Ha’azinu, Bob Dylan & a Bar Mitzvah

 

Shabbat Ha’azinu 5777

Rabbi Elie Weinstock

 

 

            The times, they are a changin’!

 

On Thursday, Shabsi Zisel ben Avraham, better known as Bob Dylan, became the first musician to win the Nobel Prize in Literature. He became the fifteenth Jew to win the prize, joining the ranks of Saul Bellow, Isaac Bashevis Singer and Patrick Modiano. (Philip Roth has yet to win!)

 

I must admit that I am not a huge Bob Dylan fan, but I really enjoy – and am even moved – by some of his songs. I think he is pretty cool. Dylan’s religious odyssey makes for an interesting story, and he’s one of the few rock icons who has his son’s Bar Mitzvah at the Kotel or plays Hava Nagila on the harmonica on a Chabad telethon.

 

Dylan is unique in that his songs were the first to be analyzed for the deeper meaning of the lyrics. Professors of literature dissected Dylan’s imagery and significance in ways which they have never done with George Gershwin or Irving Berlin. People search for biblical and even mystical allusions. No doubt they can be found if the seeker uses his/her imagination. Whether they were intended by the author is another matter.

 

It is a fortuitous week to honor the depth, meaning, and beauty of songs. Parshat Ha’azinu is a song.

וַיָּבֹא מֹשֶׁה וַיְדַבֵּר אֶת כָּל דִּבְרֵי הַשִּׁירָה הַזֹּאת בְּאָזְנֵי הָעָם הוּא וְהוֹשֵׁעַ בִּן נוּן:

 

What exactly is THIS song?

 

On a simple peshat level, the song is the parsha. Ha’azinu is an enigmatic song. It describes the ups and downs of the Jewish experience. One the one hand, Jews are special and are admonished to follow God. On the otherhand, there will be difficult patches. It is like a song that has a rough edge – like punk rock. You like the beat, but some of the lyrics can rub you the wrong way.

 

On a deeper level, the whole Torah is a song. Songs are an amalgam of lyrics and music. Some songs have lyrics that would qualify as a good poem without the music and some songs have music that would be just as good with no words at all. Yet when there is a combination of quality lyrics with good music, both aspects are enhanced.

 

The Torah is a multi-faceted, complex song. It is much more than a narrative or a book of laws. There’s rhyme, rhythm, and poetry. The Torah contains a rich tapestry that is full of life, meaning, energy, and inspiration.

 

We sing the Torah! Yona, you sang the song of Torah this morning! Each of us is supposed to sing when we read from the Torah or even when we study Judaism.

 

Talmud (Megillah 32a) teaches us “R. Shefatiah said in the name of R. Yochanan that one is censured for reading the Torah without a melody or studying Mishnah without a tune. It is not only when the Torah is read publicly that there are musical cantillations. Enter any study hall and you will hear the traditional sounds of students exchanging ideas through the medium of melody. (Demonstrate with the thumb.)

 

Rabbi Jonathan Sacks captured the power of song: Music speaks to something deeper than the mind. It speaks to the soul.

 

The Torah ends with a song because Moshe knew that music will assure the future of the Jewish people. It is the song which will enable the message of God to endure for all the generations to come.

 

Why is singing so powerful?

 

A song reaches us in a very personal way, and it can have such a positive impact.

 

            1)  There are proven therapeutic benefits to singing.

 

Singing exercises major muscle groups. It is an aerobic activity in that it forces you to breathe deeper and take in more oxygen. Aerobic activity is linked to stress reduction, longevity and better overall health. Singing may improve efficiency in our cardiovascular system. Singing can boost our immune system and prevent the spread of bacteria in our bodies.

 

Studies have also shown that people who sing feel a sense of contentment. Perhaps this is due to the rush of endorphins that often accompanies signing.

 

2)  Through singing, we can connect to God.

 

We express joy, release our emotions, and publicize how we feel. Bnei Yisrael sang at Yam Suf in relief, joy, and gratitude.  There are times when we sing in shul that help create the appropriate mood. Specifically, I am thinking of the Ani Ma’amin at a Yom HaShoah commemoration or the E-l Maleh Rachamim at a funeral or a memorial. Such singing provides perspective and the right emotional frame of mind.

 

Every day, we say pesukei d’zimrah. You may not realize it, but we sing all the time to try and understand God and our relationship with Him.

 

We are always “knock, knock, knockin’ on heaven’s door…”

 

It can be transformative.

 

I read an incredible story (on the blog of Rabbi Ally Ehrman, a popular yeshiva educator in Israel who heard it from a Yeshivat Hakotel alumnus from a while back).

 

A student at Yeshivat Hakotel’s parents lived in Israel and hosted their son’s entire class for a Shiur Shabbaton. The only "rule" was that each student had to give a d'var Torah at some point over Shabbat.  At Seudah Shlishit, the last student to present was older than the others in the group. He said that, instead of a dvar Torah, he wanted to tell his story. Here it is:

 

I grew up in what is often described as an ultra-Orthodox community and attended a prestigious yeshiva. I had a bad experience with some of my teachers and began to question my religious lifestyle. I left the community and much of my observance. I headed to the West Coast and ended up in Venice Beach California, a far cry from where I came from.

 

Late one Friday night, I was wandering aimlessly on the beach when a tune in the distance caught my ear, and it sounded strangely familiar to me. It was the niggun to “Dovid melech, melech yisroel.......siman, siman tov..... Mazal, mazal tov..”

 

You can imagine my shock when I discovered that the mystery singer was a non-Jewish, homeless, African-American man sitting on the beach. I asked him how he knew that tune. He explained that, years earlier, he had met a Rabbi by the name of Shlomo Carlebach. This rabbi was nice to him and would give him a few dollars and spend some time with him and sing a little to cheer him up. It worked and the tunes stuck.

 

I didn't know much about Reb Shlomo at the time, but I did recognize the niggunim (tunes) and was touched by this man's story. I decided that I would visit my new homeless friend and sing with him. This got me thinking about the way of life I left behind, and the rest is history…

 

Needless to say - everyone in the room was SHOCKED... and inspired. The power of a song.

 

This Shabbat, we sing the song of the Torah. This Shabbat, Yona, you beautifully sang the song of the Torah.

 

Life is a song. There are lots of instruments, notes, lyrics, and sounds. Just as we each play different roles, we hear the music differently.

 

Whether Bob Dylan’s lyrics are good enough to warrant a Nobel Prize doesn’t really matter. I do know that there is so much beautiful music to be heard in our lives and in our Judaism. Just as you sang the song of your parsha, I hope that you’ll keep on singing and listening to the music you can hear everywhere you go.  

 

The answers my friends, my son, my children are not blowing in the wind, but meaning can be found by listening to the music.

 

Listen to

The song of celebration – this beautiful simcha which means so much to all who love you

The beautiful music of everyday life

The song of family – especially all that your mother does for all of us

The song of friends

The song of those in need

The song of Torah and Judaism

 

            You have been receiving many blessings and will get a traditional one a little later. For now, let me end with the way I began, quoting Shabsi Zisel ben Avraham (Bob Dylan):

May God bless and keep you always

May your wishes all come true

May you always do for others

And let others do for you

 

May you always be courageous

Stand upright and be strong

And may your song always be sung

May you stay forever young

 

Mazal tov!