Ha'Azinu - Day #5

Ha'Azinu הַאֲזִינוּ - Listen!  

Torah Portion: 

Deuteronomy 32:1-32:52

Deuteronomy 32:29–39

32:29 Oh that they were wise, that they understood this,

    that they would consider their latter end!

30 How could one chase a thousand,

    and two put ten thousand to flight,

unless their Rock had sold them,

    And Hashem had delivered them up?

31 For their rock is not as our Rock,

    even our enemies themselves concede.

32 For their vine is of the vine of Sodom,

    of the fields of Gomorrah.

Their grapes are poison grapes.

    Their clusters are bitter.

33 Their wine is the poison of serpents,

    the cruel venom of asps.

34 “Isn’t this laid up in store with Me,

    sealed up among my treasures?

35 Vengeance is mine, and recompense,

    at the time when their foot slides;

for the day of their calamity is at hand.

    Their doom rushes at them.”

36 For Hashem will judge His people,

    and have compassion on His servants,

when He sees that their power is gone;

    that there is no one remaining, shut up or left at large.

37 He will say, “Where are their gods,

    the rock in which they took refuge;

38 which ate the fat of their sacrifices,

    and drank the wine of their drink offering?

Let them rise up and help you!

    Let them be your protection.

         

39 “See now that I Myself am He.

    There is no god with Me.

I kill, and I make alive.

    I wound, and I heal.

    There is no one who can deliver out of My hand.

Today’s Meditation:

Verse 36 should clarify our future: ”For Hashem will judge His people, and have compassion on His servants.” It’s not like we can lead a sinful life, ignoring Hashem’s commands and not be judged. That is why we repent, through teshuvah, and make restitution, so that He will have compassion on us. Make sure your heart is right with Hashem. If not, make it so. We want to experience Hashem’s kindness and not His judgment.

Today’s Challenge:

Sometimes it helps to understand that Hashem really dictates the length of our days. Verse 39 explains, “I kill, and I make alive,  I wound, and I heal. There is no one who can deliver out of My hand.” He can keep us alive, or He can let us go. But the greater promise is that no one can take you out of His hand. We must remember that Hashem can and will keep us alive and heal us. We need to ask Him. That is my challenge today. Maybe you need healing; you may have a severe disease or illness. Don’t give up. Go to Hashem. Worship and pray before Him. Pray this Scripture that He heals. Then ask Him to heal you. Or someone you love or care about. It’s up to Him, and we can ask. It will be in His time and in His way.

Ha'Azinu - Day #4

Ha'Azinu הַאֲזִינוּ - Listen!  

Torah Portion: 

Deuteronomy 32:1-32:52

Deuteronomy 32:19–28

32:19 Hashem saw and abhorred,

    because of the provocation of His sons and his daughters.

20 He said, “I will hide My face from them.

    I will see what their end will be;

for they are a very perverse generation,

    children in whom there is no faithfulness.

21 They have moved Me to jealousy with that which is not Elohim.

    They have provoked Me to anger with their vanities.

I will move them to jealousy with those who are not a people.

    I will provoke them to anger with a foolish nation.

22 For a fire is kindled in My anger,

    that burns to the lowest Sheol,

    devours the earth with its increase,

    and sets the foundations of the mountains on fire.

23 “I will heap evils on them.

    I will spend My arrows on them.

24 They shall be wasted with hunger,

    and devoured with burning heat

    and bitter destruction.

I will send the teeth of animals on them,

    with the venom of vipers that glide in the dust.

25 Outside the sword will bereave,

    and in the rooms,

    terror on both the young man and the virgin,

    the nursing infant with the gray-haired man.

26 I said that I would scatter them afar.

    I would make their memory to cease from among men;

27 were it not that I feared the provocation of the enemy,

    lest their adversaries should judge wrongly,

  lest they should say, ‘Our hand is exalted,

    Hashem has not done all this.’”

28 For they are a nation void of counsel.

    There is no understanding in them.

Today’s Meditation:

After Moses explains the trouble they are going to be getting into when they abandon Hashem, he says in verse 28, ”For they are a nation void of counsel. There is no understanding in them.” He predicts that they will have a time in the future when they will no longer consult Hashem. They will be void of His counsel. Therefore, since they are not in a relationship with Hashem, there will be no understanding. That’s what is happening today. People no longer believe or communicate with the one true Elohim. They are going it alone, and the result is that they have no understanding of spiritual matters. People have become totally carnal, devoid of the one true spiritual relationship with Hashem. You and I can be a part of changing this. We can be lights to His truth and existence, bringing His genuine love to others. We can teach people about Him and how to communicate with Him. If they do this, they will gain understanding. 

Today's Challenge:

In verse 20, we read that the result of disobedience among His people is that, “I will hide My face from them.” Having Hashem's face hidden from you means He is no longer visible or tangible in your life. It is like when we sin, the hand of Hashem is lifted from our lives. We can only go it alone. And I can feel this happening every time I deliberately sin against Him. It’s like He really does hide His face from me. It takes true repentance and teshuvah to regain that personal relationship with Him. My challenge for you today is to assess your spiritual life. Do you feel Hashem’s Hand in your life, or do you feel He is “hiding His face” from you? If it is the latter, please take action. Repent and return to Him. Make restitution for what you have done and pray that He will return to you. Scripture says so (Malachi 3:7). Don’t be content with a life absent from Hashem; invite Him back into your life. And show Him that you really mean this.

