Ha'azinu

One of the most powerful messages in this week's parsha is that of the mighty eagle, which can catch prey mid-swoop, gently waking its young, beating its wings so they don't wake suddenly. 

I think about that image in the mornings when I'm running late to take my daughters; the alarm has long ceased to work, maybe, my wife's still dealing with our baby, and the kids just don't want to get up. And then the eagle stirs in my mind, the proverbial eagle, so forceful, get gentle, waking its young so as not to alarm them or fear from threat. 

The eagle, likewise, teach Chazal, places its young on its back, so, if any arrow is shot, first it - the eagle - will take the hit, and be struck by the dart, rather than endangering its young from the hunter in wait down below. 

In a certain sense, the protective veil, and shield God offers us is exemplified by the clouds of glory, the anthropomorphism or spiritual representation of the sukkah in the desert, where Hashem enshrouded us, protecting us from harms way. As we prepare to leave our homes, may we enter that renewed consciousness, as we were once at Sinai swept away, brought into the fold of Hashem's brit with the Jewish people. That protection has never left, but manifested itself in different ways. May we feel it in our everyday lives. 

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