Addict Torah's Mission: To interrogate Torah deeply so as to create space, connection and safety for people with addictive patterns and behaviors that have led them to a crisis of the spirit to tell and shape their stories for the purpose of healing, growth, and a return to their whole selves.
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(א) הַאֲזִ֥ינוּ הַשָּׁמַ֖יִם וַאֲדַבֵּ֑רָה וְתִשְׁמַ֥ע הָאָ֖רֶץ אִמְרֵי־פִֽי׃
Let the earth hear the words I utter!
Listen to me - you spiritual people whose thoughts are in heaven, and also you down-to-earth people whose concerns are more material. This message is meant for all of you.
R. Jeremiah ben Eleazar said: With everything that was created during the six days of creation, God made certain stipulations, about which Scripture says, "I, even My hands, have stretched out the heavens, and all their host have I commanded' (Isaiah 45:12). I commanded the Red Sea to split apart for Israel; I commanded heaven and earth to be silent before Moses; I commended the sun and the moon to stand still before Joshua; I commanded the ravens to feed Elijah; I commanded the heavens to open before Ezekiel; I commanded the fish to spew out Jonah; I commanded the fire to do no hurt to Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah; I commanded the lions not to harm Daniel.
(ב) יַעֲרֹ֤ף כַּמָּטָר֙ לִקְחִ֔י תִּזַּ֥ל כַּטַּ֖ל אִמְרָתִ֑י כִּשְׂעִירִ֣ם עֲלֵי־דֶ֔שֶׁא וְכִרְבִיבִ֖ים עֲלֵי־עֵֽשֶׂב׃
(2) May my discourse come down as the rain,
My speech distill as the dew,
Like showers on young growth,
Like droplets on the grass.
Showers - "se'irim - appears only here [in the Torah]. It...refers to the rising of rivers or fountains as a source of irrigation."
(1) He states My doctrine shall drop as the rain, for that which he took from the heavens [i.e., the Written Torah] and His commandment upon the earth [i.e., the Oral Torah] shall drop upon Israel and distill upon them like dew.
"My teaching shall drop as the rain" (Deut 32:2). Even as one rain falling on various trees gives to each a special savor in keeping with its species - to the vine the savor of grapes, to the olive tree the savor of olives, to the fig tree the savor of figs - so the words of Torah are one, yet within them are Scripture and Mishnah, Halakhot and Aggadot.
'As the small rain upon the tender grass' (Deut 32:2). As the light rain coming down upon tender blades of grass stirs them up so that they do not become wormy, so must you keep stirring the memory of words of Torah, in order not to forget them. Thus R. Jacob son of R. Hanina said to Rabbi [Judah I, the Patriarch]: Come, let us stir up Halakhot, lest our memory of them become rusty.
(יא) וַיֹּ֣אמֶר אֱלֹהִ֗ים תַּֽדְשֵׁ֤א הָאָ֙רֶץ֙ דֶּ֗שֶׁא עֵ֚שֶׂב מַזְרִ֣יעַ זֶ֔רַע עֵ֣ץ פְּרִ֞י עֹ֤שֶׂה פְּרִי֙ לְמִינ֔וֹ אֲשֶׁ֥ר זַרְעוֹ־ב֖וֹ עַל־הָאָ֑רֶץ וַֽיְהִי־כֵֽן׃ (יב) וַתּוֹצֵ֨א הָאָ֜רֶץ דֶּ֠שֶׁא עֵ֣שֶׂב מַזְרִ֤יעַ זֶ֙רַע֙ לְמִינֵ֔הוּ וְעֵ֧ץ עֹֽשֶׂה־פְּרִ֛י אֲשֶׁ֥ר זַרְעוֹ־ב֖וֹ לְמִינֵ֑הוּ וַיַּ֥רְא אֱלֹהִ֖ים כִּי־טֽוֹב׃
(11) And God said, “Let the earth sprout vegetation: seed-bearing plants, fruit trees of every kind on earth that bear fruit with the seed in it.” And it was so. (12) The earth brought forth vegetation: seed-bearing plants of every kind, and trees of every kind bearing fruit with the seed in it. And God saw that this was good.
Ha'azinu is about closing the circle, about hose echoes of the beginning of the Torah, of the beginning the Creation, about the unending cycle of Torah. As the S'fat Emet says, 'Torah is...a commentary or interpretation of Creation itself.' We live every day with the aftermath of Creation, regardless of our faith. Torah can be a useful guide.
