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Parsha Page
by Fred Toczek
A survey of parsha thoughts from Gedolei
Yisroel compiled by Fred Toczek. Perfect for printing and
use at your Shabbos tisch.
HA'AZINU 5757
NEXT PARSHA:
VZOS HABRACHA &
BERESHIS
I. Summary
A. Moshe's discourse.
Moshe commenced this poetic
discourse to the people by invoking the heavens and the
earth as eternal witnesses to his warnings. He contrasted
Hashem's faithfulness and justice with the corrupt ways
of His chosen nation. If the Bnei Yisroel would but
inquire of the older generation, they would be told how
Hashem had selected Israel from among the other nations
and had cared for them in the wilderness, as an eagle
guards it young. However, in later generations, they may
turn to other objects of worship. Consequently, Hashem
promises to repay their lack of appreciation with the
denial of His favor. Both young and old will be ravaged
by disease and the cruelty of the enemy. It will only be
His concern that the enemy should not gloat that will
prevent Israel's complete destruction. Israel should,
therefore, realize that it only through Hashem's
providence that they are able to fight off vastly
superior armies. They should acknowledge that there is
only one G-d whose might and power is complete.
B. Moshe ascends Mt. Nevo. After completing this
address, Moshe was told to ascend Mt. Nevo so that he
would be able to see the Promised Land before he dies.
II. Divrei Torah
A. Lil'mode U'lilamed (Rabbi Mordechai Katz)
The few chasing the many.
In this Parsha, Moshe
reminds the Jews that when they find themselves capable
of defeating a vastly superior army, it is Hashem Who is
responsible for their victory. There have been many
occasions -- including many in Israel's recent history --
in which vastly outnumbered Jews have amazed the world by
overcoming a powerful enemy. These instances serve to
show that Hashem's mighty Hand was the decisive factor.
During the Yom Kippur war, an Israeli paratrooper was
about to parachute into Jerusalem. Snipers were shooting
at the soldiers as they descended, so the paratroopers
had to travel very lightly. The paratrooper assembled his
backpack with great care. He then came upon his Tefillin;
he was about to leave them behind on the plane, when he
reconsidered. "These Tefillin have been with me
wherever I've gone," he thought to himself.
"Perhaps having the words of Hashem with me when I
jump will bring me good fortune." Consequently, he
put the bag into the backpack as well and jumped. The
snipers' fire was there to greet him when he landed. He
managed to scurry to safety and later examined himself
and his belongings. The first thing he removed was his
Tefillin. Immediately, he noticed a bullet hole in his
Tefillin and the bullet lodged in the siddur which had
been in his Tefillin bag! "It's a good thing I
decided to take my Tefillin along," said the
soldier. "If I hadn't, that bullet would have gone
through my bag and into my body."
B. Living Each Week (Rabbi Abraham Twerski)
1. Absorbing spirituality. "Listen, heavens, for I
will speak . . . My teaching shall drop as the
rain." The Rabbi of Kotzk interpreted the Hebrew
text as "listen to heavenliness". A person may
train his ear to distinguish musical notes and tones that
the untrained ear cannot perceive. Similarly, says the
Rabbi of Kotzk, our ears may be so accustomed to hearing
only mundane matters that we are essentially deaf to
spiritual matters. We must train our ears to be receptors
of spirituality.
2. Gratitude for prayer. "When I proclaim the Name
of G-d, give greatness unto G-d." In the prayer of
gratitude which the congregation recites during the
repetition of the Amidah we say, "For which we give
thanks to You, blessed is the G-d of gratitude."
Rabbeinu Asher remarks that we give thanks to G-d for
allowing us to express our gratitude to Him. The Hebrew
word for prayer is "Tefillah," which means
"a bond". When we recite Psalms or other songs
of praise or when we ask G-d to provide for us, we enter
into a relationship with him. Our prayers constitute
communication with Hashem and when we communicate with
Him we stand in a relationship with Him. This
relationship is the most precious thing that a human
being can have, and we should be grateful to G-d for
giving us the opportunity to be close with Him. Prayer is
thus a unique privilege.
