On Shabbat Shuva after Rosh Hashana we read Moshe’s beautiful song of Parshat Ha’azinu (Shirat Ha’azinu). Moshe begins “Let the Heavens listen and I will speak, and the Earth hear the words of my mouth.” The Midrash explains listening “Hazana” is from close, the word itself has the same root as “Ozen” an Ear, and hearing “Shmiya” is from further away. Moshe was in much closer contact with Hashem and heaven. We also make the blessing “to hear the sound of the Shofar, and it was wonderful, that even though many prayed from home, the shofar was never far and we could hear the shofar blowing near us, from so many different directions. However, with Moshe, he appears to be talking of a two-way conversation, the heavens listening carefully and the earth, hearing but not always concentrating and absorbing the message.
The Ktav Sofer, takes the view that poetically Moshe is comparing the scholars and learned people to the heavens and the rest of us who listen and learn from them, to the earth. In particular he understands this, as Moshe continues “Let my teaching fall like rain and my words descend like dew.” To live we need to eat, and much of our food comes from the produce which grows on the Earth, and is nourished by the water in the ground. The cycle of water is one of the wonders of nature, the rain falls from above and feeds the plants and the dew and moisture rise back to feed the soil and evaporates back into the clouds. The scholars should not only learn, but must pass on their knowledge and understanding to all of us. Moshe is presenting the study of Torah as a cycle, the scholars must teach us and we, the people, must interact with them and feed them with our questions and doubts, for the cycle to continue.
The Ktav Sofer, notes the move from the plural to the singular, which is not so apparent in the English translation. The Heavens should listen and I will speak, meaning that despite their being many wise people, the source of their teaching, is one, I Moshe have spoken and given you the Torah from the Divine. The Earth listening is in the singular, as each of us understands according to his own capacity or what he or she is capable of grasping. This provides an interesting parallel to our current situation in Israel and around the world, we are all listening, but each individual is hearing and interpreting the pandemic challenges and how to deal with them, in their own way. Difficult times for all us.
I was very pleased, that my Rosh Hashana story of my great great grandfather, Reb Shmuel Kelmer created great interest and was enjoyed by many. He is perhaps listening from somewhere up there, and smiling that we down here remembered him on his special day of deliverance. I will try to find more to tell about Reb Shmuel, but for now, we can go back one more generation to his father Reb Yankele Neutstatter (from the town of Neustatt).
Reb Yankele was known as Reb Yankele Hamenagen, that is, Reb Yankele the musician, perhaps appropriate for Shirat Ha’azinu. From the little we know of Reb Yankele, he was a very humble man, and although learned, he used to help in the local inn and clean out the stables. Only late into the night, he would sit alone and study from his books which he kept in a wooden case. He would learn through the night, pray at dawn and then sleep till midday. One morning some of his friends came looking for Reb Yankele, describing him as a learned sage. The guests at the inn said there is no one like that here, but there is the lazy Reb Yankele, who sleeps most of the day and carries his violin in a wooden box. When his friends finally found him, they jokingly called him Reb Yankele Hamenagen, and the name stuck. He was also apparently a fine chazan and his Yom Kippur Neilah would bring tears to many eyes.