The Poetry of Haazinu

Parshat Haazinu 

by Rabbi Avi Billet

Haazinu is presented to us as a poem, and is described in the Torah as a שירה – a song. Surely one reason for putting Haazinu in the form of poetry is to draw attention to the message contained therein. 

Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch notes that the fundamental message Moshe shares here is that God becomes for the Jewish people what the soil of their land is for other nations. In other words, what will always unite the Jewish people is God and His gift to the Jewish people, which is the Torah, and the relationship we have with Him. This withstands the test of time and the test of locale, the test of having a land, and the test of being a people who live in peace. 

The national character of the Jewish people is defined precisely through ִימְצָאֵ֙הוּ֙ בְּאֶ֣רֶץ מִדְבָּ֔ר וּבְתֹ֖הוּ יְלֵ֣ל יְשִׁמֹ֑ן – our being found (or finding God) in a desert land, in desolation, a howling wilderness. A relationship that can stand the test of time and space is one which is lasting, especially through the day-to-day rigors of the daily grind, no matter where we find ourselves. It is one that is worthy of song, because not only does the song draw attention to the relationship, but the poetry itself opens the door for beauty to be found in its interpretation. 

Anyone who reads a piece of poetry, or who reads or hears a song that touches the heart finds that the more we read it, think about it, and try to connect to it, the deeper the layers of the song, the music, the lyrics and the message speak to us. 

Rabbi Shmuel Goldin, in his “Unlocking the Torah Text,” explained the relationship of God and the Jewish people, as presented in this song, in the following way: “During the years that have brought you to this point, the most important lesson you have learned is that you can trust in God’s constant presence and personal care.” 

We’ll note of course that there is no direct reference to the event of the Exodus in this parsha, nor to the event of the giving of the Torah. The focus is on the time wandering and living in the wilderness. 

Rabbi Goldin continues: “The true measure of God’s love for you has been shown through His constancy, through His personal care for you over the course of your wilderness wanderings, day after day.” 

The message of the song is that a relationship with God is not just about being there for the big moments – but about the day to day living that everyone experiences. 

 Moshe has seen the best of this nation, and he has seen them at their worst. Their best was when they saw God and understood God’s presence in their lives. Think of Revelation – Naaseh V’Nishma! Think of the Mishkan – their donations far surpassed what was needed! Think of the confidence in the middle of Parshas Be’haaloskha, when Moshe expresses to his father in law that we’ll be in the Land in 3 days! 

And their worst included the Golden Calf, all the complaints about water and meat, the Spies, Korach and co., Dasan and Aviram, Baal Peor and Zimri. 

As great as the best moments were, they are outshined by the bad moments. And so Moshe may seem a little gloomy in this parsha (discernible through reading the entire message Moshe shares) because he is concerned that without him there to defend the people, they may not be able to live up to their part of the deal God is making with them. He is worried that the message of what life will be like, day in and day out, will fall on deaf ears. 

There is another way to look at Moshe’s words, and that is with a sense of optimism, of where things can go from here, if only the people take heed. That would certainly be fulfilled if the people were to embrace God and His Torah, and commit to following all that Moshe has been teaching, encouraging, and warning about. 

In what may be the post High Holiday euphoria we feel, we have the opportunity to embrace the mitzvoth that come in this time period – the holiday season – with gusto and with joy. We can elevate our meals with company, with good conversations about the meaning of the holiday and of what this time of year is meant to build within us, in terms of our relationship with God and our commitment to Torah over the winter months. 

Ralbag wrote that “this song” that Moshe was told to write down refers to the entire Torah – that all of the Torah is a song filled with prose and poetry. In this light, the imagery of the Torah, in order to be understood, must come from a place of knowledge, which requires dedication and study in order to appreciate it best and inform one’s life based on its teachings. 

Moshe knows that the legacy he is leaving for Am Yisrael – as Rav Hirsch put it – is a legacy of a People who can survive anything: exile, destruction, persecution, the passage of time. And while he might be passing into the sunset, he is leaving his people in the capable hands of Yehoshua, at a time when he is just about as close to Hashem as he has ever been in his life. 

Over the course of the next week and a half we have Shabbos this weekend, two days of Yom Tov on Tuesday and Wednesday, Shabbos again two days later, and yom tov again on the following Tuesday and Wednesday. Hopefully, instead of looking at all this as too much yom tov, we will look at this time for the opportunity it gives us, to enhance our relationship with God. 

