Shabbos Parashas Haazinu - 5778
Shabbos Parashas Haazinu - 5778
Rabbi Hal Miller
Return O Israel unto the L-rd your G-d for you have stumbled in your
iniquity. [Hoshea 14:2]
This is Shabbat Shuvah, the Shabbos between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. It
marks the end of the annual cycle of Shabbos Torah readings, leaving over only
the final bit we read on Simchas Torah, before starting again. In the midst of
all this, why would we need to be thinking about 'return' and 'stumbled in
your iniquity'? Didn't we just elevate ourselves with the awe of Rosh Hashanah?
Why does this come in our Haftorah now?
We can make some guesses:
- strike while the iron is hot
We are in the middle of the Days of Awe, we are in the middle of taking
personal stock and trying to correct our behavior. This verse is just a
reminder of the reason that we go through the process.
- bored over Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, might make a mistake
Let's face it, the activities of this time of year are stressful, and not
particularly 'fun'. We may come to be distracted during the prayer service
and let our minds wander into a trap.
- Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur do not completely return us
Just because we sit through the services does not mean all of our errors
are expunged. There are even a few that are not impacted by these holidays
at all.
- just a good time to review since we're studying teshuvah anyway
Well, it's always a good time to do teshuvah. This happens to be an even
better-than-usual time, so we put in a lot of effort studying the process.
But in the end, what is teshuvah? The word does not mean, as it is usually
translated, 'repentance'. It means 'return'. Return to what? To G-d. Return
from what? That's a bigger question.
Our verse says that we have "stumbled in our iniquity". The commentators are
puzzled by this phrase. Does it mean "stumbled on account of your iniquity",
which would indicate that the iniquity is the cause of the stumbling? Or
does it mean "stumbled through your iniquity", that the iniquity is the
method by which we failed to achieve a high level? Are the iniquities the
actual stumblings, whereby one is not the result of the other?
Rashi says, "Hardships overtook you on account of your iniquities." This is a
causative relationship. Radak, though, writes. "It is because you yourselves
realize that you have stumbled in your iniquities that you have to return to
the L-rd blessed be He, for only a return to Him can raise you up from your
stumbling:, which seems to indicate that they are the same thing.
What is the difference? In Rashi's case, our verse teaches that G-d punishes
us for doing wrong. It is up to us to suffer the punishment and correct our
behavior. In Radak's case, the verse is merely a setup to verse 14:5, "I will
heal their backsliding", where G-d tells us that He will be the one to correct
our troubles and bring us back.
This leaves us with an obvious question. Nechama Leibowitz asks it as, "If it
is the L-rd who heals backsliding, what role is left to man in the context of
repentance? To this the prophet answers that what we have here is a reciprocal
movement of the people towards G-d and of G-d towards man. The patient has to
take the first step before the physican can intervene."
In other words, both Rashi and Radak are saying the same thing. It is up to us
individually to review our actions and correct them, to make an end to our
wrong behavior, to 'return' to G-d. He will then accept us back into His fold.
This is the recipe for the Days of Awe.