Vol 2.20 - Haazinu             Spanish French Audio  Video

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Par 1) Heaven and earth are subjugated to Yisroel 
Par 2) The difference between Moshe and Yeshayahu regarding heaven and earth ; The lesson in Avodah

Translation:

1. In the beginning of this week’s Torah portion Moshe Rabbeinu (Moses our teacher) says, “Listen (Ha’azinu) O heavens (and be my witness) for I will speak. Let the earth hear (Tishma) (and witness) the words of my mouth”.

Moshe Rabbeinu then goes on to warn the Jewish people about how they should act and tells them the rewards for their good deeds (and Heaven Forbid what will happen if they don’t follow Hashem’s instructions).

2. The reason for using the Heavens and earth as witnesses (as Rashi explains) is because Moshe Rabbeinu wanted there to be everlasting witnesses to the Jewish people’s acceptance of Hashem’s commandments and the rewards they bring; therefore he called upon the everlasting Heavens and earth.

The Rebbe says:

1. In the beginning of this week’s Torah portion Moshe Rabbeinu (Moses our teacher) says, “Listen (Ha’azinu) O heavens (and be my witness) for I will speak. Let the earth hear (Tishma) (and witness) the words of my mouth”.

Moshe Rabbeinu then goes on to warn the Jewish people about how they should act and tells them the rewards for their good deeds (and Heaven Forbid what will happen if they don’t follow Hashem’s instructions).

2. The reason for using the Heavens and earth as witnesses (as Rashi explains) is because Moshe Rabbeinu wanted there to be everlasting witnesses to the Jewish people’s acceptance of Hashem’s commandments and the rewards they bring; therefore he called upon the everlasting Heavens and earth.

3. The Rebbe now quotes the Prophet Yishaya (Isaiah) as a prelude to a question:

The prophet Yishaya also called upon the Heavens and earth as witnesses, however he said it a little bit differently:

Yishaya said, “Let the heavens hear (Tishma) and witness for I will speak, and listen (Ha’azinu) O earth and by my witness to the words of my mouth”.

If we take a close look at Yishaya’s words, we will notice that he said the word “listen” (“Ha’azinu”) to the earth and “hear” (“Tishma”) to the heavens. This is the opposite of Moshe Rabbeinu who said “listen” (“Tishma”) to the heavens and “hear” (“Ha’azinu”) to the earth.

4. The Rebbe asks the obvious question:

Why did Moshe Rabbeinu say, “listen” (“Tishma”), to the heavens while Yishaya the Prophet said, “hear” (“Ha’azinu”), to the heavens? And why did Moshe Rabbeinu say, “hear” (“Ha’azinu”), to the earth while Yishaya the Prophet said, “listen” (“Tishma”), to the earth?

5. The Rebbe gives two answers to this question; the first answer is in the spirit of Niglah (the revealed part of Torah), and the second answer is in the spirit of Chassidut (the hidden part of Torah):

Answer one: According to Jewish law the testimony of two witnesses must perfectly fit with each other. Consequently, if the heavens would bear witness to what they have heard, while the earth would bear witness to what it has listened to, this would be invalid. Therefore, in order for the heavens and earth to be proper witnesses and both say the same thing, Moshe Rabbeinu and Yishaya the Prophet had to say different words for each so that both the heavens and earth heard and listened.

Answer two: Our Sages tell us that the word “Haazinu – listen” is used when the listener is very close by, and the word “Tishma – hear” is used when the one hearing is far away.

Moreover, Moshe Rabbeinu had a soul which came from the highest levels of G-dliness (specifically, the world of Atzilus), and consequently he was closer to heaven than he was to earth! Therefore, it makes perfect sense for Moshe Rabbeinu to say,

“Haazinu – listen” (which implies closeness), to the heavens, and say, “Tishma – hear” (which implies distance), to the earth.

However Yishaya the Prophet did not have such a lofty soul and he was closer to earth then he was to heaven. Therefore, it makes perfect sense that he would use the word, “Haazinu – listen” (which implies closeness), to the earth, and, “Tishma – hear” (which implies distance), when speaking to the Heavens.

