| SHABBOS SHUVA
The Shabbos between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur is known as Shabbos Shuvah, the Sabbath of Repentance. The term "Shuvah," meaning "return," comes from the haftorah from the book of Hoshea, one of the "Trei Assar," the twelve prophets whose books of prophecy are relatively short. Hoshea says, "Return, Israel, to the Lord your God, for you have stumbled because of your sin." The haftorah also contains shorter sections from two others of the Trei Asar, Yoel and Micah. In the portion from Micah, we ask God, symbolically, to hurl, "ve'tashlich," our sins into the waters. This is the source of the custom of Tashlich, the visit of individuals to a body of water, usually on a Rosh Hashanah, or between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur.
The parsha this Shabbos Shuva is Haazinu, the next to last parsha in the Torah. It is Moshe's poetic farewell to the Jewish people. He presents various wise sayings to instruct the Jews about their conduct after his death.
Moshe says: "Ask your father and he will tell you, your elders (that is, grandparents), and they will explain to you." (32:7) The rabbis explain: A father has to be asked in order for him (or a mother) to explain an important matter to their children. But grandparents will explain matters to their grandchildren even if not asked. The relationship between grandparents and grandchildren is more relaxed and conversation is more comfortable.
Moshe calls on the heavens and earth to hear his words (32:1) Why the heavens and earth? Moshe wants the Jewish people to remember his words forever. If he calls on other people to be witnesses to his words, they will die eventually and not be able to testify as to what Moshe said. But the heavens and earth last forever, and they can always be called on to testify as to Moshe's last words to the Jewish people.
At the conclusion of the parsha, God tells Moshe to ascend the mountain, where he will die. God reminds Moshe of his sin in striking, rather than speaking to, the rock in order to bring water to the Jews in the desert. God tells Moshe that he will see his beloved land from a distance, but he will not be allowed to go there himself.
The haftorah is the special haftorah for Shabbos Shuvah. It is from Hoshea, 14:2. Hoshea says, :"Return O Israel to the Lord your God, (shuva, Yisroel) for you have stumbled because of your sins."
YOM KIPPUR
The Torah reading on Yom Kippur is from the parsha "Acharei Mos," which describes the Yom Kippur ritual in which the High Priest, for the only time in the year, enters the Holy of Holies and performs the ritual which includes the ceremony of the two goats, on one of which the High Priest confesses the sins of the people and then sends that goat into the wilderness ("Sa'ir L'Azazel").
The laws of Yom Kippur are also set forth in this reading. The haftorah is from the prophet Isaiah. His words are memorable: "You fast in strife and contention and you strike with a wicked fist...Is that a fast that I desire?...No, this is a fast I desire...It is to share your bread with the hungry, and to take the wretched poor into your home, when you see the naked to clothe him..."
In the mincha service, the haftorah is the entire book of Yonah, whose story is well-known; its relevance is that it features the idea that God is willing to forgive those who are penitent: "And God saw their deeds, how they were turning back from their evil ways, And God renounced the punishment he planned to bring on them (the people of the city of Nineveh)." |