Perhaps we can undertake a learning project to finish in time for Simchas Torah. Maybe we can make it a personal goal to inject joy into every day of yom tov, with holiday cheer, song, divrei Torah, and excitement for the mitzvah of Sukkah and for Lulav and Esrog that will carry us through the Yom Tov. 

This is the time of year, post High Holidays, when we demonstrate where we are in our relationship with God. May we be blessed to step it up, day in and day out, particularly in the coming week and a half, and of course throughout the coming year.

The Book of Devarim, Hakhel, and Teshuva

Parshat Vayelekh 

by Rabbi Avi Billet

Our parsha begins telling us that Moshe SPOKE (וידבר) all of “These דברים” (words/things), and then it says “And he SAID” (ויאמר) to them… 

Why does the verse introduce two ways in which Moshe conveyed a message to the people? 

What he said to them seems to introduce a quote - is what Moshe said to them what follows? Or is the introduction of אלה הדברים indicating that it is referencing the entire Book of Devarim? 

Rashi at the beginning of the book of Devarim notes that אלה הדברים introduces words of rebuke, and Moshe’s intent is to let the people know of all the times they had angered God, but he told that information over in code so they would not be embarrassed. 

But, Rashi continues, had he only given rebuke to some of them, others would say “O. So you were there. You heard what the son of Amram said, and you didn’t respond to him? Had we been there, we would have put him in his place.” Therefore Moshe gathered everyone saying “You’re all here. If you have a refutation to my words, now is the time to respond.” 

Devarim is a book of rebuke. It is a book that is to inspire Teshuvah. 

Kli Yakar notes that Moshe made the rounds that he made in Vayelekh because he was in the greatest position to diagnose the people’s spiritual failings. And he was making his rounds mostly to inspire Teshuva. 

“Moshe wanted to encourage Teshuva, which is largely accomplished through words – as Hoshea says (14:3), “Take ‘Devarim’ (words) with you and return to Hashem.”

He quotes the Rashi comment from the beginning of the book of Devarim and then concludes, 

“Here too Moshe was telling them all regarding Teshuva. And since there is no person who sees any wrongdoing on his own part, and every sinner and rebellious person never goes to the החכם הרופא to ask for the antidote to his ailment of the soul, even though that חכם will listen to him and aim to guide him into the path of Teshuva, this is why Moshe went from tent to tent to every Israelite speaking words of the heart, heart-to-heart, to anyone who would listen to his call for Teshuva, the kind achieved through words. Moshe told the people at the end of Nitzavim כי קרוב אליך הדבר מאד בפיך – that this matter, Teshuva, is close to you, and it is even in your mouth, so it is easily available to you should you choose to pursue it.” 

In Vayelekh we read of another time that Devarim would be read to inspire Teshuva, at the event of Hakhel, at which certain portions of the book of Devarim would be read aloud to all of the nation that gathered on Sukkos of the Shmittah year, which would have been this year were there a Beit HaMikdash (some are of the view that it was in the Sukkos immediately following the Shmittah year)! (See Rambam הלכות חגיגה ג:ג) 

Kli Yakar explains what Hakhel was all about: 

“The purpose of Hakhel was for Teshuva. The rabbis taught us that the ‘first day of Yom Tov’ is the ‘first day’ for the reckoning of one’s sins. This is why the people needed to do preparation for Teshuva, and that preparation was Hakhel, when the king would gather the people and read to them from the book of Devarim. The goal of Hakhel is to unite the people in their return to Hashem, so there will be many returnees. It is specifically during the 10 days of repentance that God accepts the Teshuva of the individual, but at other times of the year (such as Hakhel, which is out of the 10 days) God only accepts the Teshuva of the people as a collective.” 

The custom in the Jewish community is to hear words of inspiration on this Shabbos from the community Rabbi. No rabbi is Moshe Rabbenu, no rabbi is the king of Israel. If we open our hearts, the rabbi and the community should be blessed to learn together, be inspired together, and return to Hashem together.

What Makes Something Jewish or Not Jewish?

 Parshat Nitzavim 

by Rabbi Avi Billet

In the early 2000s, a rabbi went to India and reported to certain rabbis in Israel that there is a ritual exercised by certain Hindus called Tonsure which is essentially an offering of one’s hair to the Temple. This became a big scandal as many human hair sheitels (wigs) contain hair from India, and if the practice is an idolatrous practice, then the hair would be forbidden for a Jew to benefit from. 

