פרשת האזינו תשל"א - השירה

They sacrificed unto demons, no-gods, Gods that they knew not, New gods that came up of late, Which your fathers dreaded not.

חדשים מקרב באו [THEY SACRIFICED … TO GODS] THAT CAME UP REGENTLY — i.e. with which even the heathen nations were not familiar. Indeed, if a heathen saw them he would say, “This is a Jewish idol” (Sifrei Devarim 318:14).

They sacrificed unto demons, no-gods, Gods that they knew not, New gods that came up of late, Which your fathers dreaded not.

Of the Rock that begot thee thou wast unmindful, And didst forget God that bore thee. .

תשי means THOU HAST FORGOTTEN. But our Rabbis explained it thus: whenever He was about to bestow good upon you, you provoked Him to anger and, as it were, weakened (תש) His power so that He could not do you good (Sifrei Devarim 319:3).

Of the Rock that begot thee thou wast unmindful, And didst forget God that bore thee. .

You have rejected the Rock Who bore you The prophet speaks in wonderment: How could you have rejected the One Who bore you? The verse “look to the Rock from which you are hewn” [Isaiah 51: 1] provides an additional interpretation of the Rock Who bore you — that you are, as it were, made from Him, since everything exists only by strength of God (compare, “that spreads abroad the earth by myself” [Isaiah 44: 24]). The wonderment is against those errant of belief who have forgot this verse, as well as “this day have I begotten you” [Psalms 2: 7].

Were it not that I dreaded the enemy’s provocation, Lest their adversaries should misdeem, Lest they should say: Our hand is exalted, And not the LORD hath wrought all this.’

For they are a nation void of counsel, And there is no understanding in them.

If they were wise, they would understand this, They would discern their latter end.

How should one chase a thousand, And two put ten thousand to flight, Except their Rock had given them over And the LORD had delivered them up?

And five of you shall chase a hundred, and a hundred of you shall chase ten thousand; and your enemies shall fall before you by the sword.

‎חמישה מאה ומאה מכם רבבה FIVE [OF YOU SHALL PURSUE] A HUNDRED AND A HUNDRED… TEN THOUSAND — But is this the right proportion? Surely it should have stated only “and a hundred of you shall pursue two thousand (and not ten thousand)!? But the explanation is: a few who fulfill the commandments of the Torah cannot compare with the many who fulfill the commandments of the Torah (i. e. the greater the group of those loyal to the Torah, the greater is the morale and, under God’s blessing, the physical strength of each individual belonging to the group) (Sifra, Bechukotai, Chapter 2 4).