Strong and Courageous

 Nitzavim-Vayeilech

Deut. 29:9 -31:31

 

Précis: In Nitzavim Moses continues to address: You stand (nitzavim) this day before Adonai. Moses recounts the wonders Adonai had done. The Torah is an “open book” that is accessible to all. A blessing and a curse have been set before the People, and Moses urges them to choose the blessing, to choose life.

In Vayeilech, the Israelites are instructed to annihilate the seven Canaanite nations and take possession of the Promised Land. Moses transfers his mantle of leadership to Joshua and orders regular reading of the Law.

Deut. 29:9 -11 “You stand this day, all of you, before Adonai your God - your tribal heads, your elders, your officials, all the men of Israel; your children, your wives, even the stranger in your camp, from woodchopper to water drawer, to enter into the covenant of Adonai your God…”

                         Rabbi Sari Laufer questions why the Shabbat before Rosh Hashanah is not specially identified (10 Minutes of Torah, 9/23/23). After all, the Shabbat before Passover is called Shabbat HaGadol, the Great Sabbath; the Shabbat before Purim is known as Shabbat Zachor, the Shabbat of Memory; the Shabbat before Tishah B'Av is called Shabbat Hazon, the Shabbat of Vision (named for the vision of destruction described in the haftarah). The Shabbat between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur is Shabbat Shuvah, the Shabbat of Return, with its special liturgy. But this Shabbat has no special name and nothing specifically hints at what is coming shortly.

But the Torah reading includes the statement “Atem nitzavim hayom kulchem, lifnei Adonai Elohecha” (“You stand today, all of you, before Adonai Your God”), and these are the same words we will hear on Yom Kippur, reminding us of our covenant with God. In effect, the phrase brackets the High Holy Days.  

The double parasha we read this week begins with “atem nitzavim”(you stand) and “vayeilech” (he went). Laufer notes that standing and going are opposite actions. The first is static, the other puts us in motion. In addition, four times in this week's parasha, we read Moses' command to Joshua as he transfers power: “hazak v'amatz,” (“be strong and courageous”).

As we approach the High Holy Days, we move from static to active, with the idea of being strong and courageous enough to carefully examine our faults and acknowledge them. 

Love of the Land

 Ki Tavo

Deut. 26:1-29:8

 

Précis: The parasha contains numerous religious mandates regarding the formation of a moral community (including tithes of first fruits and tithes to support the Levites). The People are instructed that they have a choice in their own destiny: there are blessings and curses (the “Admonition”), and they must choose between the two, and take the consequences. The parasha ends with Moses reminding the People about all that God had done for them.

 

Deut. 26:1-11 “And it shall be, when you come into the land which Adonai has given you, and dwell there, that you will take the first fruit of the ground…and place it in a basket...and go to a place that Adonai will choose…

 

Rabbi Sari Laufer has an insightful interpretation of this verse (10 Minutes of Torah, 9/16/24), noting that before all the blessings and curses, we read this first verse, speaking of a time of our settled habitation in the Land of Israel. While most of the Book of Deuteronomy has been a reminder of past mistakes, here we see a sea change. We envision, for the first time, life as a settled people in the land promised to us.

This vision, she tells us, is different from previous text dealing with the Promised Land, as it is less about law, less about temptations, and less about caution or worry. For the first time, we begin to imagine the blessing of settling in and creating a plan for our future. We imagine planting, watering, and sowing our fields and enjoying our lives. The giving of first fruits becomes a metaphor for a settled existence, safe in our homeland.

I note that the vision of a secure homeland for our People is as ancient as this text, perhaps more than 3,000 years old. It is, we know all too well, a vision which has for most of those millennia been challenged by our enemies. Certainly, it is a vision under threat today from those who question whether Israel has a “right to exist” and from so-called allies who may temporarily support Israel, but who are willing to tolerate (let alone themselves use) the language of double-standards that is a hallmark of antisemitism.

Like the Israelites of this parasha more than 3,000 years ago understood, our connection to the Land of Israel is eternal and unending. This connection prevails even when the leaders of the modern State engage in actions or adopt policies with which many Israelis (and many Jews in the Diaspora) disagree. Our rejection of a particular government and its policies cannot vitiate our love and connection to the concept of a free and independent Jewish State in Israel, just as a disagreement with the current US administration cannot vitiate our love for America.