Parshat Haazinu Summary

Parshat Haazinu is the 10th parsha in Sefer Devarim (also known as Deuteronomy).

This parsha is verses Deuteronomy 32:1 – 32:52, or a total of 52 verses.

Here is a brief summary for each aliyah.

Aliyah 1: Deuteronomy 32:1 – 32:6, 6 verses

The first 43 verses of this parsha form the song that Moses mentioned in Parshat Vayeilech.

Moses starts by speaking to the heavens and the earth. He said at the end of Yayeilech (verse 31:28) that he would make them into witnesses against the Jewish people.

Moses requests that the Torah become like rain and dew. Plants need life giving water. The Jewish nation needs God’s Torah to thrive.

Moses praises God’s works and wonders how anyone could disobey Him.

Aliyah 2: Deuteronomy 32:7 – 32:12, 6 verses

Moses gives a brief history lesson. He urges the Jewish people to remember their history. He urges his listeners to speak to those who understand the past.

Everything that God has done with the nations of the world was for the sake of the Jewish people.

God brought His nation safely through a desert and a wilderness. He protected them the same way an eagle protects his nest.

We are fortunate to live at time when anyone with an internet connection can see nesting eagles. There are a number of “eagle cams” that you can watch.

Aliyah 3: Deuteronomy 32:13 – 32:18, 6 verses

God is giving the Jewish people a land that will provide all of their material needs.

Unfortunately, there are times when material wealth contributes to spiritual decline. And that decline can become a complete denial of God.

The denial of God can lead to idol worship.

Aliyah 4: Deuteronomy 32:19 – 32:28, 10 verses

Idol worship leads to God’s wrath being unleashed.

God’s wrath can take many forms. At times it means He hides himself from His people.

At times it means He allows other nations to defeat the Jews in battle.

Of course, it is also possible that He will send fire, famine, demons, or exile to punish His nation.

Aliyah 5: Deuteronomy 32:29 – 32:39, 11 verses

When the Jewish people suffer, it is God Who is afflicting them.

He may use a strange nation to afflict His people. That nation will not understand that they are merely a tool that God is using.

The Jewish nation can only be defeated when God permits it.

Aliyah 6: Deuteronomy 32:40 – 32:43, 4 verses

God will punish those nations that afflict the Jewish people. He only gave the nations permission to slightly afflict His people. However, if they go beyond what God wants them to do, then they will pay for their transgressions.

There will come a time when all of the nations of the world will sign the praises of the Jewish people.

Aliyah 7: Deuteronomy 32:44 – 32:52, 9 verses

Moses and Joshua taught this song (verses 32:1 – 43) to the Jewish people.

Moses once more urges the people to follow God and obey His Torah. The Torah is our source of life and only by obeying it can the Jewish people flourish in the Land of Israel.

God invites Moses up to Mount Abarim. From there he will be able to see the entire Land of Israel.

Moses will not be permitted to enter the Land because of his sin when he struck the rock instead of speaking to it.

Haftarah Summary

2 Samuel 22:1 – 41

This is the haftarah when Parshat Haazinu is read after Yom Kippur. When Haazinu is read before Yom Kippur on Shabbat Shuva, then the haftarah for Parshat Vayeilech is read.

As recorded in the first verse, this haftarah records the words of praise David spoke after God saved him from King Saul. David praises God for the many times and the different ways He saved him from his enemies.

Further Reading

The sin of Moses striking the rock rather than speaking to it is recorded in Parshat Chukat (Numbers 20:7 – 13).