|
Top Ten Conversation Starters: Parashat Ha'azinu
By Dr. Steven Lorch
#10 - Most of Parashat Ha'azinu is a poem that Moshe recites on the last day of his life, after 40 years in the desert. The only other extended poem that Moshe recited was after the splitting of the Red Sea, after 7 days in the desert. Why poetry at the beginning and end, and not in between?
#9 - In what ways is poetry a more effective way to reach people than prose? In what ways is prose more effective than poetry?
#8 - Both poems are called שירה, which means both poem and song. If these poems were sung rather than spoken, would that change your answer to the previous question?
#7 - Look at how the poem appears in Parashat Ha'azinu (D'varim 32) and in Sh'mot 15. What similarities do you see? What differences?
#6 - The poem begins with Moshe calling upon heaven and earth to be his witnesses (D'varim 32, 1). Why couldn't B'nei Yisrael serve as witnesses? In what ways are heaven and earth effective witnesses? In what ways are they ineffective?
#5 - Only two b'rachot come from the Torah: birkat hamazon ("...ואכלת ושבעת וברכת - When you have eaten your fill, bless.." - D'varim 8, 10) and the b'rachah before reading the Torah - אשר בחר בנו מכל העמים. The source for birkat haTorah is in Parashat Ha'azinu: "כי שם ה' אקרא הבו גודל לא-לקינו" (D'varim 32, 3). The rabbis added all the other b'rachot. Are these two b'rachot more important than the rest, and that's why they come from the Torah? If so, why are they more important? If not, why do they come from the Torah and not the others?
#4 - The proof text for birkat hamazon is clear, but the source for birkat haTorah doesn't even mention the word ברוך or ברכה (or תורה, for that matter). In what ways is it an effective proof text? In what ways is it problematic, or ambiguous?
#3 - Moshe describes two ways in which the Torah is transmitted: the tradition of practice, which is learned by paying careful attention to what one's parents and other role models say and do ("שאל אביך ויגדך - Ask your father and he will tell you" - 32, 7), and the tradition of intellect, which is learned through the study of the Oral Tradition, guided by a teacher steeped in scholarship ("זקניך ויאמרו לך - your elders, and they will inform you"). Do these traditions always coincide and complement each other, or are they sometimes at odds or in tension with each other? How can such tensions be harmonized or resolved?
#2 - Moshe prophesies that B'nei Yisrael will be prosperous and "שמנת עבית כסית - grow fat and gross and coarse (32, 15)," and this will lead them to rebel against God ("they will forsake the God who made them - ויטש א-לוה עשהו"). Why will success and prosperity lead to rebellion?
#1 - While God will punish B'nei Yisrael, they won't be completely destroyed (32, 41-43), Moshe says, because Israel's enemies would claim victory and not realize that it was actually not their military prowess but rather God's punishment (32, 26-30). How do events in Jewish history reflect this prophecy? How do current events reflect it?
| 
