Torah of Recovery: Nitzavim-Vayelech 2024/5784

Dr. Avivah Zornberg, The Beginning of Desire, p. 33

“The people of Sinai affirm their ability to stand face to face with God. But what seems a static position is exposed, in a midrash quoted by Rashi, as a fulcrum of desire and fear, a point of equilibrium in the eye of the storm: ‘And all the people saw the voices…and they moved backwards and they stood at a distance (Exodus 20:15): they were rebelled to the rear a distance of twelve miles – that is the whole length of the camp. Then the angels came and helped them forward again.’ If this happened at each of the Ten Commandments, the people are imagined as traveling 240 miles in order to stand in place! The ebb and flow, the awe and the passion, are contained within a human ‘stance,’ that allows them to hold ground… the people stand as human beings do, aware of tensions and countertensions. And, of course, they ‘fall’ very soon after…The Talmud makes an extraordinary observation about the paradoxes of ‘standing’: No man stands on the words of Torah, unless he has stumbled over them. To discover firm standing ground, it is necessary to explore, to stumble, even to fall, certainly to survive the chaotic vibrations of a world that refuses to be. For how can one stand at all, if one does not know the tremor? … To stand in the presence of God is not, then, to be static: it is a kind of dance, invisible to the naked eye. Neither rigidity nor chaos is God’s desire of man.”

Note: "A person does not understand statements of Torah unless he stumbles in them." Gittin 43a:15

Rabbi Paul F. Cohen, Dmin, DD, The Mussar Torah Commentary, p. 322

Imagine that moment. In fact, we are called upon to do more than imagine. We are called upon to experience that moment; to be present for it. We, too, stood with Moses on the banks of the Jordan River, each and every one of us, ready to enter into the covenant with God.

M. C. Berkowitz, The Torah: A Women’s Commentary, p. 383

Our parashah opens with, ‘You are standing this day, nitzavim [inclusive plural, ‘all of you’], before the Lord your God (29: 9)’ What clues does the word nitzavim give us about the essence of the people’s attitude as they stood in preparation to hear Moses’ parting words? An intratextual answer (from elsewhere within the Torah) proves fascinating. When Miriam stood by the river to see what would become of her baby brother, Moses, the Torah says, “vatetatzav Miriam” (Ex 2:4). J.H. Hertz comments that this means Miriam not just “stood by” but “took her stand.” Vatetatzav and nitzavim share the root y-tz-v, meaning “firmly planted, unshakeable, committed.

Rabbi Mark Borovitz, Finding Recovery and Yourself in Torah, p. 344.

This weeks parashah is Nitzavim (standing). Before we start walking, we have to know where we are standing. When we do not take note of where we are standing, what is going on around us, and what the appropriate response to our current situation is, we can easily walk/go to a place that is not ours. In order to reach a destination, we have to know where we are starting from; to reach our proper place, we have to see where we are standing right now. Without knowing where we are standing and what we are standing for, each experience will produce a reaction rather than a response. A reaction is just that—acting in the same manner. A response is taking a breath and making an informed decision to do things differently and use our past learning/experience to have a new response this time.

R'Barukh of Madzibozh (the grandson and successor of the Baal Shem Tov), cited in Etz Hayim, p. 1165

"all of you" - The whole of the community is greater than the sum of its parts. Each individual Israelite may be flawed and imperfect, but when all of them join together, the strengths and good qualities of each are reinforced and magnified. This also teaches that no one should say, 'It is not my responsibility.' Everyone must do his or her share.

Shemot Rabbah 28:6

(6) Another explanation: "And God said all of these things, saying" - Rabbi Yitzchak said, What the prophets were to prophesy in the future in each generation, they received from Mount Sinai. As Moshe said to Israel (Deuteronomy 29:14), "But with those here with us standing today and with those not here with us today." It does not say [at the end of the verse], "with us standing today," but rather, "with us today"; these are the souls that will be created in the future, who do not have substance, about whom "standing" is not mentioned. For even though they did not exist at that time, each one received that which was his. And so [too], it states (Malachi 1:1), "The burden that God spoke to Israel by ['in the hand of'] Malachi" - it does not state, "in the days of Malachi," but rather "in the hand of Malachi," as the prophecy was already in his hand from Mount Sinai, but until that time, he was not given permission to prophesy. Likewise Yeshayahu said (Isaiah 48:16), "from the time it was, was I there." Yeshayahu said, "From the time the Torah was given at Sinai, I was there and received this prophecy, except [only] 'now did God send me and His spirit'" - until now, he was not given permission to prophesy. And it was not only of the prophets who receive their prophecy from Sinai, but also the sages who arise in each generation - each of them received what was his from Sinai. And so [too] it states (Deuteronomy 5:19), "These things did the Lord speak to your entire congregation, [...] a great voice and it did not cease": Rabbi Yochanan said, "One voice was split into seven voices and they were divided into seventy languages"; Rabbi Shimon ben Lakish said, "From it prophesied all of the prophets who arose." The Sages said that it did not have an echo.

