Parshat Ha’azinu-Shabbat Shuvah 5781
CARLSBAD, California — This Shabbos we read the portion titled Ha’azinu which means to hearken. The portion is primarily a warning of the consequences of disloyalty and betrayal. If the Jewish people will make poor choices, G-d forbid, there will be consequences – sometimes very harsh. Moshe imparted these words of wisdom in a poetical form. This particular song is written in a unique style within the Torah scroll, with each column split signifying that is a song or poem. Speaking of unique, in general we do not commit to memory the exact wording of the Torah, and if we do know it by heart we do not recite the words by heart. This portion we specifically do try to commit to memory so that we can recite it by heart.
We see that Moses invoked Heaven and Earth to serve as witnesses to the warning he would utter. That is so no subsequent generation could claim that the warning was never issued, Heaven and Earth will ‘testify’ to the contrary.
It cannot be emphasized enough how important, how very crucial it is for our continued existence as a nation with a specifically ordained divine mission, to look to our Torah for guidance. Moses, who has always and will always be intrinsically connected with the Torah, knew that his time as leader was rapidly coming to an end. Joshua was prepared to take over the mantle of leadership, and would in fact prove to be a great leader. But Moses was so intimately connected with his people that he was compelled to illustrate in stark relief the necessity of remaining true to the wishes of the Almighty. Articulating this admonition/warning poetically certainly emphasizes the need for its scrupulous observance. And just in case one doesn’t quite ‘get’ the centrality of this contract, we developed the custom of committing these sacred words to memory.
This Shabbos is called Shabbat Shuva – it is the Shabbos of repentance. From the first day of the New Year, Rosh Hashanah, through the conclusion of Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, it is a time of serious and continual self-reflection. In fact, it is always an appropriate time to return to G-d through feeling genuine regret for our sins, specifying those sins to the Almighty, and resolving to not repeat them. But there are designated times that are more conducive for this particular form of Divine service. The 10 Days of Repentance are certainly a most conducive time. Within those 10 days we will always have a Shabbat occur. Shabbat itself is conducive to the notion of Teshuvah. This Shabbos is particularly fit for this purpose, as our minds are already more sensitized to our relationship with Our Father Our King.
The beautiful thing is that the more aware we are of G-d in our lives the stronger the connection between ourselves and our Creator becomes. This feeling of closeness brings us to a state of inner peace, happiness, contentment with our physical belongings, and an enhanced desire for the spiritual riches our tradition offers us.
May we all be sealed in the Book of Life and have a meaningful (and easy) fast.
Wishing everyone an uplifting, joyous, and HEALTHY Shabbos & Shanah Tovah!
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Rabbi Yeruchem Eilfort is Director of Coastal Chabads and Chabad at La Costa. Rabbi Eilfort welcomes readers’ comments and questions and may be reached at RabbiE@ChabadatLaCosta.com