Parsha for Kids: Haazinu
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Below is the transcript for this week’s episode of Parsha for Kids, Haazinu 2023.
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Season 5 Episode 10:
Hello! My name is Chana, and this is Parsha for Kids. The parsha of the week is Haazinu. Haazinu means “Listen.” Parshat Haazinu is written as a song.
Now let’s take a moment to think about songs. Songs are powerful and they stay in your head in a way that regular words do not. If I ask you to sing Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star, and you grew up in America, you will be able to do that immediately. You won’t even have to think about it. But if I asked you to recite a certain paragraph from a famous speech by heart, even if you had memorized it, you might need to pause for a moment to recall the memory.
When ideas are set to music, and can be sung, they become timeless. They become something that can be passed on and on, and a way to bring people together. Those of you who celebrate Shabbat may sing Zemirot, special songs or poems that are sung on that day. There are so many layers to Zemirot- you can sing them at home with your family, but you can also sing them with your entire camp (for those who go to sleepaway camp).
Or think about a song like HaTikvah. You probably grew up hearing this song at all kinds of ceremonies. You have an immediate mental association with the song- Israel, pride in your country, the blue and white flag.
So when Moshe wrote Parshat Haazinu as a song, he did it so that it would be remembered for posterity. Unfortunately, we don’t have the tune that the song was set to, but we can imagine that it would have been a powerful experience for Bnei Yisrael to hear him and to sing along with or repeat it back during the generations.
One more point- remember that at the time that Moshe taught this song, the only way to spread a written message widely was for scribes to make copies of documents. And then people needed to be literate, which means they needed to be able to read, in order to read those documents. You and I have grown up in a society where access to the written word is easy. We all go to school and are taught how to read. Not only is there a printing press but there are even computers. Today, anyone can xerox or photocopy or scan a document and send it to someone else. But in the time that Moshe lived, very few people could read. If he wanted the ideas of Judaism to live on forever, he needed to make it accessible to everyone. That would include making it accessible to people who were not literate and could not read or people who could not afford the cost of having or writing their own Sefer Torah. Putting the main ideas of Judaism into a song was therefore a powerful way to make sure that those ideas are passed on and shared with future generations.
TRANSITION
Moshe opens the song of Haazinu by saying, “Listen, oh heavens, and I will speak! And let the earth hear the words of my mouth. My lesson will drip like rain, my word will flow like dew, like storm winds on plants and raindrops on grass.”
Notice what Moshe has done here. He has begun by invoking nature. He is singing to the sky and the earth. Why does he address the sky and the earth instead of Bnei Yisrael? Perhaps to show the timeless nature of the song- as long as the sky and earth remain, this song is relevant, no matter how Bnei Yisrael ae behaving.
Moshe then compares the lesson he is about to teach to rain. Rain is life-giving and sustains the earth. Without rain and water, we could not live. Similarly, the important ideas and advice Moshe is about to teach will help us, members of Bnei Yisrael, live our best lives.
Moshe then taught
כִּ֛י שֵׁ֥ם יְהֹוָה֖ אֶקְרָ֑א הָב֥וּ גֹ֖דֶל לֵֽאלֹהֵֽינוּ
When I call out the name of the Lord, ascribe greatness to our God.
What does it mean to ascribe greatness to God? Our Sages learned from this that after every blessing recited in the Beit Hamikdash, Temple, the nation needed to respond, “Baruch Shem Kevod Malchuto L’Olam Va’ed,” blessed be the name of His glorious kingdom forever and ever.
Nowadays we do not have a Beit Hamikdash, but we can still respond with Baruch Shem Kevod when we are in a synagogue. Additionally, when people make blessings- any blessings, even the blessing over eating a piece of fruit- we can respond with the word Amen.
Additionally, Moshe declared that God practices absolute justice. God is not petty like a human being; He does not punish people simply because He gets into a bad mood. Instead, when God chooses to reward or punish, it is from a place of justice. That does not mean we will always understand God’s choices in this world. But when we die, and our soul goes back to God, it will become clear to us why what God did was actually fair.
There is a famous story about Rabbi Yehoshua ben Leivi and Eliyahu HaNavi, also known as Elijah the Prophet. Rabbi Yehoshua ben Laivi wanted to accompany Eliyahu on his wanderings. Eliyahu warned Rabbi Yehoshua that he would be disturbed by what he saw but as soon as he would ask questions, they would need to part ways. But Rabbi Yehoshua ben Laivi promised he would not ask questions or otherwise interfere while Eliyahu was on any mission. They agreed that Rabbi Yehoshua would have to return home if he asked even one question about the miracles Eliyahu would perform.
The two of them wandered to a poor man’s house. The poor man and his wife immediately invited the travelers to stay over. They did so. The next morning Eliyahu asked God to kill the poor man’s cow, and the animal died. Rabbi Yehoshua was upset by this, since it would be hard for the poor family to survive without the cow’s milk, but he refrained from asking questions.
