Ben Azai teaches that אין לך אדם שאין לו שעה — There is no man who does not have his hour. (אבות ד ג)
The Chassidic masters understand this lesson not in the sense that every man has his 'moment', but more accurately שעה in the context of being cared for, G-d turning to him, as the verse describes: וישע — And He [G-d] 'turned' to Hevel and his offering.
Everyone inevitably possesses a moment where G-d 'turns' to us with acceptance.
The Maggid of Kozhnitz adds that the converse is also implied.
Every individual Jew without doubt will 'turn' his attention to G-d.
Reb Meir Horowitz of Dzikov points out that the Talmud's word used to describe G-d judging all of us בסקירה אחת — in one scan, is numerically equivalent to the word שעה — moment. (ר"ה יח.)
He eagerly turns His attention to our needs, as we hope to be judged favorably for having turned our attention to Him.
Is it truly inevitable that man will turn his attention to G-d?
We were all endowed with free-will. It is integral to our relationship to G-d, for without it we will be eating נהמא דכיסופא — 'bread of shame', not earning our keep.
How can Ben Azai claim that every person will have his שעה — 'turning' to G-d.
And I will hide My face on that day, because of all the evil they have committed, when they turned to other deities. And now, write for yourselves this song, and teach it to the Children of Israel. Place it into their mouths, in order that this song will be for Me as a witness for the children of Israel.
And it will be, when they will encounter many evils and troubles, וענתה — and it will speak up, השירה הזאת — this song, before it as a witness before them, that it shall not be forgotten from the mouth of their offspring, for I know it's inclination, what it does today, [even] before I bring them into the land which I have sworn [to give them].
The simple reading of these verses refers to the Song of Hazinu that prophesies of the tragedies that occur when after entering the land the people will succumb to temptation and sin.
They will have recorded these events and look back and see how G-d knew how vulnerable they were even before they entered the land. The Torah also foretells that they will have access to these verses because G-d promised Torah would never be forgotten from their children.
Others aver that the Song referred to is the Torah in its entirety which is called a שירה — song.
There are many explanations of in what way Torah is likened to a song.
Rav S.R. Hirsch defines שיר as something that expresses thoughts and feelings that have been called into existence within oneself. Generally, an inspired or rapturous expression of what some external event has revealed to the inner self, that which the physical eye cannot see, but which has become clear to the mind's eye.
Rav Shmuel Wosner, the late great Posek and famed author of Responsa Shevet HaLevi, once posed the following question.
Although originally only the written law may be recorded in writing, but not the Oral Law, but due to the fear of our forgetting it a special dispensation was issued to permit its details being committed to books.
The initial reason for disallowing it being written is so that may preserve the special bond that we have with Torah that is the exclusive domain of the Jewish nation.
Now that all of Torah became accessible to non-Jew alike, the Rav queried, in what way is it evident that it is uniquely ours?
He answered by asking his audience, "Have you ever observed a student of Torah engaged in his learning, humming a tune, basking in the joy of his connecting to the soul of Torah?"
Only a Yid who possesses a 'part of G-d Himself', is instinctively drawn to that moment of שירה — 'that expresses thoughts and feelings that have been called into existence within oneself… an inspired or rapturous expression of what some external event has revealed to the inner self, that which the physical eye cannot see, but which has become clear to the mind's eye.'
A gentile may pursue the study of Torah sources, but never will he dance and sing over the knowledge he discovers.
Our earlier verse now casts an entirely new light.
וענתה — And will respond, השירה הזאת — this instinctive eruption of connection,לפניו לעד — before you as a witness, כי — that, לא תשכח — it will never be forgotten, מפי זרעו — from the mouths of its offspring.
It is not the written words in the Song that is being spotlighted, but rather the 'nigun', the song we are all wired to, that is the assurance itself that guarantees Torah will never be forgotten from our offspring.
אין לך אדם שאין לו שעה — There is no man that does not have that instinct, especially when facing frustrating difficulties, that will begin to percolate, and discover G-d anew.
In Elie Weisel's first visit with the Lubavitcher Rebbe, the Rebbe asked him what his objective was in coming to see him. "Do you need anything?", the Rebbe asked with compassion. Elie Weisel responded that he was fine and had no need. As the conversation deepened, Weisel turned to the Rebbe admitting he needed help. He asked for the ability to cry. As he was traumatized by all that he endured and the loss of his father who was murdered by the Nazis, he lost the ability to cry and with it the therapeutic value of tears.
The Rebbe promised to help him but told him that wasn't enough.
"I want you to find an appropriate response to the suffering you endured in Buchenwald. Crying alone will not release you from your pain. You’ve got to learn not only how to cry, but also to sing. Being productive in a way that will take your painful experiences and use them as a component to build yourself back up."
Weisel years later wrote a book entitled Ani Maamin — I Believe, with the subtitle, 'A Song Lost and Found Again'.
Our שעה — moment is arriving quickly.
It has been noted that the word שעה is an acronym for the words found in Kedusha of Mussaf, עם המיחדים שמו — The people who declare the Oneness of His Name!
We are bound to that Oneness.
May we each find that song within our soul and seize the moment.
It may be the turning point in our lives.
באהבה,
צבי יהודה טייכמאן
