Ha’azinu
“September 1959 - To Miriam and Linda,
I am quite sure that this is not going to be a masterpiece in reading. But as I sometimes look back at the things that have happened in the few years since you two were born, I do wish that I would have kept some kind of a diary of the things you said and did. Goodness, time is going by so fast and both of you are growing up so quickly. I am sure that in later years you both will enjoy reading about yourself and each other.”
(Fast forward one month) … “During the High Holy Days we all went to temple together and I hope that eventually both of you will get a close feeling for religion. You know that both daddy and I are not very religious. By that I mean that we have until now not gone to temple too often. But still we cannot help but remember what our religion is and we certainly want both of you to always remember. That is a very important thing to us. To be a good Jew one does not have to go to temple every week. But one certainly should know a lot about Judaism.
I hope that you children will never have to experience it the way we had to … But I do feel that it is important to know a lot about one’s religion and you can be sure that there is a lot more to learn about it than we will ever be able to teach you.”
These words were part of a document that I found in my mother’s dresser after she passed away in 1984. I had no idea that she had typed a diary recording her life as a new American, a new mom, and a 20th century woman. This small excerpt was meant to share her values with her children as an ethical will – a type of document going back to the days of our patriarch Jacob. In Genesis Yaakov gathered his sons, giving each one a blessing and requesting that they bury him not in Egypt, but in Canaan in the cave of Machpelah with his ancestors.
In this week’s parasha, Ha’azinu, Moses now instructs the Israelites to be a holy people and to teach their children: “Moses said to them, ‘Take to heart all the words by which I am warning you today, that you may command them to your children, that they may be careful to do all the words of this law. For it is no empty word for you, but your very life, and by this word you shall live long in the land that you are going over the Jordan to possess.’” Here Moses is recording his ethical will too, hoping his extended family will adhere to the teachings he has imparted over the past 40 years.
Shirat Moshe, The Song of Moses, opens our Torah portion. On Simchat Torah, when we unroll the entire Torah scroll around our sanctuary, it won’t be hard to pick out this section. Rather than being written in the usual paragraph style, it is laid out as two columns, as a poem. Set against the style of the Song of the Sea, Shirat HaYam in Exodus, the words of Moses occur at the end of the Israelites’ journey through the desert, while Shirat HaYam takes place soon after leaving Egypt.
Moses has one last chance on this last day of his life, at the age of 120, to transmit his most important teachings to the people. The tune, chanted in repetitive melody, is simple. The words, however, are powerful. “Give ear, O heavens, let me speak; Let the earth hear the words I utter! May my discourse come down as the rain, My speech distill as the dew, like showers on young growth, like droplets on the grass. For the name of Adonai I proclaim; Give glory to our God.” Moses summarizes the themes of the first section of Deuteronomy – the greatness and generosity of God, and the stubbornness and unreliability of the Israelites. The style of writing brings forth vivid images drawing from nature, which is a familiar reference to our ancestors rooted in agriculture.
After forty-seven verses of poetry and song, God calls upon Moses to ascend Mount Nebo, where he will die. He sees the future of his people, the Land of Canaan, but does not enter. He has written his Torah, leaving a lasting legacy for all time.
As we transition from Yom Kippur to the upcoming festival of Sukkot, may we take time to consider the values that we would want to write as our own legacy for future generations, remembering that tradition teaches that in fact, the Book of Life can remain open throughout the week of Sukkot. May we each approach these holy days with the hope that our teachings may be transmitted to our loved ones as a lasting legacy.
Ken y’hi ratzon – May it be God’s will
