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Chomer Lidrush
For those who will speak about Haazinu this week
The G-d Who Believed First
Moshe calls Hashem Kel Emunah, and Rashi reads that as a promise that tzaddikim will be rewarded in Olam Haba. R. Moshe Shapiro, zt"l (Revel in Emunah, adapted by R. Aryeh Feldman) points instead to the Sifrei, which reads it as Hashem's emunah in us: He trusted the world to succeed - and thus created it. Rav Moshe pairs this with the Midrash (Bereishis Rabbah 8:5) in which the malachim argued over whether man should be created. Those opposed had a strong case, since they foresaw a world that would stray from His will. Hashem created it anyway.
During these days, a person's honest cheshbon hanefesh can sound a lot like those malachim: look at the record, why bother? Hashem heard that argument about the whole world, knew it had merit, and overruled it. If the Kel emunah believed in us before we gave Him a reason to, we have no right to mistake who we are today for who we are going to be. We must awaken every morning thanking God for His belief in us - “Rabbah emunasecha!” and use that knowledge to strengthen our resolve to succeed in carrying out His will.
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