A thought on פרשת האזינו
"...Tzur yolad'ta teshi...v'tishkach El mechollelecha...
"...you ignored the One who brought you to life...forgot the Lord who formed you"
...astira Ponai me'hem...banim lo emun bam..."
"... I will conceal my Presence from them... children lacking a Guide..." (32:18,20)
The Song of Ha'azinu depicts the events which will befall our nation in exile after exile. HaShem forecasts for us our straying, our defiance and the reciprocal dimming of our sense of His Presence.
The Recanati explains how symbiotic and reciprocal interactions below and Above develop, based on these verses. The first words tell us that in the same way that our devotion to HaShem can impart a "strengthening of His majesty" as it says, "v'atoh yigdal na koach HaShem" - and now let us strengthen HaShem's might - (BaMidbar 14:17), so too can our ignoring Him lead to a lack of that sense of His might. The word teshi here, opines the Recanati, comes from the expression tosh koach, weakening the strength. In turn, our verses later word, v'tishkach, rather than meaning "you forgot", really hints at v'tosh koach - you weakened the sense that HaShem was the One who formed you.
When our ignoring HaShem leads to that diminution of our sense of His Presence, this is not a local phenomenon. The entire world loses touch with Him. We and the nations of the world obscure mention of Him, and forget Him. This is what the second verse says: Once HaShem's Presence is overlooked by us, when we no longer believe that He is our Guide and Source (when we have become banim lo emun bam, where the word emun means the One Who Guides and Cares for us), then astira Ponai me'hem, the Divine Presence in fact "hides" from us.
This is the reciprocal effect of a Jew's losing touch with spiritual values. As that sense weakens, its value begins to fade in him, in others and across the globe. Then we begin complaining that HaShem is "nowhere to be found" which is, experientially, somewhat true since He is not in our personal midst or part of our consciousness. That is when we start to function without drawing on His Torah as our internal guide. This, in turn, further distances us from that sense of the Above.
So, the Recanati explains, the verses should be read as, "you weaken the sense of HaShem being near when you weaken your commitment to Him. He seems hidden at those times, which correlate with the times that you stop adhering to His ways."
Perhaps this coming Shabbos, fueled by our uplifting surge of consciousness of HaShem as a product of Yom Kippur, we can reverse that process. Perhaps we can empower our selves to "empower" HaShem's might and majesty among us and throughout the world.
Good Shabbos. D Fox
"...you ignored the One who brought you to life...forgot the Lord who formed you"
...astira Ponai me'hem...banim lo emun bam..."
"... I will conceal my Presence from them... children lacking a Guide..." (32:18,20)
The Song of Ha'azinu depicts the events which will befall our nation in exile after exile. HaShem forecasts for us our straying, our defiance and the reciprocal dimming of our sense of His Presence.
The Recanati explains how symbiotic and reciprocal interactions below and Above develop, based on these verses. The first words tell us that in the same way that our devotion to HaShem can impart a "strengthening of His majesty" as it says, "v'atoh yigdal na koach HaShem" - and now let us strengthen HaShem's might - (BaMidbar 14:17), so too can our ignoring Him lead to a lack of that sense of His might. The word teshi here, opines the Recanati, comes from the expression tosh koach, weakening the strength. In turn, our verses later word, v'tishkach, rather than meaning "you forgot", really hints at v'tosh koach - you weakened the sense that HaShem was the One who formed you.
When our ignoring HaShem leads to that diminution of our sense of His Presence, this is not a local phenomenon. The entire world loses touch with Him. We and the nations of the world obscure mention of Him, and forget Him. This is what the second verse says: Once HaShem's Presence is overlooked by us, when we no longer believe that He is our Guide and Source (when we have become banim lo emun bam, where the word emun means the One Who Guides and Cares for us), then astira Ponai me'hem, the Divine Presence in fact "hides" from us.
This is the reciprocal effect of a Jew's losing touch with spiritual values. As that sense weakens, its value begins to fade in him, in others and across the globe. Then we begin complaining that HaShem is "nowhere to be found" which is, experientially, somewhat true since He is not in our personal midst or part of our consciousness. That is when we start to function without drawing on His Torah as our internal guide. This, in turn, further distances us from that sense of the Above.
So, the Recanati explains, the verses should be read as, "you weaken the sense of HaShem being near when you weaken your commitment to Him. He seems hidden at those times, which correlate with the times that you stop adhering to His ways."
Perhaps this coming Shabbos, fueled by our uplifting surge of consciousness of HaShem as a product of Yom Kippur, we can reverse that process. Perhaps we can empower our selves to "empower" HaShem's might and majesty among us and throughout the world.
Good Shabbos. D Fox
posted by Rabbi Dr. Fox at 8:49 PM
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