This week we have two beautiful sections of Torah. The first,
Nitzavim, consists of the ratification of the covenant with the people, before
they enter the land. We read selections from this parasha on Yom Kippur morning
as well, perhaps because the people are about to embark on a new beginning, and
because they are given a path back to God if they stray.
God and Moses ratify the covenant even as they know that the
people are prone to stray. In fact, Moses prophecies that the people will
indeed follow other gods, once they have made it to the land and have prospered.
The curses that we read last week will then take effect. However, we also are
given a way back, and a choice to take that path or not. The words “fanah,” “too
turn away” and “shav,” “to turn back,” both appear in this parasha. After we
have turned away, if we turn back to God, God will restore us and take us back “b’ahavah,”
“in love.” We are exhorted to make that choice – the choice of life and
blessing over the choice of death and curse.
This theme of a new beginning continues into the next
section, Vayelech. Here we face the reality that Moses’ end is near. Moses learns
that he is about to die and will need to appoint Joshua in his stead. There is
much anxiety again that the people will stray after other gods once they enter
the land. One response to this eventuality is for God to compose a poem which
will serve as a witness against the people. Another is for the book of “this
Torah,” to be written down and kept next to the Ark, as evidence that Israel
has accepted the terms of the covenant. “This Torah,” probably meaning the book
of Deuteronomy, will also be read publicly once a year during the Festival of
Sukkot. In this new beginning, with a
new leader in a new land, the power of the written word will have to suffice,
to keep the people together and aligned with God.
As we study together, I hope we will explore the following
questions, of course along with yours:
-
How do we feel about the fact that it is a given
that we will stray, that God will curse us, and that we will turn back and be
restored? Why not have a way to avoid this cycle altogether? What is this
prediction meant to cause us to do, especially since it seems so inevitable?
