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 there in. 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’...”
Menachem Tzion on “Binu Shnos Dor V’Dor”
The verse says in Parshas Ha’azinu [32:7] “Remember bygone days; understand the years of each generation; ask your father and he will tell you, your grandfather and he will say it over to you”. This pasuk, even on a very simple and basic level is telling us that a person has to have an appreciation for history.
A Jew, especially, has to have an appreciation of what was before him. If a person has an appreciation of what was, of tradition, of what has transpired over the years, then he is a person that can deal with the present even better. A person has an obligation to remember and understand and to try to see the Hand of G-d (Hashgocha) in history.
Willaim Shirer used as an epigraph to his Rise and Fall of the Third Reich(1959) the quote from U.S. philosopher George Santayana: “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” This is a truth. One needs to remember past history (Zechor Yemos Olam).
On a simple level, Binu Shnos Dor V’Dor (Understand each and every generation) is redundant. It would appear to be a poetic restatement of the beginning of the verse. On a homiletic level however, the Menachem Zion offers a very nice interpretation of this expression.
Yes, one must understand history and take the lessons of history and apply it to our generation, but also Binu ‘Shnos’ dor v’dor. He homiletically says the word ‘Shnos’ is derived not from the word ‘Shana’ (year) but from the word ‘Shoneh’ (different). The meaning is that you must understand the changes from one generation to the next.
A person can not blindly apply the same rules that worked in the past to the present situation. If he tries, he will fall short. Each generation is different. A person can not glibly say “That’s the way it was; therefore, that’s the way it has to be”. Binu Shnos Dor V’dor — take the lesson of history, but bear in bind the changes from generation to generation. Times change, people change, and circumstances change. Sometimes a person has to alter and redirect and not merely go with what was.
If someone today were to send a half million troops to the beaches of Normandy, he would rightly be called a “meshuganer”. While 50 years ago there was indeed a need to fight a battle on the beaches of Normandy, that battle is now over; that battle has already been fought; and that battle has already been won. We cannot always continually fight the same battles over again.
Understand the changes (‘shnos’) in each generation. Understand that each generation has its own set of problems and own set of rules and own set of circumstances. We must remember the days gone by, but couple that remembrance with an understanding of the changes that take place in each generation.
In this connection, I have quoted in the past the ‘Chassideshe vort’ of Reb Levi Yitzchak that Eliyahu (rather than Moshe Rabbenu or anyone else)was the one designated to resolve all of the Gemarah’s “Teykus”. The reason, the Berditchever says, is because Chaz”al say Eliyahu never died– he has been around in all generations. To pasken shaylos we need someone who has an understanding of each generation to pasken the Shaylah for that generation. Therefore, only Eliyahu who was present during all generations will be qualified to resolve the “Teykus”.
