פרשת האזינו
In this week’s parsha, Moshe Rabbeinu shares the song of Haazinu with the Jewish people. This song was intended to be a central part of Jewish heritage and is noteworthy as one of the final events before the conclusion of the Torah. Indeed, this song became popularized in the nation at the time and certainly it was a song that was meant to be known by every Jewish person as Moshe’s parting message. However, if one looks at the “lyrics” contained in parshas Haazinu, it doesn’t seem to contain subject matter worth singing about. The “song” of Haazinu goes into depth about how the Jewish people have and will inevitably abandon the Torah. Each time the Jewish people transgress, they receive severe punishment, becoming victims to unparalleled atrocities. Even from the time of the Exodus of Egypt, this has been the prototypical pattern throughout Jewish history, and is projected to recur until the days of Moshiach. Is this really subject matter that is appropriate to sing about?
The Ramban reveals that the primary message of this week’s parsha is that Hashem has a relationship with us that will never cease. Despite the suffering throughout Jewish history, it is important for every Jew to know that our relationship with Hashem has never ended. Hashem loves us deeply and we are very close to Him. We are His people, and our connection to Him will endure until the end of time. Even though the Jewish people may seem to be rejected by Hashem in return for their own rejection of Him, that doesn’t mean that the relationship has been broken. In truth, even Hashem’s punishments are expressions of His love for us. He can’t let us live empty lives devoid of Torah and disappear into spiritual oblivion. The story of Jewish history is not the story of G-d abandoning His people, Has V’Shalom. It is the story of how G-d will do anything to remind us of the relationship, even if that means being very tough on us. This is what makes Haazinu our song. It’s all about the relationship. This is what needs to be in the center of every Jewish heart.
During Elul we need to focus more especially on deepening the relationship. The Mishna Brura writes at the beginning of Hilchos Rosh Hashana that from the days that the Jewish people were in the desert, the 40 days from Rosh Chodesh Elul until Yom Kippur have been a time of Divine Favor. At that time, the Jewish people used these 40 days to repent for the sin of the golden calf and prepared themselves for the receiving of the second tablets, renewing their relationship with Hashem. Elul itself is an acronym for “I am to my Beloved and my Beloved is to me.” Elul is a time that presents us with the incredible opportunity to really fix ourselves and come close to Hashem. The Rambam exclaims in Hilchos Teshuva 7:7 that teshuva itself brings us tremendous closeness to Hashem. Before teshuva, when a person persists in a state of sin, he is actually separated from Hashem. However, if we use Elul to bring ourselves to a true teshuva, we can actually “cling” to the Shechina, so to speak. The Rambam says that when one does teshuva, Hashem loves him so much that He even has a passion for his mitzvos! In a similar spirit, I would suggest that we should also take advantage of this time to look for small ways in which we can better or add onto our avodas Hashem. Even the little things can mean a lot if we do so with the intention of bettering the relationship. We’re showing Hashem we care.
From the beginning of Elul until Shemini Atzeres we say Tehillim kapittel 27 in which we echo the declaration of Dovid HaMelech: “Only one thing I asked from Hashem… To sit in the House of Hashem all the days of my life…” The Malbim explains that of course Dovid HaMelech had other needs in life as well. Besides Dovid’s own personal needs, he was also the leader of a nation, responsible for the welfare of the people and fighting the country’s wars. However, all that really mattered to Dovid HaMelech was his relationship with Hashem. All he really wanted to do was to get back to the Beis Midrash. It just happens to be that he needed peace and tranquility in order to allow him to reach this goal. However, the real truth was that the only thing Dovid really wanted was to get close to Hashem. Everything else in life was just a means to this endeavor. We should learn from Dovid HaMelech that although it may be true that we all have responsibilities and needs in life, we can’t let that distract us from what our real mission is. We should only want one thing in life and that is just to get closer to Hashem.
Rav Avigdor Miller was known as one of the greatest of the baalei mussar in America. He wrote many books and taught many shiurim focusing on the perfecting of avodas Hashem and growing closer to G-d. However, many of Rav Miller’s talmidim recall that one of the most novel things about their Rebbe was the simplicity in which enabled others to reach greatness. Rav Miller’s primary technique to spiritual growth was not accepting upon one’s self a difficult undertaking, but rather a fairly easy one. For instance, Rav Miller told his talmidim that if they wanted to become great they should say “I love Hashem” once a day. Rav Miller also advised his talmidim to try to do one act of chesed for somebody that no one else will know about. Rav Miller also said that just by greeting a person with a big smile and thinking about how they are created in the image of G-d, can also help a person grow tremendously. Before eating, Rav Miller recommended that one should declare “I am eating right now leshem shamayim so I can serve Hashem.” Even though these may seem like small and nearly insignificant activities, Rav Miller taught that when a person takes upon himself little things and aspires to act in the elevated way that Hashem wants him to act; he is really building a true relationship. Little by little, he is getting closer and closer to Hashem and deepening the relationship.
May we all be zoche to strengthen our relationship with Hashem this year!!!