Deuteronomy-32-Vv-1-52
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Please Note: Some alterations
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the “Masoretic Text”.
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Remember the following truth from our beloved Torah!
“Ye shall NOT ADD TO THE WORD which
I command you, NEITHER SHALL YE DIMINISH FROM
IT, that ye may keep the commandments of אֱלֹהֵיכֶם יְהוָה - the LORD your Eloleichem,
which I command you”. Davarim - Deuteronomy 4:2. (JPS-1917).
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“Deuteronomy 32 Vv 1 to 52”
With Rabbi, Dr. Reuven
Ben Avraham-Goossens, PhD.
1. Introduction
Ha’azinu (“Give
ear”) is the poetic masterpiece and prophetic testament of Moses, delivered on
the very day of his departure. Presented as a sacred song (“Shirah”), this chapter stands
as a perpetual witness between אֱלֹהִים - Elohim and the Children of Israel before they
cross into the Promised Land. Considering it was written in classic Hebrew
parallelisms, the song spans the entire trajectory of Hebrew history: אֱלֹהִים - Elohim’s absolute
faithfulness, Israel’s
past providences, as their future lapses into idolatry, the inevitable
consequences of abandonment, and ultimate Divine retribution against their
oppressors followed by reconciliation. Moses calls Heaven and Earth as eternal
witnesses, elements that endure through all generations ensuring that the
covenantal wisdom remains alive to guide, warn, and comfort Israel throughout our journey.
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1. Let us first read this
remarkable chapter, thereafter I will cover with explanations of the verses:
1. “Give ear, ye heavens, and I will speak;
and let the earth hear the words of my mouth. 2. My doctrine
shall drop as the rain; my speech shall distil as the dew; as the small rain
upon the tender grass, and as the showers upon the herb. 3. For I
will proclaim the name of יְהוָה - the LORD; ascribe ye greatness unto our אֱלֹהִים - Elohim. 4. The Rock, His work is
perfect; for all His ways are justice; a אֱלֹהִים - Elohim of faithfulness and without iniquity,
just and right is He. 5. Is corruption His? No; His children's is
the blemish; a generation crooked and perverse. 6. Do ye thus
requite יְהוָה -
the, O foolish people and unwise? is not He thy father
that hath gotten thee? Hath He not made thee, and established thee? 7.
Remember the days of old, consider the years of many generations; ask thy
father, and he will declare unto thee, thine elders, and they will tell thee. 8. When the Most High gave to the nations their inheritance, when He
separated the children of men, He set the borders of the peoples according to
the number of the children of Israel.
9. For the portion of יְהוָה - the
LORD is His people, Jacob the lot of His inheritance. 10. He
found him in a desert land, and in the waste, a howling wilderness; He
compassed him about, He cared for him, He kept him as the apple of His eye. 11. As an eagle that stirreth up her nest, hovereth over her young,
spreadeth abroad her wings, taketh them, beareth them
on her pinions 12. יְהוָה - the
LORD alone did lead him, and there was no strange god with Him. 13.
He made him ride on the high places of the earth, and he did eat the fruitage
of the field; and He made him to suck honey out of the crag, and oil out of the
flinty rock; 14. Curd of kine, and milk of sheep, with fat of
lambs, and rams of the breed of Bashan, and he-goats, with the kidney-fat of
wheat; and of the blood of the grape thou drankest foaming wine. 15.
