A Thought on Parshas Ha'azinu

"...lu'lae ka'as oyev agur..." (32:27) "...were it not for the anger the enemy has in store..." In this penultimate parsha, the Shira of Moshe exemplifies the very nature of song. Song is a fusing of both parts of the human brain - the structured verbal half and the abstracting imaginal half. Verbal language is focused and logical. Imagery is unbridled by the rigidity of logic and precision. It is for this reason that song, while utilizing words, and also utilizing sound and image and abstraction, can transcend beyond a cerebral impact and can trigger feelings, memories, sensations and other non-verbal reactions in those who sing and those who hear it. ibn Shu'aib is very aware of these dual properties of this Song, and explains that each word and phrase serves a logical purpose - revealing a factual meaning, yet the Song also goes beyond a recounting of fact, and enters into a revelation of primordial time as well as a forecasting of times yet to come. He sees in Ha'azinu references to the era of the Creation, and the era of Moshiach and the afterlife. The Song is predicated on the fact that HaShem has given us the gift of Teshuva. He has shown us the ways in which we can retrace our actions and undo the negative effects and consequences of straying from Torah and Mitzvos. Based on a midrash, ibn Shu'aib writes that HaShem likens us to prisoners who have an escape route but who fail to use it. The warden is not impressed by their decision to stay put. He thinks that they are foolish for not taking advantage of an opportunity to flee to freedom. HaShem gave us a mechanism to escape from the prisons which we create for ourselves through decadence, dishonesty and deceptiveness. That is Teshuva. We can actually reverse our direction and get out of our impure ruts, if we take advantage of that opportunity. These Days of Repentance are our finest opportunity yet if we fail to run with Teshuva, HaShem judges us as self-encased in our own folly, by choice. This is one message of Ha'azinu: our national blundering and perfidy has HaShem declaring "Af'eihim ashbisa m'enosh zichram lulai kaas o'yev agor" - I scattered the Jews into exile and would have exterminated them from human memory, but I was concerned about the vicious nations." If we stop and think about this hypothetical, something seems wrong. What does it mean that HaShem would have exterminated us except that He was concerned about the nations and their viciousness? If there would be no more Jews, what harm could their viciousness do to us? ibn Shu'aib revels a deeper truth. Jew hatred is actually G-d hatred. The oppression which the nations spew against us is an effort to rid the world of any trace of Holiness. The wars against the Jews have always been wars against What or Who we Jews represent. If there were no Jews left, HaShem's morality and His standards for human purity would still be under attack. It is reminiscent of the Tower of Bavel, which began as a vain attempt to ascend to the Heavens in order to "kill G-d." That battle has never ended. There is still a war being raged against Heaven. This is why the subsequent verses have HaShem asserting "vengeance is Mine." We might assume that this means that HaShem will avenge our suffering at the hands of the nations. ibn Shu'aib clarifies that it really means that HaShem takes His revenge against those who seek to obscure His Presence in the world. Vengeance is His. Good Shabbos. D Fox