Torah Connection - Ha'azinu (Shabbat Shuvah)

We are now full-swing in the Days of Awe -- the 10 days from Rosh Hashana to Yom Kippur.  The sabbath which falls during this period is called "Shabbat Shuvah" -- the sabbath of return, which is also a play on the word "teshuvah" meaning repentance.

The reading -- parshat Ha'azinu -- is mostly a long poem recited by Moshe to the people of Israel. The title האזינו means "listen", but more specifically, "give your ear" ("ear" = אֹזֶן).  The central proclamation in Judaism - the Shema - commands us to "hear".  Interestingly enough, it is not the people who are commanded to "give ear" in this parsha:

¹ Give ear, O heavens, let me speak;
Let the earth hear the words I utter!
² May my discourse come down as the rain,
My speech distill as the dew,
Like showers on young growth,
Like droplets on the grass.
³ For the name of the Lord I proclaim;
Give glory to our God!

And yet, of course it is people to whom this oracle is directed. At the end of the parsha, he says,

⁴⁵ And when Moses finished reciting all these words to all Israel, ⁴⁶ he said to them: Take to heart all the words with which I have warned you this day. Enjoin them upon your children, that they may observe faithfully all the terms of this Teaching. ⁴⁷ For this is not a trifling thing for you: it is your very life; through it you shall long endure on the land that you are to possess upon crossing the Jordan.

This week and a half is our time to focus on our very life.  It is not a "trifling thing".  It is not just an elaborate ritual and a tedious synagogue service.  It is our very life.

G'mar khatimah tovah!