HAAZINU:They sacrificed to demons, which have
no power, deities they did not know, new things that only recently came, which
your forefathers did not fear. (Deuteronomy 32:17)
Positive Light: Would they sacrifice to demons? No. [Their] power was
G-d; they did not know new ones. They came from close by, [and] your
forefathers did not fear them.
HAFTARAH: He sent from on high [and] He took me; He drew me out of many waters. (II Samuel 22:17)
QUALITY TO ACQUIRE THE TORAH: Minimized Business Activity (Miut Schorah)
PROPHET: Obadiah
LEVITICAL CITY: Gath-Rimmon
The seventeenth week of the year is
the last in the month of Teveth. The
verse in Haazinu continues to make
reference to idolatry and their abandoning G-d. As mentioned previously, these
are themes related to Teveth and the
Tribe of Dan.
Again, this
week’s verse in Haazinu can also take
on a more positive note. It could be read in such a way that would indicate
that they rejected idolatry and assimilation. Assimilation’s attraction, in the
times of the Greeks as well as today, is that it is depicted as being something
new and contemporary, while the values of the Torah are portrayed as being
“outdated.” Another attraction of assimilation is that the attraction of other
cultures is exactly related to those aspects that are closest to the Torah and
to people that are like us. The Greeks and helenized Jews came from close, they
championed values, such as wisdom and humanism, that were often quite close to
Jewish ideals.
This week’s Haftarah verse is in line with the
positive interpretation of the verse in Haazinu.
Hashem remained connected to the Jewish people throughout their struggles. In
times of many enticements, he drew them “out of many waters.” As mentioned in
Book 1, “many waters” is a reference to struggles when making a living.
The quality
of this week is minimized business activity, miut schorah. Business activity and the quest for money can easily
become “idolatrous.” It can become an end in of itself, and we end up
forgetting the whole point of why we sought to have money in the first place –
to be able to better serve our Creator and provide for our families. That is
why the Torah advises us to conduct our business affairs with “miut,” smallness and humility,
remembering that ultimately our study of Torah and our service to G-d is what
is most important.
This
week’s prophet is Obadiah. Obadiah, like Michaia,
prophecized in the times of King Ahab, in which idolatry became rampant. Ahab
himself also exemplified the very lack of miut
schorah – taking the field of another by force, and killing the owner. It
was for this act that Ahab was punished with a Heavenly death sentence.
Obadiah, on
the other hand, is perhaps the best example of “business activity” with
humility and smallness before G-d. He used his money to keep alive one hundred
prophets, and protect them against Ahab and his evil wife Jezebel. It was this act that earned him prophecy.
Obadiah’s name also hints to this quality, as it means the servant/worker of
G-d. Obadiah understood that his main work was not for men, but for G-d.
Obadiah’s prophecy, recorded in the Tanach,
is about how G-d loves Jacob and hates Esau – the message in the fight against
assimilation. Much of what attracted the Jews to Roman culture and its ofshoots
are their similarities with Judaism. Esau is Jacob’s brother after all. Like
Jacob himself told Esau,
And he said to him,
"My master knows that the children are tender, and the flocks and the
cattle, which are raising their young, depend upon me, and if they overdrive
them one day, all the flocks will die. Now, let my master go ahead before his
servant, and I will move [at] my own slow pace, according to the pace of the
work that is before me and according to the pace of the children, until I come
to my master, to Seir. (Genesis 33:13, 14)
Jacob did not want to
stay with Esau and have him be a bad influence on his family. Perhaps now it
is also better understood why Jacob spoke of the flocks as well as of his
children. Jacob did not want his possessions to be prey to Esau’s unending
ambition.
The
levitical city for this week is Gath-rimmon. It means winepress of
pomegranites: Here again, when we are out in the world, engaging in business
activity and facing its darkness, we have the opportunity to do many mitzvoth, and be full like the
pomegranate. The pomegranate’s many seeds is also a reference to the ability to
multiply, which is connected with Teveth.
