Haazinu: Where is my Name in the Torah?
A former disciple of the Ramban (Nachmanides) scoffed at the entire Torah because he did not find his name in the Torah portion of Ha’azinu. When his master showed him where his name actually was hidden, it aroused him to return to God.
The Torah portion of Ha’azinu is mostly in poetic form, composed and spoken by Moses before his passing. The contents of the poem, even without going very deeply, tell of the history of the Jewish people, from the beginning of time until the end of days. From “Remember the days of old” all the way to the herald of the final redemption when “He will purify His land for the sake of His people.” The sages state, “This poem is great for it includes the present, it includes the past, and it includes the future to come and it includes this world and it includes the World to Come.” In the words of the Nachmanides, “it includes all the future that will be, even though it is short in words.”
Thus, we find that the poem of Ha’azinu is all-inclusive, which explains why it specifically is the unique inheritance bequeathed to us by Moses on the day of his passing from this world. It also makes sense that there is a special directive to repeat it: “And now, write for you this poem and teach it to the Israelites, place it in their mouths so that this poem will act for me as a witness to the Israelites.” It is recounted that the Maggid of Mezritch encouraged every Jew to commit the poem of Ha’azinu to memory.
The poem’s perspective is from above, from the point of how God views the world. From it, we learn that from God’s perspective, everything that happens is one epic narrative, with all the twists in the plot already revealed and known. All of man’s deeds and machinations are taken into account and they all play a role in the greater picture.
If all is already known, however, does this mean that all of us are nothing more than actors in a play, marionettes on a string with no real choice? Not at all. We all have free choice and hence, we are completely responsible for our deeds. Nonetheless, everything is known to God, and we all participate in His plans. This is the famous paradox of Foreknowledge and Free Will, which has occupied man for millennia. It remains a wondrous enigma: God has foreknowledge of everything, but we have been given the freedom to choose our actions and our path through life.
Nachmanides’ Disciple: Rabbi Avner
A fascinating story that ties directly to the song of Haazinu is told about the great scholar Nachmanides, Rabbi Moses ben Nachman, or the Ramban:
The Ramban had a disciple, whose name was Reb Avner. He became a proselyte (a mumar, in Hebrew) and was a wealthy and powerful man. After many years, he called for his former teacher, the Ramban, to come before him on Yom Kippur. The Ramban indeed came before him and right in front of his rabbi, he killed a pig, cooked it, and ate it—all on the holy fast day.
After he ate, he asked the Ramban how many excommunications at the hands of Heaven he deserved for the transgressions that he had just committed. The Ramban said that he deserved four and Avner said five. Avner wanted to argue with his rabbi, but he saw that the Ramban was angry, and he was silenced, for he still had a small measure of respect and fear of his former teacher.
The Ramban asked Avner what caused him to convert and Avner replied that once he had heard the Ramban say that all the mitzvot, all the Torah’s commandments and that is in the world are alluded in the Torah portion of Ha’azinu. [Indeed, we saw a similar statement in the Ramban’s commentary quoted earlier.] Avner thought that this was ludicrous and therefore impossible. He lost faith in the Torah and ended up transformed into a different person.
Surprisingly, the Ramban stood his ground and said, “I still say that everything is included in Ha’azinu. To illustrate this, ask me to find whatever you like.”
“Then show me,” Avner said in surprise and with a great measure of doubt, “where my name is written in Ha’azinu.”
“As you wish,” said the Ramban and immediately went to a corner to pray. The verse from Haazinu that came into his mind was: “I said in My anger I will make them destroy, I will eliminate their memory from humanity” (אמרתי אפאיהם אשביתה מאנוש זכרם). The Ramban perceived that the third letter of each word spells out “R’ Avner” (ר' אבנר), where the letter reish (ר) stands for Rabbi (רבי), a title of scholarly honor indicating that its bearer is a teacher of Torah.
When Avner heard this miraculous finding, he fell on his face and asked his rabbi if there could be a remedy for all his transgressions.
“You heard the words of the verse,” the Ramban answered and left.
