Nitzavim: All of You

The parsha includes the compelling and slightly enigmatic phrase, "all of you who are standing before me today."

The Talmud has a fascinating interpretation for this pasuk. It says that both the body and soul will be held accountable to the Holy One in the aftermath of life. The soul cannot claim that it was coerced and the body also has no excuse for its actions. Here is how it phrases the idea:

A blind man and a lame man are hired by a farmer to watch his precious crops. The owner forbade them from eating any fruit. Yet, when the crops were harvested there was a paltry yield. The owner was suspicious. The two watchmen claimed they took nothing. How could they?
The blind man said, "It was not me. I cannot see!"
The lame man said, "It could not have been me. I cannot walk!"
The owner then placed the lame man on the back of the blind man and punished them together.1

Pirkay Avot takes another tack. It pronounces that no person should ever cut themselves off from a community. 2 What it observes is that all of us are an entity, an organism. We have a responsibility toward one another that stems from this Torah portion. Rambam further emphasizes this idea when he states that when a person cuts themselves off from the body of Israel and does not feel their pain or experience their joy totally severs his connection from them in the world-to-come as well. 3

The connective tissue that binds us must be inviolate. That is what all of you- in the parasha means. More specifically, it means – all of you - throughout all time.

Note that the Israelites are standing at the border of Israel. That is the precise location where they find themselves as the Divine command comes to them. The word stand is pivotal. Like the Amidah that we recite, which also means standing and is the same root word as here, the Jewish nation is poised to enter into the holy land. They stand – this exact word is used -before they cross over.
Likewise, each Jew needs to be focused and at attention when about to make any upward spiritual movement. Crossing over to a higher spiritual level is not simple and usually does not come without effort. We must try to approach God. Aliyah means ascending and one cannot go up without expending energy.

"All of you" also degrades any social standing. Any arbitrary or contrived social ladder is destroyed when taking into account the body of the people. Every member of the Israelites is vital. From the water-carrier to the kohen gadol each member is counted and needed. There is not a single person person that is expendable because they do not have the education, or breeding or money that others can claim. --All of you -- means that God needs every one of us especially the ones who stand at the margins. Remember that the vaunted Elijah may be one of them….

Midrash also reflects on the idea of Moses incorporating all those who stand before him this day. Later, Moses goes on to elaborate that even those who are not present. How can it be that if everyone is present, someone might be missing? Midrash answers that the call of Moses is to unborn generations. Those yet to come –you and I and the many generations in between were also part of the assemblage. 4

Those who move are comprised of flesh and blood. We are people given the task of conquering the world. Continually moving to conquer new realms we are rarely still. Yet, in another realm, those who stand still are the angels. That is why when we pray we place our feet together during the kedusha and do not budge from that place. We are imitating the angels on High who sing Kadosh, kadosh, kadosh to the glory of the One.

Idea: When we commanded to stand we are being asked by the Eternal One to imitate the angels. Perhaps it is intentional that we read this parsha before the Holy Days. On the first of Tishray we are to try to become as perfect before God as possible.

1. Sanhedrin 91b
2. Pirkay Avot 2:5
3. Laws of Repentance 3:11
4. Tanchuma and Sforno


Haftara Insight:
Despair gives way to excitement and rejoicing as this Haftara reading practically shouts outs in exuberance. No longer will there be any mourning. In its place will come flowing and abundant love. No longer silent we will send our message of hope and deliverance to the world.
Jerusalem will rejoice. Even its walls will convulse with song. Powerfully, Isaiah tells us for the sake of Zion to never be silent again!

A Matter of Law:
The mitzvah of writing a sefer Torah appears in this parasha. While most of us are unqualified to write a Torah we are still obligated to do so through the hands of others.
30:1-2 is not a done-deal. Teshuva is a force that moves earth and heaven The power of repentance redeems and even potentially changes the course of history.

Ki Tavo: My Father, an Aramean?

When the first fruits, or bikkkurim in Hebrew, were brought to the Temple, the farmer who brought them was supposed to declare, “My father was destroyed by wandering Aramean….” The Talmud tells us that this phrase is so powerful and compelling that it needs to be repeated at the Passover seder.1 Why? What does the sentence mean?

