Mneumonic of Haazinu’s Aliyahs – Seeing God in the Teshuva Process

Parshat Haazinu

Our rabbis taught in the Sifrei of the greatness of a song that has reference to the past, future, and the World to Come. It is divided into six portions, which are identified by the mneumonic “הזי"ו ל"ך” (“the splendor is for you” ie to shine on you). Each of the first six aliyahs begins with those letters (in that order), and it is divided this way specifically in Haazinu because the overall message is one of rebuke that the people of the nation should be returning to God through Teshuvah.

One of the reasons for the mneumonic is so that everyone knows this is the breakdown, no matter what, and people should not argue with the reader, even if he ends the Aliyah on a less-than-positive note, for such is the breakdown of this Torah portion.

Another reason for this categorization is because we find ourselves in the midst of days of judgment. Just as a woman who is labor is told “God should shine on you” and a person who is going through a difficulty is told “God should bring you out of the darkness and back into the light. This is why the mneumonic itself has significance because it is essentially saying that God’s Ziv (זיו) and his Hod (הוד) and His light will come to you, illuminate and give you light.

Each of the six portions touches upon a different subject.

Verses 1-6 (which begin with האזינו): Speak of the goodness God performed for the people simply for being human, not specifically for being Yisrael. “He is your Father who has acquired you, Who made you…” references the human condition, not specifically that of Israel

Verses 7-12 (which begin with זכר): He tells of the goodness done for Israel in the wilderness and before being in the wilderness, simply because they are Israel. Nations were given their places, in accordance with taking Israel into account.

Veres 13-18 (which begin with ירכיבהו): He set them on the highlands to taste of the yield of the earth. This references the good done for Yisrael in the Land, which hasn’t even happened yet. The abundance of the land, in terms of what it could produce, is referenced in this section.

Verses 19-29 (which begin with וירא): This speaks of the punishment given to those who reject the goodness bequeathed to them

Verses 29-39 (which begin with לו): Even though God was to punish, there were individuals who still behaved wickedly who did not think that what was happening was a direct result of their actions

Verses 40-43 (which begin with כי אשא): Speaks of the punishment that will come to the nations over how they’ve treated (or will have treated) Israel, and this refers to in the time of redemption. God references taking His weaponry.

All of these sections, except the last which is meant to be comforting to Israel and punishing to the nations, have rebuke in them.

All of what has been presented until now is from the Toldot Yitzchak – the great work of Rabbi Yitzchak Caro, who goes on to specifics about the elements of the rebuke, as well as a further analysis of just about every detail of the messages of the Parsha.

There is no denying that Haazinu is a complicated piece of poetry.  Every commentator has a different perspective on every verse, leaving the depth of the messaging up for renewed interpretation each year.

What is clear, however, is that in referencing past and future, there is what to reflect upon and what to be mindful of going forward.

At the very least, we can follow the custom of the Jewish people on Shabbos Shuva, and gather together for the Shabbos Shuva drasha. Wherever you may find yourself this weekend, hopefully you can attend a Shabbos Shuva Drasha, and with God’s help it should serve as an inspiration for the undertakings we will commit to for the coming year, to serve both as a blessing to ourselves and our families, as well as to all of Klal Yisrael. 

Reverence for A Sacred Space and the Torah

Parshat Nitzavim-Vayelekh

by Rabbi Avi Billet

We read the double parsha of Nitzavim Vayelekh. In Vayelekh, there are two mitzvos surrounding a Sefer Torah. The second of these is considered by many to be the final mitzvah in the Torah – to write a Torah. Since not everyone can write a Torah, or nowadays afford a Torah, a widely accepted opinion is that we can fulfill this through having Sefarim (Jewish books) in our homes that allow us to engage with Torah study. 

The other mitzvah related to a Sefer Torah is to have it read at the gathering called Hakhel, when the entire nation would come to Jerusalem once every seven years, on the holiday of Sukkot. Those who heard the Torah would be inspired in one form or another (perhaps from what they heard, perhaps from seeing the enormous crowd, perhaps from participating in such a spectacle). While I don’t know how the entire nation would hear, in the absence of an amplification system, I imagine that somehow it worked out.

R Samson Raphael Hirsch writes about this event: 

“In a general assembly of the nation, they hear of the Divine origin of the Torah and of the obligation to fulfill it. The nation itself vouches for this, and proclaims it ever anew through its supreme representative. This consciousness, renewed in the assembly of the whole community, shall have the effect that ילמדו (“they will learn”): constant growth in the study of the Torah will become for them an exalted aim. ויראו (“And they will fear”): Both of these – the mitzvah of Hakhel in the assembly and the mitzvah of ילמדו at home – will bring them to the feat of God, which will ultimately result in the observance of the entire Torah. For on the momentous occasion of the assembly of the whole nation, they renew their awareness that one God is the God of them all, the Director of their fate and the Guide of their actions, and this awareness will heighten their fear of God and channel it toward one goal: To keep/observe all the words of this Torah.”

