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PARASHAT NITZAVIM - VAYELEKH
By Rav David Silverberg
In the first verse of Parashat Nitzavim, Moshe continues his exhortation to Benei Yisrael by declaring, "Atem nitzavim hayom kulekhem" "All of you stand here today" to enter into a covenant with the Almighty. Commenting on the relatively uncommon word nitzavim ("standing"), the Midrash Tanchuma writes that as Moshe prepared to hand Benei Yisrael over to Yehoshua's authority, he "made them into a matzeiva," or "monument." The Midrash proceeds to point to other instances in Tanakh where this word (or a variation thereof) appears in the context of a leader's exhortation to the people before a transition of power. In Sefer Yehoshua (24:1) we read that Yehoshua gathered the people before his death, and the verse states, "va-yityatzevu lifnei ha-Elokim" ("they stood before God"). Likewise, before the prophet Shemuel surrendered his position of authority in favor of the newly established monarchy, he assembled the nation and declared, "Hityatzevu ve-ishofta itekhem lifnei Hashem" ("Stand, and I shall be judged with you before the Lord" Shemuel I 12:7). In all these instances, the Midrash Tanchuma writes, the leader in question "made them into a monument" before he transferred the mantle of leadership.
Rav Menachem Bentzion Zaks, in his Menachem Tziyon, explains that the Midrash here uses the word matzeiva in the sense of yetzivut, or "stability." In each of the occasions mentioned by the Midrash, the leader recognized the drastic transformation that was now about to occur in the nation's leadership structure, and sought to emphasize the need for consistency and continuity even during transition. In a word, a new political reality must not yield a new religious reality. Chazal understood the word nitzav as opposed to other terms used in reference to "stand" as connoting steadfast permanence, a stubborn resistance to change. As Moshe, Yehoshua and Shemuel closed their respective chapters of history and leadership, they found it necessary to reinforce the people's yetzivut in face of the fundamental changes that were about to take place. The beliefs, values and laws of the Torah do not require adjustment in response to changing realities (though obviously many laws in the Torah are intrinsically dependent upon certain conditions, and thus do not apply, or apply differently, when conditions change). They, and their adherents, must remain nitzavim despite fundamental changes in the nation's political or social environment.
Rav Soloveitchik famously spoke of the common "language" that binds together Jews of different lands, different cultures, and, perhaps most impressively, different generations. A Jew studying a page of Gemara today feels a sort of "companionship" with figures such as Rabbi Akiva, Rabban Yochanan Ben Zakai, Abayei and Rava. As he delves deeper, he engages in dialogue with Rashi, the Tosafists, the Ramban and the Rambam, and so on. This "relationship" that we feel with Jews of different countries and of different millennia is testament to Am Yisrael's successful yetzivut, our people's ability to transmit their tradition intact from one generation to the next, regardless of the drastic transformations unfolding all around them.
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Towards the beginning of Parashat Nitzavim, Moshe warns the people, "Perchance there is among you a man or woman whose heart turns away from the Lord our God to go worship other gods; perchance there is among you a root sprouting poison and wormwood" (29:17). He goes on to describe an individual who, despite Moshe's stern warnings about the disastrous consequences of disobeying the Torah, chooses nevertheless to abandon the faith and embrace idolatry.
In explaining the description, "a root sprouting poison and wormwood" ("shoresh poreh rosh ve-la'ana"), it is generally assumed that Moshe refers here to the potentially widespread influences of this single "root." One individual who ridicules or plainly dismisses Moshe's warnings, insisting instead on following the general trend of paganism, could trigger a large, broad-based movement among the nation, much as a small root produces a large tree. Seemingly, Moshe describes this individual in these terms to justify, so-to-speak, the harsh warning he issues to such a person ("The Lord's wrath and fury will rage against that person, and all the sanctions written in this book will descend upon him ").
