Haazinu: Character is Built One Choice at a Time

“character is built by the decisions we make repeatedly”

Parashat Haazinu is a very powerful parsha because Moshe is coming to the end of his life. He has led the Jewish people through the wilderness, experienced their struggles, their successes, and their failures. Now, before he leaves them, he gives them a song.

When I think about Haazinu, I think about character.

Character is something we hear a lot about, but what does it really mean? To me, character is who we are when nobody is watching. It is how we respond when things don't go our way. It is the choices we make when we have an opportunity to take the easy way out.

This is where I see a strong connection to Orrin Woodward's book Resolved: 13 Resolutions for Life. The idea behind making resolutions is that we make a conscious decision about the kind of person we want to become. We don't just hope to become better. We make a commitment to ourselves and then we work on it every day. That is also one of the messages I take from Haazinu.

Moshe reminds the Jewish people of where they came from, what HaShem had done for them, and what could happen if they forget their relationship with Him. In other words, he was reminding them that their choices would shape their future. The same thing is true with our character.

We don't build character in one big moment. We build it through hundreds of small decisions.

Every time we keep our word, we are building integrity.

Every time we control our anger, we are building self-discipline.

Every time we help another person when we don't have to, we are building kindness.

Every time we take responsibility instead of blaming somebody else, we are building character.

And every time we choose to do what is right instead of what is easy, we are becoming the person we want to be.

I think this is one of the important ideas behind Resolved. A resolution is more than a goal. A goal is something we want to accomplish. A resolution is a decision about how we are going to live.

Haazinu teaches us that we need to remember. Remember where we came from. Remember what HaShem has done for us. Remember the values that we are supposed to live by. Because when we forget our values, it becomes very easy to lose our direction.

Moshe understood that the Jewish people would face challenges after he was gone. He couldn't make their decisions for them. He could only give them the tools and the understanding to make the right decisions themselves. That is also true for us. Nobody can build our character for us. Other people can encourage us. They can teach us. They can give us good examples. But at the end of the day, we have to make the decision. We have to decide what kind of person we want to be.

This is why I believe character is a lifelong process. We are never finished. Every day gives us another opportunity to work on ourselves. Maybe today I need to work on patience. Tomorrow I may need to work on humility. Another day I may need to work on keeping my commitments. The important thing is that I keep moving forward.

Haazinu also reminds us that life has consequences. Our choices don't just affect us. They affect our families, our friends, our communities, and the people who look up to us. Our character becomes our legacy.

Moshe's life was coming to an end, but his words would continue to influence the Jewish people long after he was gone. That makes me think about the kind of legacy each of us is creating. When people think about us, what will they remember?

Will they remember what we owned?

How much money we made?

What position we had?

Or will they remember our character?

Will they say, "That was someone I could trust."

"That was someone who kept his word."

"That was someone who cared about other people."

"That was someone who lived his values."

To me, that is the deeper connection between Haazinu and Resolved: 13 Resolutions for Life.

Both challenge us to stop living life by accident. We need to make decisions about the person we want to become. And then we need to live those decisions consistently.

Haazinu teaches us to remember HaShem, remember our values, and remember the consequences of our choices. Resolved reminds us to turn those values into commitments and daily actions. The two ideas come together in one simple thought: Character is built by the decisions we make repeatedly.

So as we listen to Haazinu, maybe the question we should ask ourselves is not simply, "What am I supposed to believe?" Maybe the better question is: "What kind of person am I becoming?"

And once we answer that question, we can make our own resolutions, not just for what we want to accomplish, but for who we want to become. That, to me, is what building character is really about.