Rabbi Mark Borovitz, Finding Recovery and Yourself in Torah, p. 349

This verse is so important to our growth in recovery. Too often we follow our willful heart and believe we are going to be able to deceive everyone around us that we are sober while we continue to use and/or cheat. Some people look good from the outside, like they are living decently, when all the while they are leading a double life. This particular verse seems like God knows that alcoholics and addicts need to be reminded that they can try to fool some people but that is not a good long-term strategy for living. I have watched many people try to live like this and then become surprised when their duplicitous nature defeats them. I have seen the pain that people living this type of double life have caused to their families and friends. I have also experienced the chaos that living a double life has on community. Living a double life is not relegated to alcoholics and addicts, however. We see this behavior in people from all walks of life: doctors, lawyers, politicians, clergy, employers, employees, and so on. With this verse, Moses and God remind us that being part of the covenant is making a commitment to living transparently. Too many of us are still trying to hide from ourselves. Doing this does not allow us to fulfill or find our true place in the world.

Rabbi Bradley Shavit Artson, The Bedside Torah, p. 335

External behavior is the limit of what human beings can see, measure, and judge. But that which underlies the behavior and is ultimately hidden from our view belongs to God. A person can keep kosher and still treat others with cruelty. Someone can pray three times a day and still feel angry and bitter. Conversely, someone can never pray at all and focus all of his or her attention on good deed, but perform these deeds to feed an insatiable ego. The meaning of behavior is invisible to any outsider. And it is the meaning of the act - not just the act itself - that makes a 'pleasing odor before the Lord.'

J.P. Morgan, when asked 'what makes a good banker?' answered: 'The fear of God.'

Nehama Leibowitz, Studies in Devarim, p. 311, 312, 313

"The word 'return' [שׁ֣וּב] in various forms occurs seven times in the first paragraph of Chapter 30...The word that continually recurs in our chapter, with various connotations, constitutes, indeed, the keyword of the passage underlining the theme of Teshuvah - Repentance [Return]...Just as the key word of the first ten verses of the chapter was shuv 'return,' we find that the word hayyim 'life' constitutes the motif of the six last verses.

Sforno on Deuteronomy 30:8

(1) ואתה תשוב, not from the root שוב to return, but from the root ישב, i.e. you will sit at ease, undisturbed.

Richard Eliot Friedman, Commentary on the Torah, p 658

Earlier, Moses directs the people to circumcise their hearts themselves, but now he speaks of God circumcising their hearts for them. The difference is that now he is speaking of a future condition: the people will have violated the covenant, suffered the curses, and turned their back to God; and God, in response, will bring them back and then will circumcise their hearts. This in turn will enable them to love the deity with all their hearts and souls – which Moses had commanded them to do earlier as well. The divine-human relationship is pictured as mutual. Humans require the experience of being away from their God, on their own. And then, more experienced, more understanding, having suffered and grown, humans look to God anew. And then the new encounter with the divine transforms them. (emphasis mine)

The Torah: A Women’s Commentary, p 1225

The metaphor of the circumcised heart exemplifies the profound internal transformation of each and every person. God needs to act upon the heart, where recognition of the sin develops and where full obedience and devotion reside, in a circumcision-like procedure to ensure the permanency of this change…[it is a] divine action of grace, or maybe of compulsion.

Rabbi Alan Lew, z'l, This is Real and You Are Completely Unprepared, p. 191

Every year, just before Yom Kippur, I make a concerted effort to speak out the shadowy contents of my heart to another human being…I know these things as well as I know the back of my hand. I have thought these thoughts a thousand times before. Still, to get them out makes a tremendous difference.

