HAAZINU: I will link evils upon them.
I will use up My arrows on them. (Deuteronomy 32:23)
Positive light: I will gather the evil that was over them,
and destroy completely my arrows (such as Amalek, which I had
used in the past against my people).
HAFTORAH: For all His ordinances were before me; and
[as for] His statutes, I did not depart from it. (II Samuel 22:23)
QUALITY TO ACQUIRE THE TORAH: With Slowness to Anger (Erech Apayim)
PROPHET: Hosea
LEVITICAL CITY: Hamoth-dor
The twenty-third week of the year is
the week of the seventh of Adar, which
is both the day of Moshe’s birth as well as of that of his passing. The verse in Haazinu continues to makes reference to
the destruction inflicted on the Jewish people, and the passing of Moshe is
perhaps one of the greatest examples of such loss.
Again, if
understood more positively, the verse could be a reference to the destruction
not of the Jewish people, but of Amalek, a continuous theme of the month of
Adar. Rashi’s commentary hints to such an understanding, since it notes that
the arrows that attack the Jewish people are the ones that are diminished, not
the Jews. The Haftorah continues its
positive tone, showing how we actually maintained our faith and obedience to
G-d’s laws. Interestingly, the word for “before me” used is Lenegdi, which can also be read as Lenegdai, “towards those against me.”
The verse therefore can be read as stating that the Torah’s commandments are a
protection against the attackers of the Jewish people, such as Amalek.
The quality
of this week is slowness to anger, erech
apayim. This is a very appropriate quality for the week of Moshe Rabbeinu’s
yahrzeit, because it was through his
pleading on behalf of the Jewish people that G-d revealed this quality of His,
one of the thirteen attributes of mercy. During his plea to Hashem, Moshe stated
that if G-d would not forgive the Jewish people, “erase me from Your book.”
Because of this statement, Moshe’s name does not appear in the Torah portion of
Tetzaveh, which usually occurs on the
week of his yahrzeit.
It was also
due to Moshe’s lack of this attribute, a relative quickness to anger (at
Moshe’s level, of course, which is something we cannot even fathom), that led
to his castigating the Jewish people and striking the rock instead of talking
to it. This mishap is what prevented Moshe from entering the the Land of Israel
and passing away.
This week’s prophet is
Hosea. Hosea’s prophecies recorded in the Tanach
center around G-d’s unending mercy and slowness to anger, his love for the
Jewish people despite their sins.[1]
The levitical city for this
week is Hamoth-Dor, which means the springs of Dor. Interestingly Hamoth has the same root as the word Hamath, anger. Springs represent the idea of
anger/heat being contained, just as the springs of Tiberias are said to come
from an opening in the gates of Gehinnom ("hell")
created in the time of the Flood. It was an opening that came from anger and
was now contained and turned to positive use. (Dar comes from the word for home, a “domesticated” anger).
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