HAAZINU: The cream of
cattle and the milk of sheep, with the fat of lambs and rams of Bashan and he
goats, with kidneys of wheat, and it [the congregation of Israel] would drink
the blood of grapes [which was] as the finest wine. (Deuteronomy 32:14)
HAFTARAH: The Lord
thundered from heaven; and the Most High gave forth His voice. (II Samuel
22:14)
QUALITY TO ACQUIRE THE
TORAH: Calmness (Yishuv)
PROPHET: Solomon
LEVITICAL CITY: Elteke
On Week Fourteen, which is the continuation of Chanukah and
also includes Rosh Chodesh Teveth, Haazinu’s verse speaks of various kosher
animals (cattle, sheep, lambs, rams, and goats) and various products, such as
fat, wheat, and wine, all of which were part of the Temple sacrifices. This
appears to be related to the rededication of the Temple on Chanukah.
The Haftarah’s verse also appears to continue the theme of Chanukah.
Thunder is related to light bursting through darkness, perhaps a reference to Chanukah’s
miracle. Miracles in general, and the Chanukah miracle in particular, was an
open revelation of G-d’s “voice.”
The quality for this week is calmness. The Hebrew word used
is yishuv, which can also mean to to settle, to sit, and to dwell. These are
all characteristics of Chanukah. The Temple is after all the dwelling place of
G-d on Earth. The fight with the Greeks was about our being able to serve Him
calmly and peacefully, in our land, the Land of Israel. Chanukahalso means “Chanu
K”H” they rested on the 25th[of Kislev].
This week’s prophet, King Solomon, was known for his wisdom.
He’s considered to be the wisest of all men. Chanukah is also connected to
wisdom, Chochmah - Jewish Chochmah that countered the Chochmah of the Greeks. King Solomon was also the one who constructed and dedicated the First Temple, and his time was one of tremendous prosperity, corresponding to the “cream of cattle and the milk of sheep, the fat of lambs... the finest wine,” depicted in Haazinu.
Similarly, King Solomon, very much illustrates what is meant
by yishuv. The First Temple was the place for
the Divine presence to settle. Of all prophets, he is the one that is best
known for calmness and serenity. Shalom, peace, is the very root of his name.
His calmness is also displayed in the Tanach in in the way he would settle
disputes.
This week’s levitical city is Elteke. Not very much is known
about this city, other than that it was apportioned to the Tribe of Dan. Elteke
appears to be quite famous for a war in which Sancherib defeated the Egyptians.
After this conquest, Sancherib laid siege to Jerusalem. When all seemed lost,
Isaiah told the king not to worry – his kingdom would be saved. Sure enough,
the next day Sancherib’s troops were struck with a plague. This took place on
Passover– the Jewish people and the angels in heaven were reciting Hallel that
night, which is what we do during Chanukah. It is said that after this event,
G-d wanted to make Chezekiah the Mashiach, but did not do so because he did not
recite Hallel after this miracle.
The city’s name also bears significant resemblance to the
name of another city in Israel, Tekoa. Both cities’ names’ roots contain the
letters Tav and Kuf, which is not very common. Tekoa was a city in Israel known
for its olive oil, which plays a prominent role in the Chanukah miracle. In
fact, the oil of Tekoa was the only one chosen to be used in the Temple in
Jerusalem.[2] At the time
of the rededication of the Temple, pure olive oil had to be taken from Tekoa as
well. It took eight days for the pure oil to be produced – the number of days
the small flask of the Kohen Gadol lasted, and also the number of days of the Chanukah
miracle. Today, there is again a Jewish settlement (a yishuv) in Tekoa.
Olive oil also represents wisdom, a defining characteristic
of the Chanukah holiday, as explained above:
In mystical thought, oil is symbolic of chochmah, the
highest aspect of the intellect from which inspirational thought is derived.
The Talmud mentions that in a certain area in Israel, Tekoa, where the use of
olive oil had become common, chochmah had also become common. Just as chochmah is
related to the highest level in the intellect, inspired thinking, it is also
related to the fear of G-d as it is written in Psalms 111, "the beginning
of chochmah is the fear of G-d."[1]
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