Our Very Life
Oct 3, 2025 By Lilly Kaufman | Commentary | Ha'azinu
At the end of his life, with Joshua by his side, Moses begins his great, thunderous poem, Ha鈥檃zinu, summoning the heavens and the earth as witnesses to his powerful, angrymessage, as God commanded him to do in the preceding parashah, Vayelekh. And yet, in a one-versereshut, a prayerful, wishful intention, preceding the central portion of his sermonic poem, hesays that he wantshis words to land lightly: 鈥淢ay my discourse come down as the rain, my speech distill as the dew, like showers on young growth, like droplets on the grass鈥�(Deut. 32:2). Then suddenly, thecentralangry themeemerges, and he calls the people 鈥渦nworthy of [God], crooked, perverse鈥� (32:5), 鈥渄ull and witless鈥� (32:6).
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Weren鈥檛 We Just Forgiven?
Sep 22, 2023 By Joel Seltzer | Commentary | Ha'azinu | Shabbat Shuvah
On all other days, this blessing is a powerful reminder of the countless missteps that befall us every day of our lives. And each day, by asking God for forgiveness, we are being conscious and intentional about the types of people we wish to be. We recount鈥攖hen we recommit. But on motzei Yom Kippur, this blessing makes little sense. Is it possible that I committed a sin in the last thirty seconds since the gates closed at the end of the Ne鈥檌lah service? Shouldn鈥檛 this be my most blameless moment of the entire year, and yet, here I am, beating my breast and beseeching God for forgiveness yet again?
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Making Every Word Count
Oct 7, 2022 By Arnold M. Eisen | Commentary | Ha'azinu
Ha鈥檃zinu is remarkable in two respects: what it says, and how it chooses to say it. My focus here will be the latter, but let鈥檚 note with regard to the former that in this, his final address to the Children of Israel before a set of farewell blessings, Moses reviews all of his people鈥檚 past, present, and future. He begins by calling on the God who had called Israel into being and called him to God鈥檚 service. He reminds Israel that God has chosen them and still cares for their well-being. He prophesies that despite all that God and Moses have said and done, Israel will abandon God, as they had in the past. God will punish them, as in the past, but never to the point of utter destruction. In the end, God and Israel will reconcile.
Read MoreShabbat Shuvah Torah Reading
By 91快播 | Collected Resources | Ha'azinu | Shabbat Shuvah | Vayeilekh
The Shabbat between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur is called Shabbat Shuvah, the Shabbat of Return. The Torah portion can vary depending on the timing of the calendar. Ashkenazi Jews readHosea 14:2-10andJoel 2:15-27, whileSephardicJews readHosea 14:2-10andMicah 7:18-20. The first word of Hosea is “Shuvah” (return) and led to the naming of this Shabbat.
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In God鈥檚 Image
Sep 17, 2021 By Alisa Braun | Commentary | Ha'azinu | Sukkot
What does it mean to be created in God鈥檚 image? Or to act in a God-like way? As I reread Parashat Ha鈥檃zinu, I was struck by the ways Moses鈥檚 song poetically develops God鈥檚 care for the Israelites, and I discovered in the vivid and diverse metaphors the beginnings of an answer. From the opening lines, where God鈥檚 words are likened to varieties of rain, sustaining and giving life to all, to God as an eagle 鈥渨ho rouses his nestlings鈥� and 鈥渂ears them along his pinions鈥� (Deut. 32:11), this God builds up, guides, teaches, and protects. God provides for the Israelites鈥� physical needs with gifts of abundance, nurturing the people with 鈥渉oney from the crag鈥� as a mother nurses her child (Deut. 32:13). The Israelites鈥� lack of gratitude inflames God鈥檚 anger, but God bestows mercy and forgiveness, despite there being no mention of teshuva (repentance). God gives.
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The Poetics of Loss
Sep 25, 2020 By Ofra Arieli Backenroth | Commentary | Ha'azinu
Growing up, books were always present in our house, arranged by topic in large bookshelves. Arieli Press, an Israeli fine arts publishing company, was founded in 1922 by my grandfather, Yosef Arieli (锄鈥漧), a master printer and an author. My father, Ariel Arieli (锄鈥漧), and extended family were all involved in the printing business in some capacity. Printing has been regarded as a way to disseminate knowledge in a democratic way and it has been especially precious to the Jewish people who believed that spreading knowledge is Avodat Kodesh鈥攈oly work, akin to Moshe teaching Torah on Har Sinai.
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This is My Decree
Oct 11, 2019 By Raymond Scheindlin | Commentary | Ha'azinu
After surveying the 40 years of wandering in the desert; after reviewing and expanding the laws that God had given the Israelites during that period; and after repeating the terms of the covenant between God and Israel with its promises of a long and prosperous life in their own land if they fulfill God鈥檚 commands and its threats of impoverishment and expulsion if they fail to fulfill them, Moses now sums up his message in a poem designed to be memorized and recited regularly so that it might easily and reliably be transmitted from generation to generation.
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Our Very Life
Sep 21, 2018 By Lilly Kaufman | Commentary | Ha'azinu
At the end of his life, with Joshua by his side, Moses begins his great, thunderous poem, Ha鈥檃zinu, summoning the heavens and the earth as witnesses to his powerful, angry message, as God commanded him to do in the preceding parashah, Vayelekh. And yet, in a one-verse reshut, a prayerful, wishful intention, preceding the central portion of his sermonic poem, he says he wants his words to land lightly: 鈥淢ay my discourse come down as the rain, my speech distill as the dew, like showers on young growth, like droplets on the grass鈥� (Deut. 32:2). Then suddenly, central angry theme emerges, and he calls the people 鈥渦nworthy of [God], crooked, perverse鈥� (32:5), 鈥渄ull and witless鈥� (32:6).
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