Ha-ziv Lach

Rabbi Zave Rudman

This dvar torah should be a zchus for the author that he should have complete health.

I have always been fascinated by the division of the Krias HaTorah. That the Parshiyos are divided as part of the Mesora seems to be true even according to the Eretz Yisroel tradition of a triennial reading of the Torah, since the division to fifty three parshiyos is found in various early sources . But even within the Parshiyos, the division of the actual Aliyos is curious. Sometimes it seems done mathematically as if to divide the Parsha equally. Sometimes there is an unusually long or short Aliyah. Some of these can be understood, such as the long Aliyah at the beginning of Ki Tisa , but many remain to me an enigma. But the one place where the division of the Parsha is clearly defined in Chazal is in this week’s Parsha- Ha’azinu.

There is an acronym for the division of the Parsha. The source is in Maseches Sofrim , it is quoted in the Gemara in Rosh HaShana , and then brought by the Rambam in two places . Then in the Tur and Shulchan Aruch it is brought L’Halacha . We are to divide the Parsha by the words which begin with the letters Heh, Zayin, Yud, Vav, Lamed, Choch. There are disagreements about which Pesukim to use to follow this acronym, since there are a few ranges of Pesukim which could fulfill this requirement, but that this is the way to divide it, is a given. When was this first done, and what is the meaning?

The original reading of the Parsha in this way is actually from the Shira of the Leviim on Shabbos. In the morning by the Olas HaTamid they would say Mizmor Shir LaYom HaShabbas. By Musaf they would say one of the six parts of Parshas Ha’azinu, and by Mincha they would say either a part of Az Yashir or the Shira of the Be’er from Chukas.

The Tur seems to write that each week the Leviim would read all of Ha’azinu as divided above. The plain reading of the Gemarra, and the way the Rambam writes the Halacha is that it was six week cycle, as the Leviim would read each week one portion. As the Minchas Chinuch writes the questions and permutations of how to perform this are many, and till Moshiach speedily arrives, it remains a mystery. Either way what we read in shul is based on that reading. But, what is the significance to specifically divide only Ha’azinu in this way?

The Rambam in Hilchos Tefila writes that even though everyone who reads from the Torah is to start and end with something positive, here it is different, in order that the nation should hear admonishment and return in Teshuva. The Rambam seems to be juxtaposing the division here in that it is different than all other readings. Rabbeinu Bachye writes similarly and links the division to the acronym of HaZiv Lach. Ziv means glory and he says that the division is a sign of the ultimate return of the glory of Klal Yisroel through Teshuvah. The word Ziv is used in this way throughout Sefer Daniel, specifically the special glory and appearance of the human face.

In the writings of the Bnei Yisoschor we find an expansion of this idea. He writes that actually Eisav’s name should include a Yud, and Yakov’s name should be Akev, without the beginning Yud, since it means heel, which he was holding on to. But since Yakov holds on to the heel of Eisav, his Yad- Yud is removing the Yud from Eisav, and attaching it to Yakov. Where in our world do we see this?

In the Sefer Yetzirah as explained in the Bnei Yisoschor, the letters of the Alef Bais are divided into three groups. There are the three basic letters: Aleph, Mem, Shin; the seven doubled: BeGeD KaPRT; and twelve simple letters. This division into three, seven, and twelve has various parallels in the world. One variation is: three Regalim, seven days of the week, and twelve months. In addition the twelve also months correspond to the twelve Shevatim. The first three of those twelve letters are Heh, Vav, Zayin. Therefore those letters correspond to the months of Nissan Iyar Sivan; which are the months of leaving Egypt and receiving the Torah. The next three letters are Ches, Tes, Yud, which are parallel to Tamuz Av Elul. These are under the control of Eisav. Tamuz and Av we see very clearly are under the control of Eisav from the events of the Churban, but what about Elul? The answer is that potentially it also was to be under his control, but that is what Yakov grabbed onto to save something for us.

This can be explained through the Tur who brings the Pirkei D’Rabbi Eliezer . After the sin of the Eigel, Moshe received the opportunity to receive the Torah again. But the Satan wanted to bring the Jews to repeat the sin of the Eigel once again. As outlandish as this might sound- we do the same thing all the time. We sin, and then we repeat the sin. So when Moshe goes up on Rosh Chodesh Elul to get the second Luchos, it required a tremendous effort to take Elul and turn it into a month of Teshuva. That is what Yakov took from Eisav and made ours. Elul could have been a second sin of the Eigel, and then it would have been just like Tamuz when we did the first sin. But we took it from Eisav and through Teshuva made it ours.

So HaZiv is the joining the month of Elul to the months of Yetias Mitzrayim, Sefira, and Matan Torah. It is the Yud of Elul with the three months of Nissan, Iyar, Sivan. It is the month of the second giving of the Torah which began with Rosh Chodesh and ended with the giving of the giving of the second Luchos on Yom Kippur.

The one other place the word Ziv is used in Tanach is to refer to Iyar , which is the month completely devoted to getting the Torah. This is HaZiv, the completion of Matan Torah, with the Luchos Shniyos. The last Parsha we read on a Shabbos (Since VaZos HaBracha is read on Simchas Torah) is HaZiv Lach.

What is the Lach? Yakov and Eisav meet as Yakov returns from the house of Lavan. As we know, the actions of the Avos are a sign as to what will happen with their descendants. At the end of the confrontation and debate, Eisav says: Yehi Lecha asher Lach . Let what is yours be yours. Eisav is referring to Eretz Yisroel and agreeing to the sale of the Brachos, which are Eretz Yisroel. The Ziv is Lach. Eisav agrees that the Yud which symbolizes Olam Haba is really Yakov’s. The desire of Eisav to own Eretz Yisroel, which is the physical representation of Olam Haba, he now admits is Yakov’s. Yud always represents Olam Haba. If we have done the Avoda of Elul properly, even Eisav admits HaZiv Lach.

 Among the ways to define the differentiation of the different parts of the Parsha, we find the Toldos Yitzchok which explains in the following way: After going through the other parts he says that these Pesukim which begin with Yud are the description of the good which Klal Yisroel receives in Eretz Yisroel. It begins with the teaching that Eretz Yisroel is higher than all the lands, and ends with the sad fact that the bounty of Eretz Yisroel can lead to rebellion.

This is what Eisav is giving to Yakov. Yehi, let the Yud which you took for me be yours.

What is also interesting is that the word Ziv as used to describe the month of Iyar is only used when describing the construction of the Bais Hamikdosh. The Ziv is the ultimate glory of what Eretz Yisroel is meant to be. This is the building of the Bais HaMikdosh which as described in the Mishnah in Taanis, is the completion of the Chasanah of Matan Torah, and the day of HaShem’s Simchas Libo- the joy of His heart.

In Parshas Ha’azinu which is always read as we reach the culmination of the year, we strive to HaZiv Lach.