Parashat HaShavua - Haazinu
Ha’Azinu: Listen. The first word of this week’s parasha is not coincidentally placed between Yamim Noraim and Sukkot, between the drama of our holiest days and a week-long celebration.
“Listen, heavens, and I will speak; let the earth hear the words of my mouth. (Deut. 32:1) /
הַֽאֲזִ֥ינוּ הַשָּׁמַ֖יִם וַֽאֲדַבֵּ֑רָה וְתִשְׁמַ֥ע הָאָ֖רֶץ אִמְרֵי־פִֽי.״
With this formulation, Moshe is calling upon angels in the heavens and people on earth to listen, according to Ibn Ezra. We are being instructed, says Malbim, “to lean in our ear and pay abundant attention / להטות האוזן להקשיב ברב קשב.” Moshe, especially as he is about to die, wants to be assured that his words are heard by all.
This phrase “the words of my mouth / אִמְרֵי־פִֽי” is also found in Psalms:
“May the sayings of my mouth and the meditations of my heart be acceptable before You, Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer / יִֽהְי֥וּ לְרָצ֨וֹן | אִמְרֵי־פִ֡י וְהֶגְי֣וֹן לִבִּ֣י לְפָנֶ֑יךָ יְ֜הֹוָ֗ה צוּרִ֥י וְגֹֽאֲלִֽי.” (Ps. 19:15)
Rabbi Samson Rafael Hirsch, in his commentary on that verse, quotes a Midrash that explains what is meant by King David: “May my songs be composed for the benefit of future generations and may they be preserved for them. Let them not be read like ordinary poetry, but let them be studied with the same rewarding reflection as are the most weighty parts of religious law.” This sentiment can be applied to our context as well to teach that genuine listening - abundant attention, as the Malbim says - entails showing the utmost respect for what one hears.
Finally, one is reminded here not only of the importance of listening to those who are easily audible, but to those who are less so as well. As Susan Cain pointedly explains, there is “zero correlation between being the best talker and having the best ideas,” but unfortunately all too often we value the former more than the latter. A story from the Torah reading of Rosh Hashanah offers an example of what it means to hear those who are less audible: when Avraham and Sarah tragically and egregiously - and ironically, considering who they were - evict Hagar and Ishmael, the Torah tells us that Hagar “raised her voice and wept.” (Gen. 21:16) Immediately following in the next verse, we are told,
“God heard the lad's voice, and an angel of God called to Hagar from heaven, and said to her: ‘What is troubling you, Hagar? Fear not, for God has heard the lad's voice in the place where he is’ /
וַיִּשְׁמַ֣ע אֱלֹהִים֘ אֶת־ק֣וֹל הַנַּ֒עַר֒ וַיִּקְרָא֩ מַלְאַ֨ךְ אֱלֹהִ֤ים | אֶל־הָגָר֙ מִן־הַשָּׁמַ֔יִם וַיֹּ֥אמֶר לָ֖הּ מַה־לָּ֣ךְ הָגָ֑ר אַל־תִּ֣ירְאִ֔י כִּֽי־שָׁמַ֧ע אֱלֹהִ֛ים אֶל־ק֥וֹל הַנַּ֖עַר בַּֽאֲשֶׁ֥ר הוּא־שָֽׁם:"
God heard in Hagar’s cry the cry of Ishmael as well, even though he hadn’t made a sound!
May we pause this Shabbat between Yamim Noraim and Sukkot to enjoy some quiet, and to remember how important it is to listen, to those who make themselves heard and even to those who do not.
Wishing everyone a Shabbat Shalom and a Chag Sukkot Sameach!
Rabbi Jack Nahmod
Middle School Judaic Studies Head
Rabbinic Advisor