Hear Today!
The poetry is stunning, one wonders what prevented Moses from being so eloquent more often.. Though when reading the contents of these fiery forewarnings, perhaps one has a sense of relief rather than regret. Yet the opening is beautifully inviting. A few weeks ago, in our reflections on the portion of Ki Tetze, I highlighted the centrality of seeing, sight leading to foresight. As the name of Ha’azinu implies, the emphasis is on the capacity to hear. Apt as we plead Shema Koleinu, Hear our voices.
הַאֲזִ֥ינוּ הַשָּׁמַ֖יִם וַאֲדַבֵּ֑רָה וְתִשְׁמַ֥ע הָאָ֖רֶץ אִמְרֵי־פִֽי׃
Give ear, O heavens, let me speak;
Let the earth hear the words I utter!
Many of the commentators in a slightly distressing manner understand this dramatic prelude as summoning the heavens and earth to take on the role of bearing witness, The Sifrei quoted by Rashi offers; …And why did he call heaven and earth as witnesses against them? Moses thought: “I am a being of flesh and blood, tomorrow I shall be dead. If the Israelites will once say, ‘We have never accepted the covenant’, who can come and refute them?” Therefore he called heaven and earth as witnesses against them, witnesses that endure forever. It is a powerful image. Moses knows that his own testimony is temporary; heaven and earth will endure.
Of course this approach invites additional inquiry, how exactly will these formidable yet voiceless forces testify? If two witnesses are required, the heavenS could have sufficed. Clearly, the symbolism goes far deeper, we are invited to give ear!
The “testimony” will occur through the on-going care and sustenance, brought with the rain from heaven and the produce as beautifully expressed in Zechariah 8:12; “The vine shall produce its fruit, the ground shall produce its yield, and the skies shall provide their moisture…” Ominously the lack of these essential gifts, also convey the consequential evidence of wrongdoing.
The Kli Yakar hears something quite different in Moses’ summons to heaven and earth, and his reading is astounding. He draws upon the famous teaching from Tractate Shabbat 88a; Reish Lakish expounds, What is the meaning of the verse in Bereishit 1:31 וַֽיְהִי־עֶ֥רֶב וַֽיְהִי־בֹ֖קֶר י֥וֹם הַשִּׁשִּֽׁי׃ “And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day” ? Why do I require the superfluous letter heh, the definite article, which does not appear on any of the other days? Reish Lakish teaches that it points toward the sixth day of Sivan, the day of revelation. The existence of creation itself was, in a sense, contingent upon Israel’s acceptance of Torah. If Israel accepted it, the world would continue; if not, creation would return to tohu va-vohu, chaos and void.
Moses’ invocation of heaven and earth takes on an entirely different meaning.They are not summoned as prosecutors. They are summoned as defenders. Their continued existence provides the steadfast testimony from and to God that Israel has accepted the Torah, because if not, they would not still be standing but would have already returned to chaos and void.
Perhaps Moses is doing more than calling witnesses. He is bringing the whole of creation into the courtroom, reminding us that the covenant is not simply something for which Israel must answer; it is something that God has committed to sustain. It is precisely this testimony that we are invited to hear.
This remarkable line of defense should deepen and impassion our entreaties as we approach Yom Kippur, as we pray for forgiveness, renewal, and, God willing, a favorable judgment, we will do so, surrounded by witnesses whose very existence serves in our favor.
