Ha'azinu: Yisrael, Moshe, Ani

This week's torah portion was Ha'azinu, the second-last in the cycle. It consists primarily of Moshe's final poem/song, recited to the people before he ascends the mountain to see the land and then die.

The language is very different from what I'm used to in the torah. It is not the language of events and facts and commands; it is the poetry of evocative images and allegory. When I was preparing to chant it I found myself thinking "hey, this reads more like many of the haftarot" (specifically, the ones from the books of prophets) -- which makes perfect sense, as Moshe was a prophet too and these are his final words. I'm not as attuned to the nuances of poetry as many others are, so I'm sure I missed a lot.

The plain reading (p'shat) of this text is a recounting of Isreal's relationship with God. It's mostly focused on the negative -- God did all these good things and Israel rebelled and worshipped false gods and so on, and God withdrew. While it's written in the past tense (mostly), it also predicts future events. But in the end there is a nechemta, a consolation -- that if the people return from those evil ways, God will be there for them. This was the case for the people Moshe was speaking to -- they were redeemed from the sins of their parents and granted entry into the land of Israel. May it be true in the future as well.

It seems possible to read this on another level, too. Moshe is at the end of a long life, the last third of which has been filled with contention and challenges. He, too, rebelled against God and cried out at the unfairness of the punishment he received. But here, at the very end, it is clear that he has accepted God's authority, praising Tzur Yisrael (the Rock of Israel) repeatedly. He has returned to God, and when he dies God himself takes Moshe's final breath with a kiss.

We always read this portion near Yom Kippur, either on Shabbat Shuva (before) or, sometimes (like this year), on the following Shabbat. The high holy days, of course, are the time when we make extra effort to return to God, to set aside past failings and rebellions and rebuild relationships that have faltered. Perhaps this suggests a third way to read this portion -- not just about Yisrael or Moshe but about us. How have we rebelled against that Tzur? Are we ready to return and renew our relationships with God?

Israel returned to God, and will again in the future. Moshe returned. May we also find the strength to do so, one step at a time.