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.