Past and Prologue

Haazinu

Deut. 32:1-52

Précis: The parasha, the shortest in the Five Books, containing only 52 verses, begins with the “Song of Moses,” a hymn sung by Moses within sight of the Promised Land. The song contrasts God’s fidelity with the faithlessness of the People, and the need of the People to learn from their history under God’s care. Moses predicts that Israel’s enemies will be overcome. He is told to climb a mountain to see the Promised Land he will not to enter, as he prepares for his death. This is the last parasha read on Shabbat in the annual cycle: the final parasha (V’zot Habracha) is read traditionally on Simchat Torah.

Deut. 32:1 “Give ear, skies, so that I may speak and let the earth hear what my mouth says.”

             We usually read this parasha with a feeling of pity for Moses, whose dreams of leading the People into the Land of Israel are ended, and we connect with his evident disappointment when he is limited to looking where he will not go. Rabbi Kerry Olitzky has offered (MyJewishLearning.com, 9/22/15)  a markedly different interpretation of Moses’ last days. He finds this week’s reading contains a subtle difference from the usual way the parasha is viewed.

            He notes that Moses will not be allowed to enter, primarily because of his disobedience when he angrily struck the rock for water (Num. 20: 2-13). However, Moses is allowed to see the future from atop Mt. Nebo, a privilege no one else is given. Olitzky ponders whether this is indeed a punishment, or rather a precious gift: Moses is able to “see” that his work has succeeded. Unlike those of us who have recently contemplated our mortality for the coming years, Moses is assured that although his life will end, his purpose in life has succeeded.

            Moses’ last song teaches another important lesson: the past is never to be forgotten, even when terrible. The past has been a step towards where we have come and to where we will go. Moses devoted more than 40 years of his life to the Exodus and the travails of the Wilderness. Olitzky suggests that reaching the Promised Land was the goal, and that the Torah would not have provided so much detail about the journey if it was not also important.

            Those of us who are continuing the Jewish journey should “give ear” to the past, while we look towards the future of the Jewish People.