The Ramban, however, advances a different reading of this expression. He claims that Moshe speaks here of a "root" that "sprouts poison and wormwood" that is manifest only in the next generation. Moshe here does not refer to a person who actually embraces and advocates idolatry; such a person is described in the previous clause "a man or woman whose heart turns away from the Lord our God to go worship other gods." The "root sprouting poison and wormwood" is a person who entertains fleeting thoughts of heresy, while not embracing it in practice. Moshe warns that in the next generation, among this individual's children, this "root" will produce "poison and wormwood." Even if the father remained fundamentally loyal to God throughout his entire life, his mild agnostic tendencies will manifest themselves among his children.
Rav Moshe Feinstein (as cited in Kol Ram, vol. 3) draws upon the Ramban's comments in emphasizing the importance of fervor and enthusiasm in religious observance. A Jew who finds the Torah's laws difficult and burdensome might nevertheless succeed in overcoming this sense of hardship and executing his religious responsibilities to their fullest. In many cases, however, this loyalty will not carry over to the next generation. The children, who will undoubtedly observe the sense of struggle that accompanied the parent's observance, might not necessarily have the inner strength and resolve to confront and overcome the challenges involved in avodat Hashem. Like the individual described by the Ramban, this parent may himself steadfastly adhere to the mitzvot, but he nevertheless plants a "root" that could potentially "sprout poison and wormwood." Rav Moshe therefore urges parents to both feel and exhibit genuine joy and fervor in the performance of the mitzvot, which helps ensure that their children will look upon the Torah's laws as a privilege and source of satisfaction, rather than a burden and source of hardship.
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Parashat Vayelekh introduces the mitzva of hakhel, which
requires that all Am Yisrael men, women and children assemble in
One of the approaches taken in explaining the concept underlying this mitzva views this ceremony as a reenactment of Moshe's initial presentation of Sefer Devarim to the people. Recall that this sefer records Moshe's final addresses to Benei Yisrael in the weeks before his death, just prior to the nation's entry into Eretz Yisrael. The instructions, admonitions and laws presented in this sefer reflect the critical messages Moshe sought to convey to the people as they prepared to enter and begin building and cultivating their homeland. Here, in Parashat Vayelekh, we read (31:9) that upon concluding his final address, Moshe wrote this material and presented the scroll to the kohanim and the nation's elders. In the very next verse, he instructs them with regard to the mitzva of hakhel, informing the nation's leaders that the presentation of Sefer Devarim, which he had just concluded, must be repeated every seven years, just after the septennial observance of shemita.
Why is the culmination of the shemita year the appropriate occasion for reenacting the presentation of Sefer Devarim?
Shemita is the year when Benei Yisrael's farmers must lay
down their tools and bring all agricultural activity to a halt. When they return home from the Sukkot
celebration in
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In Parashat Vayelekh, God speaks to Moshe and informs him of Benei Yisrael's future breach of the covenant, that one day they will resort to the practices and beliefs of the ancient idolaters. In response, God will, as He warned, "turn His face away" from them and allow them to fall prey to their enemies. God then foresees the time when Benei Yisrael will acknowledge, "Surely it is because My God is not in my midst that these calamities have befallen me!" (31:17).
The next verse, in which God tells of His reaction to this realization on the part of Benei Yisrael, has baffled many commentators: "And I shall turn My face away for all the evil it [the nation] has committed, that it turned to other Gods." Why does God react to this admission of guilt by further resigning Himself to ignore Benei Yisrael and allow them to suffer the throes of exile and persecution?
Rav Yehuda Ginsburg, in his Yalkut Yehuda, cites an earlier source that suggests rereading this verse to yield the precise opposite interpretation. According to this reading, God here promises to "turn His face" away not from Benei Yisrael, but rather from their iniquity, from "all the evil it has committed, that it turned to other Gods." Just as the Almighty "turns His face" from us when we betray Him and violate His laws, so does He "turns His face" from our misdeeds when we sincerely repent and recommit ourselves to Torah observance.
