Deuteronomy Nitzavim and Vayeilech (Double Portion)

Nitzavim and Vayeilech (Double Portion)
Deuteronomy 29:9 – 30:20 and 31:1 – 31:30

I. Summary: Nitzavim

A. Nitzavim = (You) “stand” (this day, all of you …)

B. Moses tells the assembled people that God’s covenant speaks to them and to all of the generations who will follow. (29:9–14)

C. Moses warns Israelites that God will punish them if they act idolatrously and all peoples will be told why Israelites were being punished. Israelites acknowledge warning. (29:15–28)

D. Moses reassures the people that God will not forsake them and that they can regain God’s protection (and blessings) after sinning by then following God’s commandments. Moses emphasizes accessability of Torah teachings and fact that it is up to Israelites as to whether they receive God’s blessings or curses. (30:1–20)

II. Summary:Vayeilech

A. Vayeilech = (Moses) “went” (and spoke these things to all Israel)

B. Moses resigns his responsibilities (at 120 years of age), tells Israelites that he will not accompany them into Promised Land, announces that Joshua will succeed him and tells Israelites that they should not fear occupants of Promised Land since God will wipe those people out. Finally, Moses calls on Joshua to be “strong and resolute.” (31:1–8)

C. Moses gives written Teaching to Levite priests and instructs priests and the elders regarding the importance of reading the Torah to the people every seven years during Feast of the Booths … Sukkot. (31:9–13)

D. God informs Moses (in presence of Joshua) that upon death of Moses, the people will commit idolatry and “many evils and troubles shall befall them.” God tells Moses to teach the people a poem that will “be My witness”, i.e. so that Israelites will know God warned them. God tells Joshua to be “strong and resolute.” Moses recites the poem (set out in next parasha) to Israelites. (31:14–30)

III. Commentary on Nitzvaim (Plaut, various websites and prior Hevreh discussions)

A. Responsibilities of inclusiveness – Intended audience for God’s covenantal words is very broad … “all of you”, “not with you alone, but both with those who are standing here with us this day before the Eternal our God and with those who are not with us here this day” and even those whose “heart is even now turning away from … God.” (Deut 29:9-17); however, extending the boundaries of covenant for the sake of inclusion and universalism entails demands as well as social rewards, i.e. everyone who is referenced in Deuteronomy 29 is also called to account for how we uphold our obligations to God and to our fellow human beings.

B. Accessability of Torah - “Surely, this instruction … is not to baffling for you, nor is it beyond reach.” (Deut 30:11) Brings Torah (and God) to every person. Torah is more accessible than we may think. This gives us the tool for personal choice (see next comment).

C. Mitzvot = personal choice – Personal choice is the fruit of easy access to Torah. The revelation at Sinai itself is understood in Jewish tradition to include the written and oral law (Torah and Rabbinic tradition); however, mitzvot (“Instruction” in Deut 30:11) “is not in heaven or beyond the sea” but rather "in your mouth and in your heart, to observe it." (Deut 30:14). It are faced with a choice and we must make the right choice (“See, I set before you this day life and prosperity, death and adversity . . . I have put before you life and death, blessing and curse. Choose life … by loving the Eternal your God, heeding God's commands, and holding fast to God.” (Deuteronomy 30:15–20). The mitzvot to choose life is grounded in the belief that we can make personal moral choices.

D. Free will reconciles God and tragedy – Personal moral choices do not guarantee that our experience is limited to God’s blessings. How can God permit terrible things to happen? Explanation is free will, i.e. God has knowledge of man’s future decisions but cannot control them or their consequences. In the days of the prophets, such a calamity would have been viewed as God’s punishment for our sins and our leaders would have urged us to pray, fast, and repent in order to encourage God to return to us. Modern theologians, however, reject the notion of God turning away from us. Rather, they argue, it is we who turn away from God. Plaut says “God is hidden as long as the world chooses to be alienated from Him”.

