Symbols And Cymbals | Rabbi Stewart Weiss | Beit Midrash

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קטגוריה משנית

Parshat Ha’azinu, Which We Read Just Before Yom Kippur, Is Described As A "song," A "shira." Hashem Tells Moshe: "write This Song, Teach It To Bnei Yisrael & Place It In Their Mouths." And So, It Was A Tradition, From A Young Age, For Children To Practice & Learn Ha’azinu By Heart. It Is Indeed Very Poetic, & Its Verses Are Clearly Inspiring:

We Are Told That The Words Of The Torah Fall Like Rain, Giving Life To Us Even As Rain Makes The Flowers & Plants Bloom. We Are Urged To Seek Wisdom From Our Elders, & Learn From The Generations Gone By. Hashem Is Described As An Eagle, Which Majestically Guards Its Young, Even As Hashem Watches Over Us Eternally.

The Song Also Takes A Darker Tone, As It Warns Us Of The Consequences & Danger Of Forsaking Hashem. Yet Even When We Stray, G-d Will Prevent The Nations From Carrying Out Their Evil Plans Against Us. He Is Our Rock Forever.

What A Perfect Intro To Yom Kippur. For On This Day, We Admit Our Faults & Our Failings Even As We Pledge To Do Better. By Word & Action, Tefila & Fast, We Tell Hashem That We Want To Return To A More Pristine & Perfect Spiritual Life. We Sing, Because Music Emanates From Our Soul & Rises All The Way To Heaven.

But There Is Another Message We Send As Well.

Rav Soloveichik Once Attended A Symphony. He Watched Closely As One Member Of The Orchestra Sat Doing Nothing Until The Very End, When He Dramatically Stood Up & Banged His Cymbals. The Rav Later Approached Him & Asked Him If He Is A Specialist Who Just Comes To Do This One Small Thing For A Brief Moment.

"oh, No," Said The Man. "i Am Every Bit The Musician As Everyone Else; I Get The Same Pay & Recognition. Because Unless I Sound My Cymbals, The Work Is Unfinished, Incomplete, & It Is Considered A Disappointing Failure."

The Rav Wrote About This Experience & Said: "you May Consider Yourself A "bit Player" In The Universe. You May Think That You Make No Difference At All, That The World Can Go On Without Any Need Or Notice Of You. But You Are Wrong; Hashem Is The Master Conductor, & He Needs Each & Every Person To Do His Or Her Part. If Anyone Or Anything Is Absent, Then The World – Even History Itself – Is Diminished & Deficient, & In Need Of A Tikun."

On Yom Kippur, We Remind Hashem That We Truly Desire To Be Part Of The Heavenly Orchestra; The Instrument We Play Is "instrumental" In The Divine Plan For Humanity. And So We Plead, "let Us Return For Another Performance."