Nitzavim-To Truly Listen
Life Lessons from the Torah Portions of
Nitzavim-Vayelech Deuteronomy 29:9–31:30
i
The Torah portion of Nitzavim is generally read on the Shabbat before Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year. The words of the first verse make the link with the Rosh Hashanah festival which is actually the days of judgment of the whole world. The rest of the Torah portion serve to give the tools and the empowerment for each of as individuals and all of us as a people to find our way back to our core and our Source.
The Torah portion begins with the words
“You are all standing upright( Nitzavim) this day (HaYom) before ( Lifney) Hashem, your G-d the leaders of your tribes, your elders and your officers, every man of Israel,” (Deuteronomy 29:9)
The Baal Shem Tov taught that whenever the word " HaYom - this day" is mentioned in the Bible it refers to Rosh Hashanah.Just as the children of Israel "stood " before G-d in preparation for what was ahead of them , so too we stand before Him with the same purpose.
Clearly, the words of this Torah portion are meant to not only to describe an historic event. Rather they are also meant to give us all the empowerment, and the insight to truly stand before our Creator on this upcoming day of Judgement.
To truly explore this we need to return to the words from the previous Torah portion that reveal much.
And it will be if you obey ( Shamoa Tishma BeKol)Hashem, your G-d, to observe to fulfill all His commandments which I command you this day, Hashem, your G-d, will place you supreme above all the nations of the earth. And all these blessings will come upon you and cleave to you, if you obey (Tishma BeKol )Hashem, your G-d.( Deuteronomy 28:1-2)
One wonders what the difference between "obey" and "observe to fulfill all His commandments” .They both describe the same action.
This issue is resolved when we explore a more literal translation of these words "Shamoa Tishma BeKol". The words translated as OBEY are actually more literally translated as " truly Listen to the Voice of Your G-d.
We see the same idea in the next verse "these blessings will come upon you and cleave to you, if you obey (Tishma BeKol )Hashem, your G-d" actually translates as " These blessings will come upon you if you listen to the voice of Hashem". Hashem expects more than simple obedience, He wants us to learn to listen to His Voice.
How then is that possible?
How does one recognize such a Voice?
How can one avoid not to be swayed and confused by "other" voices that constantly demand our attention?
The solution is revealed further in our text:
"In order to establish you this day as His people, and that He will be your G-d, as He spoke to you, and as He swore to your forefathers to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob. But not only with you am I making this covenant and this oath,but with those standing here with us today before Hashem, our G-d, and [also] with those who are not here with us, this day ( Deuteronomy 29:12-14).
When verse 14 is read with the cantillations ) the Torah reading melody) the comma or pause is placed in a strategic place. The resultant translation is dramatically changed.
"but with those standing here with us today before Hashem, our G-d, and [also] with those who are not here … are with us this day
( Eemanu Hayom).
That is to say that every descendant of that generation of Israelites experienced the revelation at Mount Sinai even those who have not yet entered into this world.
The world of science is quickly catching up with this spiritual truth. The study of Epigenetics is a discipline that attempts to study and explore the alterations on genes that change the way the genes function. The term "an epigenetic mark " describes an alteration or change to the DNA that in turn affects the RNA which then expresses itself into the protein make up of our being.
As a result whispers of that event or trauma is passed on genetically to subsequent generations. What is true of traumatic and difficult events are just as true of glorious and miraculous events like the revelation at Mount Sinai. The experience at Mount Sinai is engraved into the DNA of this people.
Yet there is a deeper level as well.
The sages describe that before birth an angel sits with each soul and teaches it all that there is to know about G-d. Then, at the exact moment of birth, the angel taps the baby right under the nose, leaving an indentation, and the child forgets everything it has been taught. It has to re-learn everything from the start, to discover everything anew.( Tractate Nidda 30b) . Yet nothing is really new. It is knowledge that has already been acquired. The rest of the spiritual journey then is not about Discovery, but rather about Recovery.
So how can we recognize the Divine voice in our lives? It is only possible because our souls have already heard that voice. Our souls can intuitively recognize His voice and His imprint in all the events around us because it is a whisper of what we already know. The difficulty occurs because we do not trust that intuitive spiritual insight that we all carry. When we attain that ability we will begin to truly sense the Divine subtext in all that surrounds us.
Rosh Hashanah is a time to relearn that ability. We attune our spiritual ears to hear the call of the shofar, a sound our souls know very well.
“It came to pass on the third day when it was morning, that there were thunder claps and lightning flashes, and a thick cloud was upon the mountain, and a very powerful blast of a shofar, and the entire nation that was in the camp shuddered.”( Exodus 18:16).
Rosh Hashanah , then, is less about the past than it is a resolve regarding the future. It is a time to learn again the Divine whisper that surrounds us. As the Torah portion declares;
“For this commandment which I command you this day, is not concealed from you, nor is it far away.”(Deuteronomy 30:11)
LeRefuat Yehudit Bat Golda Yocheved and Yehudit bat Chaya Esther
