Photo courtesy of Chabad.org
A WEEKLY TORAH THOUGHT BY RABBI MORDY
This week is the last Parsha classically read in the Torah. It’s actually the second to last Parsha in the Torah but we read Sukkot-themed readings throughout the holiday until Simchat Torah, which falls a week from Wednesday, on which we read the final Parsha and conclude the Torah. I’ll save my thoughts on that for next week. But this week we read the Parsha, Haazinu, which means to “listen,” and the entire Parsha is a song composed by Moses in his final days on this earth. There is much commentary on this Parsha but let’s focus on the word Haazinu, the first word in the Parsha. The first verse states: Listen, O heavens, and I will speak! And let the earth hear the words of my mouth! Just this verse alone tells us so much, and especially at this time of year. There are two verbs used in this verse to describe basically the same thing; “listen” and “hear.” Why the discrepancy? G-d is naturally more comfortable in the spiritual realms and therefore expects more of the heavens (“to listen”) than the more removed earth (“to hear”). So what is the difference? Everything that passes through our ears, we hear. So much information, be it a commercial on TV, background music in a store, or just conversations going on within earshot (assuming we’re not eavesdropping) are things we hear regularly but which don’t impact us one way or another. And then there are things we listen to—something we know we’ll be grilled on later, a class, a recommended podcast, a good song or anything we choose to properly process and internalize. But how many things are we supposed to be listening to when we really are just hearing? How often is a child speaking to a parent who is mid-email and therefore is just hearing the comment or question? For that matter, how much around us is just heard but not properly analyzed in a way that makes an impression? The Baal Shem Tov, the founder of the Chassidic movement, teaches that everything we see and hear provides a potential lesson in our divine service; this is the deeper lesson of the Parsha. Especially now, when we are surrounded with the potent spiritual energy of the holidays, we need to be attuned to that energy and ensure that it impacts us (and our families!) for good. We hear these days as just days on the calendar—albeit with more food—or we can truly listen in a way that leaves us inspired and energized for the whole year. May we internalize all of these moments and may the holiday of Sukkot bring us and the whole world true joy, beyond our wildest dreams! Good Shabbos!
