abraham ibn ezra – Rabbi Jay Asher LeVine

Ibn Ezra: And This is the Blessing (V’zot Habrachah)

Abraham ibn Ezra offers a beautiful paraphrase of Moses’ final blessing for the Israelites as a whole – and perhaps for us.

In the poem Ha’azinu, Moses describes God as a hovering eagle, echoing an earlier decription of God hovering.

Abraham ibn Ezra’s liturgical poem Emet, El Emet Atah offers a beautiful meditation on his – and perhaps our – relationship with the divine.

In the seventh year … you shall read this Teaching aloud in the presence of all Israel. Ibn Ezra emphasizes the centrality of Torah.

Torah is not in heaven – it is in your mouth and in your heart to do it. Ibn Ezra explains the heart is essential for Jewish practice.