Derasha 4 on Haazinu 32:6

Parashas Haazinu · Passuk 32:6

The Complete Passuk

הֲלַיהֹוָה תִּגְמְלוּ זֹאת עַם נָבָל וְלֹא חָכָם...

Chabad.org — Devarim 32

Source Citation

Torah Temima points to the large heh in the word “ha-laHashem.”

Sefaria — Devarim 32:6

Core Text of Chazal

Core Text
אָמַר רַבִּי יְהוֹשֻׁעַ בְּרַבִּי חֲנַנְאֵל, צָרִיךְ לִכְתֹּב ה' לְמַטָּה מֵאַרְכֻּבָּתוֹ שֶׁל לָמֶ״ד דְּהַלַיהֹוָה תִּגְמְלוּ זֹאת – הָא לַיהֹוָה תִּגְמְלוּ זֹאת

English: Rabbi Yehoshua son of Rabbi Chananel said: One must write the heh below the “knee” of the lamed of “ha-laHashem tigmelu zot,” so that it is read as “Ha, laHashem tigmelu zot” — “Alas, is this how you repay Hashem?”

Type of Learning

A masoretic and scribal diyuk that turns the large heh into an expression of lament.

What Chazal Learned

The enlarged heh is positioned so that the phrase can be heard as a cry of astonishment and grief: “Ha!” — is this the recompense you give to Hashem? The form of the letter itself participates in the rebuke.

Audio: dafyomi.org · YICC (Rav Etshalom)