E. How to choose a blessing (rather than a curse) - How do we choose to be a blessing? 1) Stand up straight (Deuteronomy 29:9 - “you stand this day, all of you”) and take responsibility for our behavior, admit our past transgressions but not become mired in them … know that change is possible and the past is not a determinant of the future. 2) Be open to the possibility of change at any moment. The word hayom, “this day” (Deuteronomy 30:11) teaches us that we should not put off the possibility of change for some distant messianic time. Rather, we can and should bring about change in our lives!

F. Turning and returning – Returning to God (Deut 30:2) is basis for fundamental idea … if Israelites turn (“shuv” cited seven times) back to God after sinning, God will take them back.

G. Goal for Holidays - This parashah gives us a goal for the coming Days of Awe to demonstrate in our actions that we have changed. “The thing is very close to you, in your mouth and in your heart to observe it” (Deuteronomy 30:14). The Hebrew for “observe,” laasot, also means “to do.” We are changed merely by saying the proper prayers or asking for forgiveness. Ultimately, how we or others act, i.e. what we do in our lives, is the measure of true repentance.

H. God’s expectation of Israelites – “Perchance, there is among you some man …whose heart is even now turning away from God.” (Deut 29:17) Even as Israelites are on the doorstep of Promised Land, God is confident that some Israelites will not accept the covenant. Will/Should God always have that expectation? Will that expectation always exist? Is expectation simply God’s acknowledgment of human frailty?

IV. Commentary on Vayeilech (Plaut, various websites and prior Hevreh discussions)

A. Stand and then go forth - That Vayelech (“go forth”) comes right after Nitzavim (“stand”) teaches us that it is only after we have learned how to stand still that we can "go forth.

B. Lessons from requirement to write a Torah scroll - It is a commandment for every Jew to write a Torah scroll for himself … “So now, write this song for yourselves, and teach it to the Children of Israel.” (31:19)Interpretations: 1) No two written letters in Torah scroll can touch another one. On the other hand, the law also requires that the letters which comprise a word must be placed close enough to each other so that they do not appear as individual letters and not part of a word. This suggests that every Jew stand on his own two feet and observe the Torah and its precepts but also that each Jew should stand immediately alongside the other and be very close to him, to the extent that they appear as one collective body and not as egotistical individuals. 2) The validity of the Torah scroll is dependent on all the letters together. The lack or incompleteness of even one single letter affects the validity of the entire scroll. This suggests that every Jew is an essential component of the entire nation of Israel. 3) A Torah scroll must be written with ink and the only acceptable color is deep black which is a color that is extremely difficult to change This suggests that a Jew should not permit the influence of society or the vagaries of life to undermine or dilute his true "color" and to follow the correct path. 4) The ink must stick firmly to the parchment, and, if it "jumps off," i.e. becomes detached, the Torah scroll is disqualified. This suggests that each Jew should adhere to the Torah and never become detached from it.

C. Rewritten history - Arguably, Deuteronomy reflects history that preceded its writing (proof text = “So the Lord was incensed at that land and brought upon it all the curses recorded in this book” - Deut 29:26). Suggests that repetition of scenes in Deut. reflects attitudes of later post-exilic writers/editors who incorporated later versions by patterning them after earlier versions, e.g. succession of leadership (34:1-12 v. earlier 31.1-8 and 32:48-52), and creation of Torah as a book (31:24-27 v. earlier 31.9-13).

D. God’s knowledge of future v. free will - In telling Moses that Israelites will rebel against God suggests that God knows everything that will happen. Is this in conflict with free will? Reconciled with God’s ability to know what Israelites will decide … this is different than God making things happen. Deuteronomic view is that national transgression and its consequences already happened.

E. Rationales for Joshua as successor to Moses – Joshua was 1) one of only two only optimistic scout (along with Caleb) from among those twelve who checked out Promised Land, 2) Moses’ personal attendant (and accompanied Moses up Mt. Sinai so giving Joshua unique credential), 3) guardian of the tent and 4) military commander (making him natural person to lead Israelites in conquering Canaan).

(Revised 9/9/09)