Dr. Avivah Zornberg, The Particulars of Rapture, p. 311

For hearing is a function of the heart, as in Solomon’s prayer: “Give your servant a hearing heart.”

Nehama Leibowitz, Studies in Devarim, p. 325

'It is not in heaven' emphasises the facility and feasibility of Torah affording therefore no excuse for neglect. It also implies the heavy responsibility devolving on the students and scholars of the Torah. Since it is not in heaven, man can no longer rely on heavenly guidance but must interpret it and it it himself with his own resources. The Torah is not the property of a privileged cast of priests and initiates. It is not in heaven but in our midst. It is the duty of all to study, teach, and practice its tenets.

Bava Metzia 59b

And this is known as the oven of akhnai. The Gemara asks: What is the relevance of akhnai, a snake, in this context? Rav Yehuda said that Shmuel said: It is characterized in that manner due to the fact that the Rabbis surrounded it with their statements like this snake, which often forms a coil when at rest, and deemed it impure. The Sages taught: On that day, when they discussed this matter, Rabbi Eliezer answered all possible answers in the world to support his opinion, but the Rabbis did not accept his explanations from him. After failing to convince the Rabbis logically, Rabbi Eliezer said to them: If the halakha is in accordance with my opinion, this carob tree will prove it. The carob tree was uprooted from its place one hundred cubits, and some say four hundred cubits. The Rabbis said to him: One does not cite halakhic proof from the carob tree. Rabbi Eliezer then said to them: If the halakha is in accordance with my opinion, the stream will prove it. The water in the stream turned backward and began flowing in the opposite direction. They said to him: One does not cite halakhic proof from a stream. Rabbi Eliezer then said to them: If the halakha is in accordance with my opinion, the walls of the study hall will prove it. The walls of the study hall leaned inward and began to fall. Rabbi Yehoshua scolded the walls and said to them: If Torah scholars are contending with each other in matters of halakha, what is the nature of your involvement in this dispute? The Gemara relates: The walls did not fall because of the deference due Rabbi Yehoshua, but they did not straighten because of the deference due Rabbi Eliezer, and they still remain leaning. Rabbi Eliezer then said to them: If the halakha is in accordance with my opinion, Heaven will prove it. A Divine Voice emerged from Heaven and said: Why are you differing with Rabbi Eliezer, as the halakha is in accordance with his opinion in every place that he expresses an opinion? Rabbi Yehoshua stood on his feet and said: It is written: “It is not in heaven” (Deuteronomy 30:12). The Gemara asks: What is the relevance of the phrase “It is not in heaven” in this context? Rabbi Yirmeya says: Since the Torah was already given at Mount Sinai, we do not regard a Divine Voice, as You already wrote at Mount Sinai, in the Torah: “After a majority to incline” (Exodus 23:2). Since the majority of Rabbis disagreed with Rabbi Eliezer’s opinion, the halakha is not ruled in accordance with his opinion. The Gemara relates: Years after, Rabbi Natan encountered Elijah the prophet and said to him: What did the Holy One, Blessed be He, do at that time, when Rabbi Yehoshua issued his declaration? Elijah said to him: The Holy One, Blessed be He, smiled and said: My children have triumphed over Me; My children have triumphed over Me.

Sefer Ha-Aggadah, 211: 47

Rabban Yohanan ben Zakkai said to [his disciples]: Go into the world and observe the right course a man should steadfastly follow. R. Eliezer came back and said: Be generous with your means. R. Joshua said: Be a good friend. R. Yose said: Be a good neighbor. R. Simeon said: Consider the consequences of your actions. R. Eleazar said: Cultivate an unselfish heart. Rabban Yohanan said to them: I prefer what Eleazar said to what you have said, because his definition includes all of yours.

Bekhor Shor, Deuteronomy 30:14, translated in Michael Carasik, The Commentator's Bible, p. 204

Something that is in the mouth but not the heart is meaningless, and something that is in the heart but does not prompt speech or action is not worth that much.

Shefa Gold, Torah Journeys, p 70-71

There is a story about some jealous angels who are asked to hide the spark of the Divine in the world. ‘Let’s put it atop the highest mountain,’ offers one. ‘No,’ says another. “The Human is very ambitious; he will find it there.’ ‘Well then, let bury it beneath the deepest sea.’ ‘That won’t work either,’ another chimes in. ‘The Human is very resourceful. She will even find it there.’ After a moment’s thought the wisest angel says, ‘I know. Put it inside the human heart. They will never look there.’ And so the spark of God is hidden in the heart of the Pharaoh where we are kept out by the heaviness that has accumulated, by the hardness that we meant for our protection.

