Rabbi Levinsky Sermon: September 25

In this week’s Torah portion, Haazinu, the Israelites stand at the edge of the Promised Land. They face an unknown future. God has given them too many responsibilities. What does God give them as reassurance? A poem. Poetry reaches toward things that ordinary language cannot fully express. There are limits to what human beings can understand. We cannot explain every experience or answer every question. Judaism does not ask us to fake it. Instead, it encourages us to approach the unknown with humility. When explanation fails, we can still listen to the poetry.