Parshas Ha'azinu: Moses Delivers a Nation with Poetic Inspiration

God Bless Fathers

While studying our Torah portion this week, Ha'azinu: Devarim (Deuteronomy) 32:1-52, I thought of my Father, may his memory be a blessing. My Dad loved me very much. I know that now and I knew it back in the day when my Father loved me through my unlovable phases. 

I will always be grateful that I matured in time to deepen my relationship with my Father and show him in so many ways how much I loved and appreciated his kindness and patience. He tried beyond what I consider reasonable to prepare me for life. It is because of his hard work and love for his family that I am alive today and writing this.

Moses Sings a Song of Love and Concern

As the Father figure to the Jewish people. Moses is very, very worried about their survivability. Over the past 40 years, their repeated distrust of him and defiance of his authority as God’s ambassador show their chances are slim. He's spent most of the day repeating the blessings and the curses, and writing down the Torah. His hour of death is fast approaching and he must make one more effort to prepare them for the certain dangers ahead. 

As the day closes on his life, Moses takes a few more precious minutes to try again to convey the message he suspects has fallen on deaf ears. Perhaps the people will hear better if the message is put in a poem, so he recites his Song of Moses, 43 lines of love and concern and remonstration and inspiration. He finishes, and God sends him up to Mr Nebo to rest his weary bones. I wish we could all go back in time to hear him sing his poem. It must have been lyrical and powerful and memorable.

David’s Song of Thanksgiving

The Haftorah portion this week, II Shmuel (Samuel) 22:1-51, presents another poetic song, this one thanking God for Divine intervention. A young David sings praises to God for allowing him to escape Saul’s military campaign to locate and murder him. David loves God and serves Him with righteousness, and this is why David believes he is saved from this formidable adversary among his own people.

A Simple Way of Life Made Difficult

As our study of Torah closes, we ought to know the message by now. Life works only when God leads and we follow happily and faithfully. So simple but so difficult. Our history reveals a chronicle of self directed attempts and failures to complicate and circumvent a simple and successful way of being. Invariably. we discover we've make a terrible mess with no way out except to look up to Heaven and call out for help. And Heaven will let us suffer a little bit longer if we aren't done having our own way!

Children are our Future

In Devarim, 32:46-47, Moses reminds us that children are the vital element to our survivability. We pray that God will soon deliver us from adversarial elements within our communities who wage war against our innocent unborn children and our future. Get ready to sing!

“Pay close attention to all the words with which I am warning you this day, in order that you be inspired to command your children to safeguard the Torah’s teachings by studying them diligently, in order to properly do all that is contained in the words of this Torah.

For it is not an unrewarding pursuit for you; rather, it is your very life, and by means of this thing, you will lengthen your days upon the land into which you are crossing over the Jordan River to possess.”

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Cecily Routman 

May there be abundant peace from Heaven, and good life upon us and upon all Israel. Amen.

Cecily Routman is the founder and president of the Jewish Pro-Life Foundation. She opposes abortion homicide in general and among Jews in particular and laments secular policy making in Israel that results in loss of Jewish life and delays the messianic redemption. She envisions a Torah based holy Land of Israel and a world that respects the life of every human being from conception.