Eruvin 54a

When does a man have joy? When an answer related to Torah study is in his mouth. Another version: When does a man have joy in the answer of his mouth? When he experiences the fulfillment of: A word in due season, how good it is, i.e., when he knows when and how to address each issue. Rabbi Yitzḥak said that this idea is derived from here: “But the matter is very near to you, in your mouth and in your heart, that you may do it” (Deuteronomy 30:14). When is it very near to you? When it is in your mouth and in your heart, that you may do it, i.e., when you articulate your Torah study. Rava said that this idea is actually derived from here: “You have given him his heart’s desire, and have not withheld the request of his lips, Selah” (Psalms 21:3). When have You given him his heart’s desire? When You have not withheld the request of his lips, Selah, i.e., when he converses in words of Torah.

Sefer Ha-Aggadah, p. 563:252, citing Midrash Tanhuma, Re'eh 3

A parable of an old man seated on a highway from which there branched two roads, [one full of thorns at the beginning but level at the end], and the other level at the beginning but full of thorns at the end. So he sat at the fork of the road and cautioned passersby, saying, 'Even though the beginning of this road is full of thorns, follow it, for it will turn level in the end.' Whoever sensibly heeded the old man and followed that road did get a bit weary at first, to be sure, but went on in peace and arrived in peace. Those who did not heed the old man set out on the other road and stumbled in the end. Sot it was with Moses, who explicitly said to Israel, 'Behold the way of life and the way of death, the blessing and the curse. 'Therefor choose life, that thou mayest live...'' (Deut. 30: 19)

Sefer Ha-Aggadah, p. 606:362, citing Palestinian Talmud Tractate Peah 1:1, 15c

Sages of the school of Rabbi Ishmael taught: 'Choose life' (Deut 30:19) means: choose a craft.

Sefer Ha-Aggadah, p. 238:177, citing Berakhot 61b

If we are fearful when we sit and study the Torah, of which it is written, 'For that is thy life and the length of thy days' (Deut. 30:20), how much more fearful ought we be should we cease the study of words of Torah!

Rabbi David Kasher, ParshaNut, p. 276, 279

No prophecy more difficult! This was the hardest thing of all, to think that God would hide the Divine face from us. And indeed, that phrase – Hester Panim the ‘Hiding of the Face’ – has come to hold an ominous place in traditional Jewish parlance, representing the seeming absence of God in the midst of great tragedy. The Holocaust, notably, is often referred to as a time of Hester Panim. In this usage the term suggests not just that God is hiding from view, but is mercilessly denying us salvation, just when we need it most....The key to this verse may be found in a nuance in the Hebrew language. Because the word for “turning” (panah / ) – is directly related to the word for “my face” – panai There is a bit of wordplay here, such that the verse can actually be read: I will hide My face from them on that day, because of all the evil that they have done, by making a face of other gods. In this reading the hiding of God’s face is not so much a punishment as it is a lesson. It is as if to say, “I see you, desperately longing to see the face of God. So you do what you think it takes. You go following other gods, who promise to show their faces. Or you create images of the faces of new gods. You want to know God intimately, to actually see God, face to face. So I must hide My face, again, on that day – to remind you that the true nature of God is forever hidden.” This hiddenness is no curse. It is the very glory of God.

Dr. Avivah Zornberg, Bewilderments, p 119

The narrative of the Spies, with its tragic aftermaths...is the critical point, the great failure, that radically changes the future history of the people..not only the future but the past too, is reconfigured: the promise of the Exodus will have to be reinterpreted.

Dr. Avivah Zornberg, Bewilderments, p 121

Fear in a situation of war is a rational emotion...But the reaction that the Spies arouse in the people is not entirely rational. The people weep all night, they wish they had died in Egypt, 'or else in this wilderness' (Num 14:2). Evidently, they would prefer to be dead than to face the danger of death. They both fear death and wish for it, deciding to return to Egypt, the very site of death.