Rav Ginsburg himself, however, follows the straightforward reading of
this verse, whereby here, too, God warns that He will lift His protective shield
from Am Yisrael and allow them to fall victim to the hostility of enemy
nations. The reason for this
response, he explains, lies in the word with which the people refer to the
Almighty in their supposed admission of guilt: "my God." God foresees Benei Yisrael
looking to Him even at this point, after suffering destruction and exile as
"my God," rather than the Supreme Being with singular, unchallenged authority
over the entire universe. The
attribution of catastrophe to "my God" reflects the ongoing prevalence of the
basic tenets of paganism among Benei Yisrael. Many ancient pagans believed that each
nation was under the protection of one of many gods, and the wars fought by
enemy nations on earth were but earthly manifestations of the struggles between
conflicting godly forces in the heavens.
One clear expression of this belief is found in Yiftach's unsuccessful
appeal to the king of Amon, who waged war against the Israelite tribes east of
the
Thus, Benei Yisrael's "admission" in this verse hardly reflects the kind of transformation that the process of teshuva requires. They confess the same way the pagan nations would confess, attributing their suffering to the supremacy of other gods, rather than to their own shortcomings in the service of the Almighty. They had yet to acknowledge God as the sole divine authority over the universe, who grants us success or condemns us to exile in accordance with our loyalty and devotion to Him. Therefore, God warns that He will continue to "turn His face" away from them, until they sincerely admit their guilt in violating their covenant with Him, and recommit themselves to the beliefs of monotheism and the laws of the Torah.
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In Parashat Nitzavim, Moshe tells Benei Yisrael, "It shall be that when these events come upon you the blessing and the curse that I have placed before you you shall return unto the Lord your God and heed His voice, in accordance with everything I command you this day" (30:1-2). He proceeds to tell of God's positive response to Benei Yisrael's repentance, that He will bring them back to their homeland and restore their previous state of prosperity.
The Rishonim disagree as to whether the second of this pair of verses, "ve-shavta ad Hashem Elokekha" "you shall return unto the Lord your God" should be taken as an instruction or a prediction. The Rambam, in Hilkhot Teshuva (7:5), cites this verse as expressing the Torah's promise that the Jewish people will ultimately repent. The Ramban, by contrast, in his Torah commentary, explains this verse as the Biblical source for the mitzva of teshuva. In his view, the Torah here instructs Benei Yisrael to repent after sinning, and does not merely predict the eventuality of Benei Yisrael's repentance.
Either way, this description of the process of teshuva may shed light on at least one aspect of the essence of repentance. The word teshuva, of course, means "return." Instinctively, we would perhaps explain this term as referring to a return to the proper mode of conduct, to the path of behavior from which one had strayed. Here, however, the Torah speaks of teshuva as returning "unto the Lord your God." Thus, when we speak of a person "returning," we refer to his "return" to the Almighty.
What does it mean to "return unto the Almighty"?
Rav Moshe Sternbuch, in his work Ta'am Va-da'at, suggests that teshuva means once again seeing oneself as being in the constant presence of God. Very often, sin results from a failure to live with a sense of "Shiviti Hashem le-negdi tamid," that at every moment we are in God's presence. Be it a momentary lapse or a more fundamental lack of awareness, a person transgresses when he does not sense God's watchful eyes that look upon him at all times. Rav Sternbuch claims that teshuva, "returning unto God," means returning oneself in his mind to God's presence, to restoring his sense of "Shiviti Hashem le-negdi tamid." If a sinner can succeed in restoring this awareness, in returning to the state of mind where he stands perennially in the presence of God, then he is unlikely to repeat the transgression, and helps to guarantee himself a greater degree of discipline and subservience to the Almighty's will.
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Towards the end of Parashat Vayelekh, God instructs Moshe to write the
poem of Ha'azinu, which the Torah dictates in the next parasha, and to
teach it to Benei Yisrael.
