“The
story of the Hebrew Bible as a whole…..is of a progressive withdrawal of divine
intervention and the transfer of responsibility to human beings.” – Rabbi Jonathan
Sacks
In this week’s Parasha, Ha’azinu, Devarim (Deuteronomy) 32, Am Yisrael are
about to enter the Promised Land. The desert era is nearing its end, and Moshe
is at death’s door. From now on, they are on their own. Moshe knows them well.
He has experienced their impatience, faithlessness, and dependence on him and,
of course, on G-d. For forty years of wandering in the desert, they have been
provided with food and water. For forty years their complaints were heard and
addressed while they repeatedly demanded to return to Egypt when they lost trust
in G-d.
Moshe, like any great leader, the magnificent teacher that he has
been to them, is, naturally, worried about what lies ahead, a new land with unique and very different circumstances than what they have been used to.
These concerns prompt him to compose his final speech in the form of poetry
which he delivers poignantly, reminding Am Yisrael of their unending Covenant
with G-d. In a passionate fashion he enlists the heaven and earth as his
eternal witnesses, hoping to provide Am Yisrael with the essential means to
complete that hard, yet very important journey upon which they are about to
embark.
There are two vital concepts which Moshe’s poem stresses.
The first is the importance of memory. The second is what Rabbi Sacks refers to
in the quote above as “G-d’s call to responsibility.” Retrospection is a crucial
phase which should precede and eventually lead to accountability.
Moshe reminds Am Yisrael of the eminence of G-d and what He
has done for His People. “Remember the days of old, consider the years of many
generations; ask thy father, and he will declare unto thee, thine elders, and
they will tell you” (32:7). He urges them to recall G-d’s dedication to them, “As
an eagle that stirreh up her nest, hovereth over her young, spreadeth abroad
her wings, taketh them, beareth them on her pinions” (32:11). “Is He not thy
father that hath gotten thee? Hath He not made thee, and established thee?” (32:6)
And this is where accountability enters the equation. Rabbi Sacks echoes Moshe’s
words, “G-d is our father,” says Sacks, “He made us and established us. But
parents,” he adds, “cannot live their children lives.” At some stage, the
umbilical cord that connects them to their parents needs to be cut off and they
need to learn to live on their own. As Rabbi Sacks further suggests, when that
time comes, parents “can only show them, by instruction and love, how to live.”
What, then, is a better way, than the Torah, to instruct Am Yisrael how to live a rewarding life?
Before he steers Am Yisrael to the Torah as the source of
instruction and guidance, Moshe admonishes and warns them against expressing
any future ingratitude to G-d in return for all the good He has done for them. “But
Yeshurun [poetic name for Yisrael] waxed fat, and kicked—thou didst wax fat, thou didst grow
thick, thou didst become gross—and he forsook G-d who made him and contemned
the Rock of his salvation” (32:15).
After a long sequence of the words and terms of the
Covenant, reproof, encouragement and blessing, Moshe concludes his words and directs
Am Yisrael towards the Torah, its laws and moral code, all of which were given
to them, not for G-d’s sake but for their sake. The Torah is the way to enjoy a
good and long life, he reminds them. Following its guidelines will help them in
shaping their own destiny and ensure that they remain free, the fundamental desire of every human being.
“But with freedom comes responsibility,” concludes Rabbi
Sacks.
And that is the ultimate message of Moshe’s final song.
May we all savour the gift of Life and enjoy a meaningful, productive, and
fulfilling life in the coming year and always.
