We read the penultimate portion of Deuteronomy (as well as the cycle of parsha), as well as Genesis 22 to complete the narrative of the binding of Issac and Unetaneh Tokef for the holidays.
We opened with the binding of Issac; as one can imagine, there was a lot to be said around:
- what the hell G-d,
- what's up with Abraham here. the commentators are very clear that he had ample time and opportunity to think about this
- Satan makes some appearances in the commentary, asking whether Abraham is truly loyal
- what's all this mean, anyways? what the hell do we do with this?
Lots was said around the nature of the trial and what it really was, whether and in what capacity Abraham passed it, who knew what when, and the sort of surprising complexity and density of the entire incident that arises from a refusal to try and parse it in purely binary terms.
tldr, if G-d asks you to do something you're already engaged in a bit
Next, the actual portion for this week, Ha'Azinu! This portion lasts one chapter, the bulk of which is a song Moses sings with heaven and earth as his witness, describing how G-d raised up Israel, how they turned from them, and how despite this the people would prevail and G-d would bring justice to their enemies who did evil to them. The portion closes with G-d instructing Moses to go to Mount Nebo, where he would see the promised land before dying. A lot was said about the language in use here and how it's very poetic, as well as the variety of interpretations. There was also more discussion about G-d's relationship with Moses, and how showing him the promised land was something derived from a place of kindness rather than something cruel. We also dipped into the commentaries of Sforno1, who had some discussions of antisemitism we found interesting.
We closed tonight's study out with a reading of Unetaneh Tokef and some associated commentary. For those unfamiliar, this is a poem/liturgy often read during the High Holy Days which has as its focus the transience of life, the inevitability of death, and G-d's involvement in it all.
The many generations of Bible writers made their book not assuming the worst but preparing for its possibility. That, as any Jew will tell you, is a big difference; the difference, actually, between life and death. Much of the speaking Book is not a rehearsal for grief but a struggle against its inevitability; another big difference. It is the adversary, not the enabler, of fatalism.
—Simon Schama, The Story of the Jews
Meanwhile, Ibn Ezra tells us about that classic phrase "the apple of their eye" and about apples (he does not explain apples)
Sforno tells us about the effects of astrology on geopolitics
We also added NBC's Hannibal and A Series of Unfortunate Events to the list of official jennachat midrash
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a 15th century Italian jew and biblical commentator