Monday, September 21, 2015

Haazinu

Deuteronomy 32:1–52

D'var Torah By: Shira Milgrom for ReformJudaism.org

I've always thought it curious that it is customary on the holiday of Shavuot to eat foods made of sweet dairy (cheese blintzes, cheesecake, and so on). In all my childhood and adult years, I never heard a reason for this that made sense. (Perhaps I'll learn others as a result of this column.)

One year, in my reading of this week's parashah, an idea jumped out of the text: almost the entirety of Haazinu is the Song of Moses. This is his second shirah, "song," as the people of Israel stands poised to enter the Promised Land, the end of the wilderness journey. The first shirah catapulted the people into this journey at the shores of the Sea of Reeds. This second poem is filled with images of God: circling, guarding, and carrying the Israelites as an eagle would its young (Deuteronomy 32:10-11); a rock—steady, faithful, and perfect (Deuteronomy 32:4), a father—who created and made us (Deuteronomy 32:6).

Most surprising in this poem are the many feminine images of God. First, the Rock: "You neglected the Rock who begot you, forgot the God who labored to bring you forth" (Deuteronomy 32:18).

Continue reading.


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