09/16/2025
THIS WEEK: PARASHAT NITZAVIM - STANDING BEFORE HASHEM!
Moshe, as he draws nearer to his final day on earth, tells the assembled children of Israel that every member of society, aristocrats and simple folks, men, women and children, people of all skills and professions, and, of course, the beloved convert, are part of a covenant that will bind them to the G-d of Israel forever. And not only the people standing before me today. Moshe adds, but all who will follow in the coming generations are also bound to HaShem by this covenant. And that, or course, means us, today:
"You are all standing today before HaShem your G-d — the leaders of your tribes, your elders, your sheriffs, and every Israelite man, your young children, your womenfolk, and your converts who are in your camp, from your woodcutter to your water-drawer — in order to perform a ritual by which you will enter into a covenant with HaShem your G-d — and to take His oath to uphold it — which HaShem your G-d, is making with you today in order to establish you today as His people, so that He can be your G-d for all time, as He spoke concerning you and as He swore to your forefathers Avraham, Yitzchak, and Yaakov. I am not making this covenant and administering this oath on G-d’s behalf solely with you, but with those standing here with us today before HaShem your G-d, and with those who are not here with us today." (Deuteronomy 29:9-14)
This is how this week’s Torah reading, Nitzavim, (Deuteronomy 29:9 - 30:20) opens. Always an important message to hear, it is especially relevant as we approach the high holidays of Rosh HaShana and Yom Kippur, which are less than two weeks away.
Photo: Historical verification of Moshe's words: every night throughout the month of Elul, tens of thousands of Israelis gather at the western wall of the Temple Mount to recite selichot prayers of penitence and longing for HaShem's embrace, a tradition observed in all Jewish towns and communities throughout Israel and the world.