One interpretation of this phrase is that it refers back to Laban who attempted to murder Jacob. The Passover Haggadda uses this interpretation to define how ruthless Laban was: While Pharaoh only wanted to murder the Israelite boys, the plot of Laban would obliterate the Jewish nation had he succeeded in murdering the patriarch Jacob!

However, there is an entirely different possibility for this text. It might also mean that Jacob – my father - was wandering while in the land of Aram. If this reading is correct, the meaning of the Torah text changes to a statement about the patriarch’s impoverishment, not that Laban was out to kill him.2 That is to say we are to be reminded of the protection of God over Jacob while he was vulnerable and in exile.

This reading is compelling because for the past two thousand years the condition of the Jew has been the same as this journey of Jacob. Dependent upon the mercy of distant rulers and the whims of local authorities, the Jew has been in a long state of exile. Imagine what this would mean to our ancient ancestors as they ate their bread of affliction in constant dread of expulsion, or worse.

Reb Tzadok Hakohen of Lublin reads this segment of the Torah with a slightly different nuance. His understanding posits that Laban sought to take away from Jacob his father-hood. That is to say, Laban was jealous that Jacob was wealthy and destined to be the progenitor of the nascent Jewish people. Laban hoped to supplant young Jacob and become the patriarch in his stead. It was not his physical life that Laban wanted to end but his spiritual legacy.

The passage arises at the Passover Seder at the time of the second cup of wine. At that moment that participant is consumed with the idea that the Lord God took us from the depths of despair and raised us to a covenanted nation at Sinai. If this is the real intent of the text in Deuteronomy then, in its context, the humble farmer who brings his first fruits to the Temple is expressing the single notion of Deliverance. This farmer acknowledges through these words his moral an, spiritual and physical impoverishment. It is only through the great gift of God that he is able to present his first fruits to the Kohen at the Temple. It is as if he is saying, “If not for You, God, I would have nothing.”

One more idea. The phrase- a wandering Aramean – was only to be recited after the Jews had entered the Land of Israel. Until that time they were not to use those words. The graduation of the Israelites from desert nomads to inhabitants of the land made it imperative to never forget their roots. In much the same way, we who live in freedom repeat those ancient words to recall our humble beginnings.

Musar: The seeds of prayer are placed into the earth with the ever-resent thought that everything belongs to God. I am only here because He wills it.



1 Pesachim 116a
2 See Rashbam


Haftara Insight:
The series of prophetic readings that align with the topical thread of consolation reaches its apogee this week. Isaiah calls to the survivors of devastation to arise and allow their soulful self to shine outward. That inner luster will act as a beacon to the nations of the world. They will all witness the grandeur of the people of Jacob. The time for tears is over. The time of jubilation has begun....

A Matter of Law:
The parsha makes special mention of the widow, the orphan and the stranger. In Jewish society if any of these people are marginalized it is wicked. Our responsibility is to make sure there are no needy among these three groups. Accursed is the person who allows the Torah to be abrogated in his community. J.Sotah 7:4

Ki Tetze: The Many Faces of a Line

What does the Torah mean?

This question underlies every commentary on the Holy Text since the time of its giving. In fact in the first chapter of Deuteronomy it states that the Torah shall be explained explicitly. 1 This is taken to mean that even when the Torah was given it required wisdom to extract meaning from its inner core.

That is why the life of the Torah is so exciting and stretches for eons as sages have wrung new meaning from ancient text. A simple example opens the reading of this week. Torah says that when this nation goes off to war and a solider sees a woman with whom he becomes infatuated….

On the surface level the Torah is explicit about what is often permitted, or overlooked, at times of war. Those who are most vulnerable- even from the enemy side- require protection.

One of the great sages noted that this passage immediately follows the law of the Egla arufa, the broken calf. This juxtaposition points to how seemingly trivial things can cause whole nations to go to war. The egla arufa refers to a corpse that is found outside a city. The closest city needs to do something to declaim responsibility for the death. Distances are measured, notes are taken, and words of confession and piety are spoken all for this nameless corpse. Then the Torah tells about the spoils of war. It seems to imply, says this sage, that for lack of culpability, someone taking responsibility, because of one death, hundreds or thousands might die. We must be ever vigilant to do the right thing and not turn away from being responsible.2

Musar: Avalanches start with a snowflake. They grow and gain velocity until they bury everything in their path. Grudges have the same growth pattern.

