Head of School, Pressman Academy

Taste of Torah

Prepared by Dr. Erica Rothblum

Head of School, Pressman Academy

September 25, 2015

Parashah Ha’azinu

In this week’s parsha, Ha’Azinu, we hear the final words Moses speaks to the Israelites, reminding them of their history and warning them yet again not to ignore the commandments ofGod. The bulk of the speech is composed as a song, paralleling Shirat Ha’Yam from early on in Moses’ leadership, when the Israelites crossed the Sea of Reeds to escape the Egyptians. At the end of the parsha, God tells Moses to ascend to the top of Mount Nevo, where he will die. But first God will allow him to see the whole of the Land of Israel, the place he has been journeying towards with theChildren of Israel, butwhich he will not be allowed to enter.

This poem is the culmination of a 40-year relationship between Moses and a group of challenging followers. They have argued with him. They have defied him. They have defied God. They have built idols. This is a group of people who have infuriated Moses, who have made him want to quit and give up numerous times, and who have also brought him intense joy and fulfillment. The format of this parsha, the poem written in two columns, is almost a physical reminder of how far Moses and this group of Israelites have traveled – from the first song Moses sang, Shir ha-Yam, the people he was addressing were little more than a ragtag bunch of runaway Hebrew slaves. Now, singing Ha’azinu, Moses is addressing a self-confident Jewish people ready to enter Canaan and to live out their destiny. They have truly come so far as a group. And this is the time when the leader must leave his people.

For many of us, we engage in processes that take time – renovating a structure or room at home, completing a project at work, raising children…As we enter the new Jewish year, it is a beautiful time for us to not just take stock of ourselves as individuals but to also take stock of our accomplishments – what has been completed? How far have we come? What is left for us to do? And to gather the strength, much like Joshua and the Israelites did when crossing into the Promised Land, to continue forward with the task.