The Weekly D'rash and the Scriptures that we will be reading this Shabbat for Hazinu shuva from Rabbi Howard Silverman
TORAH ~ Deuteronomy 32:1-52
HAFTARAH ~ Hosea 14:1-9, Joel 2:11-27, Micha 7:18-20 BRIT CHADASHA ~ Revelation 2:1-7
We are in the midst of the ten-day period between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. The theme of these days is repentance and restoration. This Shabbat is called Shabbat Shuvah or the Sabbath of Return. How appropriate that the Torah portion for the week is Deuteronomy 32. It is called the Song of Moses—a song that he spoke at the end of his life which prophetically describes the historic relationship between God and Israel. It is the poetic version of chapters 29–31. If we had to give the whole poem a simple title, perhaps it would be "remember whose you are." The poem is written to remind Israel that the nation belongs to God and that well-being only comes by remaining faithful to God. Remember that the Book of Deuteronomy is written in the form of a treaty between a King and the people. The poem is the final statement of the covenant treaty. However, it is prophetic in nature. It tells the tragic story of God's love for Israel and Israel's rejection of His love. The result is that God hides His face, which means that even though they may be the chosen People it is as if they are on their own. God waits for the nation to finally recognize that He is their only true love. They would be vindicated and the nations would be judged; and at the end we read that God would atone for the sins of the land and the people. Therefore, this poem describes the breadth of the history of Israel. In this time of reflection during the High Holy Days, we can read this poem and ask ourselves "whose we are"! As individuals, families, and congregation, we should ask ourselves if we remember how God found us and has prospered us. Have we grown fat and sleek? Have we made our own plans and goals without consulting God? Have we lost our first love? These are the hard questions that we should always be asking ourselves. This is the time of year for us to assess these things. At the end of the poem we read these amazing words: "Rejoice, O nations, with His people; for He will avenge the blood of His servants, and will render vengeance on His adversaries, and will atone for His land and His people". Yes, God will atone for His land and His people—and the nations shall rejoice. This will happen in its fullness when the Messiah returns. But now, we experience Israel's future today. That is because the Messiah has come and God has indeed made atonement for the land and for the people. He has provided the forgiveness. Today there is a remnant of Israel who has received this, and a remnant from the nations who also have received the blessings of the Messiah. Therefore, the remnant of the nations rejoices along with Israel over this atonement. We, of all peoples, should therefore be quick to repent and confess our sins before God. On this Shabbat Shuvah, may we experience a renewed sense of commitment and calling in the Lord. Shabbat Shalom Rabbi Howard
TORAH READING: DEUTERONOMY 32:1-52 32:1 "Give ear, O heavens, and let me speak; And let the earth hear the words of my mouth. 2 "Let my teaching drop as the rain, My speech distill as the dew, As the droplets on the fresh grass And as the showers on the herb. 3 "For I proclaim the name of the L-RD; Ascribe greatness to our G-d! 4 "The Rock! His work is perfect, For all His ways are just; A G-d of faithfulness and without injustice, Righteous and upright is He. 5 "They have acted corruptly toward Him, They are not His children, because of their defect; But are a perverse and crooked generation. 6 "Do you thus repay the L-RD, O foolish and unwise people? Is not He your Father who has bought you? He has made you and established you. 7 "Remember the days of old, Consider the years of all generations. Ask your father, and he will inform you, Your elders, and they will tell you. 8 "When the Most High gave the nations their inheritance, When He separated the sons of man, He set the boundaries of the peoples According to the number of the sons of Israel. 9 "For the L-RD'S portion is His people; Jacob is the allotment of His inheritance. 10 "He found him in a desert land, And in the howling waste of a wilderness; He encircled him, He cared for him, He guarded him as the pupil of His eye. 11 "Like an eagle that stirs up its nest, That hovers over its young, He spread His wings and caught them, He carried them on His pinions. 12 "The L-RD alone guided him, And there was no foreign god with him. 13 "He made him ride on the high places of the earth, And he ate the produce of the field; And He made him suck honey from the rock, And oil from the flinty rock, 14 Curds of cows, and milk of the flock, With fat of lambs, And rams, the breed of Bashan, and goats, With the finest of the wheat-- And of the blood of grapes you drank wine. 15 "But Jeshurun grew fat and kicked-- You are grown fat, thick, and sleek-- Then he forsook G-d who made him, And scorned the Rock of his salvation. 16 "They made Him jealous with strange gods; With abominations they provoked Him to anger. 