A Thought on Parshas Ha'azinu
A Thought on Parshas Ha'azinu
"...v'oiveinu fil'il'im..."
...our enemies judge us..." (32:31)
The Song of Ha'azinu forecasts the events and times which will befall the Jewish nation throughout history. The Torah describes the consequences of our straying from the laws of the Holy Land. It details in cryptic and poetic form our exiles and painful sojourns among the nations of the world, and how our lives will be affected by their religions and governments. This verse depicts how we will feel, and will realize time and again, how the desolation of exile will bring us to the brink of despair. We will recall our better times, and contrast the wholesome governance of Divine law in our homeland with that of nations who either despise us or who beckon to assimilate us and absorb us. The words of our verse are a wringing of hands as the Torah laments (in advance) for us how we will cry over how they judge us.
The Rambam (Igeres Teiman 4) uses this verse to explain a verse in Psalms (120:5) "woe unto me in drawn-out sojourn, dwelling within the tents of Kedar." He writes that Dovid HaMelech had a prophetic vision of the Jews in exile. He foresaw that of all the nations whom we would encounter, it was the 'tent dwellers' - the kingdoms of Yishmael - who would hate us the most. "They will scheme and plot against us in creative ways, looking for more ways to harm us and new things to hate us for. "
He writes further: "the Jews have not had to face any other people who have assailed us more than the Yishmaelim. No one has gone to such extremes to humble us and degrade us with such intense hatred towards us. It is only the Yishmaelim whom Dovid King of Israel has wailed over."
The Rambam wrote this in his celebrated letter known as the Epistle to Yemen, in trying to offer encouragement to the Jews of that region who were threatened with annihilation by the Moslems there. He asserts that it was about that era of genocide and persecution which Dovid cried in the psalm. Moreover, the Rambam contends that the Biblical allusion to that historical and enduring reality is in our above verse. "Our enemies judge us" hints at the status quo of Islamic condemnation of the Jewish people, the Jewish homeland and Jewish identity. They judge us, sentence us, rule against us, and rally others to vote against us.
* * * * ** * * * * *
The Rosh did not live in the regions familiar to the Rambam. As I have written early this year in my introduction to the Rambam and the Rosh (parshas Bereishis), the Rosh resided in Germany and later in Spain. Much of his life, he had to confront the threats of Christianity, a dominant presence which had taken his own teacher captive for life (MaHaRam Rabbeinu Meir of Rottenberg) and which had persecuted him and his family until they fled Europe.
The Rosh depicts a different form of tragedy besetting his brethren in their European exile. He takes a Talmudic analogy of the wasp and the scorpion. The remedy for a wasp sting will irritate the wound left by a scorpion bite, and by treating a scorpion bite, one interferes with their healing from a wasp sting.
This is what the Jew faces in exile: when we are oppressed, we are afraid to scream out for sympathy and mercy because we will be branded as trouble makers for drawing attention to ourselves. Yet, when we are oppressed and we fail to protest, we invite more attacks against ourselves. This is how the nations scrutinize and judge the Jew in exile. We cannot win and we lose face no matter how we react to persecution.
This is the first Shabbos of 5751. We have emerged from the Day of Judgement by the One King. We continue to pray that He looks at our merits. We yearn for Him to decree that our exiles are over, and that we may return to our homeland. The Jewish nation will be one again when we have reunited there and are committed to marching solely under the banner of Torah.
May that day come speedily. Good Shabbos and gmar tov. D. Fox
"...v'oiveinu fil'il'im..."
...our enemies judge us..." (32:31)
The Song of Ha'azinu forecasts the events and times which will befall the Jewish nation throughout history. The Torah describes the consequences of our straying from the laws of the Holy Land. It details in cryptic and poetic form our exiles and painful sojourns among the nations of the world, and how our lives will be affected by their religions and governments. This verse depicts how we will feel, and will realize time and again, how the desolation of exile will bring us to the brink of despair. We will recall our better times, and contrast the wholesome governance of Divine law in our homeland with that of nations who either despise us or who beckon to assimilate us and absorb us. The words of our verse are a wringing of hands as the Torah laments (in advance) for us how we will cry over how they judge us.
The Rambam (Igeres Teiman 4) uses this verse to explain a verse in Psalms (120:5) "woe unto me in drawn-out sojourn, dwelling within the tents of Kedar." He writes that Dovid HaMelech had a prophetic vision of the Jews in exile. He foresaw that of all the nations whom we would encounter, it was the 'tent dwellers' - the kingdoms of Yishmael - who would hate us the most. "They will scheme and plot against us in creative ways, looking for more ways to harm us and new things to hate us for. "
He writes further: "the Jews have not had to face any other people who have assailed us more than the Yishmaelim. No one has gone to such extremes to humble us and degrade us with such intense hatred towards us. It is only the Yishmaelim whom Dovid King of Israel has wailed over."
The Rambam wrote this in his celebrated letter known as the Epistle to Yemen, in trying to offer encouragement to the Jews of that region who were threatened with annihilation by the Moslems there. He asserts that it was about that era of genocide and persecution which Dovid cried in the psalm. Moreover, the Rambam contends that the Biblical allusion to that historical and enduring reality is in our above verse. "Our enemies judge us" hints at the status quo of Islamic condemnation of the Jewish people, the Jewish homeland and Jewish identity. They judge us, sentence us, rule against us, and rally others to vote against us.
* * * * ** * * * * *
The Rosh did not live in the regions familiar to the Rambam. As I have written early this year in my introduction to the Rambam and the Rosh (parshas Bereishis), the Rosh resided in Germany and later in Spain. Much of his life, he had to confront the threats of Christianity, a dominant presence which had taken his own teacher captive for life (MaHaRam Rabbeinu Meir of Rottenberg) and which had persecuted him and his family until they fled Europe.
The Rosh depicts a different form of tragedy besetting his brethren in their European exile. He takes a Talmudic analogy of the wasp and the scorpion. The remedy for a wasp sting will irritate the wound left by a scorpion bite, and by treating a scorpion bite, one interferes with their healing from a wasp sting.
This is what the Jew faces in exile: when we are oppressed, we are afraid to scream out for sympathy and mercy because we will be branded as trouble makers for drawing attention to ourselves. Yet, when we are oppressed and we fail to protest, we invite more attacks against ourselves. This is how the nations scrutinize and judge the Jew in exile. We cannot win and we lose face no matter how we react to persecution.
This is the first Shabbos of 5751. We have emerged from the Day of Judgement by the One King. We continue to pray that He looks at our merits. We yearn for Him to decree that our exiles are over, and that we may return to our homeland. The Jewish nation will be one again when we have reunited there and are committed to marching solely under the banner of Torah.
May that day come speedily. Good Shabbos and gmar tov. D. Fox
posted by Rabbi Dr. Fox at 4:07 PM
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