After learning this, I now want to enter further into the subject. The Tzror Hamor writes that there are forty-two Pesukim in Parshat Ha’azinu. And what do these correspond to? To the holy “Shem Mem-Bet” – the forty-two-letter Name of Hashem, which is hinted in the Tefillah of אָנָּא בְּכֹחַ. Just as אָנָּא בְּכֹחַ has forty-two words, divided into seven stanzas of six words each, so too Ha’azinu has forty-two Pesukim – each a channel of that holy light. This, he explains, is why the Torah reading is divided as it is. Each person who is called up to the Torah receives six Pesukim. Multiply six Pesukim by seven aliyot, and what do you get? Forty-two. These forty-two Pesukim correspond to the Shem Mem-Bet, just as the in the Tefillah of אָנָּא בְּכֹחַ we find six words in each of seven lines, and at the end we say: בָּרוּךְ שֵׁם כְּבוֹד מַלְכוּתוֹ לְעוֹלָם וָעֶד – for this is the completion of the Shem Mem-Bet.
Thus, everything in this Parsha revolves around this mystery, because everything here is bound with hidden secrets. I do not want to enter into all of these secrets, for in truth we are still only a few hours after Yom Kippur – still under the awe of the Shem HaMeforash that came forth from the mouth of the Kohen Gadol b’kedusha v’tahara. It is difficult, at such a time, to delve into the hidden mysteries of Parshat Ha’azinu. But the Ramban, at the end of the Parsha, gives us a taste, simply to open our ears a little. Let us read his words inside:
In the greatness of this song, it contains the present, the past, and the future yet to come. It contains this world and also the World to Come. And for this the Torah hinted when it said: ‘And Moshe came and spoke all the words of this song in the ears of the people.’ The word ‘all’ was mentioned to indicate that it encompasses all future events for them. Though it is brief in speech, its matters were explained to them in depth. And if this song were merely a letter from one of the astrologers who claim to foretell the end from the beginning, still it would be worthy of belief, because all its words have been fulfilled until now – not one has failed. How much more, then, must we believe and await with full faith the words of G-d, spoken by His faithful prophet in all His house, Moshe Rabbeinu, the one before whom and after whom there was none like him, peace be upon him.
So writes the Ramban – that everything is contained in this Parsha. Wondrous things, profound secrets, which Chazal reveal. I would like, Besiyata Dishmaya, to share with you just one very striking point from the Vilna Gaon. In truth, we could have taken only his words and built an entire shiur upon them, and that would have been more than enough; but let us at least see one teaching from him.
In Aderet Eliyahu, he writes as follows: In this song is contained the entire Torah with all its Mitzvot. The Song of Ha’azinu, though made up of only forty-two Pesukim, nevertheless includes the whole Torah and all of its Mitzvot. And how many words are there in this Parsha? Here we see why Chazal were called sofrim – counters – for they counted every letter and every word of the Torah. The Vilna Gaon did us the kindness of counting, and he records that in this Parsha there are תרי״ג – six hundred and thirteen words. 613 words correspond to the 613 Mitzvot of the entire Torah. For the Torah itself is one, and within it are the 613 Mitzvot. Together, that is what is called חָרוּת עַל הַלֻּחוֹת – engraved on the tablets. And what is the gematria of חָרוּת עַל הַלֻּחוֹת? 614. The Torah itself counts as one, together with its 613 Mitzvot. Thus, the Vilna Gaon reveals to us that all of Torah is included in this Parsha; and moreover, the 613 Mitzvot themselves are hidden within the words of Ha’azinu.
The Vilna Gaon then adds: the gematria of the 613 Mitzvot correspond to חָכְמָה (72), בִּינָה (67), דַּעַת (474) – which total 613. Wonderful! What does this reveal? That the entire Torah is included in this Parsha, and that everything which will ever be spoken by the prophets is already rooted here; all the prophecies of the Nevi’im were drawn from Ha’azinu. So writes the Tzror Hamor as well, at length, both at the end of Parshat Vayeilech and at the beginning of this Parsha.
Where can we find the 613 Mitzvot hidden in our Parsha? On our own, we could hardly hope to uncover them. But a good Jew took on this task, and after the passing of the Vilna Gaon he composed a sefer. His name was Rav Chaim Perlmutter, and he titled his work Shirah LeChaim. This Parsha, the Shirat Ha’azinu, is structured in the form of a song – but unlike the Shirat HaYam, which is built אָרִיחַ עַל גַּבֵּי לְבֵנָה (a brick over a half-brick), Ha’azinu is written לְבֵנָה עַל גַּבֵּי לְבֵנָה (a full brick over another full brick), forming two solid columns. This is the unique structure of Shirat Ha’azinu, extending until the words וְכִפֶּר אַדְמָתוֹ עַמּוֹ – He will atone for His land and His people.
Rav Perlmutter writes a most wondrous idea. Some say the Song of Ha’azinu should be recited every day. Indeed, there are opinions, brought even by the Rambam, that one ought to recite it daily. We won’t enter into the halachic debate, but certainly in the Beit Hamikdash it was known that this song was sung, as the Gemara (Rosh Hashanah 31a) explains, each Shabbat the Levi’im would sing one section of Ha’azinu, a division called עזי"ו לך. How is this division structured?
- The first section, “א” – “הַאֲזִינוּ הַשָּׁמַיִם וַאֲדַבֵּרָה”.
- The second, “ז” – “זְכֹר יְמוֹת עוֹלָם”.
- The third, “י” – “יְסֹבְבֶנְהוּ, יְבוֹנְנֵהוּ”, and “יַרְכִּיבֵהוּ עַל בָּמֳתֵי אָרֶץ”.