17 "They sacrificed to demons who were not G-d, To gods whom they have not known, New gods who came lately, Whom your fathers did not dread. 18 "You neglected the Rock who begot you, And forgot the G-d who gave you birth. 19 "The L-RD saw this, and spurned them Because of the provocation of His sons and daughters. 20 "Then He said, 'I will hide My face from them, I will see what their end shall be; For they are a perverse generation, Sons in whom is no faithfulness. 21 'They have made Me jealous with what is not G-d; They have provoked Me to anger with their idols. So I will make them jealous with those who are not a people; I will provoke them to anger with a foolish nation, 22 For a fire is kindled in My anger, And burns to the lowest part of Sheol, And consumes the earth with its yield, And sets on fire the foundations of the mountains. 23 'I will heap misfortunes on them; I will use My arrows on them. 24 'They will be wasted by famine, and consumed by plague And bitter destruction; And the teeth of beasts I will send upon them, With the venom of crawling things of the dust. 25 'Outside the sword will bereave, And inside terror-- Both young man and virgin, The nursling with the man of gray hair. 26 'I would have said, "I will cut them to pieces, I will remove the memory of them from men," 27 Had I not feared the provocation by the enemy, That their adversaries would misjudge, That they would say, "Our hand is triumphant, And the L-RD has not done all this."' 28 "For they are a nation lacking in counsel, And there is no understanding in them. 29 "Would that they were wise, that they understood this, That they would discern their future! 30 "How could one chase a thousand, And two put ten thousand to flight, Unless their Rock had sold them, And the L-RD had given them up? 31 "Indeed their rock is not like our Rock, Even our enemies themselves judge this. 32 "For their vine is from the vine of Sodom, And from the fields of Gomorrah; Their grapes are grapes of poison, Their clusters, bitter. 33 "Their wine is the venom of serpents, And the deadly poison of cobras. 34 'Is it not laid up in store with Me, Sealed up in My treasuries? 35 'Vengeance is Mine, and retribution, In due time their foot will slip; For the day of their calamity is near, And the impending things are hastening upon them.' 36 "For the L-RD will vindicate His people, And will have compassion on His servants, When He sees that their strength is gone, And there is none remaining, bond or free. 37 "And He will say, 'Where are their gods, The rock in which they sought refuge? 38 'Who ate the fat of their sacrifices, And drank the wine of their drink offering? Let them rise up and help you, Let them be your hiding place! 39 'See now that I, I am He, And there is no god besides Me; It is I who put to death and give life. I have wounded and it is I who heal, And there is no one who can deliver from My hand. 40 'Indeed, I lift up My hand to heaven, And say, as I live forever, 41 If I sharpen My flashing sword, And My hand takes hold on justice, I will render vengeance on My adversaries, And I will repay those who hate Me. 42 'I will make My arrows drunk with blood, And My sword will devour flesh, With the blood of the slain and the captives, From the long-haired leaders of the enemy.' 43 "Rejoice, O nations, with His people; For He will avenge the blood of His servants, And will render vengeance on His adversaries, And will atone for His land and His people." 44 Then Moses came and spoke all the words of this song in the hearing of the people, he, with Joshua the son of Nun. 45 When Moses had finished speaking all these words to all Israel, 46 he said to them, "Take to your heart all the words with which I am warning you today, which you shall command your sons to observe carefully, even all the words of this law. 47 "For it is not an idle word for you; indeed it is your life. And by this word you will prolong your days in the land, which you are about to cross the Jordan to possess." 48 The L-RD spoke to Moses that very same day, saying, 49 "Go up to this mountain of the Abarim, Mount Nebo, which is in the land of Moab opposite Jericho, and look at the land of Canaan, which I am giving to the sons of Israel for a possession. 50 "Then die on the mountain where you ascend, and be gathered to your people, as Aaron your brother died on Mount Hor and was gathered to his people, 51 because you broke faith with Me in the midst of the sons of Israel at the waters of Meribah-kadesh, in the wilderness of Zin, because you did not treat Me as holy in the midst of the sons of Israel. 52 "For you shall see the land at a distance, but you shall not go there, into the land which I am giving the sons of Israel." HAFTARAH READING: HOSEA 14:1-9, JOEL 2:11-27, MICAH 7:18-20 14:1 Return, O Israel, to the L-RD your G-d, For you have stumbled because of your iniquity. 2 Take words with you and return to the L-RD. Say to Him, "Take away all iniquity And receive us graciously, That we may present the fruit of our lips. 3 "Assyria will not save us, We will not ride on horses; Nor will we say again, 'Our god,' To the work of our hands; For in You the orphan finds mercy." 