Ha'azinu: Listen Up

"Were they wise, they would think upon this, gain insight into their future..." (Devarim/Deuteronomy 32:29)

This parsha is the Song of Moses (the name translates to "listen!") in which he laments that the people of Israel are going to break their covenant, but promises that ultimately it'll all be okay. In a Torah scroll, the parsha is written in a distinctive two-column format, to highlight that it's poetry rather than prose, and to aid in understanding each line as two parallel thoughts.

This isn't one of the more pleasant parshiyot to read, since it's mostly ranting about how awful the Israelite people are, but there are some amazing poetic images here. 'Foaming grape-blood' is a pretty intense way to describe wine.

Join us at 9:00 am this Saturday for coffee, donuts, and what's always a lively discussion.

Other lenses

Want to know what other Jewish thinkers are saying about this parsha?

Wikipedia has an incredible treasure trove of geekery about the weekly portion, laying out everything from the