The next night they stayed in the home of a wealthy man who treated them badly, did not feed them and was not respectful towards them. In the morning, Eliyahu asked God to make sure that a wall of the house that was about to collapse be rebuilt instead. This happened, and Rabbi Yehoshua was upset, because he didn’t think that the man deserved to have his house fixed when he had treated them bady., Again, he refrained from asking questions.
That night, they went to the synagogue of a wealthy community. The people there did not treat them nicely and spoke about how it was a burden to host guests. Eliyahu and Rabbi Yehoshua were treated badly, but the next morning Eliyahu blessed the members of the synagogue saying “May you all become leaders.”
The next night Eliyahu and Rabbi Yehoshua were welcomed in a different community and they were fed the best food. In the morning, Eliyahu blessed that community, “May God set only one leader over you.”
Rabbi Yehoshua could not contain his questions anymore, and he begged Eliyahu to explain.
Eliyahu clarified that when it came to the poor man whose cow died, really his wife was supposed to die. Eliyahu requested that the cow should die rather than the wife, and God permitted that exchange to occur. When it came to the rich man with the collapsing wall, there actually was a treasure hidden behind that wall. By rebuilding the wall, the rich man will never find the treasure. The synagogue that was cruel was blessed to have many leaders- that will cause argument and trouble, since they will not be able to agree on anything, and the community will not function well, so that blessing is actually a curse. And the community that was kind was blessed to only have one leader, and that will be for their benefit. Everyone will listen to that leader and as a result they will all do well and have peace and unity.
Eliyahu told Rabbi Yehoshua that now he needed to leave him, but he should remember one thing- it may seem like a wicked person is doing well in this world, but in reality, he is not. The same applies to a righteous person who may seem to experience trouble and difficulty throughout their life- there is a reason for this, too. God runs the world, and His ways are just.
TRANSITION
Moshe explained that when the Jews commit sins, that is their own error, and not God’s fault. This is because each individual has free will and the ability to choose.
So how should members of Bnei Yisrael stay informed about their history? Moshe taught that they should ask their father and their elders to teach them about it. He then provided a brief recap.
Long ago, when God brought a flood upon the world, He saved mankind from utter destruction. From those men there were descendants, the Israelites, who pledged that they would be forever faithful to God. They did this while in a desert wilderness, at Mt Sinai. God’s portion is found in His people- us, the Jews. And just like a nesher, which can mean either an eagle or a griffin vulture, hovers over its nest and carries its nestlings on its back, so too God guided us, His nation, safely while they were alone in the desert. God guided them, and no one else did so- no other idol or god. God brought them to the Land of Israel, a land flowing with milk and honey.
This part of the song focuses on God’s kindness to Bnei Yisrael and all the ways He has demonstrated it over the years.
TRANSITION
Since Moshe was a Navi, prophet, he then prophesied about what would happen in the future. There would come a time when Bnei Yisrael would sin and rebel against God. They would do this through worshipping idols and also turning to other abominations.
Through turning to idols and committing sins, Bnei Yisrael will demonstrate that they have forgotten God. But it is important to note the use of the word forgotten. Bnei Yisrael may have forgotten about God, but they can always choose to remember Him. He is never fully gone. It is always possible to return to and reconnect with Him.
TRANSITION
The song continues with a focus on the punishment Bnei Yisrael would receive. God will hide His face from Bnei Yisrael. They will be dependent on their false gods and idols and will learn the hard way that these items are useless and unable to actually assist them.
God will bring punishments upon Bnei Yisrael. This could include the destruction of the Temple, death by hunger, and fear.
God is the ultimate God- the one who causes death and grants life, strikes but heals, and who determines exactly what will occur in the world.
TRANSITION
The song concludes with comforting words for Bnei Yisrael. Yes, they will experience punishment and even exile, but eventually it will end. At that time, God will punish the nations for having harmed the Jews. God will take pity on Bnei Yisrael, because they will have learned that all their gods and idols were false and that none of them were able to help when needed. A day of redemption will come.
TRANSITION
Moshe and Yehoshua taught the song of Haazinu to Bnei Yisrael. The parsha concludes with the day of Moshe’s death. On that day, God commanded Moshe to go up on Mount Nevo, where he would see Eretz Yisrael. Moshe would die on that mountain.
Moshe would be able to see the land of Israel laid out before him, but he would not be able to enter it.
TRANSITION
So here’s what we learned this week:
Songs are a powerful way to pass on important ideas.
Even when things may seem unfair, God’s ways are fair and just.
Bnei Yisrael will ultimately sin and be punished but God will redeem them once again.
We have the ability to make choices between good and evil.
It is important to remember our history so we can remember all the ways in which God saved us and cared for us, and so we can be grateful and stay close to Him.
If you have any questions or comments on this week’s episode, please email me at parsha4kids@gmail.com. That’s parsha the number 4 kids at gmail.com. Good Shabbos