Ha'azinu: A New Song in a New Year

The High Holy Days are now behind us; Sukkot and Simchat Torah are right around the corner. This week we read the penultimate portion in our Torah before we begin the cycle of yearly reading anew. While we have already entered a new year, the Torah reading cycle, in its infinite wisdom, gives us a two week warm up in the new year that allows us to really feel that we are in a new chapter before bringing us back to the beginning again. 

The final portions of the Torah are all about Moses. In Haazinu, this week’s portion, we encounter a Moses who has led the Israelites for 40 years. He is aging, 120 years old according to the text, yet his eyes are undimmed and his vigor is unabated. And while his strength has not ebbed, God has made it clear to him that his time as leader of this nation has come to an end. A new start in a new land demands new leadership. 

So Moses must bid farewell to his people. He does so in several different ways: he recalls and retells their incredible journey together; he reminds them of the great collection of laws they received from God; he offers them words of encouragement that all will be well even when he is gone. 

But how to conclude? What is Moses’ final piece of wisdom that he wants to pass on to the Israelites? It might be expected that Moses - the great receiver and transmitter of the Law - would have spent his last words on the precepts and laws that the Israelites must keep. But he chooses differently. 

Parashat Haazinu is, primarily, Moses singing to his people. One of only four instances of poetry and song found in the Torah, it feels more than a bit out of character for Moses to communicate with the Israelites in this way. From the outset Moses made it known that he was not a man of many words, even asking God to make sure his brother Aaron would be there to speak on his behalf. 

Decades later, Moses chooses to sing a farewell song to his people. Why does he make this choice? Moses understood, in his great wisdom, that music and poetry are remembered in a way that prose often is not. Consider for just a moment: how many of you or your children have been humming or singing the melodies of the incredible music of the High Holy Days that we just celebrated together? 

Just as we recall melodies long after words are forgotten, Moses wanted to be sure that Torah and its values were etched deep in the Israelite soul before he left them. Our Torah portion this week is a beautiful reminder that Judaism is not just about laws; it is about rhythms of time; it is about song; it is about emotional memory. Torah - everything that our tradition contains - should be sung, not just studied.

May we all be blessed to sing the story and songs of our people many times in this new year together. 

Shabbat Shalom!