Haazinu

[2] The bulk of the parashah, the song of Deuteronomy 32:1–43, appears in the Torah scroll in a distinctive two-column format, reflecting the poetic structure of the text, where in each line, an opening colon is matched by a second, parallel thought unit.

[3] In the first reading, Moses called on heaven and earth to hear his words, and asked that his speech be like rain and dew for the grass.

[10] In the third reading, God set the Israelites atop the highlands to feast on the yield of the earth and fed them honey, oil, curds, milk, lamb, wheat, and wine.

[38] The parashah has parallels or is discussed in these Biblical sources:[39] Moses calls heaven and earth to serve as witnesses against Israel in Deuteronomy 4:26, 30:19, 31:28, and 32:1.

Similarly, Psalm 50:4–5 reports that God "summoned the heavens above, and the earth, for the trial of His people," saying "Bring in My devotees, who made a covenant with Me over sacrifice!"

Rabbi Jeremiah ben Eleazar taught that God made such a stipulation with everything that was created in the six days of creation, as Isaiah 45:12 says, "I, even My hands, have stretched out the heavens, and all their host have I commanded."

Rav Judah read "As the small rain (כִּשְׂעִירִם‎, kisirim) upon the tender growth" to refer to the east wind that rages through (מַּסְעֶרֶת‎, maseret) the entire world like a demon (שָׂעִיר‎, sa'ir) when it blows strongly.

[50] Rabbi Abbahu cited Deuteronomy 32:3 to support the proposition of Mishnah Berakhot 7:1[51] that three who have eaten together publicly should say the Grace after Meals (ברכת המזון‎, Birkat Hamazon) together as well.

[56] Citing the words of Deuteronomy 32:4, "The Rock, His work is perfect; for all His ways are judgment," Rabbi Ḥanina taught that those who say that God is lax in the execution of justice shall have their lives disregarded.

Judah the Prince remarked on how great these righteous ones were, for three Scriptural passages expressing submission to Divine justice readily occurred to them just in time for their declaration of faith.

So in an application of the principle of Deuteronomy 32:4, "The Rock, His work is perfect; for all His ways are Justice," God raised up kings, sages, and prophets for both Israel and nonbelievers alike.

'"[61] Rabbi Simeon taught that Deuteronomy 32:8, "When the Most High gave to the nations their inheritance," describes events that took place when God confused the languages of humankind at the Tower of Babel.

So when Israel went out of Egypt, the fear of them fell upon all the nations, as Exodus 15:14–16 reported, "The peoples have heard, they tremble; pangs have taken hold on the inhabitants of Philistia.

Rava then said that this bore out what Rabban Simeon ben Gamliel taught, that wherever the Rabbis direct their eyes in suspicion, either death or poverty follows.

And if Israel acted sinfully, then the hand of the witnesses would be the first to inflict punishment (carrying out the injunction of Deuteronomy 17:7), as God would close off heaven's rain, and the soil would not yield its produce.

[83] Baḥya also read the words of Deuteronomy 32:4 to provide comfort when one questions why some righteous people do not receive their livelihood except after hard and strenuous toil, while many transgressors are at ease, living a good, pleasant life.

For, Maimonides interpreted, when people are deprived of Divine protection, they are exposed to all dangers, and become the victim of circumstance, their fortune dependent on chance—a terrible threat.

[92] Harold Fisch described the witness function of the song as "a kind of time bomb; it awaits its hour and then springs forward into harsh remembrance.

"[94] A modern Midrash interpreted the report of Deuteronomy 32:8 that God "fixed the boundaries of peoples in relation to Israel's number" (לְמִסְפַּר בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל‎, l'mispar b'nei Yisrael) to teach that before the days of Abraham, God dealt harshly with the world: The sins of Noah's generation resulted in the flood; the generation that built the Tower of Babel was dispersed throughout the globe, prompting the proliferation of languages; the sins of Sodom and Gomorrah were answered with fire and brimstone.

Thus, some scholars consider the final counsel of Moses in Deuteronomy 32:45–47 to have been composed by the first Deuteronomistic historian (sometimes abbreviated Dtr 1) who wrote in the time of King Josiah of Judah, circa 622 BCE.

[97] Some scholars attribute the bulk of the parashah, Deuteronomy 32:1–44 to an insertion by the second Deuteronomistic historian (sometimes abbreviated Dtr 2) who wrote in the Babylonian captivity after 587 BCE.

[98] And then these scholars attribute the conclusion of the parashah, Deuteronomy 32:48–52 to a later Redactor (sometimes abbreviated R) who folded the Deuteronomic report into the context established at the end of the book of Numbers.

In the Masoretic Text and the Samaritan Pentateuch, Deuteronomy 32:8 reports how God set the borders of the peoples according to the number of "the children of Israel."

In a Qumran scroll (4QDeutj) and the Septuagint, however, it is the number of "the children of God," whom Martin Abegg Jr., Peter Flint, and Eugene Ulrich suggested may mean the divine beings who would serve as protectors for the various nations.

In Alter's interpretation of the older world-picture, a celestial entourage of subordinate divine beings or lesser deities surrounded the supreme God.

But in another Qumran scroll (4QDeutq, supported by the Septuagint), Deuteronomy 32:43 says, "Rejoice, O heavens, together with Him; and bow down to Him all you gods, for He will avenge the blood of His sons, and will render vengeance to His enemies, and will recompense those who hate Him, and will atone for the land of His people.

[103] As Samaritans accept only the Torah as prophetic and reject the rest of the Tanakh, they base their belief in the resurrection of the dead (ḥayyei ha-metim) entirely on Parashat Haazinu.

Samaritans see this as motivation for non-Samaritans and non-Jews (gentiles) to convert and join the people of Israel if they want to have a place in the World To Come.

[107] And according to others, the parashah contains a commandment to listen, hear, and learn one's ancestral history, as Deuteronomy 32:7–9 instructs one to "ask your father and he will tell you."

[129] Many Jews recite the words, "as an eagle that stirs up her nest, hovers over her young," from Deuteronomy 32:11 as part of the declaration of intent before donning the tallit.