Ha'Azinu - Day #3

Ha'Azinu הַאֲזִינוּ - Listen!  

Torah Portion: 

Deuteronomy 32:1-32:52

Deuteronomy 32:13–18

32:13 He made him ride on the high places of the earth.

    He ate the increase of the field.

He caused him to suck honey out of the rock,

    oil out of the flinty rock;

14 butter from the herd, and milk from the flock,

    with the fat of lambs,

    rams of the breed of Bashan, and goats,

    with the finest of the wheat.

    From the blood of the grape, you drank wine.

15 But Jeshurun grew fat, and kicked.

    You have grown fat.

    You have grown thick.

    You have become sleek.

Then he abandoned Elohim who made him,

    and rejected the Rock of his salvation.

16 They moved Him to jealousy with strange gods.

    They provoked Him to anger with abominations.

17 They sacrificed to demons, not Elohim,

    to gods that they didn’t know,

    to new gods that came up recently,

    which your fathers didn’t dread.

18 Of the Rock who became your father, you are unmindful,

    and have forgotten Elohim who gave you birth.

Today’s Meditation: 

It is so harsh that here the people are ready to enter the Promised Land, and Moses is prophesying that they are going to fail and go off and worship other gods. In verse 18, we read, “Of the Rock who became your father, you are unmindful, and have forgotten Elohim who gave you birth.” This is how sin begins: we forget who Hashem is. Sometimes things in life get so good that we forget who gave them to us. We get prideful and puffed up, thinking we worked for or earned the things we have. And then we begin to worship what we have, instead of Hashem. Maybe you don’t think you could ever forget Hashem and all He has done. But sometimes I think we do. How many hours a day do we watch TV? How many hours a day do we pray and worship Hashem? If that answer convicts you and scares you, then it is time to set things straight. Make sure today that you do not forget Hashem and all that He is. Spend time with Him today. Maybe take a prayer walk and thank Him for all He has done.

Today's Challenge:

In continuation of the thoughts above, have you ever abandoned Hashem (verse 15)? I have a good friend who unexpectedly lost his brother a few months ago. They were best friends. He got mad at Hashem. Why did Hashem take his brother at such a young age? This anger has really separated my friend from Hashem. I am encouraging him to think about where his brother is. Perhaps he is in paradise, in a very special place that Hashem has prepared. My friend is hurt, and we all have had times when we have felt the same. But we must not abandon or reject Hashem. We must remember He gives and He takes away. My challenge to you today is to thank Hashem for today. He woke you up. Ask Him to walk with you today. If you are hurting, go back to Him and ask Him to help you heal and be restored. Ask Him to come close to you so that you can feel His presence in your life. I pray that He does.

Ha'Azinu - Day #2

Ha'Azinu הַאֲזִינוּ - Listen!  

Torah Portion: 

Deuteronomy 32:1-32:52

Deuteronomy 32:7–12

32:7 Remember the days of old.

    Consider the years of many generations.

Ask your father, and he will show you.

    your elders, and they will tell you.

8 When the Most High gave to the nations their inheritance,

    when He separated the children of men,

He set the bounds of the peoples

    according to the number of the children of Israel.

9 For Hashem’s portion is His people.

    Jacob is the lot of his inheritance.

10 He found him in a desert land,

    in the waste howling wilderness.

He surrounded him.

    He cared for him.

    He kept him as the apple of His eye.

11 As an eagle that stirs up her nest,

    that flutters over her young,

He spread abroad His wings,

    He took them,

    He bore them on his feathers.

12 Hashem alone led him.

    There was no foreign god with him.

Today’s Meditation:

At the beginning of today’s reading, we see how Hashem has set apart His chosen people. In verse 8, we read,  “When the Most High gave to the nations their inheritance, when He separated the children of men, He set the bounds of the peoples according to the number of the children of Israel.” Hashem chose a people, from the seed of Abraham, to represent Him and be a light to the world. By doing this, He also gave them a land to live in and laws to govern their lives. There is a specific reason for this. Because the rest of the world needs to know Hashem. 

Picture a successful business where customers eagerly purchase its products. They market their product. I believe that Hashem was marketing Himself and His love for mankind by choosing a group of people who would represent Him and all that He does. He chose the Israelites, the Hebrews, to literally be His light to the nations. All for the purpose that people all over the world (His creation) would be drawn to Him. I want to join His people and His land, just like Ruth did. I like to pray this prayer, “Israel, wherever you go, I will go. Your people are my people. And your Elohim is my Elohim.”  

Today's Challenge:

Verse 10 says Hashem “Kept them as an apple of His eye”. We know that this phrase “apple of his eye” means you are critical and special to that person. And that is precisely what this song is saying. The Israelites, the Hebrew people, are very special to Hashem. My challenge to you today is to think about who is the “apple of your eye”? Who is special to you (besides Hashem)? Are you kind and generous to them? Do you have more than one “apple” relationship? If you don’t have an “apple,” pray and ask Hashem to give you one. Or maybe you do have one and don’t realize it, like your parents, a niece or nephew, or a neighbor? Find your “apple” today and praise Hashem for him/her.