Rav Hirsch makes a few additional points through his commentary on these two Sefer-Torah-focused passages. Moshe tells the people to take the Sefer Torah and put it next to the Ark (some say IN the Ark) to bear witness to the truth of all of this. 

1. That he is told to give this final version of the Torah to the people indicates that what we call the Written Torah (תורה שבכתב) was originally transmitted to the people orally – for 40 years! - without being written down. (I like to point out the impossibility of the Torah we have being in their hands – imagine if the Spies and Korach crowd read the script of their rebelliousness before it happened!) Moshe wrote it down at the end of his life – leaving the subject of the authorship of the last 8 verses of the Torah (those describing his death and afterwards) as a fascinating conversation. (31:26) 

2. There is a debate as to where this Torah was kept: In the Ark, next to the Ark, or somewhere else in relative proximity to the Ark. If it was kept in the Ark, this leads to a fascinating thought. We know that the Holy of Holies was only entered one day of the year, Yom Kippur, for specific services (Avodah) related to that day. Apparently, this was an exception – once every seven years – to get out the Torah for its reading. [This view is based on a Devarim Rabbah passage] 

Rashi does note that this Torah was read from by the king at Hakhel, and the Kohen Gadol on Yom Kippur. This begs a similar question, because the Avodat Yom HaKippurim does not include a time when the Kohen Gadol would take the Torah out of the Holy of Holies. So was it really kept in the Ark? 

Tosafos (Baba Basra 14a) rejects the idea that the Torah was kept in the Ark, and offers that the Torah in question is the one that Moshe gave to the Tribe of Levi (he is credited with distributing 13 Torahs at the end of his life, giving one to each of the twelve tribes plus Levi), which was kept somewhere in the vicinity of the Holy of Holies, but in the main sanctuary area. 

 3. This Torah was known as the Sefer HaAzarah, and was used irregularly for reading, but more regularly as the standard text to which other Torahs were compared to determine their accuracy (this is before computer programs would check Torahs). 

[2&3 are in Hirsch’s commentary on 31:11]

The perspective that has this Torah inside the Ark is fascinating because it creates one of the more bizarre exceptions to a rule that is seemingly inviolable, going into the Holy of Holies outside of Yom Kippur. [This lends for a different discussion about the Ark, which was recorded to be taken out to war on some occasions in the Bible. Since the actual Ark was at one point captured, did they subsequently create a second Ark to be used specifically for war?] If there was only one Ark, and kings would take the occasion of war to take the Ark out, did they also go into the Holy of Holies at that time to extract it?

Obviously, the perspective that the Torah was kept in a separate space is easiest to follow and understand. It is challenged, however, by the verse (31:26) which indicates that the Torah was placed either in or right next to the Ark.

Does it matter where it was? 

For us, practically, no. Whatever was done in actuality surely had a Mesorah, and I am confident that they did what was right. But it begs us to consider how we view a sacred space, and whether exceptions can be made in terms of how we treat whatever rule defines that space as sacred.

There are people who dress one way when they go about their business in any given day, but specifically when they are going into a shul, for whatever reason, dress in a manner that is more respectful to that space. I’ve heard the same be said of people who were going to visit a great Rabbi for his blessing, who are sensitive to honor his space through dressing more modestly and respectfully than they might otherwise.

More obviously, the way we conduct ourselves during davening, which is easily our most sacred space, behooves us to consider if we are respecting the space in the best way possible. We certainly stand at all the right spots, and are respectful when the Torah is carried around the room. But are we always equally respectful when the Torah is on the table and when it is being read? And in the space for prayer, do we engage in conversations that are idle or irrelevant to our task at hand? Or perhaps, irreverent to the space designated to communicating with our Creator?

The Torah being read at Hakhel and on Yom Kippur was meant to be a great inspirational moment in time, perhaps exacerbated by its rarity in the scheme of things. [I like to compare Hakhel to the Siyum Hashas of Daf Yomi, which takes place around every 7.5 years and is inspirational to tens of thousands of people, even those who don’t study Daf Yomi.] We hear the Torah so regularly, thank God, which lends itself to too much familiarity, that we forget how amazing an experience it ought to be. 

Let us embrace the Torah reading, every time, with a newfound awe of what is taking place when the Torah is on the Shulchan in the shul – it is the time we have the blessed opportunity to hear the Word of God. What an incredible privilege that is!

