The Weekly Sedra – Parshas Haazinu

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 w”anted 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 Nigleh (the revealed part of Torah), and the second answer is in the spirit of Chassidus (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.