Midrash Tanhuma, Shelach 7

When the spies saw them they were afraid. Immediately they went and said (in vs. 31), “for they are stronger than we (which can also be read as, than He).” Resh Laqish said, “They compared them to the Above. Because of this transgression harsh decrees were issued against them.” What does the Holy One, blessed be He, say to Jeremiah? “Go, say to them, ‘You do not know what you have brought out from your mouth, as stated (in Jer. 11:16), “with the sound of a great tumult you have lit fire to it, and you have broken its boughs.” What did you cause to yourselves “with the sound of a great tumult” that you said, “you have lit fire to it.” “You will carry your sins one day for each year”’” (Numbers 14:34). They said (in Numb. 13:33), “And in our own eyes we were like grasshoppers.” The Holy One, blessed be He, said, “I forgave them for that [remark]; but I was exacting [when they said] (ibid., cont.), ‘And so we were in their eyes.’ Who would say that you were not like angels in their eyes? Do you know what I made you in their eyes?”

Louis Ginzberg, Legends of the Jews, p. 1088-1089, citing various sources

Before the Sons of Moses lay a tract of land bordered by the sea on three sides. For their complete protection God made the river Sambation to flow on the fourth side...In the land of the Sons of Moses there are none but clean animals, an in every respect the inhabitants lead a holy and pure life, worthy of their ancestor Moses...The Sons of Moses live peaceably and enjoy prosperity as equals through their common Jewish faith. They have need of neither prince nor judge, for they know not strife and litigation. Each works for the welfare of the community, and each takes from the common store only what will satisfy his needs. Their houses are built of equal height, that non one may deem himself above his neighbor...Even at night their doors stand wide open, for they have naught to fear from thieves, nor are wild animals known in their land. They all attain a good old age. The son never dies before the father. When a death occurs, there is rejoicing, because the departed is known to have entered into life everlasting in loyalty to his faith. The birth of a child, on the other hand, calls forth mourning, for who can tell whether the being ushered into the world will be pious and faithful?*

The JPS Torah Commentary: Deuteronomy, Jeffrey A. Tigay, p. 291

Now that Moses has finished expounding the Teaching...he writes it down and arranges for its regular public reading so that the people may be reminded regularly of its contents and future generations may learn it. These were steps of far-reaching significance. The writing of the Teaching was part of the process that eventually led to the creation of sacred Scripture - that is, the Bible - which is the heart of Judaism. The public reading of the Teaching is part of the 'democratic' character of biblical religion, which addresses its teachings and demands to all its adherents, with few distinctions between priests and laity, and calls for universal education of the citizenry in law and religion.

Ibn Ezra, in Michael Carasik, The Commentator's Torah, p. 211

Write down this poem. The verb is plural; it was a commandment not only for Moses to write it down, but also for everyone who knew how to write. Teach it. Explain the more difficult aspects to them. Put it in their mouths. Let them repeat it so that they will know it by heart.

Rabbi Shai Held, The Heart of Torah, p. 277

For the Torah it is important not just that all Israel be present for the hak'hel ceremony, but that they be there together, in a state of fellowship. Israel's covenant is, of course, about serving God, but it also is about the creation of a loving and just community. The Torah commands worship, but it also insists on deep and abiding interpersonal connection.

Torah, Barbara D. Holender, on Deut 31: 11-14

in The Torah: A Women's Commentary,

Even when you hold it in your arms,

you have not grasped it.

Wrapped and turned it up on itself

the scroll says, Not yet.

Even when you take them into your eyes,

you have not seen them; elegant

in their crowns the letter stand aloof.

Even when you taste them on your mouth

and roll them on your tongue

or bite the sharp unyielding strokes

they say, Not yet.

And when the sounds pour from your throat

and reach deep into your lungs for breath,

even then the words say, Not quite.

But when your heart knows its own hunger

and your mind seized and shaken,

and in the narrow space between the lines

your soul builds its nest,

Now, says Torah, now

you begin to understand.

Richard Eliott Friedman, Commentary on the Torah, p. 661

These words [hester panim] here predict a time when God will become hidden. It is more frightening than divine punishment...The Tanakh's story moves from a time of extraordinary divine involvement - creation, flood, personal contact, splitting sea, hearing God's voice at Sinai - to a time when humans are left on their own...The prediction at the end of the Torah comes true at the end of the Tanakh. Humans are left not knowing whether God exists or not.