Parshas Haazinu
Rabbi Yissocher Frand
Rav Herzog on the Comparison of Torah to a Song
The verse from which we derive the mitzvah to write a Sefer Torah [Devorim 31:19] says “And now write for yourselves this song...”. We see the Torah refers to itself as a “Song” (Shirah). Why is Torah called Shirah?
Rav Herzog once gave the following explanation: With virtually all fields of study in the world, one uninitiated in that discipline gets no pleasure from hearing a theory or an insight concerning that field of study. For example — physics. If one tells over to a physicist a “chiddush” in his field of expertise, he will get great pleasure from it. If, however, one shares this same insight with someone who has never studied and never been interested in physics, he will be totally unmoved by it. The same applies to many, many other disciplines.
However, this is not the case with music. When Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony is played — regardless of whether one is a concert master or a plain simple person — there is something one will get out of it. Music is something that everyone on their own level can enjoy and have a relationship to.
Rav Herzog says, that’s why Torah is called “Shirah”. One can be a great Talmid Chochom and learn “Bereishis Barah Elokim...” and see great wisdom therein. On the other hand, one can be a five year old child, just beginning to read, and learn “Bereishis Barah Elokim...” and also gain something from it. Every person, on his own level can have an appreciation for Torah. Therefore, Torah is aptly referred to in the verse when it says “And now, write for yourselves this ‘song’...”
