THE SONG OF OUR DESTINY
The Shira of Ha’azinu contains the entire destiny of our people. From the beginning when HaShem chose us to be His, all the way through to when we will arrive at our final destination when we will have accomplished the mission that was designed for us.
To appreciate the function of this Shira let us look at last week’s Parsha where this Shira was introduced. HaShem tells Moshe “You are soon to die and after your death this nation will get up and serve foreign gods and they will abandon My covenant. I will become angered and I will forsake them and will hide My face from them and they will be eaten by the nations. They (your people) will say ‘our demise is because HaShem is no longer in our midst’. However, I will certainly hide My face from them… So now, write this Shira, teach it to them and place it in their mouths in order that this Shira will testify to the Jewish people.”
The flow of these verses seem to indicate that when the people shall say that their demise is because HaShem left their midst, they are wrong and the purpose of the Shira is to correct them. The problem is that HaShem Himself says that He will forsake them. Does that not mean that He will leave their midst? Why are they wrong?
The explanation is that immediately following HaShem’s statement that He will forsake them He states that He will hide His face from them. If HaShem tells us that He will hide His face, He is telling us that He is still in their midst. If HaShem truly leaves their midst then there is no need for Him to hide His face, He is simply not there at all. Evidently, HaShem is saying that I will make it appear that I have forsaken them because I will hide My face. Therefore, when the people shall explain their demise as being a result of HaShem’s leaving their midst that will be a very incorrect reason. HaShem tells us that He will never leave us, He will only make it appear that He has forsaken us. This is the function of the Shira.
The Shira, which HaShem guarantees will never be forgotten, will testify to her people that HaShem does not forsake His people. Quite to the contrary, the troubles that befall our people is because HaShem is in our midst and we are held to a higher standard.
Without the Shira, the people would, G.D forbid, believe that HaShem is no longer in our midst. This mistaken notion would spell the end of the Jewish people. The continuity of our people is tied to our knowledge that no matter what happens; whether we follow His Torah or do not follow His Torah, whether we are on an upswing or in the death camps, never does HaShem abandon us. Yes, He hides His face and It does not shine on us, but we are His and He is ours. We must try our very hardest to live up to that expectation that comes with having HaShem in our midst.
As we travel through the cleansing of Yom Kippur and our preparation for Succos we are ready to rejoice over the message of the Shira. HaShem has made His permanent residence among us; let us leave the security of our homes and join Him in the Succah.
Have a very wonderful Shabbos and joyous Succos.
Paysach Diskind