Standing with the Stranger

Nitzavim - Va Yelech

Deut. 29:9 -31:30

Précis:  In the first of this double parasha reading, Nitzavim, Moses continues to address the People: You stand (nitzavim) this day before Adonai. In his final words to the People, Moses recounts the wonders Adonai had done for them, and calls upon them to remain loyal to God by observing the Covenant. The extent of the relationship is explained: it will survive exile and captivity with a return to the Land. 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 Va Yelech, The Israelites are instructed to annihilate the seven Canaanite nations and take possession of the Promised Land. The death of Moses approaches, and he transfers his mantle of leadership to Joshua as his successor. Moses orders regular reading of the Law, and then transfers the written Torah into the hands of the Levites for safekeeping in the Ark of the Covenant.

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…”

I find this verse to be compelling for any number of reasons. First and foremost, it is a statement of the essential unity of the Jewish People, making clear that from the greatest to the least, all stand together in a covenantal relationship to God, and (I imply) to each other. Second, the Hebrew grammar is instructive in its use of the pronouns “you” and “your.” Most of the times, they are in the plural as one might expect. However, the “your” as it relates to the stranger in the camp is in the singular. In effect, the stranger is “your” personal responsibility.

            As Rabbi Peretz Rodman has written (Torah Sparks, 9/28/16), “In the present verse the message is: "You [singular, this time] are the person who determines the living conditions of another human being, one whom you might ignore or neglect because his social status is low and his agency over his own life is limited. Do not overlook him." This is the same stranger (“ger”) who in the first chapter of Deuteronomy (1:6) has full equality under law, and perhaps also the same ger who should enjoy Shabbat rest (Ex. 23:12).

            Who is this ger who stands with us? It is the man, woman, or child who lives within our midst, but is not part of “us.” It may be the undocumented alien, the Dreamer, or those who live in poverty and despair. This verse, I would suggest, leads us to a conclusion that each of us has an individual responsibility to remember that these individuals “stand together” in a mutual covenantal relationship. We dare not overlook or ignore them.