It was so nice seeing so many of you over the past few weeks over Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur. I look forward to continue celebrating the Holiday season with you, beginning this Sunday night with Sukkot.
This week, we read Parashat HaaZinu, the second to last torah portion in the Torah. On the last day of Moses's life, he is addressing the Israelites for the very last time. The first verse of the torah portion tells us: Listen to the Heavens, and I will speak, and let the earth hear the words of my mouth.
In the first verse of our portion, Moses uses two roots that essentially mean the same thing,
אמר
and
דבר
, to speak and to say - this actually happens pretty frequently. The commentators suggest that using the two different roots points references two very different components of speech. We would like to think that we use our words to do good, to build up and to bring blessings to us and others around us. But, we also know that speech can be used for bad, and to destroy.
The same verse in our torah portion - in what is much less frequent occurrence - uses two other roots which essentially mean the same thing as well -
אזנ
and
שמע
- listen or to hear. I believe that this also can teach us something powerful about words; the power of words, for good or bad, is dependent on whether or not those who hear them choose to listen.
We are always hearing things. Whether in synagogue, on television, or in line at the supermarket. But, just because we hear things, doesn't mean we have to listen to them. We cannot always control what we hear. However, we can decide for ourselves what we should listen to and how to respond to what we hear. My hope for all of this shabbat as we begin this new year together, is that we have the wisdom to embrace the words we hear, in a way that brings blessings to ourselves, our families, our community, and the worlds around us.
