Deut. 29:9 -30:20
Précis: 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.
Deut. 30:2-3 “When you return to Adonai your God, and you
and your children heed His command with all your heart and soul, just as I
enjoin you this day, then Adonai your God will restore your fortunes and take
you back in love. He will bring you together again from all the peoples where
Adonai your God has scattered you.”
As I have noted before, the first verb at the beginning of the verse (“return”)
is in Hebrew “shav,” from a root meaning “turn back,” or “return.” The
word “return” is repeated three times in the following verses, and this tells
us much about the idea of repentance, or “t’shuvah” (from the same
Hebrew root). Not coincidentally, the word, in one form or another, appears
seven times in this chapter, and we read this chapter this year just days
before Rosh Hashanah, when repentance is much on our minds.
The conclusion of the second verse should be much on our minds: He will
bring you together. As I write this week’s d’var, the hope for being
brought “together” in Israel seems remote, with an inconclusive second election
recently having taken place, and the struggle to form a new government under
way. In addition, differences within the American Jewish community about the
leadership of the U.S. Administration are divisive. Finally, we face the fact that
Israel is in danger of losing its historical bi-partisan support in the United
States, due in part to Netanyahu’s identification with a single U.S. political
party, and with his warm, personal embrace by our President.
A dark picture is indeed before as we approach the Yamim Noraim. We are
not together in Israel, between the Jews of the Diaspora and those in Israel,
nor among Jews in America. Yet, our tradition and our reading this week offers
us the hope for unity, through t’shuvah. Self-examination is at the core
of t’shuvah, and I personally plan on examining my own feelings about
these issues during the coming weeks, and offer a prayer that Jews in Israel,
in the United States, and around the world try, with God’s help, to come to an
understanding of the need for unity. We have rarely needed it more than we do
today.
I wish all a Shanah Tovah, filled with personal health and happiness, and with
new togetherness among k’lal Yisrael.
