Ha'azinu: No More Talk; Just Listen

I'm not one to criticize Moses. Especially right after Yom Kippur, that does not seem wise. And he's a pretty good guy, right? Not perfect, sure, but who is? And yet, I really feel strongly that the Torah wants us to learn something from observing Moses.

Sometimes, we are meant to see his humility, his kindness, his passion for justice and the liberation of his people... and sometimes I think we are encouraged to disagree with him. Right now, as our national (and perhaps global) conversation is laser-focused on what makes a good leader, I feel we MUST look to the Torah for guidance. How do we want our leaders to act? What characteristics and qualities are most important to us? Watching Moses do his thing can be a very eye-opening experience...

This Saturday, we are reading the final weekly Torah portion of the annual cycle, Ha'azinu. On Simchat Torah (this year, starting
Monday evening, 10/24), we will read the final parashah, v'Zot ha-B'rachah, and then immediately start all over again at the beginning of Genesis. As the Torah draws to a close this week, Moses delivers one, final, LONG (43-verse) soliloquy, expressing his concerns that the Israelites will forsake God once they enter the land, and imploring them to remain faithful to Adonai. I have a hard time hearing this speech, and not because of the scathing language that Moses uses. The first word of our parashah, and the first word of his speech, "Ha'azinu," is where my gripe begins.

Moses has basically been battling the Children of Israel for 40 years. So has God, for that matter. The people complain. They rebel. They undermine the authority of BOTH Moses AND God. Why? In short: They don't want to be there.

It is true, they asked God to save them from oppression... but they never actually asked to leave Egypt. And they certainly never signed up for 613 commandments, a lengthy Torah, and exclusive worship of just ONE God. When I read the early part of the Book of Exodus, I see tremendous dissonance between leadership and its followers, between management and the workers on the assembly line. They aren't communicating well at all. Expectations from Above aren't clarified and outlined ahead of time; while needs, concerns, and rights are not expressed from below. They are talking AT one another... and certainly no one is listening.

Back then to our Torah portion. The first word, Ha'azinu, literally means "listen"! Is anyone? The ancient Greek philosopher, Epictetus, famously observed: "We have two ears and one mouth, so that we can listen twice as much as we speak." Moses pontificates and threatens, but sure enough, the Israelites enter the land and begin to sin again! He demands that others listen, but he should lead by example.

On Thursday evening, I participated in an interfaith, community conversation on racism, organized by FUSE. It was amazing! 75 people came from across the county, and they sat together and "just" talked. Our conversations may not change the world, but we are doing something that is (sadly) so rare in our country these days; we are listening to one another. It sounds so simple, but Moses struggled with it, and many world leaders today are STILL mystified by it. It is SO crucial. I wonder how the Exodus story might have been different, if two-way communication - and listening! - had been more central. And I especially wonder how our lives today could, and might, look different if we spent more time listening to one another. It is hard to do, and it is hard to be self-aware enough to know when we're NOT doing it well. And yet... Ha'azinu; let us all take to heart the message of this one word, and let us truly hear it.

Photos in this blogpost:
1. CC image courtesy of Internet Archive Book Images on Wikimedia Commons
2. Image of egalitarian, inclusive Simchat Torah flag courtesy of Masorti Olami (flags available for purchase)
3. CC image courtesy of Geo Swan on Wikimedia Commons
4. FUSE logo courtesy of FUSE Delco (and brilliantly designed by Amy Pollack)