But Jeshurun waxed fat, and kicked thou didst wax fat, thou didst grow thick,
thou didst become gross and he forsook אֱלֹהִים - Elohim who made him, and contemned the Rock of
his salvation. 16. They roused Him to jealousy with strange gods;
with abominations did they provoke Him. 17. They sacrificed unto demons,
no-gods, gods that they knew not, new gods that came up of late, which your
fathers dreaded not. 18. Of the Rock that begot thee thou wast
unmindful, and didst forget אֱלֹהִים - Elohim that bore thee. 19. And יְהוָה - the
LORD saw, and spurned, because of the provoking of His sons and His daughters. 20. And He said: ‘I will hide My face from
them, I will see what their end shall be; for they are a very froward
generation, children in whom is no faithfulness. 21. They have
roused Me to jealousy with a no-god; they have
provoked Me with their vanities; and I will rouse them to jealousy with a
no-people; I will provoke them with a vile nation. 22. For a
fire is kindled in My nostril, and burneth unto the
depths of the nether-world, and devoureth the earth with her produce, and
setteth ablaze the foundations of the mountains. 23. I will heap
evils upon them; I will spend Mine arrows upon them; 24. The wasting of hunger, and the devouring of the fiery bolt,
and bitter destruction; and the teeth of beasts will I send upon them, with the
venom of crawling things of the dust. 25. Without shall the
sword bereave, and in the chambers terror; slaying both young man and virgin,
the suckling with the man of gray hairs. 26. I thought I would
make an end of them, I would make their memory cease from among men; 27. were it not that I dreaded the enemy’s
provocation, lest their adversaries should misdeem, lest they should say: Our
hand is exalted, and not יְהוָה - the LORD hath wrought
all this’. 28. For they are a nation void of counsel, and there
is no understanding in them. 29. If they were wise, they would
understand this, they would discern their latter end. 30. How
should one chase a thousand and two put ten thousand to flight, except their
Rock had given them over and יְהוָה - the LORD had delivered
them up? 31. For their rock is not as our Rock, even our enemies
themselves being judges. 32. For their
vine is of the vine of Sodom, and of the fields
of Gomorrah;
their grapes are grapes of gall, their clusters are bitter; 33. Their wine is the venom of serpents, and the cruel poison of
asps. 34. ‘Is not this laid up in store with Me,
sealed up in My treasuries? 35. Vengeance is Mine,
and recompense, against the time when their foot shall slip; for the day of
their calamity is at hand, and the things that are to come upon them shall make
haste. 36. For יְהוָה - the LORD will judge His
people, and repent Himself for His servants; when He seeth that their stay is
gone, and there is none remaining, shut up or left at large. 37.
And it is said: Where are their gods, the rock in whom they trusted; 38. Who did eat the fat of their
sacrifices, and drank the wine of their drink-offering? let
him rise up and help you, let him be your protection. 39. See
now that I, even I, am He, and there is no god with Me; I kill, and I make
alive; I have wounded, and I heal; and there is none that can deliver out of My
hand. 40. For I lift up My hand to
heaven, and say: As I live for ever, 41. If I whet My glittering sword, and My hand take hold on judgment; I
will render vengeance to Mine adversaries, and will recompense them that hate
Me. 42. I will make Mine arrows drunk with blood, and My sword shall devour flesh; with the blood of the slain and
the captives, from the long-haired heads of the enemy’. 43. Sing
aloud, O ye nations, of His people; for He doth avenge the blood of His
servants, and doth render vengeance to His adversaries, and doth make expiation
for the land of His people. 44. And Moses came and spoke all the
words of this song in the ears of the people, he, and Hoshea the son of Nun. 45. And when Moses made an end of speaking all these words to all Israel, 46. he said unto them: ‘Set your heart
unto all the words wherewith I testify against you this day; that ye may charge
your children therewith to observe to do all the words of this law. 47.
For it is no vain thing for you; because it is your
life, and through this thing ye shall prolong your days upon the land, whither
ye go over the Jordan
to possess it’. 48. And יְהוָה - the
LORD spoke unto Moses that selfsame day, saying: 49. ‘Get thee
up into this mountain of Abarim, unto mount Nebo, which is in the land of Moab,
that is over against Jericho; and behold the land of Canaan, which I give unto
the children of Israel for a possession; 50. and die in the
mount whither thou goest up, and be gathered unto thy people; as Aaron thy
brother died in mount Hor, and was gathered unto his
people. 51. Because ye trespassed against Me
in the midst of the children of Israel
at the waters of Meribath-kadesh, in the wilderness of Zin; because ye
sanctified Me not in the midst of the children of Israel. 52. For thou
shalt see the land afar off; but thou shalt not go thither into the land which
I give the children of Israel’”.
Davarim - Deuteronomy Chapter 32:1-52. (JPS-1917 version of
the Torah).
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2. Explanations of the Verses:
Verses 1-3: The Invocation and Purpose.
Moses calls upon the heavens and the earth to
listen. He compares his teaching to rain and dew, gentle, nourishing, and
essential for spiritual growth. His goal is not self-exaltation, but to
proclaim the Name and Majesty of יְהוָה - the
LORD.
Verses 4-6: The Perfection of אֱלֹהִים - Elohim vs.
The Flaw of the People.
אֱלֹהִים -
Elohim is described as “The Rock” (HaTzur), defining His absolute immutability,
justice, and perfection. Any fault or corruption lies not with אֱלֹהִים -
Elohim, but with a “crooked and perverse generation”
that sadly fails to recognize its Creator and Father!
