Hashem Never Lets Go

By Rabbi Moshe Krieger, Yeshivas Bircas HaTorah (www.bircas.org)

Parashas Ha’azinu contains Moshe Rabbeinu’s parting message to the Jewish people—the song Ha’azinu. This was a landmark event, intended to take up a permanent place in the Jewish national consciousness. However, the words of this song seem to have a decidedly negative tone. The verses speak in depth about the Jewish people rebelling and abandoning the Torah. Each time they transgress, they receive punishment. This pattern is projected to occur until the era of Mashiach. Is such a topic appropriate for a song?

The Ramban writes that Ha’azinu’s primary message is that Hashem’s relationship with us will never cease. Despite all the suffering throughout Jewish history, our relationship with Hashem has endured. He loves us, and our connection to Him will last until the end of time. Even though it seems that Hashem had rejected His people when they rejected Him, it doesn’t mean the end of the relationship, G-d forbid. Even punishments are expressions of His love for us, for He cannot let us live empty lives devoid of a relationship with Him, disappearing into spiritual oblivion. The story of Jewish history is not the story of Hashem’s abandonment, but rather the story of how Hashem will do anything to remind us of our relationship, even if it seems cruel to us. This is what makes Ha’azinu a song, and the message that we live with.

Similarly, in the month of Elul we focus on this relationship. The Mishnah Berurah states (581: introduction) that ever since the era of the desert wanderings, the forty-day period from Rosh Chodesh Elul until Yom Kippur has been a time of Divine favor. The first year in the desert, the Jewish people used those days to repent for the sin of the Golden Calf. They prepared themselves to receive the second tablets and renew their relationship with Hashem. That first year set a precedent that we have been following ever since, using this time to make amends for past misdeeds and work on our relationship with Hashem.

The word “Elul” itself is an acronym for “I am to my Beloved and my Beloved is to me,” (a paraphrase of Shir HaShirim 2:16) which describes our relationship with Hashem. The opportunity to correct ourselves in Elul brings us closer to Hashem. The Rambam (Hilchos Teshuvah 7:7) states that teshuvah brings us tremendous closeness to Hashem, as a person in a state of sin is separated from Him. When we use Elul to bring ourselves to repent, we can cling to the Shechinah once again.

From the beginning of Elul until Shemini Atzeres, we recite chapter twenty-seven in Tehillim twice daily. In it, David HaMelech declares (verse 4), “One thing I have asked from Hashem . . . to dwell in the house of Hashem all of the days of my life.” Was that all that David HaMelech needed? Surely he had other needs. After all, he was responsible for the welfare of the entire nation, and he fought its wars. Moreover, later on he did ask (ibid., verses 5–6) for salvation from the Jewish nation’s enemies. It is obvious that he felt the need to daven for other things. Why, then, did he refer to his request to dwell in Hashem’s home as his only need?

The Malbim explains that though he indeed had other needs, all he ever wanted was to get back to the house of study. The purpose of the battles that he fought was only to gain the peace and tranquility needed for studying Torah. All that really mattered to David was his relationship with Hashem. He treated everything else as a means to this end.

We can learn from David HaMelech that the main focus of our lives should be our service of Hashem. Yes, we all have responsibilities in life which we must fulfill. Still, nothing should distract us from our real mission.

Rav Avigdor Miller would suggest that people take on small things in order to get closer to Hashem. Just like small deeds can go far in deepening the marriage relationship, so too numerous small efforts made with the intent of getting closer strengthen our love for Him. For example, Rav Miller suggested that one enunciate “I love you, Hashem” once a day, or sit on the floor for a moment to think about the destruction of Yerushalayim. He would carry orange or apple seeds in his pocket and feel them every so often to remind himself of Hashem’s kindness.

Rav Miller recommends that we declare before eating, “I am eating now so that I will have the energy to serve Hashem.” He also advises that we do acts of kindness that no one else knows about, once a day. He would say that greeting a person with a big smile and considering that they were created in the image of Hashem can help us grow tremendously.

Even though these seem like insignificant activities, Rav Miller taught that when we take little things upon ourselves and aspire to gain closeness with Hashem, we are building a true relationship. Little by little, we will come closer to Hashem!

May we be zocheh to strengthen our relationship with Hashem!

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