6. The Rebbe now asks a question according to the second explanation:

If Moshe Rabbeinu had such a lofty soul, why did he need to use the earth as a witness at all? Why didn’t Moshe Rabbeinu just use the heavens as a witness?

And also with Yishaya; if he had a soul which was close to earth, why did he need to use the Heavens as a witness? Why not just use the earth as a witness?

7. The Rebbe answers the question:

Just as we said in the first answer above, that by law each party (the heavens and earth) had to have both hearing and listening, so too in spiritual terms, each party has to incorporate heavens and earth in itself. In other words, heaven must come down to earth, and earth must be elevated to heaven.

And this is indeed what Moshe Rabbeinu and Yishaya the Prophet were doing; Moshe Rabbeinu, whose main idea was bringing down divine energy (Moshe gave the Torah), brought the heavens down to the earth, and Yishaya the Prophet, whose main idea was elevating the people, elevated the earth to the heavens.

8. What are we supposed to learn from this in our daily lives?

The heavens are referring to people who sit all day and learn, and the earth is referring to people who are in business.

The learner must know that he cannot serve Hashem only through learning, as it says in the Talmud, “Someone who says that he only has Torah, even Torah he doesn’t have”. In actuality he must also see to it that he actively pursues and fulfills the (bodily) commandments.

The businessman must know that he must also set aside times during each day to learn Torah.

9. With the help of Hashem we will all accomplish this great task and the rewards mentioned in this week’s Torah portion will materialize, specifically with the complete and final redemption with the coming of Moshiach (the Messiah) now.

Translated and adapted by Shalom Goldberg. Taken from Likutei Sichos volume two.

"Give ear oh ye heavens (Ha’azinu) and I will speak, and let the earth hear the sayings of my mouth." With these words Sidra Ha’azinu begins.

The Midrash comments that since Moses was “close to the heavens” he said to them Ha’azinu, “Give ear,” an expression indicating that the listener is close; to the earth, however, he said “hear,” a word denoting that the listener is at a distance — for Moses was “far from the earth.”

Torah provides directive and guidance for every individual; the word Torah itself comes from the expression Hora’ah, “teaching.”’ From the above verse it would seem that Torah instructs every person to be “close to heaven and far from earth.” Yet, surprisingly, we find that Yeshayahu (Isaiah) exclaimed Hear oh ye heavens and give ear ye earth in exact reverse of the above verse, and the Midrash explains that Yeshayahu was “far from heaven and close to the earth.” If Isaiah, the greatest of the prophets, was unable to reach a “closeness” to heaven and “distance” from earth and remained “far from heaven and close to the earth,” then how is the average person expected by the Torah to attain such a level? And if we should succeed in showing how it is possible for every individual to reach such a level then the question will be, why was Yeshayahu (Isaiah) not able to achieve this level?

Heaven symbolizes the “heavenly,” spiritual study of Torah. Earth represents the down-to-earth practical precepts — the Mitzvos —which concern and involve the material; when a person gives charity (Tzedaka), for example, he dedicates his ‘earthly’ material gain to a nobler, more spiritual purpose. Each of these two — Torah study and Mitzvos-observance--has its own unique, great quality. Attachment and communion of the soul with G-d comes chiefly through Torah-study.’ Refining and spiritualizing the physical world to render it a fit “habitation” for the Al-mighty is achieved mainly through observing the Mitzvos.

In the first stages of one’s service of G-d, one must be “close to heaven and far from earth.” The main thrust of his efforts should not at first be towards purifying the surrounding world; his main enjoyment and enthusiasm should be in learning Torah. He must, of course, observe the Mitzvos — and with warmth and vitality —but only as much as required by Torah-law; he is to be “far from the earth.”

Then, later, after having acquired this sense of direction, he must come to recognize that “Not the study, but the implementation, is the main thing.”’ The ultimate purpose of his creation upon this physical earth is to make of the world a “habitation” for G-d. Isaiah, having used the Torah-guidance of Moses as an infusion of strength to reach the level of “close to heaven and far from earth,” was then able to advance to an even higher level of “close to earth and far from heaven.

Reprinted from The Thought Of The Week By Rabbi YM Kagan OBM