Consider the years of ages past;
Ask your parent, who will inform you,
Your elders, who will tell you:
What the child wishes to forget, the grandchild wishes to remember.
Choosing ancestry is a serious business with major implications.
(י) יִמְצָאֵ֙הוּ֙ בְּאֶ֣רֶץ מִדְבָּ֔ר וּבְתֹ֖הוּ יְלֵ֣ל יְשִׁמֹ֑ן יְסֹבְבֶ֙נְהוּ֙ יְב֣וֹנְנֵ֔הוּ יִצְּרֶ֖נְהוּ כְּאִישׁ֥וֹן עֵינֽוֹ׃ (יא) כְּנֶ֙שֶׁר֙ יָעִ֣יר קִנּ֔וֹ עַל־גּוֹזָלָ֖יו יְרַחֵ֑ף יִפְרֹ֤שׂ כְּנָפָיו֙ יִקָּחֵ֔הוּ יִשָּׂאֵ֖הוּ עַל־אֶבְרָתֽוֹ׃ (יב) יְהֹוָ֖ה בָּדָ֣ד יַנְחֶ֑נּוּ וְאֵ֥ין עִמּ֖וֹ אֵ֥ל נֵכָֽר׃
(10) [God] found them in a desert region,
In an empty howling waste.
[God] engirded them, watched over them,
Guarded them as the pupil of God’s eye. (11)
Like an eagle who rouses its nestlings,
Gliding down to its young,
So did [God] spread wings and take them,
Bear them along on pinions;
(12) יהוה alone did guide them,
No alien god alongside.
(א) בְּרֵאשִׁ֖ית בָּרָ֣א אֱלֹהִ֑ים אֵ֥ת הַשָּׁמַ֖יִם וְאֵ֥ת הָאָֽרֶץ׃ (ב) וְהָאָ֗רֶץ הָיְתָ֥ה תֹ֙הוּ֙ וָבֹ֔הוּ וְחֹ֖שֶׁךְ עַל־פְּנֵ֣י תְה֑וֹם וְר֣וּחַ אֱלֹהִ֔ים מְרַחֶ֖פֶת עַל־פְּנֵ֥י הַמָּֽיִם׃
(1) When God began to create heaven and earth— (2) the earth being unformed and void, with darkness over the surface of the deep and a wind from God sweeping over the water—
What was the reason that Moses did not mention here the departure from Egypt which was the first kindness which the Jewish people received from God, prior to their entering the wilderness? When then did he begin with the wilderness? How could he say that He found them in the wilderness when He really had found them in Egypt and there called His name on them?
(15) So Jeshurun grew fat and kicked—
You grew fat and gross and coarse —
They forsook the God who made them
And spurned the Rock of their support. (16)
They incensed [God] with alien things,
Vexed [God] with abominations.
(17) They sacrificed to demons, no-gods,
Gods they had never known,
New ones, who came but lately,
Who stirred not your forebears’ fears.
(18) You neglected the Rock who begot you,
Forgot the God who labored to bring you
forth.
God will bless Israel with a measure of prosperity, and that prosperity will lead them to become arrogant and to neglect God. When individuals or nations become wealthy, they are often tempted to celebrate their material wealth at the expense of their spiritual development, focusing on what they do well and abandoning what may be more challenging.
(יט) וַיַּ֥רְא יְהֹוָ֖ה וַיִּנְאָ֑ץ מִכַּ֥עַס בָּנָ֖יו וּבְנֹתָֽיו׃ (כ) וַיֹּ֗אמֶר אַסְתִּ֤ירָה פָנַי֙ מֵהֶ֔ם אֶרְאֶ֖ה מָ֣ה אַחֲרִיתָ֑ם כִּ֣י ד֤וֹר תַּהְפֻּכֹת֙ הֵ֔מָּה בָּנִ֖ים לֹא־אֵמֻ֥ן בָּֽם׃
(19) יהוה saw and was vexed
And spurned these sons and daughters. (20)
[God] said: I will hide My countenance from them,
And see how they fare in the end.
For they are a treacherous breed,
Children with no loyalty in them.