C. Parsha Parables (Rabbi Mordechai Kamenetzky)
Last hopes. In this week's Parsha, Moshe composes a
final song for eternity, a highly mystical ballad filled
with allusions to the future and dire predictions that
were unfortunately fulfilled. One verse in particular
reads, "When Hashem will have judged His people, He
shall relent . . . when He sees that the enemy progresses
and no one (feels that they) will be saved or
assisted." The Talmud explains that his verse refers
to the time when Hashem will ultimately redeem Israel and
they will no longer be relentlessly persecuted. The
Talmud asks, "when is that time?" One of the
various answers is derived from this verse:
"Moshiach will not come until the Jews have
abandoned hope of redemption, as it states: He shall
relent . . . when He sees that the enemy progresses and
no one (feels that they) will be saved or assisted."
Rabbi Yaakov Kamenetsky, z'tl asks, "how is it
possible that a prerequisite for the actual deliverance
will be the complete abandonment of a basic tenet of
Judaism -- hope for redemption? The answer is illustrated
by the following story: The Maggid of Czernobel, a great
Chasidic leader, was once approached by a childless woman
who pleaded with him to bless her so that she could
conceive. The Rebbe sighed, "I'm sorry, my dear
child, there is nothing I can do." The woman was
persistent. "You have helped so many others, why
can't you help me?" The Maggid was unyielding.
"I'm sorry, there is absolutely nothing I can
do." The Rebbe's gabai (sexton) looked on in
disbelief; he had never seen the Rebbe so unsympathetic.
"Just wait," said the Rebbe to his gabai,
"all will be clearly understood." The woman
left the Magid's study and went into the foyer to weep.
"Hashem, she cried, "if the Rebbe won't help
me, then You are the only one I can turn to. Please, G-d,
let me have a child!" The door to the study flew
open and the Rebbe appeared with a broad smile on his
face. "Come in, my child," he said warmly.
"I heard your cry. Until now it was evident that you
had misplaced your trust. You had relied solely on a
Rebbe. Yet I have no magical power to grant wishes; I can
only guide you in prayer. One must always put faith in
Hashem. Now that you have realized that He is the one to
ask, then He will be the one to answer." Only when
we realize that redemption is in His hands will Hashem
send us the true redemption.
D. Growth Through Torah (Rabbi Zelig Pliskin)
Hashem always does for you what is in your best
interest. "The Rock His acts are perfect, all of His
Ways are just." The Chofetz Chaim once asked
someone about how things were going for him. "It
wouldn't hurt if things were a bit better," the man
replied. "How can you possibly know that it wouldn't
hurt?" replied the Chofetz Chaim. "Hashem
knows better than you. He is merciful and compassionate.
If He felt it would be good for you for things to be
better, He definitely would have made them better.
Certainly things are good for you the way there
are." Things are not always the way we wish them to
be, but they are always for our good. This awareness will
give you an elevated feeling in your life. You have every
right to try to improve your situation. But whenever you
do all you can to try, and the situation is still not the
way you would wish, work on internalizing the
consciousness that Hashem is doing for you what is in
your best interest.
E. Peninim on the Torah (Rabbi A.L. Scheinbaum)
Faith in Hashem. "A G-d of faithfulness and
without iniquity, just and right is He." Horav Y.
Neiman, z'tl once heard the Chazon Ish, z'tl analogize
perplexing events to a master tailor who takes shears and
cuts up a beautiful piece of fabric. One can be assured
that this is part of the process of creating a beautiful
garment. Only a fool questions the tailor's motives. The
same principle applies to Hashem's actions. We do not
begin to understand His actions nor grasp why He makes
these "incisions". We must realize, however,
that we are merely flesh and blood with a limited level
of understanding. The fact that we do not comprehend
Hashem's actions should in no way diminish our belief in
Him. The aged Rebbe of Yarislav once said that he merited
living to a ripe old age because he never questioned
Hashem. Rather, he accepted everything lovingly. He
remarked that he feared that if he would seek an answer,
Hashem would say to him, "If you don't understand,
just come up to Heaven and I will explain everything to
you." Since he was not quite ready to entertain such
an idea, he never asked questions. May we merit to
achieve the devotion inherent in this profound degree of
faith in Hashem.
NEXT PARSHA:
VZOS HABRACHA &
BERESHIS
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