The question is if this is a personal sacrifice that a person makes (such as if a person commits to be a vegan), or if this is an actual required idolatrous practice. If it’s the former, then it is not clearly idolatry. If the latter, it likely is idolatry, which would render the hair forbidden for Jews to derive any benefit from it. 

There are people who fall on both sides of the spectrum in terms of understanding how to define the dedication of one’s hair (I read an article that claims the hair is sold to reap hundreds of millions of dollars annually for Hindu Temples – which could easily be seen more as a donation than a devotion from that angle alone. It would still depend if the hair is actually used for some idolatrous practice or if it’s simply a form of commerce. People can feel whatever they like when they are donating, but if the hair isn’t actually used for some religious ritual, but is merely weighed, bundled, and sold, the religiosity of the whole thing can certainly be called into question.) 

Much trust goes into the sheitel business, so for those who support the human-hair sheitel industry, beware that if the issue is indeed idolatry, the concern remains. If one wants to be careful in either case, then one must ascertain that the hair is coming from other sources. 

With all that being said, we can look at the statement in our parsha that reminds us of our having come across idols in our travels through Egypt and other lands – “of wood and stone, of silver and gold.” While the parallel to the Indian hair is not exactly the same, the question that we can ask is are these materials, which are all used for idolatrous purposes, things we should avoid? There are certain practices that are considered in Jewish law to be “Darkei HaEmori” (ways of the Amorites – forms of idolatry) and are to be avoided. Some examples include thorns in a window to protect a pregnant woman or tying an iron to one's bed. There is even a debate about certain medical practices that are or seem irrational, whether they are included in the category of “Darkei HaEmori” (see more of these in Tosefta Shabbos chapters 7&8) 

The Talmud in Avodah Zara (51b) compares our verse to the pasuk in Devarim 7:25 which prohibits the use of silver and gold on the idol. Since the pasuk there doesn’t mention wood and stone, it is clear that the gold and silver mentioned refers to that which is specifically used to decorate the idol. We learn from there that the only wood and stone which is forbidden for our use, as noted in the verse here, is the actual wood or stone used to decorate the idol. 

Wood or stone not used to decorate an idol is certainly permitted for other uses. 

We can all breathe a sigh of relief that certain stone facades and countertops, wood panels and flooring may all remain in our homes and we need not redecorate with materials never used for idolatry. 

But what is used for idolatry? Is this something we need to concern ourselves with? 

Thankfully, we live in a nation which a. does not have an official state-run-church, b. separates church and state, c. sees the most worshiped item as being the dollar. It is far less likely to be challenged with the worry that something we are looking to purchase or use, made in a USA factory, ever had an idolatrous use attached to it. We still toivel pots and silverware, even though they are made by machines, and no human uses them before they are brought to market. Whether this is absolutely necessary is a good question – there is certainly merit in doing it in that it reminds us of the law, which may be applicable in different ways in different times and places 

While the halakhot remain in place, and I only advocate purchasing Kosher wine and grape juice, it is interesting to note that some streams of Conservative Judaism view all wine as kosher as they do not believe any wine is used for idolatrous purposes anymore. Even if this were to seem to be observably true, it doesn’t take away from the precautions we must take, because the truth is that for something like wine, which religions have always viewed as a sacrament of some kind, we honestly don’t know its true status without a hechsher. 

Since there isn’t a statute of limitations on what was used for idolatry – it is forbidden forever – it is always good to exercise caution when caution is advised. 

While we may not be enticed or enamored by actual idolatry today, we ought to take pause and consider that one of the goals of idolatry was to turn people away from God. As Rosh Hashana is only a few days away, it is a good time to take stock of how we use our time. How much of our time is dedicated to God-pursuits, how to better serve Him? And how much of our time is – were we to actually look back at the end of the day – wasted on pursuits that only take us away from getting closer to our ultimate goals. 

The first place to start is media and screens. If we’d all limit our screen usage to the websites dedicated to learning, and realize that the media creates a trap that has us glued to screens throughout the day, we’d see that even if it’s not actually idolatry, it is the biggest distraction we face in our lives today. 

As we commit to Teshuva – literally to return to God – let us commit to give ourselves the greatest chance of actually getting closer to Him, through eliminating the distractions that take us away from what should be our life goals. 

To answer the question in the title – what makes something Jewish?- it depends on how it is used. We are not forbidding sheitels, irrational medical practices, gold or silver, or stone or wood. We must use everything we can as a means to get closer to Hashem. That is the ultimate goal of a Jew, to use our world and all the resources available to us as a means to enhance our relationship with our Creator.