NITZAVIM-VAYELECH, DEVARIM 29:9-31:30
In this week's double parsha we hear and hopefully learn many things:
When we stand before Hashem, we stand as one people, the Klal Yisrael, together in unity.
We will be exiled, but Hashem will gather us in and return us to our Land. Fast forward : We have already returned; redemption has begun.
Torah knowledge is not remote or distant, but is close at hand.
We have free choice, either to reap the benefits of keeping Hashem's commandments or to not walk in His ways and be subject to the curses.
It is your call: choose life or choose death.
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At 29:9-14: Moses gathered all the Israelites—men, women, and children—to enter them into a covenant with Hashem. This covenant established us as Hashem’s exclusive nation.
The covenant, Moses explained, was not limited to those who were physically present on that day; rather, it included all future generations of Jews as well. That means you and me.
The question arises as to what is the right of Hashem to commit future generations, let alone children, to the obligations of His covenant?
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At 30:11-14, Moshe enjoins us to return to Hashem to do Teshuva, informing us that it is not that difficult:
“it is not beyond you, nor is it remote from you. It is not in heaven . . . It is not across the sea . . . Rather, it is very close to you, in your mouth, in your heart, that you may do it.”
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There is a curious phenomenon that occurs at 29:28, and all in all in about ten places in the Chumash. These are the dots or nekudot that appear over a letter or word or words. In in our case it is the nekudot that appear over the words "for us and for our children until...".
הַנִּ֨סְתָּרֹ֔ת לַֽיהֹוָ֖ה אֱלֹהֵ֑ינוּ וְהַנִּגְלֹ֞ת ֹלָֹ֤נוֹּ ֹוֹּלְֹבָֹנֵֹ֨יֹנֹוּ֨ עַד־עוֹלָ֔ם לַֽעֲשׂ֕וֹת אֶת־כָּל־דִּבְרֵ֖י הַתּוֹרָ֥ה הַזֹּֽאת
“The hidden things belong to the Lord, our God, but the revealed things are for us and to our children forever: to do all the words of this Torah”.
What do we make of these nekudot?
Is it Hashem's way of calling our attention to a particular passage?
Perhaps as some believe they were put there by a personage in authority such as Ezra the Scribe, who is likened to Moshe Rabbeinu.
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In the Parsha at 30:19 we are told to choose life:
וּבָחַרְתָּ, בַּחַיִּים--לְמַעַן תִּחְיֶה, אַתָּה וְזַרְעֶךָ
“…choose life, that you may live, you and your seed;”
This statement is very timely in light of the approaching High Holydays.
Look at the word “חַיִּים”. The letters חַם meaning warmth surround the double yud that stands for Hashem. When you are alive with warmth, you have Hashem within you.
Whether you hold by the Ramban who says that the Mitzvah referred to is doing T’sheuvah or you agree with Rashi that the Mitzvah is to abide by the entire Torah, it is well within our grasp.
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In the Haftarah portion at Isaiah 63:9, the Prophet says that because of Hashem’s love and pity He will redeem us.
בְּאַֽהֲבָת֥וֹ וּבְחֶמְלָת֖וֹ ה֣וּא גְאָלָ֑ם וַֽיְנַטְּלֵ֥ם וַֽיְנַשְּׂאֵ֖ם כָּל־יְמֵ֥י עוֹלָֽם
“with His love and with His pity He redeemed them, and He will bear them, and He will carry them for all the days of the world”.
What exactly is redemption?
In today's vernacular: To redeem something, is to get something out of hock.
For the Jew, the Land of Israel is his native country. For the Jew, Exile is having been barred, sent out from or dispersed from his native country. For the Jew, his Exile results from religious, political and punitive reasons. The Jew in the Diaspora is a Jew in Exile, and he awaits a return to his Land. HE AWAITS REDEMPTION.
Redemption is an essential concept in Judaism. In Judaism, redemption (ge'ulah, גְאוּלָה) refers to God redeeming or freeing us from our exiles, starting from the first exile, our slavery in Egypt (BT, Tractate Rosh Hashanah 11b). This form of redemption is called “Exilic Redemption”. There is a concept of a Final Redemption in the belief system of mainstream Orthodoxy that considers us to be currently in a state of exile. When we are redeemed or freed by God from the current Exile, we will return to our Land and as a consequence owe Him a debt of gratitude.
Redemption also applies to individuals or groups: an Israelite slave, Jewish captives, and the firstborn son. It is from these three cases that the concept of exilic redemption is derived because Jews are considered God's 'firstborn' derived from Jacob, and Jews are God's slaves forever.
Theologically, I am currently considered held captive by mainstream Orthodoxy even though I reside in the modern state of Israel.
Mainstream Orthodoxy aside, for me Redemption is well underway.
Some of us say this Blessing:
Bless the state of Israel, first flowering of our redemption.
ברך את מדינת ישראל ראשית צמיחת גאולתנו
It has become the mantra of the religious Zionist movement and the nemesis of the Haredi world due to its religious connotations.
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In a Haftarah passage from Isaiah 63:5, we see Hashem’s anger and punishment of the nations that have oppressed Israel. The trampling of grapes, the grapes of wrath, is a metaphor for their punishment.
Here, the crushed grapes symbolizes the blood that will come from His wrath. Essentially, we learn about Hashem bestowing vengeance and justice upon peoples who deserve punishment.
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From the Hebrew verb haqhêl הַקְהֵ֣ל, "assemble" comes the Mitzvah Hakhel in Deuteronomy 31:10–12:
"At the end of every seven years, at an appointed time, in the Festival of Sukkot the year of Shemitah. When all Israel comes to appear before the Lord, your G‑d, in the place He will choose, you shall read this Torah before all Israel, in their ears.
Assemble the people: the men, the women, the children, and your stranger in your cities..."
The Hakhel ceremony was conducted on the first day of Chol HaMoed Sukkot, Trumpets would sound and a large wooden platform was erected. The king would sit on this platform and all in attendance would gather around him.
The High Priest, who would present a Torah scroll to the king The king began the reading with the same blessings over the Torah that are recited before every Aliyah in synagogues today.
The reading consisted of the following sections from the Book of Deuteronomy:
From the beginning of the book through Shema Yisrael (6:4);
The second paragraph of the Shema (11:13-21);
"You shall surely tithe" (14:22-27);
"When you have finish tithing" (26:12-15);
The section about appointing a king (17:14-20);
The blessings and curses (28:1-69).
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At 31:6, Moshe says to Joshua:
חִזְק֣וּ וְאִמְצ֔וּ , Be strong and resolute.
Moshe repeats at 31:23
In the Book of Joshua at 1:6,7 and 9, Hashem tells Joshua to be
strong and resolute.
The Tribes of Reuven, Gad and ½ of Manasseh also repeat to
Joshua at 1:18.
And finally, Joshua tells us at 10:25 to be strong and resolute.
That message for the Jewish people 3,000 years ago persists until today:
חִזְק֣וּ וְאִמְצ֔וּ , Be strong and resolute.
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At 31:14-19 Hashem commands Moses and Joshua to enter the Tent of Meeting. Hashem appears and informs them that a time will come when the Jews will abandon Him.
At that time, Hashem will hide His face, and we will be subjected to evils and troubles.
Hashem says to them: "Write for yourselves this song, and
teach it to the Children of Israel. Place it into their mouths, in order that
this song will be for Me as a witness..." This 'song' is narrated in next
week's Torah reading.
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Mick, thanks for putting this all together. Its appreciated!
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