בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה ה' אֱלהֵינוּ מֶלֶךְ הָעולָם אֲשֶׁר קִדְּשָׁנוּ בְּמִצְותָיו וְצִוָּנוּ לַעֲסוק בְּדִבְרֵי תורָה:
Blessing for Torah Study
Barukh Atah Adonai Eloheinu Melekh Ha'Olam Asher Kideshanu Bemitzvotav Vetzivanu La'asok Bedivrei Torah
Blessed are you Adonai, our God, Sovereign of Eternity, who has made us uniquely sacred through Your mitzvot (sacred callings) and called upon us to immerse ourselves in the words of Torah.
Summary
- Moses tells the assembled people that God's covenant speaks to them and to all of the generations who will follow. (29:9–14)
- God warns the Israelites that they will be punished if they act idolatrously, the way the inhabitants of the other nations do. (29:15–28)
- Moses reassures the people that God will not forsake them and that they can attain blessings by following God's commandments. (30:1–20)
- Moses prepares the people for his death and announces that Joshua will succeed him. (31:1–8)
- Moses instructs the priests and the elders regarding the importance of reading the Torah. (31:9–13)
- God informs Moses that upon his death, the people will commit idolatry and "many evils and troubles shall befall them." God tells Moses to teach the people a poem that will "be My witness." (31:14–30)
We Begin with Kushiyot/Challenges/Difficulties in the Text:
- Grammatical inconsistencies (Words repeated, something left out, sentences that seem to not make sense)
- Theological inconsistencies (The Torah tells us something that is morally problematic or a character does something that isn't right)
- Ambiguities (Torah says something that can be interpreted in more than one way)
- Metaphor (The Torah uses a word or a phrase that isn't meant literally, but is figurative)
- Contradictions (The Torah says one thing here, another thing there)
- Superfluous language (The Torah includes information that doesn't seem important)
- Narrative Inconsistencies (The sequence of events is unclear or out of order)
What Questions/Kushiyot arise for you?
"You stand this day, all of you" -- all of you regardless of your social standing in the community are equally standing facing God, in order to enter into the new covenant... "woodchopper", i.e. male servants; “water drawer", i.e. female servants... from the leader of the wood choppers to the most lowly of the water drawers.
Who else might the text be including?
"To enter into the covenant" - you are all arranged in this order in order to signal your acceptance of the forthcoming covenant. It is clear from Moses’ addressing all the assembled, that they were of one mind at the time, all willing and eager to accept the covenant.
What can we infer regarding the Covenant and who was included in the Covenant from this commentary?
"Not with you alone" - but rather, with you, and with those who shall come after you: your children, and your children’s children.
think about the commentary we just read, does that mean the future generations must be in the right "mindset" in order to be included, or is this a birthright?
"Those who are not here this day" - a reference to future, as yet unborn generations. You will therefore have to explain to these unborn generations in due course that you yourselves only received this land on the understanding that subsequent generations of Jews would remain loyal to the terms of your acceptance. They will continue to inherit the land from you only on that basis.
S'forno is attempting to add a stipulation to the Covenant - what is it? and why the focus on land?
What question is Rashi answering?
When we read these words, we draw comfort from their inclusiveness and from the charitable impulse of the biblical text. God's covenant belongs not merely to the wise or the influential, Deuteronomy asserts, but to every member of our community regardless of age, gender, or social station; its expansiveness extends even to include the countless generations yet to come. This instinct toward outreach is a tonic for Jews who have felt excluded or overlooked by their religious community. The Torah portion reminds all of us: the covenant includes you, too. What we frequently overlook, however, is that our willingness to extend the boundaries of covenant for the sake of inclusion and universalism necessarily entails demands as well as social rewards.
Who would you include today in the Covenant that perhaps might not be included 50, 20, or even five years ago?
What does this inclusivity demand?
Should radical inclusion come with demands?
What might inclusion demand of us today?
we see in Moses's address to the Israelites before entering the Promised Land, a fervent appeal to return to that sense of national and spiritual unity. "You are standing here today all of you . . ." In essence, he tells them that they will only enter, conquer, and build the Land if they keep in mind that they need to stand together as one going forward into the future. That message remains as vital for Jews today as it was when our ancestors stared out towards their Promised Land and hopeful future.
The Jews today seem quite divided, be it our divergent sects of Judaism, our political ideologies or our connection to Israel (especially today). Given this context, what does unity mean today? What would it look like? Is that truly necessary in order to be "included" in the Covenant?
The covenant here at Moab differs from the one created at Sinai (Exodus 19:9-13; 24:3,7) by being inclusive. In the Exodus passages, Moses speaks to “the people.” The text does not go into further detail regarding who comprised “the people.” In fact, it isn’t even clear whether or not women were included in the revelation at Sinai. Given the enormous significance of that moment at Sinai, however, it seems unlikely that women would have been excluded. But what about those of a lower social standing? Or minors? Or those who were not an official part of the community?
This one piece of text reminds us that a community is really a sum of its parts. Just as there cannot be a community made up solely of wood-choppers, so too can there not be a community solely comprised of tribal leaders. Every individual has a role in a community. When we honor the gifts of every individual, the community is strengthened. Any individual imperfections fall away when we regard the entire community as its own complete entity.
The opening lines of Parashat Nitzavim also reminds us that no one should ever say, “this is not my responsibility.” Rather, as the 18th century Chassidic sage, Boruch of Medzhybizh taught, everyone must do his or her share. By naming specific groups, the text emphasizes the importance of belonging. Every individual, in Biblical society, belonged somewhere– whether to a household, a clan, a tribe – and had a responsibility to the community.
Today, in our own communities in what ways are we making certain to name every group of people? Who are the various groups we should be naming out loud so that they are represented, seen, and counted?
If creating an inclusive community is of paramount importance, what are we doing to reach out to the “water-drawer” and the “wood-chopper?” What can we do to make marginalized communities feel more than "welcome" but rather that they belong here in our community?
If we believe, as our tradition teaches, that all future generations stood together that day at Moab, how should we be teaching inclusivity to rising generations of community members?