Taking responsibility: Nitzavim 5785

 This essay by Rabbi Wein ztz'l has been kindly furnished by the Destiny Foundation.

One of the shortest parshiyot of the Torah, Nitzavim is however one of the most important in its message to the people of Israel. It features Moshe’s final oration to his people after more than 40 years of leadership, to be heard not only by his immediate audience but by each subsequent generation. 

Moshe reminds his listeners that there is an eternal covenant between God and Israel. The Lord will not allow the Jewish people to wriggle out of that commitment. Many strange things will happen to the people of Israel over its many centuries of existence. There will be events that are beyond human understanding or comprehension. 

God’s mind and actions, so to speak, remain inscrutable and beyond our judgment, let alone our reason. Moshe warns us that “the hidden things are the matter of the Lord but what is clear and revealed to us is that we are to remain faithful to this covenant [of Sinai and of Moshe]”. No matter how the Jewish people twist and turn to avoid keeping their side of the covenant, they remain bound by its consequences and results. Moshe warns them that eventually a high price would be exacted from the Jewish people for the abandonment of this covenant.  He advises them not to be too clever: times change, technology improves and there are new discoveries in God’s world—but the covenant of God with Israel remains as ever it was. Acceptance of this truth is the only way to deal with Jewish history and with all of the issues of Jewish life—past, present and future. 

The word “nitzavim” is key to conveying the above message to us with clarity and in perspective. The word suggests not only “present and accounted for” but also “upright and formidable”. Moshe fears that the Jewish people might feel unworthy and not strong enough for the rigors of the covenant. He reminds them of their true strength and capabilities. Moshe knows that a lack of self-confidence will automatically defeat the intent and goal of the covenant. If someone says “I cannot do it,” then that certainly becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy of failure.

Moshe reminds the Jewish people that they are “nitzavim”—strong, capable, resilient and able to stand up to all crises and problems. Moshe appeals to their self-image and inner strength. This attitude is both necessary and correct in the lead-up to the High Holy days. One cannot appeal to God, so to speak, on the basis of personal incompetence and weakness of will and vision. It is like requesting further cash flow from lenders into an obviously failing venture. 

When we pass before our Creator, during the Days of Judgment just ahead, we should do so with strong backs and confident hearts. We can and should say “Continue to invest in me and my family and generations. We will not desert the covenant, nor shall we fail You.”   

For "Renewing the Covenant", Rabbi Wein's essay on Nitzavim-Vayelech last year, click here.