant that I made with them” and the people’s complaint of abandonment, there is a lengthy description of God’s reaction – lengthy in particular since the promise of His anger has been described before. Herein is the explanation of how we so easily externalize fault because if there is any delay in the cause and effect, then we often choose to be blind to the connection.

The end of verse 17 should really state “Surely it is because our God hid himself from us when we did not follow His ways that these evils have befallen us.” The lesson here is perfect for this time of year, for the Aseres Ymai Teshuva (the Ten Days of Repentance). How did our choices bring us to the point where we could or did do those transgressions for which we need to repent this year? There is no time like the present, when we are striving to recognize, confess, and repair our actions that have been cutting us off from our connection to the Divine, for us to really stop and determine our own role in the challenges that we face.

 

Elul 2021 - Learning from the Women of Rosh Hashana

 This year I dedicate my Dvar Torah to my amazing sisters, none of whom are biological but all of whom have given me so much helpful love and support.

 

In honor of these wonderful ladies, this Dvar Torah will focus on the women of Rosh Hashana. It is interesting to note that when the sages chose the portions of the Torah and the Neviim to be read on Rosh Hashana, the primary focus, specifically on the first day, is on women. The Haftarah of the first day, the story of Chana, is commonly discussed in its connection to the holiday, but if you ask most people what the Torah portion of Rosh Hashana is, the response is the Akeidah. However, the Akeidah is not read until the second day of the holiday and the first day is the narrative of Sarah and Hagar.

 

While there are many explanations of why these portions were chosen, what stood out to me was that in studying Sarah and Hagar and Chana and Penina, we discover a stunningly complex portrait of human emotions. This could be said about many places in the Torah, but the emotions in these portions contain important lessons to us as we face these auspicious days each year. Let us look at them each more closely:

                                 

Penina: As it is written in the text of Shmuel, Penina is a minor but greatly flowed character. She was Elkana’s other wife, who had proven herself quite fruitful (10 children) and who is noted for having taunted Chana “Moreover, her rival, to make her miserable, would taunt her that the LORD had closed her womb. This happened year after year: Every time she went up to the House of the Lord, the other would taunt her, so that she wept and would not eat” (Shmuel I 1:6-7). The Midrash tells us, based, perhaps, on the fact that the text highlights that she did this most when they went up to the House of the Lord, that Penina taunted Chana with the intention of pushing Chana to pray.

Regardless of her intentions, she caused Chana tremendous amount of pain. Eventually, the blessing (her 10 children) which she had wielded as a cudgel became the source of her sorrow as, also according to the Midrash, they perished parallel to Chana’s own growing family. It took the death of eight of her children for her to gather herself and seek out forgiveness from Chana, which she was immediately given.

Rosh Hashana is the Day of Judgement, but it is also the day on which we coronate the King of kings. We do so by acknowledging that God is omniscient and omnipresent, that God knows what each of us needs and when. Had Penina simply loved her children and appreciated her own blessings, rather that use her blessings as a way to taunt Chana, then no consequence would have ensued. Yes, she should have encouraged Chana to pray, but flaunting her own bounty was not the appropriate way to do so. Rather she should have separated the two actions, encouraged Chana to pray and loved her children to raise them up in the ways of Hashem. In this way she would have demonstrated her true gratitude to the King of kings.

Hagar: Hagar is one of the most complex characters in the Torah. It is easy to see her as bad because it is human nature seeks a villain to contrast our heroes, but the truth is never that simple. We are first introduced to Hagar when she is presented to Avram for a wife to bear children by Sarai. The Midrash tells us that she was from the royal court of Egypt and that she chose to be a handmaid to Sarai because she was aware of the uniqueness of Avram and Sarai. When she becomes pregnant immediately, the relationship of Hagar and Sarai devolves. She was rude and arrogant to Sarai, and Sarai was cruel to her. Eventually Hagar fled and was then sent back by an angel. She loses that baby but quickly becomes pregnant again, gives birth to Ishmael, and all seems fine for many years until they are sent away by Avraham at Sarah’s insistence. In the wilderness into which they wandered, Hagar gives up on her sick child, lays him by the well, and sits down to cry. While the Torah states that God hears the cries of the boy, He responds to Hagar and promises her that he will live and thrive.

