Deuteronomy 32:1-52 | 2 Samuel 22:1-51 | Romans 15:7-13

This week's edition of The Set Table contains:

Questions and Commentary on Shabbat Ha'azinu
Chayyei Yeshua - A Devotional Commentary on the Besora Reading
Looking Ahead

Questions & Commentary on Parashat Ha'azinu

1. There are only two actions according to the Torah that always warrant a blessing. What are they (see Deuteronomy 32:3 and 8:10)? What is the connection between the two? What spiritual lessons does this relationship teach us?

Rabbi Jason Sobel

In the classic Jewish musical Fiddler on the Roof, the town rabbi is inquisitively asked, "Is there a blessing for the czar?" The rabbi responds by saying, "In Judaism there is a blessing for everything." He pauses to ponder for a moment and then humorously responds, "May God bless the czar . . . and keep him far away from us." Although in reality there is no such blessing, the rabbi was correct; there is a blessing for just about everything in Judaism. There are blessings for waking up in the morning, for going to bed at night, for seeing an amazing sight, for wearing a new garment, for traveling, for going to the bathroom, for performing most mitzvot (commandments), and for almost every other situation and experience in life. In fact, our sages instruct us to say a minimum of a hundred blessings a day (b. Menachot 43b). The primary purpose of these blessings is to help Jews perceive God in all things and thankfully acknowledge God.

Despite the fact that these berakhot can be spiritually beneficial, they were instituted by our rabbis and not directly commanded by God.  There are however two exceptions. The first is found in parashat Eikev, "When you have eaten and are full, then you shall bless the LORD your God for the good land which he has given you" (Deuteronomy 8:10). Based upon this verse Jewish people recite the blessings of Birkat Hammaazon, the Grace after the Meal.   

The second is found in this week's parasha: Ki Shem Hashem ekra, havu godel L'Elokeinu - "When I proclaim the name of the Lord, ascribe greatness to our God." Based upon this verse of Torah, the Talmud deduces that we are obligated to recite a blessing before the reading of Torah (b. Berakhot 21a). This view finds biblical support from the actions of Ezra who pronounced a blessing before the public reading of the Torah and alludes to this verse by calling Hashem, the great God:

So Ezra the priest brought the Torah before the assembly . . . on the first day of the seventh month. Then he read from it in the open square . . . So Ezra the scribe stood on a platform of wood which they had made for this purpose . . . And Ezra opened the book in the sight of all the people  . . . And Ezra blessed the LORD, the great God. Then all the people answered, "Amen, Amen!"

Nehemiah 8:2-6

By reciting a blessing before the reading of the Torah we, like Ezra, fulfill the obligation found in this verse to ascribe greatness to our God.

But what is the relationship between these two acts? Why are these the only two occasions for which the Torah clearly mandates a blessing? The connection between these two acts is sustenance. In Pirkei Avot 3:21 we read, "If there is no flour, there is no Torah; if there is no Torah, there is no flour." Without God's provision of food we would not have physical strength needed to diligently study Scripture and serve the Lord.

On the other hand, a person is not just a material being but a spiritual one as well. The soul of a person cannot be nourished and grow apart from the spiritual sustenance provide by the Word of God. This is lucidly communicated to us by both the Torah and Yeshua' actions:

God humbled you, causing you to hunger and then feeding you with manna, which neither you nor your ancestors had known, to teach you that man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the LORD.

Deuteronomy 8:3

The tempter came to him and said, "If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread." Jesus answered, "It is written: ‘Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God."

Matthew 4:3-4

Although most of us rarely miss a meal, we all too frequently pass up the opportunity to study Torah and Brit Chadasha. Without bread people die physically, but when there is a famine for God's Word, people die spiritually.

It is critical to note that God cares about both our material and spiritual well-being. Thus Yeshua Rabbeinu not only taught Torah to the people but also fed, helped, and healed them as well. This is an essential point to remember as we read the Haftara reading for Yom Kippur that talks about the type of fast that God desires (Isaiah 57:14-58:14). 

We must also remember that Israel's physical welfare and sustenance are in large part dependent upon their faithful study and practice of the Torah. When Israel fails to obey God and God's commandments not only is there "no flour" but ultimately she is expelled from her homeland. Thus the Torah singled out the two most basic necessities of human life and required a blessing for both in order to demonstrate the importance and inter-relationship and inter-dependence of both.

