Nitzavim x Psalm 27 / Elul 5784 Extraordinary points

This week we are in Parshat Nitzavim, and in the third week of Elul. Many of you who are reading this may have been daily studying Psalm 27 for weeks now (since the start of Elul).

At this season, Nitzavim and Elul 5784, it's almost a year since the unimaginable violence of October 7; we are in a time of violence and war raging throughout Israel and Gaza and the West Bank and Lebanon and so many other parts of the world.

This particular day, as I write (on the 24th day of Elul 5784), for my Ashkenazic self, Selichot is approaching.

This day, היום היום היום... what eyes can we bring to Parshat Nitzavim and to our being in Elul? To our study of Psalm 27 during Elul 5784?

By way of offering an answer to this question, let me ask you a riddle:

What do Deuteronomy 29:28 and Psalm 27:13 have in common? What can we learn היום by studying these two verses together?

First, let's just look at the Hebrew (and even if you can't read Hebrew, please do simply gaze at these two verses to discern the answer to my riddle).

First, Deuteronomy 29:28:

Now, Psalm 27:13:

Do you see the mysterious little markings over the fifth / sixth/ first part of the seventh word in the verse from Nitzavim? לָ֤ׄנׄוּׄ וּׄלְׄבָׄנֵ֙ׄיׄנׄוּ֙ׄ עַׄד־עוֹלָ֔ם

And the similar markings both above and below the first work in Psalm 27:13? לׅׄוּׅׄלֵׅ֗ׄאׅׄ
(and not only that - if you look closely, you will see that there are TWO markings above the second lamed in this word.)

These markings are called puncta extraordinaria - extraordinary points.

There are fourteen instances in the Tanakh, ten of which are in the Torah, of which our example from our Parsha Hashavua is the only occurrence in the Book of Deuteronomy; and the example in Psalm 27 is the only occurrence in Tehilim.

Much (although not a huge amount) of ink has been spilled exploring what these markings indicate or convey; and their history will not be the focus of this Sefaria sheet (although these extraordinary markings have long been an subject of fascination for me; it is particularly startling to see them in a actual Sefer Torah).

(At the end of this Sefaria sheet, I will share some resources for those readers who are interested in delving more deeply into this topic).

Today, היום, please join me in a "conversation" with these special markings in their solo appearances in the entirely of Deuteronomy and Psalms. At this moment in history, let us see where this study takes us; let us ask, what is the extraordinary point, for us, today?

Parshat Nitzavim - possibly one of the most stirring in the entire Torah. How often my soul has thrilled to so many of its verses. We hear them chanted on Yom Kippur morning...

(11) Surely, this Instruction which I enjoin upon you this day is not too baffling for you, nor is it beyond reach. (12) It is not in the heavens, that you should say, “Who among us can go up to the heavens and get it for us and impart it to us, that we may observe it?” (13) Neither is it beyond the sea, that you should say, “Who among us can cross to the other side of the sea and get it for us and impart it to us, that we may observe it?” (14) No, the thing is very close to you, in your mouth and in your heart, to observe it.

The verse we're considering, Deut 29:28, comes soon before this:

The above is the JPS translation. Here, I offer my translation / interpretation:

Hidden things (ineffable things) belong to God, are in the realm of the Divine; however, things which can be told / which can be known - וְהַנִּגְלֹ֞ת - are for us and for our descendants for all time (** these are the words with the puncta extraordinaria - "for us and for our children forever").

A pressing question, at this crucial time in history: what is "for us and for our children for all time"?

The verse goes on to say: To do every single thing that is in this teaching - לַעֲשׂ֕וֹת אֶת־כׇּל־דִּבְרֵ֖י הַתּוֹרָ֥ה הַזֹּֽאת׃

Now we must ask, what is "this teaching" at this time; what is הַתּוֹרָ֥ה הַזֹּֽאת׃?

What needs to be told by us, today, based on this teaching?

Each of us doubtless longs to live out and advocate for the most fundamental of Jewish values - honoring life, welcoming the stranger, pursuing justice, dwelling in the beauty of the Divine.

In the past year, with its ceaseless violence, repeated failures of diplomacy, tragedies and traumas, these values have often felt hidden.

I ask myself: Have I been complicit in not speaking clearly and explicitly enough about the need for peace, for a cessation of violence, for an honoring of all life? For an honoring of lives that have been lost, and for strong speech and actions to protect all life moving forward?

What am I challenged to say? What is my obligation, what is in my heart and my mouth, to do it (as we learn in Deut 30:14)?