Others say the reason the two passages are next to one another is because of the thread of death that runs through both. We are urged to realize the fundamental principle that cuts through every act of war- death will result. The passages are meant to make us think not about glory but the ultimate result that comes from saber rattling; burying corpses.

Musar: we must never allow ourselves to become so carried away by the moment that we lose track of our humanity, our soul.

That same empathy resonates through the next passages as the captor must let the woman sit shiva for her dead relatives. He must watch as she tears her clothes and morns the part of her life that has been cut down. Torah clearly intends for the reader to have pathos and leads him away from reckless bravado.

Musar: it does not matter whether someone deserves to suffer or not. The only thing that matters is that at once we never identify with the victimizer and that our arms will be stretched out toward the victim.

The war described in this parsha describes a woman from a Canaanite nation that is taken captive. The word used from the captive being taken to the land of the victor is the same as the word for repentance, teshuva. What the Talmud understands from this seemingly obvious passage is something far deeper. Rabbi Simon says that when a person comes- even from a people that is utterly opposed to the Jewish nation – and seeks to embrace the faith of Abraham they need to be fully welcomed. 3

Musar: Who has wandered so far away from the Light of God they are no longer redeemable? No one.

Another commentator goes even further. He asks, would we have assumed that a proselyte, convert, from the Caananites would be welcomed into the Jewish people had god not permitted it? 4 Probably not. Although the question goes unspoken, we still need to ask ourselves if we need to be more strict, unforgiving than the good Lord God?

Musar: The lesson of God is the lesson of kindness. We lose nothing by forgiving others.

1 Deut 1:5
2 Baal Haturmin
3 Sotah 35b
4 M’or HaShemesh

Haftara Insight:
Shame and disgrace are the two sentiments that underlie this prophetic reading. While they have the potential to overwhelm us, God tells us that we are not forgotten. The covenant remains intact. Even though we abrogated our part of the agreement God remains firmly rooted to the pact of our ancestors. Isaiah declares the eternal nature of the compassion of the Holy One. You are loved, he says.

A Matter of Law:
A painful halacha is found in this reading that relates to a child who is uncontrollable. He will not listen to the voice of his parents. His actions are antithetical to all godly matters. The parents try to teach him ethical behavior but ultimately give up because he is wild, rebellious. The Law demands the child be put to death.
While this law was seldom, if ever, practiced, it decidedly points to the deepest pain of a parent; Their child rejects their learning and direction.

Shoftim: Holy Justice

The sidra opens with the command to establish judges. They are clearly told not to add or subtract from any of the given laws, not to show favoritism and to be unyielding the the quest for the truth.

Two ideas jump out of this declaration that demand attention. The first is that this mitzva is not directed at any particular person. It could have been aimed at the kohanim, leviim or a tribe. The law might have been directed at the wisest of the age. Instead, the mitzva is encumbent upon every Jew. Our mitzva is to use justice in every dealing.

King, farmer, jeweller, well-digger all must the same rule of not allowing for favoritism. The laws of the court are the laws of the individual.

Rabbi Isaiah Hurwitz examined the Torah text and saw the words aimed at the newly appointed judges, in your gates. He interpreted in all your gates as the pathways to the soul. When we are listening to another we are supposed to fully utilize all our senses, ears, mouth, smell, touch to ferret out the truth. These sensory areas are the gates which the Torah speak of. Only when we take full advantage of all our God-given attributes do we allow the information to enter our heart.

We are judges. Each time we meet and speak with individuals we are sated with great power; power enough to destroy a person. That is why it is as critical for us as for the traditional court of law to constantly seek truth.

In fact, later in the sidra, the Torah reading notices potential problems with trying hard cases. When that happens, it says, bring those difficult cases directly to the Levites. Why the Levites? Because according to the Rambam, the Levites unlike the other tribes, had no physical stake in the Promised Land. That would give them clearer vision in adjudicating cases as they would not be biased. See 17:8


The second idea is that the Text says "You shall come to the judge .... in those days. What does this mean "in those days?" Not every day? Not in each age? Rashi illumines this odd statement by saying that the mitzva of judgement applies specifically to every age, in your age. We may look backward and declare that since there is no one like Moses, or Rambam, or Akiva or Reb Yohanan that we cannot rely on our own scholars of our day. Such a statement would relegate our faith to a fossilized system.