(32) Ah! The vine for them is from Sodom,
From the vineyards of Gomorrah;
The grapes for them are poison,
A bitter growth their clusters. (33) Their wine
is the venom of asps,
The pitiless poison of vipers.
(34) Lo, I have it all put away,
Sealed up in My storehouses,
(35) To be My vengeance and recompense,
At the time that their foot falters.
Yea, their day of disaster is near,
And destiny rushes upon them.
What kind of tree did Adam and Eve eat of?...Adam ate grapes, according to R. Judah bar Ilai, for Scripture says, "Grapes of gall, they have clusters of bitterness" (Deut. 32:32) - those grape clusters brought bitterness into the world.
Perhaps parashat Haazinu can be seen as an invitation for us to act like Abraham and protest against what seems to be an indiscriminate, wholesale destruction. It is an opportunity to raise questions such as Where is Your compassion, God, not only toward us but toward all of Your creation? Why frighten us with your threats? Will such threats make us abandon other deities or, just as likely, will they lead us to reject You? Such questions express what it means to be covenantal partners, willing to challenge God. Thus, beyond protesting against what we now deem unacceptable, this parashah can prompt us to examine who we mean by God. It also can remind us of what is required in order to create a just society and uphold a covenantal relationship.
(44) Moses came, together with Hosea son of Nun, and recited all the words of this poem in the hearing of the people. (45) And when Moses finished reciting all these words to all Israel, (46) he said to them: Take to heart all the words with which I have warned you this day. Enjoin them upon your children, that they may observe faithfully all the terms of this Teaching. (47) For this is not a trifling thing for you: it is your very life; through it you shall long endure on the land that you are to possess upon crossing the Jordan.
It happened that Rebbi Yeshebab went and let his entire property be distributed to the poor. Rabban Gamliel sent to him: Did they not say one fifth of one’s property for good deeds? And was not Rabban Gamliel before Usha? Rebbi Yose ben Rebbi Abun, Rebbi Levi: That was the current practice, they forgot it, but the later ones got up and agreed to the opinion of the earlier ones, to teach you that everything the Court insists on will come to be in the end, just as Moses was told on Sinai; as Rebbi Mana said (Deut. 32:47): “For it is not an empty word, from you,” if it is empty it is from you because you do not exert yourself about it. “Because it is your life,” when is it your life? At the time that you exert yourself!
רִבִּי מָנָא שָׁמַע כּוּלְהוֹן מִן הָדֵין קְרָיָא כִּי לֹא דָּבָר רֵק הוּא מִכֶּם זֶה תַלְמוּד תּוֹרָה. כִּי הִיא חַיֵּיכֶם זֶה כִיבּוּד אָב וְאֵם. וּבַדָּבָר הַזֶּה תַּאֲרִיכוּ יָמִים זוּ גְמִילוּת חֲסָדִים. עַל הָאֲדָמָה זֶה הֲבָאַת שָׁלוֹם בֵּין אָדָם לַחֲבֵירוֹ.
Rebbi Mana understood all of them from this verse (Deut. 32:47): “Because it is not an empty word from you,” that is the study of Torah, “because it is your life,” that is honoring father and mother, “and by this you will have a long life,” that are works of kindness, “on the earth,” that is making peace between men.
(א) כי לא דבר רק הוא מכם - אין לך דבר ריקם בתורה, שאם תדרשנו שאין בו מתן שכר בעולם הזה, והקרן קיימת לו לעולם הבא.
(1) (Devarim 32:47) "For it is not an empty thing for you; for it is your life, and by this thing you shall prolong days": There is nothing empty in the Torah, for which, if you fulfill it, you will not be rewarded in this world, with the principal remaining for the world to come.
"For it is not an empty thing for you, for it is your life, etc." R. Shimon b. Yochai says: An analogy: Two brothers are counting money after their father's (death). One exchanges a dinar (for food) and eats it; the other exchanges it and sets (the exchange) aside. The first remains with nothing; the other, after some time, finds himself wealthy. Thus with a Torah scholar: If he learns two or three things a day, two or three chapters a week, two or three sections a month, after some time he finds himself "wealthy." Of such a one it is written (Proverbs 13:11) "… That (treasure) gathered with the hand will increase." And if one says "Today I will study (Torah)"; "Tomorrow I will study"; "Today I will learn (Mishnah)"; "Tomorrow I will learn," in the end he remains with nothing.