2. How does this week's parasha bring together communication, obligation, and Moses' song?

Joshua Brumbach

The Hebrew word Ha'azinu means "listen." It is a command to pay attention to the words of the song Moses recounts to the Jewish people before his death. 

The verbs to "listen," "hear," and "pay attention to" are used many times, and conjugated in many different ways throughout the Torah, emphasizing the imperative to take the message seriously. It is also a beacon to delve into the words to hear what is not directly on the surface. It is a call to ask, "What is God really trying to say to me?" 

All of us hear many things on a daily basis. However, how often are we truly listening? In any kind of relationship, whether it is a friendship or romantic relationship, there are often moments of miscommunication and lack of true understanding. This is often because we are not intently listening. We are often not paying attention to the subtle nuances or to what is actually being communicated without being said (the non-verbal communication). Due to so many distractions, we often let things go in one ear and out the other. 

That is what God is warning the Jewish people against through the song in this week's parasha. Moses is pleading with the Jewish people not to stray from God, to listen to God's instructions, and do all he commands us. For it is vital that we not only heed the message of God, but that we must be careful to also put the words into practice. And not just for us, but for our children and all future generations to come. As this week's parasha states:

Take to heart the words of my testimony against you today, so that you can us them in charging your children to be careful to obey all the words of this Torah. For this is not a trivial matter for you; on the contrary, it is your life!

Deuteronomy 32:46-47

The role of the Jewish people is the responsibility of Kiddush HaShem - to sanctify the Name of God.  This is what Moses is charged with not doing at the end of Ha'azinu! We must be careful to listen to the warning, to take heed not to stray from God's commands, and to teach our children to follow God's Torah.

Romans 15:7-13 - The Common Story

Jen Rosner

The In Romans 14 and 15, Paul addresses the issue of unity within the people of God. He elaborates on specific differences that may cause division and dissension and exhorts his hearers to navigate through such differences in a way that preserves love and unity in the midst of diversity and divergent convictions.

In our passage, Paul broadens his scope, moving outward from specific differences to the larger landscape within which these differences exist. It is here that Paul reminds his hearers of the narrative in which they all live, a narrative whose fundamental contours serve as the umbrella identity of the people of God. What is this narrative within which each member of Paul's audience - and each of us today - finds our own individual narratives?

Paul references four Tanakh texts, all containing the same core message and theme. The first two passages come from this week's Torah and Haftara portions respectively. In Deuteronomy 32, we read of Moses' song to the whole assembly of Israel. The song tells the story of God's kindness and tenderness toward Israel and Israel's unfaithfulness toward God. Moses' song ends with the promise of redemption, the assurance that somehow God's favor will triumph over his wrath. After God has shown that he alone is the God of life and death, he promises to make atonement for his land and his people. Verse 43 declares that the nations too are called to rally around this restoration.

2 Samuel 22 recounts a similar song - David's song of deliverance from the hand of his enemies and from Saul. The blessing of God's favor and salvation is threatened, and David is overwhelmed by adversaries and deep darkness. But the Lord delivers David, and David declares the goodness of God and all his ways. David too remarks that this mighty work of God will be declared among the nations, indicating that its ultimate scope points beyond its immediate recipients.

Paul's message confirms the story told by Moses and David, and Yeshua's work embodies the pattern we see throughout the Tanakh: darkness followed by light, judgment followed by grace, exile followed by return. Paul reminds his hearers that Israel's story is not for Israel's sake alone, "For I tell you that Christ has become a servant of the Jews on behalf of God's truth, to confirm the promises made to the patriarchs so that the Gentiles may glorify God for his mercy" (vv. 8-9).

In Romans 15, we discover that the foundation for unity is this common story. It is the story of human failing and divine forgiveness, of human inadequacy and divine atonement. It is the story with which Israel has always been familiar, and it has been the story of the nations for the past two millennia. It is the story that shapes each member of the people of God.

Paul does not call for the abolishment of difference between the "weak" and the "strong" but instead calls each to remember that it is under the arch of the same story that they all exist. This story - within which each person's individual story is found - forms the bedrock of covenant relationship with God. It is on the basis of this common story that Paul's exhortation to unity can be lived out. May we learn evermore how to embody this story, and how to enact the peace and unity that it enables.

NEXT WEEK'S READINGS - PARASHAT SUKKOT