While we never abandon the ways fo the past we are ever-vigilant to the wise scholars of our time. Their critical task is to be attentive to the needs of the present and to interpret the Law to our time.

Haftara Insight:

Isaiah speaks. Awaken. Get up. Look around. The word God focuses on the heart of the Jew that has been rent. When all seems lost, get up. If you open your eyes and witness the magnifient life that abounds on every side you will come out of the depths of despair that holds you in its grip. All is not lost. A new beginning awaits.

A Matter of Law:

We must always carry justice in our private lives to the extent that we must even reprove a friend if they have done something wrong. We do not judge them but point out where they have erred. To remain silent is to dismiss the ideal of justice. One Sage rules that if we say nothing we are like a judge that has accepted a bribe. What is the bribe? The threat of breaking a friendship.

Re'eh: Real Vision

The Torah portion commences with the word, re’eh meaning see. It then goes into detail the potential blessings and curses of the nation. Why does the text say "see" when it ought to say shma, "listen"? Equally perplexing is that re’eh is singular while the next verb tishmu is in the plural?

In the first instance, some scholars tell that the portion begins with "see" is because God was about to visually demonstrate the power and meaning of blessing and curses from the tops of two mountains. People were arrayed on either mountaintop facing one another and would see, as well as hear, the moral drama acted out.

D’var aher: The entire Israelite nation would "see" the mitzvot of God. As a single unit this people saw and heard the majesty of the Word of God. However, the nation does not observe mitzvot; only individuals can bind themselves to the commandments. That is why the second verb is in the plural. Each Jew alone must confront their willingness to follow after the Lord.

D’var aher: Perhaps the Torah is attempting a different modality of learning. Could it be that the power of "see" is about having unbleached vision. God is telling the Israelites- and us - to open our vision to the blindness of pre-judging the world. If we would only see the real blessings and cures of life, our understanding of what God wants would be complete.
Once our eyes are open our vison is clear, unimpaired. We see.

An old acquaintance of mine used to comment on the early morning blessings of the daily service. He said that the first few blessings were not congruent with a healthy mental outlook. Thanking God for what you are not (a heathen, a gentile, a woman, etc.) is not conducive to centering oneself on the self. Far better, he insisted was to thank the Lord for what we are, not what we are not.

Much of our lives is defined by who or what we are not. We are American and so much better than the Europeans. Or we are black and therefore superior to whites. Or Christians are saved. Jews are elevated. Even on the playground it was the girls vs. boys. Then, with age, we wonder why people become so polarized as not to see life our way, the proper way.

Perhaps Torah is telling us to focus on our side on the fence. Learn about who you are. Once confident about our identity, we can then reach out to others as equals not as potential converts or conquests. When we witness or see God’s role in the universe we then are able to join with others without borders or boundaries.

This may be the meaning of re’eh, "see" in the singular and then why it is followed by tishmu, "hear" in plural form. Only when we have seen truth we can relate well to one another.

D’var aher: Talmud tells us that we ought to envision our lives as if we were precariously perched between the mountains of blessing and curse, good and evil. So delicately straddled are we between the two mountains that one move in either direction will tip the scales. God therefore says "see" what is before you. The reason why the next verb is in plural is to show us how one small mitvza can change a life. Our life.

D’var aher: God gives blessings and curses to the people. Why would the Torah present this language to make it sound like God was giving them a gift? Who would want a curse? Yet one scholar, Pri Tzaddik, notes that not only is it a gift but has a strong connection to the first gift of God in the Garden of Eden.

Pri Tzaddik tells us that in the Garden we were gifted the privilege of choice. Adam and Havvah could choose the fruit of knowledge or remain within the boundaries of externality. They chose knowledge. In much the same way God again presents humanity with a choice. We can opt for goodness and blessing or deviance and curse.

The real gift of God is that we always have a choice. That is why two mountains. That is also why the Text shows us visually and auditorially.

