Kevin Bemel ·
How to Distinguish Between Listening and Hearing
Parsha Nugget Ha’azinu – Deuteronomy 32:1-52
While out running one day, I came to a stretch of sidewalk that was being traversed by ants. I imagine I looked pretty funny dodging, what were to other people, these unseen hurdles. I should not worry about what others think when doing the right thing, as noted in Parshas Ha’azinu:
“Give ear, oh heavens and I will speak; and the earth will hear the saying of my mouth.” (Deuteronomy/Devarim 32:1)
This week’s parsha, the last Sabbath reading of the cycle, has the song Moses wrote at the end of the previous parsha. In it he calls on heaven and earth to be a witness to all of the disasters that will happen to the Children of Israel if they stray from the path that G-d has set. He also describes the joy that will come at the time of the final redemption. At the end of the parsha G-d gives Moses his final task.
Even for poetry the above verse has redundancy after redundancy. The heavens should listen, and the earth should listen, and both will hear what G-d says. Is it not obvious if they listen they will hear?
Of course you know there is a difference between listening and hearing. Through inattention or purposely tuning someone out, there is no guarantee a message spoken will be heard. But as bad as the result of not hearing your spouse, Proverbs calls the prayer of someone who does not listen to G-d an abomination. Think about that for a moment. The Almighty is always available to hear our prayers. But it is abominable if you beseech G-d while ignoring Scripture.
Pondering this idea, Rabbi Judah Loew ben Bezalel, the Maharal, notes that praying while intoxicated is also called an abomination. It is preposterous for a person so immersed in the physical world that he is drunk to try to connect with the heavenly world where the Creator resides.
Both praying to G-d while denying His principles and praying while intoxicated demonstrate scorn for the purpose of prayer. How can a person seek to create a closer relationship with the Almighty and raise his level of spirituality when his actions controvert both of these goals?
The adjuration to hear G-d applies to the Israelites of Biblical times and us today
To make sure you digest vital communication, do the following:
- Remove distractions and stop talking. Just listen. Do not take notes or anything else since this will draw your attention away from the speaker.
- Relax and focus on the speaker. Take some deep breaths and put other matters out of your mind. Situate yourself so that the speaker takes up all of your field of vision.
- Strive for comprehension. Listen to the words being spoken but also the ideas they express and the tone with which they are said. Put aside all thought of a reply.
- Be patient. Sometimes it can take a person a while to clearly say what he has to communicate. Do not fidget or otherwise rush the person.
- Ask for clarification and confirmation that you understand correctly. If something is unclear, when the speaker pauses ask for further explanation. Once he expresses a complete thought, tell him what you heard and ask if you have understood his point.
Likewise when you wish to understand what G-d is saying, these same steps apply, albeit to reading Scripture. It is impossible to comprehend His message after a cursory reading of the Bible. In today’s world of ubiquitous distractions, is it futile to uncover its depth without studying the writings and interpretations of the great scholars of previous centuries.
Read every year within a week or two of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, the words of Moses’s song are meant to inspire you to deeper study and repentance. At the same time, they offer solace in how deeply G-d loves you.
How do you insure you hear the important messages in your life?
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Every year beginning on Simchas Torah, the cycle of reading the Torah, the first five books of the Bible, ends and begins again. Each Sabbath a portion known as a sedra or parsha is read. Its name comes from the first significant word or two with which this weekly reading begins.
Do you have a question about the Old Testament? Ask it here and I will answer it in a future Parsha Nugget!