Although some criticize Hagar for giving up on her son, for placing herself far from him when she expected him to die, this story also teaches us about tears. It is ok to cry. On Rosh Hashana, as we stand before the King of kings and we wish to beseech him for help, it is ok to cry. It is ok to ask. And when we ask, miracles can happen. This seems like an obvious message, but if many people are like me, this is far more challenging than it seems. In our culture today we are taught not to ask for help, to be strong and available to help others. But when things get tough… it is more than ok to cry.

Sarah: Sarah’s emotions throughout her long involvement with Hagar are quite fascinating. She must have had some level of trust and appreciation for her handmaid to choose her as a second wife for Avram, to choose her to be the one to have a child, and yet once Hagar is pregnant, it causes her a tremendous amount of pain. It was probably not just Hagar’s behavior, her loftiness, that led Sarai to afflict her, but a level of pain sourced from her own burning desire to have a child. The Torah makes is clear, however, Sarai treated Hagar so harshly that Hagar fled. Once she returned, however, we hear no more of the dynamics between the two women. When Sarah tells Avraham to send her and Yishamel away, it comes from a place of rational thought, the result of her observations of Yishmael’s behavior and not from animosity toward Hagar.

Rosh Hashana is the beginning of the Aseres Ymai Teshuva, the ten days of repentance. Studying Sarah’s behavior in regards to Hagar demonstrates how one can actually be successful in the hardest part of the act Teshuva, not repeating the same mistake. This might sound surprising since it appears that Sarah very much mistreats Hagar a second time, but the two stories only seem similar until one reads them closely. One can assume that Sarah never “warmed” back up to Hagar. One can only imagine a strained relationship. But Sarah does not appear to afflict her maid servant further after she returns and gives birth to Yishmael. She keeps them with the camp even after she has born her own child. As we enter the days of Teshuva we can learn from Sarah the simple message of you can do better.

 

Chana: There is not much to say about Chana and Rosh Hashana that has not already been written somewhere and so I will simply add here the words from the commentary of Rabbi Shimshon Refael Hirsch that I found so powerful:

“Thus the picture of Hannah, enduring, wishing, hoping, self-examining, praying, comes before our mental eye on Rosh Hashana, and wishes to lead us out of the tangled turmoil of our lives thither where peace and tranquility beckons to us too. Accordingly, her words sound warningly (2:3) how God tests our real feelings, and “how each single deed is reckoned up by Him,” hence the importance and responsibility of every single person; and then refers, (verse 6) to the vicissitudes of the external circumstances of life and declares how it is always the same God of Love (Hashem) Who reveals Himself in every phase of fortune…”

In addition to teaching us how to pray and teaching us faith in the continued hopes that our prayers will be answered positively, Chana’s prayer reminds us that everything – EVERYTHING – comes from Hashem.

Last year we stood on the threshold of Rosh Hashana and the universal prayer seemed to be that the next year would be better. Alas, that same sentiment pervades today as in addition to the challenges of the Pandemic (different as they are in each location and every situation), the strife and struggle of the world seems only to be increasing. On a personal level, I look toward Rosh Hashana just a few hours away and I wonder what it is that I should daven for exactly… my own personal struggles – unexpected, unwanted, and, as yet, unappreciated – have left me grappling with a need to understand. But when I look to the women of Rosh Hashana, I see a path to help me forward – appreciate my blessings, let myself cry out my pain to Hashem, work hard to do better in my most challenging situations, and know that everything – the good, the bad, and the ugly – is part of Hashem’s plan.

I wish you all a Shana Tova. I cannot express enough my gratitude to Ruthie and Caryn for continuing this program year after year and my admiration for each woman in participating.

 

I will let you know later where I give tzedakah today.