2022/5783

Parashat Ha'azinu is a song that Moshe recites to the Jewish People. He warns Bnei Yisrael, now that they’ve made a covenant with Hashem, to be careful to listen to the words of the Torah. He begins with “הַאֲזִ֥ינוּ הַשָּׁמַ֖יִם וַאֲדַבֵּ֑רָה וְתִשְׁמַ֥ע הָאָ֖רֶץ אִמְרֵי־פִֽי,” “Listen, heavens let me speak, let the earth hear my words.” Rashi comments here that the Torah is referring to עדות, testimony – the sky and land should serve as witnesses for Bnei Yisrael. The reason Moshe chooses the sky and land as witnesses is because they are objects that will always be there, unlike man. Rashi points out that we are somewhat dependent on the sky and land, as we rely on rain from the sky and produce from the ground. When Bnei Yisrael act well, we will receive the necessities from the earth and heavens, but when we don’t behave, the opposite will occur. Additionally, Moshe chooses heaven and earth as witnesses, for just as they are constant and unchanging, so too must our loyalty to Torah be constant and unchanging.

Sukkot is a time when we are judged on the timing of the rains to ensure that we have an abundance of produce. If we do the Ratzon of Hashem, the rain, in proper time, will reward us. We begin to say “Mashiv HaRu’ach '' in Shemoneh Esreih to ask for rain to ensure our success. On Sukkot, we have the Mitzvah of the Arba’ah Minim.  It’s a time for us to appreciate the success of the physical world and recognize that it all comes from Hashem. The Shamayim and Aretz are witnesses to the covenant we have with Hashem: if we keep our agreement, we are promised an abundance from the land and the sky. We show happiness on Sukkot by recognizing that the fruits of our labor all come from our adherence to the covenant that we established at Har Sinai. 

It's no accident that the Arba’ah Minim are all species of the land that depend on water. We want to reinforce that our existence and sustainability is dependent on natural forces that are beyond our control. That brings us to recognize and thank Hashem for providing our physical needs at the proper time throughout the year. And the timing of Parashat Ha’azinu at the onset of Sukkot is not a coincidence either – the Sukkah represents the Ananei HaKavod, where Hashem's presence dwells amongst us, which reflects our commitment to upholding a Torah lifestyle. Furthermore, we bring together the Arba’ah Minim that represents all different factions of Jews to show unity in our service of Hashem, which ultimately bolsters His presence among us. It is this commitment that grants us an abundant year of rain and produce and success.