Parsha_Push Parshat Ha’azinu

We stand on the threshold of Rosh Hashanah and Shabbat Shuvah, with the atmosphere and aura of repentance filling the air. There is a well-known dispute among the sages throughout the generations: Does redemption depend on repentance?
In the previous Torah portion, Nitzavim, we read how the people of Israel will return to God, and then God will return them to their land. From this, we can understand that returning to the land is contingent on returning to God. On the other hand, in the portion of Ha’azinu, things are described differently. God will avenge the blood of His servants regardless of whether His servants repent, based on His own considerations.
It seems from the verses that the question of whether redemption depends on repentance is also connected to the question of how the surrounding nations will react to the punishments that the people of Israel receive. In the previous portion, the nations look at the desolate land and ask, “Why has God done this to this land?” The nations understand that the punishment of the people of Israel and the destruction of the land are a direct result of their actions. Therefore, it is the actions of the children of Israel that will return them to their land.
But in the portion of Ha’azinu, the concern is that the nations will not understand: “Lest our enemies become arrogant and say, ‘Our own hand has achieved this, and not the Lord has done all this.’” In the Song of Ha’azinu, redemption (or partial salvation) does not depend on repentance, because even the nations do not understand the concept of sin, nor who is inflicting the punishment.
On Rosh Hashanah, we pray that the world will recognize God’s sovereignty. It turns out that the moment the nations recognize His sovereignty and see His hand in the world, the expectations from God’s people increase. When God’s name is profaned among the nations, there are also lower expectations from the people of Israel. And perhaps this is part of the reason why we have been privileged in these generations to return to our land.
And may we merit to deserve the Land of Israel through our virtues and not through grace, so that not only will God return us to our land, but He will also dwell among us. We should merit both “and the Lord will return you to the land,” and also “return to Me, and I will return to you.”