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Shabbat Shalom: Parshat Nitzavim-Rosh Hashanah Deuteronomy
29:9-30:20
By Shlomo Riskin
Efrat, Israel - The Torah portion of Nitzavim generally precedes the
two-day Festival of Rosh HaShanah, and this is hardly an accident of
happenstance. I believe that the true significance of Rosh HaShanah is
explained by the special covenant we find in Nitzavim.
In order to properly understand the nature of this covenant, it is important
to analyze a number of textual problems in the beginning of our portion.
Firstly, the very opening verse, “You are standing this day, all of you,
before the Lord your G-d, the leaders of your tribes, your elders and your
officers, every person of Israel” (Deut 29:9). Which covenant is the Bible
speaking about? Abraham entered into the Covenant of the Pieces with G-d
which was a national covenant, promising the Patriarch progeny and a land;
Moses and his Israelites entered into the Covenant at Sinai with G-d,
granting and obligating the nation to a religious set of laws, both moral
and ritual. What possible addition could emanate from this third covenant,
after Israel had already been established as a nation and a religion?!
And how are we to understand the strange inclusion of this covenant of “those
who are standing here with us today before the Lord our G-d and with those
who are not here with us today” (Deut 29:13,14). If this refers to the
past generations, then how can they not be considered as “standing before
G-d”? They are probably closer to G-d than those who are alive! And if
this refers to the future generations, the Bible is constantly renewing the
covenant in subsequent periods of Jewish history: after the conquest of the
land of Israel in the period of Joshua (Joshua 24), after the return from
Babylonian exile (Nehemiah 8) and every seven years in the dramatic event of
Hakhel (Maimonides, Laws of Hagiga 3), when all the Israelites were
commanded to gather together and re-confirm their special Biblical
relationship with G-d. So who are those “not standing before G-d this day”
who are now being included?
Now, clearly this is the covenant which is first mentioned in Chapter II of
the Book of Deuteronomy (Re’eh), the blessings and the curses on Mt.
Gerizim and Mt. Eval to which the Israelites were bound right before their
entry into the land of Israel. They are instructed to erect large stones
after they cross the Jordan on their way to Shekhem (their entrance point to
Israel) upon which the words of this Torah (apparently this particular
covenant) are to be written, “ba’er heitev”, very well explained-
according to our Sages, to be translated into all seventy languages. And the
content of these stones appear to be a kind of second Decalogue, because an
altar is there to be erected to be made of whole stones which are not to be
touched by implements of iron, just as in the case of the first Decalogue
(Deut 27:1-8).
The subject of these blessings and curses are twelve of the most significant
of the moral and ethical laws of the Bible: cursed are those who disobey and
blessed are those who uphold the strictures against idolatry, cursing one’s
parents, moving one’s neighbors’ boundary markers (stealing,
trespassing, invading one’s privacy), misdirecting the blind (literally
and figuratively), perverting justice for the stranger, orphan and widow,
striking one’s neighbor, taking a bribe and violating the various sexual
crimes of adultery, incest and sodomy (Deut 27:15-27). These are all
universal laws of ethics and morality which ought apply to every human being
in the world.
Hence I would submit that this third covenant is the necessary rules and
regulations which the Almighty imposes upon humanity, our mission to the
world. After all, part of the charge which we received together with the
first Decalogue at Sinai was that we were to be a “kingdom of priest –
teachers”, a nation of teachers to the other nations of the world. All of
the prophets (for example, Isaiah 2, Mica 4, Zecharia 7,8) envisage a time
at the end of the days when all the nations will come to learn from us the
message of ethical monotheism: “nation shall not lift up sword against
nation and humanity shall not learn war anymore”. And Maimonides teaches
that just as the Bible of Moses is to teach the Jews the 613 commandments,
so is the bible to enforce throughout the world the 7 fundamental rules of
humanity, moral and ethical teachings of thou shalt not murder and thou
shalt not commit adultery.
Therefore our Bible teaches that when the Israelites will enter the land of
Israel, upon crossing the Jordan River and entrance into Shekhem, they are
to write in stone the twelve ethical commandments to the world in every one
of the seventy languages; this is a lesson for every visiting dignitary as
well a clear message to every entering Israelite. This third covenant is for
the Jews to communicate to those who are “not with them before G-d” at
this time of their entry into Israel, and indeed our future as well as the
future of the world depends upon our success in fulfilling our mission.
Our Talmud teaches that Ezra ordained that we read of this third covenant
for the advent of Rosh Hashanah every year. The primary meaning of Rosh
Hashanah is our acceptance of G-d’s kingship throughout the world; the
primary challenge of Rosh Hashanah is for us to achieve the fulfillment of
that mission. The cry of the Shofar (truah) reflects our sadness at a world
not yet perfected; the exulting, exalting and triumphant sound of the Shofar
(tekiyah) reflects our faith that we shall ultimately succeed. May we begin
to taste the fruits of that success in the year 5766.
Shabbat Shalom and Shana Tova
Shlomo Riskin
Chancellor Ohr Torah Stone
Chief Rabbi - Efrat Israel
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