4 I will heal their apostasy, I will love them freely, For My anger has turned away from them. 5 I will be like the dew to Israel; He will blossom like the lily, And he will take root like the cedars of Lebanon. 6 His shoots will sprout, And his beauty will be like the olive tree And his fragrance like the cedars of Lebanon. 7 Those who live in his shadow Will again raise grain, And they will blossom like the vine. His renown will be like the wine of Lebanon. 8 O Ephraim, what more have I to do with idols? It is I who answer and look after you. I am like a luxuriant cypress; From Me comes your fruit. 9 Whoever is wise, let him understand these things; Whoever is discerning, let him know them. For the ways of the L-RD are right, And the righteous will walk in them, But transgressors will stumble in them. ( 2:11 The L-RD utters His voice before His army; Surely His camp is very great, For strong is he who carries out His word. The day of the L-RD is indeed great and very awesome, And who can endure it? 12 "Yet even now," declares the L-RD, "Return to Me with all your heart, And with fasting, weeping and mourning; 13 And rend your heart and not your garments." Now return to the L-RD your G-d, For He is gracious and compassionate, Slow to anger, abounding in lovingkindness And relenting of evil. 14 Who knows whether He will not turn and relent And leave a blessing behind Him, Even a grain offering and a drink offering For the L-RD your G-d? 15 Blow a trumpet in Zion, Consecrate a fast, proclaim a solemn assembly, 16 Gather the people, sanctify the congregation, Assemble the elders, Gather the children and the nursing infants. Let the bridegroom come out of his room And the bride out of her bridal chamber. 17 Let the priests, the L-RD'S ministers, Weep between the porch and the altar, And let them say, "Spare Your people, O L-RD, And do not make Your inheritance a reproach, A byword among the nations. Why should they among the peoples say, 'Where is their G-d?'" 18 Then the L-RD will be zealous for His land And will have pity on His people. 19 The L-RD will answer and say to His people, "Behold, I am going to send you grain, new wine and oil, And you will be satisfied in full with them; And I will never again make you a reproach among the nations. 20 "But I will remove the northern army far from you, And I will drive it into a parched and desolate land, And its vanguard into the eastern sea, And its rear guard into the western sea. And its stench will arise and its foul smell will come up, For it has done great things." 21 Do not fear, O land, rejoice and be glad, For the L-RD has done great things. 22 Do not fear, beasts of the field, For the pastures of the wilderness have turned green, For the tree has borne its fruit, The fig tree and the vine have yielded in full. 23 So rejoice, O sons of Zion, And be glad in the L-RD your G-d; For He has given you the early rain for your vindication. And He has poured down for you the rain, The early and latter rain as before. 24 The threshing floors will be full of grain, And the vats will overflow with the new wine and oil. 25 "Then I will make up to you for the years That the swarming locust has eaten, The creeping locust, the stripping locust and the gnawing locust, My great army which I sent among you. 26 "You will have plenty to eat and be satisfied And praise the name of the L-RD your G-d, Who has dealt wondrously with you; Then My people will never be put to shame. 27 "Thus you will know that I am in the midst of Israel, And that I am the L-RD your G-d, And there is no other; And My people will never be put to shame. 7:18 Who is a G-d like You, who pardons iniquity And passes over the rebellious act of the remnant of His possession? He does not retain His anger forever, Because He delights in unchanging love. 19 He will again have compassion on us; He will tread our iniquities under foot. Yes, You will cast all their sins Into the depths of the sea. 20 You will give truth to Jacob And unchanging love to Abraham, Which You swore to our forefathers From the days of old. B’RIT CHADASHAH READING: REVELATION 2:1-7 2:1 “To the angel of the congregation in Ephesus write: The One who holds the seven stars in His right hand, the One who walks among the seven golden lampstands, says this: 2 ‘I know your deeds and your toil and perseverance, and that you cannot tolerate evil men, and you put to the test those who call themselves apostles, and they are not, and you found them to be false; 3 and you have perseverance and have endured for My name’s sake, and have not grown weary. 4 ‘But I have this against you, that you have left your first love. 5 ‘Therefore remember from where you have fallen, and repent and do the deeds you did at first; or else I am coming to you and will remove your lampstand out of its place—unless you repent. 6 ‘Yet this you do have, that you hate the deeds of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate. 7 ‘He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the congregations. To him who overcomes, I will grant to eat of the tree of life which is in the Paradise of God.’