Haftara Insight:
A series of rhetorical questions are asked. If you have money can you buy what your desire? If you have water can you slake your thirst? If God is with you, what is not possible?We are so blessed through the words of the prophet Isaiah. He declares that all we need to do is listen and follow. The answer to the most trying issues of life is as terse and as simple as that.With that knowledge all things are possible

A Matter of Law:
Idolatry, we are explicitly told in the Torah text, we are supposed to uproot, eradicate. Why os this so powerfully and emphatically stated? It is clear from the pages of history that where competing gods contend for domination, people imitate their actions. The most damaging times of human history is when laws fall away at the whim of competing celestial and then earthly forces. Where there is no singular law binding all people evil becomes confused with good. The idea of idolatry is antithetical to monotheism.

Eikev: God and Us

Conciliation is a powerful theme that cuts through this time of year. Is it not remarkable that after an exile of nearly twenty centuries we are still here? All other nations that we read about in the Torah and history books have been reduced to historical footnotes. We alone remain.
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In the Torah reading there are references to our missteps and intentional violations of God’s will. In every instance there is a punishment , or at least a withdrawal of the Lord’s favor, in response to what was done. Yet the Talmud makes it very clear that when God’s name is called by a minyan, He answers. Such prayer is an invitation for the Holy to join us. His Presence reacts to us. 1 God wants us to respond to the Call. He yearns for our answer but we always have a choice as to how we respond.

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Eikev is usually translated as - because. It is an unusual use of the word. Rashi tells us that it means heel. Like the patriarch of long ago - Yakov - Eikev also has as its root, heel. What Rashi seems to be saying is that all the laws that God gave to us, whether from the lowly heel or to highest heights of heaven, are equally important before the One.

The Sassover Rebbe expanded this idea when he said that with every step of our heel we need to be cognizant of doing the Will of the Lord, God. We must be ever mindful of whether what we are saying or doing God would approve.

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Manna was food from heaven. The parasha tells us that the manna was a test, though. How would manna be a test?

We know that the manna was the daily sustenance of the people. It appeared every day and nourished the Israelites as they traipsed through the desert. How could the manna possibly be a test?

The Maggid of Mezritch provides illumination. The Maggid reveals that people have two spiritual obstacles. The first is when they do not have enough. People will then worry about where the bread of tomorrow will come from. Some are strong in faith that it will come. Others grow impatient and become negative-minded. There is another kind of test though; a test of affluence. For many, when they have everything that they need, they grow haughty, feel superior and then take their gifts for granted. This was the test for the Israelites. With their daily manna would they remain grateful or become possessive and selfish?

Which is more difficult? To be thankful in years of plenty or grateful in the lean years?

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The Torah tells us to circumcise our hearts. What does this mean? Like a flesh circumcision it will not be easy. Doing what we perceive to be in our best interest is often selfish and egotistical. It serves our needs, often to the detriment of others. For example, demeaning another person down may make us feel superior. Saying bad things however, degrades us more than them. Another example is hurting, stealing from another person or business and justifying by saying they deserved it. This kind of excuse-making is a mask for evil. It also corrupts us.

Circumcising the heart means always asking whether what we are about to do is a genuflecting before the altar of the ego or doing what God wants. It is a radical redirecting of the way we are taught to think. Circumcising the heart is not easy. It is self-critical living. Yet, the greatest benefit is the freedom from the ultimate slavery, obeisance to oneself.

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Often we are told in Torah and in this parasha, to Fear the Lord. The Baal Shem Tov reinterpreted this verse to mean that it is God who fears. How is it possible that God will fear anything? The Master of All has any fear?

The Baal Shem reminds us that a parent teaches a child proper conduct, rules of behavior, ways of conversing and interaction. Then when the education is complete the parent sends the child out into the world. The parent does not just let go of the offspring. They worry. They spend sleepless nights agonizing if they will fare well. Will they remember all the lessons they were taught? Will the recollect all the accumulated and imparted wisdom? Or will they forget the lessons?

That, says the Baal Shem, is the fear of the Lord. He has given us instructions, commandments, advice and lessons to equip us to face the world. Now, the Celestial One worries: Will My children remember what I have taught them?



Berachot 6a

Haftara Insight:
This is the second reading of Consolation in the aftermath of Destruction. The question is raised; Is it possible to forget your beloved? Would a mother not remember her offspring? Is it possible that the God of the ancient ones would dismiss His children?
The rhetorical question requires no response. Nonetheless, Isaiah reassures the nation of Israel that the love of the Almighty is eternal. With soothing language, the prophet buoys a despondent people

A Matter of Law:
On Bread: Whenever consuming more than a bite-ful of bread we are commanded to thank, bless God for that gift. Inasmuch as it is a mitzvah to thank God before eating it is an earlier biblical injunction to bless what we have already eaten. In other words, while saying grace before and after meals are both mitzvot, the blessing after meals is the only explicit Torah law of the two.