God describes the purpose of this poem as follows: "It shall be that when
many evils and troubles come upon them [the nation of
The Gemara in Masekhet Chagiga (5a) tells that Rabbi Yochanan would weep whenever he would read this verse, exclaiming, "A servant whose master presents him with evils and troubles is there any remedy for him?" Why did Rabbi Yochanan cry specifically upon reading this verse, as opposed to the numerous other references in the Torah to the calamities that God threatens to visit upon Benei Yisrael, Heaven forbid, should they transgress the Torah? Furthermore, why did Rabbi Yochanan fear that there could be no "remedy" for the disasters referred to in this verse?
Rav Baruch Yitzchak Yissachar Leventhal, in his work Birkat Yitzchak, suggests a simple explanation by carefully examining the term timtzena used in this verse in reference to the calamities' "coming upon" Benei Yisrael. The root m.tz.a. generally means to "find," or to "chance upon." Rabbi Yochanan cried upon reading a prediction of calamities that will befall Benei Yisrael and appear to them as occurring by happenstance, as a course of nature, and not as a direct punishment from the Almighty. He helplessly exclaimed, "A servant whose master presents him with [mamtzi lo] evils and troubles is there any remedy for him?" If Am Yisrael does not recognize the need for repentance in response to calamity, then there is no "remedy" for their suffering. They will never make the changes necessary to once again earn the Almighty's favor and extricate themselves from the crises that have struck.
The Rambam famously discusses this theme in the opening section of Hilkhot Ta'aniyot, in introducing the obligation to pray in response to crisis. He writes that if a community endures calamity and does not engage in sincere soul-searching and strive to make substantive changes and improvement, then this is, in the Rambam's words, a derekh akhzari, a "cruel approach," as it causes the crisis to continue or even intensify.
The poem of Ha'azinu is intended to prevent this syndrome of timtzena, to serve as an eternal reminder to Am Yisrael that hard times must be met with sincere prayer and teshuva, and never looked upon as simply the coincidental course of nature.
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Towards the beginning of Parashat Nitzavim, Moshe expresses his concern
that somebody might disregard his
warnings about the consequences of breaching the covenant with God:
Lest there be among you a man or woman whose hearts turns away from the Lord our God And when he hears the words of these sanctions, he fancies himself immune, saying, 'All shall be well with me though I follow my willful heart,' thereby adding the moist onto the dry. The Lord will not agree to forgive him
(Devarim 29:17-18)
Various interpretations have been offered for the difficult phrase in this verse, "le-ma'an sefot ha-reva et ha-tzemei'a," which we translated in our citation as "thereby adding the moist onto the dry." Rashi follows the approach taken by Onkelos, explaining the terms "moist" and "dry" as referring, respectively, to sins committed inadvertently, and those which one transgresses with clear intent. According to Rashi, rava ("moist") alludes to a state of intoxication, and it thus describes wrongful acts committed unwittingly, like a drunken person who is not entirely aware of his actions. Tzemei'a, which literally means "thirst," refers to sins committed intentionally to satisfy one's desires. Moshe warns the sinner that God will respond to his iniquity by "adding the moist onto the dry," by punishing him for his unintentional violations in addition to those committed with willful intent.
The question immediately arises, why does God hold such a person accountable for violations committed unintentionally? Is it possible that once an individual finds Himself on God's "bad side" He holds the sinner to unfairly stricter standards that He does others?
The answer, it would seem, is that the individual Moshe describes does not merely commit a series of wrongs; he dismisses wholesale the entire notion of personal accountability: "All shall be well with me though I follow my willful heart." He feels no responsibility towards God's law, and grants himself the freedom to act as he pleases, to do whatever his "willful heart" desires.
Understandably, then, "The Lord will not agree to forgive him," even for his inadvertent violations. A person can be forgiven for unintentional sins if he is sincerely committed to trying to avoid such mishaps. But if a person on principle pays no attention to his conduct, and acts like a drunkard, without conscience or restraint, then God holds him accountable for all his spiritual failings, both the intentional and the inadvertent. Only if one works towards perfecting himself and his behavior can he come before the Almighty to ask that he be forgiven for his imperfections; if one disregards the Torah and acts as he chooses, then his misdeeds can no longer be looked upon as "mistakes," and are regarded instead as intentional violations.