53: Haazinu
Welcome to TLDR Torah: a synopsis of the weekly parsha based on Robert Alter’s translation, plus a question to spur your Shabbat dinner (or any!) conversation.
Parsha Haazinu (Deuteronomy 32:1-52)
TLDR:
Yes, you are correct. Haazinu was read last week, but given that this week is Sukkot and we go back in Torah-time to read Sukkot-related parshas, I figured I’d stick with Haazinu and send the final TLDR on Sunday before Simchat Torah.
Moses recites a 70-line poem that prophesizes the rise, fall, and redemption of the Israelites. Moses issues his own mic drop; “Let my teachings drop like rain, my saying flow like dew”.
Note that poems in the Torah come as a culmination of a long narrative, such as at the end of Jacob’s life when he blesses his children.
Paraphrasing what the poem entails:
God is great.
God found the Israelites stranded in a desert (Egypt).
Like an eagle, God saves the people and treats them very well.
And yet, they spurn God and turn to demons and other gods. Alter describes these references to other gods as evidence of monotheism being in “evolutionary flux”, first being ok with acknowledging the existence of “lesser gods” and subsequently rejecting them altogether.
The people will face God’s wrath as punishment for their actions.
God almost decides to completely destroy them, but doesn’t for fear of what other nations will think. God doesn’t want to be seen as giving up on the people he said he’d make great. God’s caught in a catch-22.
God will return to destroy the Israelites’ enemies, and save the people.
Moses directs the Israelites to teach their children the poem.
God tells Moses to ascend the mountain, where he will die viewing the land of Canaan from a distance.
Question:
Is seeing the land from afar a gift or punishment for Moses? He gets to see the eventual end result of his life’s work, but won’t be able to experience it himself.