Why Songs of Ancient Times Resonate with Our Future

In the Torah portion Ki Tavo, we read about the covenant, the blessing, and the curse. In the following portion Nitzavim, again we encounter curses for those who disconnect from the community. But it doesn’t end there. In the portion of Vayeilech, there’s a prelude that the people are destined to sin, and so Hashem will punish them, thus instructing Moses to teach the Israelites the song of Haazinu, once again describing calamities. Why so? Why do four out of the last five Torah portions contain curses and warnings? What would've happened if after the commandments in Ki Tavo, we jumped straight into 'And this is the blessing'—Moses blessing each tribe in its unique qualities and inheritances?

The truth is, had the Torah transitioned directly from the laws of first fruits to 'And this is the blessing,' it would, heaven forbid, be lacking. What would it tell us in 2024? Moses concluded his words with commandments most of which we can no longer observe, blessing tribes that no longer exist over inheritances that are no longer theirs. How does this 'speak' to us?

Even ancient kings threatened those leaving their covenant with curses, yet their curses were straightforward. Whoever leaves will fall ill and then be destroyed, end of story. The Torah doesn’t threaten; it conditions. Whoever wishes to leave—it’s not simple. There is a mechanism that keeps them tied to the Jewish people, for better or worse. This was discussed in the portion Ki Tavo and in Nitzavim.

But in the portion Vayeilech, the Torah presents a tougher issue. What happens when a Jew completely forgets about Hashem? “They provoked me with no god.” In previous portions, we've learned that when curses come, people will say, “It’s what's written in the Torah,” but what do we do with a “generation of upheaval” that has no clue what’s in the Torah???

That’s why Hashem teaching Moses a song is crucial. Write down this song and teach it to the Israelites. The nature of songs is that people remember them. Even the most secular knows how to say, “As an eagle stirs up its nest, fluttering over its young.” Yes, that’s something about how the God of Israel took His people through the wilderness. They also know to say, “And Jeshurun grew fat and kicked,” something connected to ingratitude? Scholars, perhaps literature experts, might recall more lines from the song: “The Rock, His work is perfect; for all His ways are justice, a God of faithfulness and without injustice.” And yes, the song makes a very logical statement: “How could one chase a thousand, and two put ten thousand to flight, if their Rock had not sold them and Hashem had not given them up?” The grotesque ease of such apparent destruction is proof it’s no mere coincidence!

The song also says, “Remember the days of old, consider the years of many generations. Ask your father, and he will tell you; your elders, and they will inform you.” True, you might not know much about Judaism, but you do remember this song, saying something about all the troubles that suddenly arose. Investigate, learn history, ask the elders of Israel. They will already tell you there is a Torah and what is written in it, why troubles came, and how they will leave.

What Moses achieved here, by Hashem's guidance, is to 'circumvent' the problem of the end times, of the Jews three thousand three hundred years after him, who would know nothing about their Judaism, nothing. They wouldn’t even know how many books are in the Torah, let alone know it discusses exile and covenant, and what commandments Hashem wants. But they will remember fragments of an ancient beautiful song, and those fragments will urge them to question, investigate and explore, uncovering all other parts of the Torah.

Thus, the song Haazinu is like a beacon from Moses across the plains of Moab, returning to us in the end times. “Give ear, O heavens, and I will speak; and let the earth hear the words of my mouth.” These long-lived witnesses ensure that the people of Israel will listen to this song in the end times, through it exploring the days of the world and the generations' years, learning the entire Torah from Genesis to 'And this is the blessing.'