Dear TBZ Community:
This is the last Shabbat of the year. It is always so powerful to see the connection between the Torah reading cycle and the year cycle. Parashat Nitzavim, the Torah portion we read this Shabbat, begins with Moshe summoning all of the people of Israel to renew the covenant between God and God’s people. As we enter the New Year, we too have an opportunity to renew, to stand in community and in front of God, with commitment to our tradition and values.
In Deuteronomy 29, verses 9-14, we read:
אַתֶּם נִצָּבִים הַיּוֹם כֻּלְּכֶם לִפְנֵי יְהֹוָה אֱלֹהֵיכֶם רָאשֵׁיכֶם שִׁבְטֵיכֶם זִקְנֵיכֶם וְשֹׁטְרֵיכֶם כֹּל אִישׁ יִשְׂרָאֵל
You stand this day, all of you, before your God —your tribal heads, your elders, and your officials, every household in Israel,
טַפְּכֶם נְשֵׁיכֶם וְגֵרְךָ אֲשֶׁר בְּקֶרֶב מַחֲנֶיךָ מֵחֹטֵב עֵצֶיךָ עַד שֹׁאֵב מֵימֶיךָ
your children, your wives, even the stranger within your camp, from woodchopper to water drawer
לְעׇבְרְךָ בִּבְרִית יְהֹוָה אֱלֹהֶיךָ וּבְאָלָתוֹ אֲשֶׁר יְהֹוָה אֱלֹהֶיךָ כֹּרֵת עִמְּךָ הַיּוֹם
to enter into the covenant of your God, which your God יהוה is concluding with you this day, with its sanctions;
לְמַעַן הָקִים־אֹתְךָ הַיּוֹם לוֹ לְעָם וְהוּא יִהְיֶה־לְּךָ לֵאלֹהִים כַּאֲשֶׁר דִּבֶּר־לָךְ וְכַאֲשֶׁר נִשְׁבַּע לַאֲבֹתֶיךָ לְאַבְרָהָם לְיִצְחָק וּלְיַעֲקֹב
in order to establish you this day as God’s people and in order to be your God, as promised you and as sworn to your fathers Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
וְלֹא אִתְּכֶם לְבַדְּכֶם אָנֹכִי כֹּרֵת אֶת־הַבְּרִית הַזֹּאת וְאֶת־הָאָלָה הַזֹּאת
I make this covenant, with its sanctions, not with you alone,
כִּי אֶת־אֲשֶׁר יֶשְׁנוֹ פֹּה עִמָּנוּ עֹמֵד הַיּוֹם לִפְנֵי יְהֹוָה אֱלֹהֵינוּ וְאֵת אֲשֶׁר אֵינֶנּוּ פֹּה עִמָּנוּ הַיּוֹם
but both with those who are standing here with us this day before our God and with those who are not with us here this day.
In stating his intentions, Moshe proclaims the covenant to be so inclusive that not only are the people present to make the commitment included, even those who are not present are included. And, in one rabbinic interpretation, all Jewish people of all time are too!
From this parasha (Torah portion), I would like to highlight 3 psukim (verses) that bear a meaningful message regarding our connection to Torah and tradition:
The first one, quoted above:
You stand this day, all of you, before the God
The emphasis on the word “kulchem” (all of you), reminds us that everyone, without discrimination, stands before God. The Torah that God is giving to Moshe and to the people of Israel is a Torah for everyone.
Later on in the parasha, in chapter 30, verse 12, we read:
לֹא בַשָּׁמַיִם הִוא
It is not in the heavens
These words are a reminder that Torah is down here on Earth and not in heaven; it is not far away, but rather close to us. It is part of the realm of human life and influence. Indeed, the rabbis even went as far as to say that Torah is within the realm of human authority.
And the third statement, found in chapter 30, verse 19:
הַעִדֹתִי בָכֶם הַיּוֹם אֶת־הַשָּׁמַיִם וְאֶת־הָאָרֶץ הַחַיִּים וְהַמָּוֶת נָתַתִּי לְפָנֶיךָ הַבְּרָכָה וְהַקְּלָלָה וּבָחַרְתָּ בַּחַיִּים לְמַעַן תִּחְיֶה אַתָּה וְזַרְעֶךָ
I call heaven and earth to witness against you this day: I have put before you life and death, blessing and curse. Choose life—if you and your offspring would live
“Uvacharta bachayim” (choose life) implies that the decision is ours. We have both the choice and the responsibility to live our lives as we choose.
There is a very known story in the gemara (Talmudic analysis) which tells of a halachic (legal) dispute between R. Eliezer and the sages on a question of purity (tanuro shel achnai). We learn in Bava Metzia 59b that, despite Rabbi Eliezer’s strong arguments, the majority ruled against him. Rabbi Eliezer invoked heavenly miracles to support his position, causing a carob tree to move, a pool of water to backtrack, and a wall to lean. Finally, a heavenly voice called out in explicit support of Rabbi Eliezer’s position. Yet Rabbi Yehoshua got up and pronounced, “Lo bashmayim hih (it is not in the heaven)!” (There is a great video and song about this story and verse that I encourage you to watch.)
Rabbi Yehoshua’s statement is a very strong one. What does “it is not in heaven” mean in this context? What gives Rabbi Yehoshua the authority to reject the divine ruling? The Talmudic narrator makes this point again at the end of the story:
When Rabbi Nathan met Elijah he asked him, “What did the Holy One do in that hour, while this dispute was occurring?” Elijah answered, “God laughed [with joy] saying, ‘My children have defeated me, My children have defeated me’.”
Rabbi Yehoshua is claiming the privilege that Moshe offered along with the responsibilities. God gave the Torah to everyone. The Torah is brought down from Mount Sinai in order to make it ours. Once we have accepted the responsibility of Torah, the challenge that faces us is what we will make of it. We choose how to live our lives and how Torah will be manifested in those lives. The imperative “Uvacharta bachayim” should be understood both as “choose life” and as “choose how to live your life”!
The idea that Torah is ours, that it belongs to everyone, is one of the most important statements about Jewish learning. When I teach Torah, I want students to know that it belongs to them. That Torah, Judaism, and our tradition belong to each one of us, in the multiple ways we connect with it. The Torah does not belong to any one group of Jews; rather, everyone owns it. This is what we try to do here at TBZ. As the parasha says: “Atem nitzavim hayom kulchem lifnei Adonai Eloheichem…” “You stand this day, all of you, before the Lord your God… [and ‘all of you’ means everyone!] …your tribal heads, your elders, and your officials, all the men of Israel, your children, your wives, even the stranger within your camp, from woodchopper to waterdrawer…” (Deut. 29: 9-10). Knowing that we each own the Torah gives each of us the responsibility to choose how we apply it to our lives.
This teaching becomes especially meaningful when we are a few days from Rosh Hashanah, the season of the possibility of change and new beginnings. Torah inspires us to change. Torah allows us to change. Through Torah we change and through us Torah changes.
“Atem nitzavim hayom kulchem lifnei Adonai Eloheichem.” We all stand today and every day, ready to hear Torah, to own Torah, and to be inspired by Torah to change and grow.
May this New Year be a year of sweetness and a year of Torah for all of us.
May this Shabbat bring renewal and blessings to all of you and your loved ones.
May we find strength, courage, and patience, and open our hearts with generosity.
May all those who are ill find healing. And may we have a joyful, sweet, and peaceful Shabbat.
Shabbat Shalom and Shana Tova,
Rav Claudia