The poetry of Ha’azinu hammers away at two ideas. Zachor, remembering, is the good word, remember Shabbat, remember what your enemies tried to do. Remember mistakes like Miriam’s. Forgetting is negative, destructive. It implies intent. “Remember the days of old.” But “You have grown, fat and complacent and deserted God.” “But you have forgotten the Rock that gave birth to…
Author: Jeremy Rosen
Joshua
Moses is about to die. He calls Joshua to describe his mission and to encourage him. This narrative is another example of one that is repeated three times in the Torah and indicates a pattern in repetitions rather than a randomness. Here the Torah focuses not just on him as a leader, but on the importance of the mechanisms for…
God Hides
Before he dies Moses warns the people (31.18) that if they betray their heritage, God will turn away from them and ‘ I will hide my face.’ “Haster Astir Pani Mayhem.” The same phrase is used again in the Ha’azinu “Astir panai mayhem.” This is how many rabbis have explained the suffering we experienced in exile. Why God did not…
Choice
There are several covenants, contracts between God and Israel in the Torah. But this final one includes a new idea, that of choice. “I am giving you the choice to accept a covenant, I am making with you and all future generations…You may think you are blessed (if you do not want to accept this contract) and be in peace,…
Covenants
This week’s very short reading from the Torah tackles the question of what it means to be Jewish. We use the word Brit, covenant to describe this connection but there are several Brits in the Torah. There is the covenant with Avraham over the Land. Then there is the covenant of circumcision. Later comes the covenant at Sinai to the…
Secrets
“The secrets belong to God, and the revealed things are for us and our children forever, in order to follow the words of the Torah” (29.28). Rashbam takes this to mean that God will punish on the basis of secrets that He alone knows. Humans punish according to human law that has been revealed on Sinai. Nachmanides, takes this to…