Verses 7-9: Remembering History
and Divine Choice.
Israel is
urged to reflect on former generations and ask their elders for guidance. אֱלֹהִים -
Elohim established the nations, but Jacob was
designated as His specific heritage and portion.
Verses 10-14: Divine Protection and Abundance.
אֱלֹהִים -
Elohim found Israel in the wilderness, guarding them “as
the apple of His eye”. Like an eagle nurturing its young on its wings, יְהוָה - the
LORD guided Israel
alone. He granted them the richness of the land, ‘honey’, ‘oil’, ‘finest wheat’,
and ‘wine’.
Verses 15-18: Rebellion in Prosperity (“Jeshurun Waxed Fat”).
Comfort leads to complacency and rebellion. Israel (“Jeshurun”)
grows prosperous and kicks against אֱלֹהִים -
Elohim’s law, forsaking “the Rock of his salvation”.
They provoke אֱלֹהִים -
Elohim to jealousy by sacrificing to new, false deities
and forgetting the אֱלֹהִים -
Elohim who bore them.
Verses 19-25: Divine Concealment and Consequences.
אֱלֹהִים -
Elohim responds by hiding His face (Haster Panim).
Because Israel
provoked Him with “no-gods” אֱלֹהִים -
Elohim will provoke them using a “no-people”. Severe ‘judgments’,
‘famine’, ‘pestilence’, ‘wild beasts’, and ‘the sword’ are unleashed due to
their tragic faithlessness.
Verses 26-33: אֱלֹהִים’s Restraint and the Folly of the Enemy.
אֱלֹהִים -
Elohim refrains from utterly destroying Israel only to
prevent their enemies from arrogance, lest adversaries claim their own strength
conquered Israel, failing to realize that אֱלֹהִים -
Elohim Himself delivered Israel over and over again.
The enemy’s system (‘vine of Sodom’)
is fundamentally corrupt and venomous.
Verses 34-38: Vindication and the Helplessness of Idols.
Vengeance belongs to אֱלֹהִים -
Elohim. When Israel’s strength is entirely spent
and their false gods prove powerless to aid or protect them, יְהוָה - the
LORD steps in to judge and have compassion on His servants.
Verses 39-43: Divine Sovereignty and Ultimate Redemption.
אֱלֹהִים -
Elohim proclaims His absolute oneness and power: “See
now that I, even I, am He, and there is no god with Me”. He brings death and
life, wounds and heals. He whets His sword for judgment against His enemies,
ultimately avenging His servants and bringing expiation (kipper) to His land and people.
Verses 44-47: Moses’ Final Charge.
Moses and Joshua (Hoshea) recite the song to the congregation. Moses
stresses that these words are not an empty matter (lo’davar rek);
they are Israel’s
very life and the key to longevity upon the land.
Verses 48-52: The Ascent to Mount
Nebo.
On that same day, אֱלֹהִים -
Elohim commands Moses to ascend Mount
Nebo in the land of Moab
to view the Promised Land from afar and be gathered to his people. Because of
the trespass at the waters of Meribath-kadesh, Moses
is permitted to see the land, but he will not to enter it!
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3. My Closing Message:
The song of “Ha’azinu” is far more than a historical record or a solemn warning;
it is a timeless guidebook for our Hebrew soul. Moses reminds us that our
relationship with the Almighty is grounded in eternal fidelity. When we enjoy ‘comfort’
and ‘abundance’, our greatest spiritual challenge is to remain humble and
connected to our Source, rather than allowing prosperity to breed
forgetfulness. Yet, even in the darkest chapters of concealment and exile, ‘Ha’azinu’ offers profound hope.
It assures us that אֱלֹהִים - Elohim’s covenant with Israel
is everlasting. אֱלֹהִים - Elohim never abandons His people, and the
ultimate horizon of history is one of redemption, comfort, and restoration for
His land and His nation. As Moses teaches us in verse 47, this Torah is “no
vain thing for you; because it is your life”. May we hold fast to its truths,
teach them diligently to all our next generations, and merit to walk in its
light upon the land given to our ancestors!
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Remember what אֱלֹהִים - Elohim, blessed be He, said the following through a number of
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“Return unto Me, and I will return unto
you, saith צְבָאוֹת- יְהוָה- the LORD of hosts” Mal’a’chi - Malachi 3:7. (JPS).
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עֲלֵיכֶם - Shalom Aleichem - Peace be with you!
Rabbi,
Dr. Reuven Ben Avraham-Goossens, PhD.
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