Shabbos Parashas Nitzavim - 5779

Shabbos Parashas Nitzavim - 5779

Rabbi Hal Miller

You are standing today, all of you, before Hashem, your God ... [Devarim 29:9]

for you to pass into the covenant of Hashem, your God, and into His imprecation

that Hashem, your God, seals with you today [29:11] in order to confirm you

today as a people to Him and that He be a God to you. [29:12]

Last week, the parsha ended with Moshe describing a covenant between God and

the people. Rashi says it refers to the blessings and curses surrounding observance

or not of the Torah commandments. Verse 11 of this week's parsha tells that we are

about to "pass into the covenant". What is this covenant?

Rav Soloveitchik writes, "The Jew has two degrees of sanctity, rooted in separate

covenants between God and Israel, His people. There were actually three covenants,

but two of them are counted as one, namely the covenant made at Horeb with those

who received the Torah, and the covenant made in the plains of Moab with the people

entering the land. Israel was sanctified through these covenants and this sanctity was

passed on by inheritance from generation to generation." The Rav then describes our

verse as the third covenant, connected to a second form of sanctity. The prior

covenants were between God and the people living at the time, then by inheritance

passed along, but this one applied directly to every Jew for all time. Thus, we have a

"dual connection with God, both as individuals and as the descendants of our

forefathers." This answers the often-asked question of how our ancestors could have

obligated their descendants in a covenant--we obligated ourselves. Kol Dodi further

explains this when he writes, "The people were already obligated in mitzvos, so this

covenant was to bind the following generations."

Rabbeinu Bechaye understands our verse not just as establishing an obligation, but

also a right. Because of this, the Jewish people merits God's eternal protection.

Maharal explains that this means the people will survive even if a generation or two

falls away from mitzvos, that following generations can return and reclaim this right.

From Malbim we learn that there are two reasons for a covenant, one to bind the

actions of both parties, and the other to voluntarily strengthen each party's resolve

to act in concert. Here, the people were already commanded in mitzvos, so God gave

them, by this covenant, the opportunity to voluntarily bind themselves to commitment

of the heart. Rashi similarly reads verse 12 as the Jewish people binding themselves,

and also God committing to maintaining the nation.

As we enter Rosh Hashana, let us rekindle our efforts to uphold our end of the bargain.