Blessing Comings and Goings

Parshat Ki Tavo

by Rabbi Avi Billet 

I was very young when I first went to sleepaway camp. When the bus pulled up to camp, the first thing I noticed was a sign that said “ברוך אתה בבאך – Camp Munk.” I don’t recall if at that time there was a similar sign sending those leaving on their way with “ברוך אתה בצאתך,” but certainly in later years until today, the sign has been updated, made much nicer, and is double sided with the double sentiment of the verse that is found in our Parsha, blessing you when you come, and blessing you as you leave. (Devarim 28:6)

The fourteen verses which precede the lengthy Rebuke (Tokhacha) include a number of beautiful sentiments that are promised to us if we take care to observe the law and fulfill the Mitzvos of the Torah. Included in that group of commitments is that “the nations of the world will see that God’s Name is upon you, and they will fear (and therefore respect?) you.” (28:10)

Rabbi Baruch HaLevi Epstein explained that the word translated in the previous sentence as “see” (in Hebrew it’s וראו) would be better translated as “understand” – that the nations will understand why God’s Name is upon you. This comes from a perspective that considers multiple meanings of the verses which surround it, while heavily focused on the verse with which we began.

 What is intended when blessing “you when you come and when you leave?” Is there anything to glean from a somewhat related verse we are familiar with from Tehillim – ה' ישמר צאתך ובאך מעתה ועד עולם? 

Let us consider a few possibilities. 

1. Combining teachings from Bava Metzia 107b and Taanis 5b, one understanding is that the blessing on coming (באך) refers to “you” (your existence in this world) while the blessing on leaving (צאתך) refers to “your children” who are צאצאיך, those who have come out of you. 

2. The blessing is on your comings and goings in business (Midrash Rabba). Rabbi Epstein notes that the order should be reversed if it were referring to the normal order of business. But because the blessing is meant to be eternal, it isn’t presented as your goings (as in, out to business) and your comings (as in returning home from work) which would represent a day in time. It references first your return home, and then your going out, because after your return home (באך) you will do it all over again in the morning, when you leave (צאתך) to engage with the world. Contrast that to David’s imagery of God watching over us day in and day out, which is presented based on one’s leavings and returnings, and seems to be looking out for safety in general, rather than specific success. 

 3. The Talmud (Bava Metzia 107b) has several interpretations, including “that your exit from this world should be like your entrance into this world – just as you entered without sin, so should you leave without sin.” This is an exhortation to be constantly improving, considering, and making choices that increasingly reflect of a more Godly existence. 

 4. The passage in Sanhedrin 7b puts the following thought into someone’s mind: “If only my comings were like my leavings” which refers to how a judge goes out to court to serve in that capacity. He is thinking, “If only I return to my home the way that I left it – just as I left not having sinned (or erred in the court), I hope to return not having sinned or not have issued an incorrect ruling.” Once we’re going this route, the verse could easily refer to one’s coming and going to and from the Bet Din as well: “I hope to come to the court with no sin, and to leave it without sin (or error)” 

5. Finally, Rabbi Epstein reminds us of the Mishnah in Avos which reminds us that this world is simply a hallway leading into the next world, which is compared to a banquet hall. Therefore, the blessing is that your exit into the banquet hall should be like the entrance into the hallway. Just as we enter this world without sin, we should merit to leave this world without sin.

This is far less a morbid reminder of our mortality and much more a reminder of how we are to aim to live our Jewish lives. 

 There are stories of enemies of the Jewish people who have observed that many Jews (tragically) live lives without God. These enemies, who very often believe in God, have stated that if the Jews abandon their God, He will not protect them, He will not preserve their rights to the Land of Israel and will not fulfill the promises to which He might otherwise be bound. 

There is likely much truth to that, and it is certainly a reminder of what our task in this life is all about. This goes back to the interpretation of 28:10, that if we don’t have respect for our own life-mission, how or why would anyone else? 

This is not to suggest that all of the Jewish people are guilty of such disregard for our relationship with the Almighty. Such a claim would be libelous!

The point is that while we can easily look at the blessing as meaning that God is blessing our comings and goings, in the manner we usually use that term, it is also possible that the verse is referring to our entrances into this world (whether us and our children) or is referring to our place in the world as ruled by the cosmos. 

 We absolutely have a task in this world, to live lives that are defined as Kiddush Hashem – a living sanctification of God’s name. Whether that refers to our behavior vis a vis neighbors, whether it refers to how we are to conduct ourselves in worldly or in spiritual affairs, or whether it means we have to simply abide by the Torah’s rules and represent God (this is not an exhaustive list of Kiddush Hashem options), we entered the world, and we expect to leave it one day. We enter life situations, and we move on from them. 

Just as the summer camp indicated, you should be blessed during your time here, the parting words affirm “You were blessed when you came, you’ve been blessed from your time spent here, and we hope and wish that you will be blessed as you turn on and move on to the next stage of life – whatever that may be and wherever you may find yourself.” 

Perhaps most importantly, we should see this as such a defining element of our life mission, that through our living it out, we should be blessed to be the example that the nations see and therefore come to understand of our special relationship with God.

Blessed you are when you come, and blessed you will be as you depart to the next stop on your physical, spiritual, and soul’s journey. Amen.