Va'etchanan: Listen and Love

In the aftermath of the most bleak day of the Jewish calendar, Tisha B’Av, we look for comfort. That is the theme of the haftara for this week. Starting with that word, comfort, nachamu, and then repeating it, we are told by Isaiah to feel comfort. Is it that easy to feel comforted that all we need to be told to feel that way?

Varied responses can be found in the Torah reading.

For one example, the Torah teaches the power of saying the Shma. A part of the Shma is the command which follows, v’ahavta, and you shall love. How do you love? You love by doing, not by feeling. Sure, love starts with a feeling but without tangible evidence is it truly love? Faith has little to do with this religion. It is all about translating what happens in the heart to the hands. We love God by expressing that love demonstrably.

Furthermore, love acted upon is love felt internally. Emotion translated into motions of the feet and tongue and hands is felt at least in equal measure in return. Perhaps part of the idea of comfort is reflect by what we do to feel the embrace of forgiveness and comfort.

A great luminary and founder of the Hasidic movement was known to have devoted his early years to educating children. The Baal Shem Tov was a helper to a teacher. He devoted these nascent years of his life to teaching the foundation of Jewish prayer to tots. Beginning with the modeh ani, the Baal Shem Tov sought to instil the idea of holiness from a young age.

The Baal Shem understood that the greatest thing of life is simple thanks, another way of expressing and feeling love.

In the Talmud 1 Rabbi Simlai reacts to Moses wanting to enter in to Israel. Told he would be barred entry, Moses contested the Divine decree and argued with God to go to Israel. Why would Moses actually argue this point with God? What did Moses want?

The Hafetz Hayim reveals that most people would look at the breadth of Jewish tradition and become overwhelmed by its magnitude. They may look at the 613 mitzvot, for example, and with a shrug, confess that they cannot do it. They will not even try.

That, says the Hafetz Hayim, is akin to a man walking along the beach. Suddenly seeing pearls and diamonds wash ashore he rushes to collect all the precious gems. The more he puts into his hands the more falls through his fingers. Finally, he gives up and walks away because he could not possibly gather them all.

This, warns the Haeftz Hayim, is the great trap to which humans fall prey. We give up because the enormity of the job seems to great. Do what you can! He bellows from the past.

Moses debated with God about entering into Israel because many commandments relate solely to the Land and could only be fulfilled there. Moses wanted to do more.
To compound the gravity of his complaint, remember that this request of Moses takes place forty years after the Exodus from slavery! After all the events of the past - the golden calf, the bitter waters, the disappointment of the people with their food, the rebellion of Korah and much more - Moses has not lost hope or desire for doing more mitzvot. Moses understands the most vital secret of life, do not give up!

Rabbi B. Melchior describes the tradition that if the Jews would only keep two Shabbatot God would unleash the annointed one, the Messiah. Further tradition states that the two Shabbatot are specific, Hazon and Nachamu, last week and this week.

Melchior quotes hearing a student provide his understanding of why those two weeks are the pivotal ones to observe. If you can withstand the tragedy of pain, if you can look at the breadth of laws that Judaism contains, if you can accept what is difficult for you and still remain faithful on the next Shabbat there will be the final and absolute consolation of the Messiah.

Love keeps hope and trust alive.




1. Sotah, 14a


Haftara Insight:
This first haftara of consolation following Tisha B'Av asks startling questions of us. While we may shake our heads at our misfortune, there is God Who makes all else shrink in comparison. Isaiah uses the imagery of grass which grows dull, withers and ultimately disappears. The grass is like our lives. Yet, the Lord stands above all life and will not change. Despite all else, the covenant endures. Lift up your eyes, declares the prophet, and see.

A Matter of Law:

Do not deviate to the left or the right, states the Torah text. In other words, do not misuse, misconstrue or alter the words of the holy Torah. It is timeless and immutable. The meaning of the pasuk extends so far as to listen to the advice and interpretations of the Sages. When they interpret Torah, listen intently and follow their words.