Parshat Ha’azinu • Shabbat Shuvah
We usually think of faith as something we have in God.
Ha’azinu turns that idea around.
In Moshe’s final song, we read:
“The Rock, His work is perfect,
For all His ways are just;
A God of faith without iniquity,
Righteous and upright is He.”
There is a beautiful interpretation of these words: God has faith in us.
Not because we always get it right.
We don’t.
We make choices we regret. We hurt people we love. We repeat patterns we thought we had outgrown. Sometimes we know what we should do differently, and still struggle to do it.
And still, God entrusts us with free will.
The freedom to get it wrong carries with it the freedom to choose differently. God’s faith in us is faith that we can change.
That may be one of the most hopeful ideas at the heart of Yom Kippur.
We were not created finished.
We were created free.
These days ask us to look honestly at ourselves. To acknowledge where we have fallen short. To apologize where we have caused hurt. To repair what we can. To recognize where knowing better needs to become doing better.
We are accountable for what we have done because we are capable of doing differently.
And perhaps that gives new meaning to an ancient question.
After Adam makes his first mistake, God asks:
Ayeka? Where are you?
God already knows where Adam is.
The question asks Adam to recognize where Adam is.
In these days before Yom Kippur, it asks the same of us.
Where am I?
What needs repairing?
Where am I ready to choose differently?
Teshuvah does not ask us to erase the past.
It asks us to face it honestly, without allowing it to decide everything that comes next.
God’s faith in us is not a promise that we will always get it right. It is faith in our capacity to return, repair, and choose again.
As Shabbat Shuvah approaches, may we have the courage to see ourselves clearly, the humility to repair what needs repairing, and the strength to make our next choices with greater intention.
Shabbat Shalom and G’mar Chatima Tova. May you have an easy and meaningful fast, and may the year ahead bring healing, growth, joy and abundant blessing.
