Rabbi's Drash

Ha'azinu

(Hear)

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D'varim 32:1-52
 

This portion which always falls on the last Shabbat, Shabbat Shuvah hbvs tbs before Yom Kippur, will end the Shabbat Torah readings or this year. It is the song of Moses (Shirat Moshe hsm trys) where he is calling out to Israel in front of two of the greatest witnesses- heaven and earth (two witnesses as required by Torah) that the people of Israel need to take heed, to pay attention to how great is our G-d and to His warnings about how we will fall into sin as soon as Moses is gone. In verses 17-20, he particularly warns us about the dangers and consequences of idolatry. Today our beloved nation, Israel is still falling into this trap. Why do you think the world is the way it is today? There is a super optimism about what mankind can accomplish; how man can develop their own utopia, their own system of justice without G-d. We don't need G-d to liberate us, we can do it ourselves. We believe that all we need to do for humanity is to educate them and all will be well. Israel has proven that this is not the case. We Jews are the most educated people in the world and yet all is not well with us; we have failed in our calling to be a testimony to the world about how great is our G-d. Instead we have allowed the world to influence us and we continue to blame others for our own mistakes. Here, heaven and earth witness against us. We as a nation are suffering the consequences of our disobedience to G-d and yet we say that we don't understand why we are being persecuted. Moshe Rabenu is speaking to us today. As you read the portion, have you done these things? Do you think that you are holy by your own standards? On Shabbat Shuvah hbvs tbs we need to come to the understanding that we are sinners; we are not good on our own; we need forgiveness, redemption and healing. Not accepting our own faults and blaming others is not a new thing. Didn't this happen right from the Garden of Eden with Adam and Eve? We were created in the image of G-d and place into Paradise where absolutely everything was provided for us. We didn't need to work; there was no disease, no death and all we had to do was to have a relationship with the living G-d. Do you know what our Rabbis say about why they were expelled? The majority say that it was so they would not eat of the other tree in the center of the Garden, the Tree of Life; so that they would not live eternally in their fallen state. Others however with whom I agree, give us another opinion. If you examine it carefully what did Adam say when G-d called out to him "Adam, where are you?" (Gen 3:9) Didn't G-d know where Adam was? Couldn't G-d have stopped them from committing this sin which would throw them out of the garden bringing a curse upon mankind and the earth? Of course, we can say that they had free will. Let's continue to examine this story. G-d never said to Adam "Aha I got you." In Gen. 3:1-3 we read the account of how Eve was tempted and then in verse 8 we read that they hid from G-d. Why do we hide? Do we think that G-d cannot see what we do or even think? When you are confronted by someone about what you are doing wrong, what is your response? Do you deny it and hide it and cover it with an air of hypocrisy to save face? Let's continue with the account. Adam answered, "I hid because I knew that I was naked." G-d again didn't say "Aha I caught you." He simply asked a direct question." Who told you that you were naked? Have you been eating from the tree I forbade you to eat" (Gen 3:12). Then the diatribe of blame began both from Adam and Eve ultimately ending with their blaming G-d for the situation they were in. There is a story which Rabbi Meier told to his talmidim about a tailor through whom an entire community was forgiven. The tailor had called his family together for a special meal before Yom Kippur (S'udah Maphseqet tqopm hdio) He told his son to go and bring him a small book in which he had written all the things which he had done wrong during the year and for which he needed forgiveness. He held the book and prayed to G-d before his family for forgiveness. Then he asked his son to go and get a second book. This book was a larger book filled with all the things that he believed that G-d had done to him and his family for which he needed to forgive G-d. It contained things like times of persecution, diseases, his factory burned, he was robbed etc. This righteous tailor then held up the two books and compared them and when he saw that he had done far less against G-d than vice versa, he was convinced that his sins were paid off. He said I forgive you G-d. The rabbi's students were incensed and cried out, how can we follow the example of this tailor for Yom Kippur? He was blaming ha Shem for all his troubles. How could the community be saved by what he had done? The rabbi calmed them down and began to explain. There is an intrinsic idea in our belief system that G-d owes us something. He created us, we are His responsibility; He needs to care for us. The tailor was being completely honest. His belief was so strong that G-d needed to take care of him that he carefully made note of every way in which G-d didn't. He also confessed everything that he did wrong against G-d. Could G-d not have stopped some of these terrible things that happened to him? In his own understanding G-d failed to take care of him. The tailor had complete faith in G-d and he didn't fail to confess what he did wrong. He was honest and hid nothing from G-d the way Adam and Eve did in the garden. You see, it is not what we do wrong that is the problem. It is not how much was cry out and complain that is the problem. It is what we do with it afterwards. Do we confess our sins before G-d like the tailor? In Alcoholics Anonymous, they teach that the first step to healing comes from accepting and admitting that you have a problem. We need to accept our own reality; to be honest with ourselves. Yeshua said, "you shall know the truth and the truth shall set you free." These are powerful and healing words. On this Shabbat Shuvah hbvs tbs before Yom Kippur, let us examine our hearts and minds and be honest with ourselves. Be alone with yourself. Look into a mirror and talk to yourself in a mirror. Remember that our nature can be our worst enemies and we need to take a step of faith by admitting our own limitations. It is there where G-d can step in and begin the process of healing the nature that fell in the Garden of Eden; the nature we inherited from our first parents, Adam and Eve. In 1 John, it is written, if you say that you do not have any sin, you are calling G-d a liar. I beg you on this Shabbat to be honest with yourself before G-d and let the deep healing begin. What is holding you back; what are the obstacles that you are facing; where are you blaming others instead of looking at yourself? My prayer and hope for the New Year in our community is that we try not to ignore one another but to accept the other; not to judge each other but to help each other by telling each other in love how to improve. G-d has called each one of us and in investing in our lives. Let us live to serve others not to expect to be served. We do not need to depend upon ourselves but upon G-d. G-d has brought each of us here to bless each other. Shabbat Shalom and we thank G-d from having written our names in the Book of Life because of the terrific sacrifice that our Messiah made for us. Let us live up to that and look up to him for our redemption.      May G-d add blessings to His Word!      Rabbi Percy Johnson      Netanel ben Yochanan      [nxy [b lantn      © 2008 Use by Permission      Kehilat She’ar Yashuv

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