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September 17, 2004/Tishri 2 5765, Vol. 57, No. 3
Singing and hearing songs of repentance
Torah study
CANTOR EVAN KENT
Haazinu/Deuteronomy 32:1-52
A few years ago, while in Israel, I visited Jordan. My last stop was Mount Nebo, which according to tradition is the site of Moses' death and burial. I stood gazing toward a distant Israel barely visible through the afternoon haze.
The fields in the valley beneath me were lush. Crops were ready for harvest, and orchard trees were heavy with fruit. This was the land of milk and honey that Moses had dreamed about - the land that was meant to fulfill the yearnings experienced over 40 years of wandering. But Moses would only view this land, which was part of an ancient covenantal promise, from a distance. He would never descend into the lush valley, cross the river and taste the sweetness of Israel.
As I stood among the trinket sellers and souvenir hawkers, I imagined what Moses' personal sadness must have been like. I thought of him: torso slightly stooped with age; voice raspy but still strong and secure. I saw a Moses with sad, tearful eyes and envisioned him deep in thought as he prepared to speak his final words to the people. I imagined myself among the multitude of Israelites, fearful of losing our leader and uncertain of what would happen on the march to Israel.
Standing at the place where, according to tradition, Moses ascends after he delivers his inspiring song, I was finally able to comprehend Moses' deep longing for the land, and also why Haazinu so often is read on Shabbat Shuvah, the Sabbath of Repentance or Returning that falls between Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur.
Moses' song admonishes us. Similar to our High Holiday liturgy, the words lead us toward repentance. At the same time, like much of our liturgy for the Yamim Noraim, the Days of Awe, the song of Moses offers us hope and sets a path on which we can create a better future. The extraordinary song of Moses tells of the past, present and future of our people. Like the words of our High Holiday prayer book, it encompasses Jewish existence.
How opportune that we read Haazinu, featuring the Song of Moses, on Shabbat Shuvah. With the triumphal melodies of Rosh Hashana resounding and the hallowed strains of Kol Nidrei and Yom Kippur just days away, Jews are especially filled with song at this point in our liturgical calendar. Song is a powerful medium, the most ancient musical expression, and it has the power to inspire, to invoke memory, to soothe, to heal and to teach.
Our nusach, or prayer melodies, reflect the current season. Our rich liturgy becomes all the more beautiful through the strains of the High Holy Day motifs. The liturgy for Shabbat Shuvah fills us with introspection, reflecting its sacredness. We amend our Shabbat worship with reminders of the Days of Awe. We sing "Zochreinu lachayim ... v'chotveinu b'seifer hachayim," "Remember us unto life ... and inscribe us in the Book of Life." And we pray "Mi chamocha Av harachamim zocheir y'tzurav l'chayim b'rachamim? "Who is like you, source of mercy? In compassion you sustain the life of your children."
Moses' song, recited amid the words and music of Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur, reminds us that God is with us and guides us, just as God guided Moses on his spiritual journey.
As Moses taught his song to the Israelites (Deuteronomy 31:22), I continue, along with all my cantorial colleagues, to share his song with the Jewish community. Moses' song not only has crossed the Jordan; it also has crossed oceans, traversing continents and spanning the millennia.
Evan Kent is the cantor at Temple Isaiah in Los Angeles. Torat Hayim is available at urj.org/torah.
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