Here I will turn to a teaching on Parshat Nitzavim from the Piazcener Rebbe, Rabbi Kalonymos Kalmish Shapira, written in the Warsaw Ghetto during Elul 5700, at time when the Jewish community's customary manner of collective prayer and discourse was prohibited, curtailed. At the end of this teaching, he comments on the puncta extraordinaria (which he refers to simply as nikud) in our verse, Deut 29:28:

Translation of the Piaczener Rebbe's dvar on Nitzavim, September 20 1940 (17 Elul 5700)

"This is the meaning of the phrase we quoted at the beginning of the chapter, "The hidden things belong to God our Lord...". The verse refers to both kinds of worship. [Earlier in this dvar, the Rebbe speaks of collective / outer worship and individual / inner worship - a silent worship that was coerced by the conditions of the Warsaw Ghetto.]

"The hidden things" -- the words that rightfully belong to God, the words of Torah and prayer, which we are forced to hide - still ascend unto God, on conditions that the other half of the verse if also fulfilled: "That which has been revealed, to us and our children for ever".

"In the Torah text, nikud points appear above each of the letters in the words 'to us and our childen' The nikud points means that in the innermost part of our hearts we must be absolutely convinced that this is forever - that when God saves us and we will be rescued, the worship of God for us and for our children will be open, in public, in full voice, and with all the kavanah (intention) of our hearts".

from Sacred Fire, Torah from the Years of Fury 1939-1942, Rabbi Kalonymos Kalmish Shapira, translated by J. Hershy Worch. (2000) J Aronson Publishers, p. 125.

For us today, can these extraordinary points in Deut 29:28 teach us that we have an opportunity and an obligation to reveal - to bring forward, to speak - truths that would otherwise be hidden?

With this in mind, let's turn to our extraordinarily pointed word in Psalm 27:13 - לׅׄוּׅׄלֵׅ֗ׄאׅׄ.

Remember that in this Psalm that we study during Elul, beyond the rhapsodic beauty of the fourth verse (probably the most familiar verse), there is a context of strife, violence, enemies, danger:

My translation / interpretation of Verses 12- 13:
... the very breath of violence, cruel witnesses stand against me... nonetheless... had it not been for this... even with this, I have faith / confidence that I will see the goodness of the Divine in this world."

Rabbi Yael Levy translates these verses:

THERE IS SO MUCH to lead me astray
Don’t let me give in to all that torments me:
the lies, the illusions, the menacing threats

I MUST HAVE FAITH that I can see through all of this
I can see the good, the blessings, the ways of life

CULTIVATE HOPE in the Infinite Presence
Let your heart be strong and filled with courage

CULTIVATE HOPE

https://www.awayin.org

As we study these verses in Psalm 27, this year it is shocking to experience the proximity of two words in these verses:

the last word in Verse 12 -חָמָֽס - chamas
and the word we're studying here, at the start of Verse 13 - לוּלֵא - lulei.

חָמָֽס - chamas לוּלֵא - lulei.

It is impossible to hear these two words together and not think of October 7. Of course this is in our mind; a juxtaposition of unimaginable violence, and consequentiality leading to hope and courage.

How do we weave our feelings about October 7, and all of the events since then, into our study today? Each of us will have our own answer to this. I invite you to bring these questions to the forefront of your mind as we study these words and verses.

Note that this extraordinarily pointed word at the start of Verse 13 - לׅׄוּׅׄלֵׅ֗ׄאׅׄ - is a word that connects what comes before and what comes after. How to translate this word?

"unless"
"since"
"if not for"
"had it not been for this"
"if the previous had not been the case, then the following would not be able to be the case"

So, there is a conditionality, a sense of consequences, packed into this word.

לׅׄוּׅׄלֵׅ֗ׄאׅׄ - אלול

This is extraordinary! There is something about this mysterious word that connects strongly to the month of Elul. And let us remember that the name of this month is an acronym for the first four words in verse from Song of Songs, "I am my beloved, and my beloved is mine".

לׅׄוּׅׄלֵׅ֗ׄאׅׄPsalm 27 is filled with images of foes, war, enemies encamped against us. Let us consider that as well as enduring enemies outside of us, there may be an enemy within; possibly our human inclination to anger and vengeance draws us away from goodness and kindness.

As I study these verses today, this extraordinarily pointed word -לׅׄוּׅׄלֵׅ֗ׄאׅׄ - can teach me that even though I have endured violence, and been surrounded by enemies, even with all of that, still I can be strong and courageous (Verse 14).

And I am here, now; I am in the land of the living. Despite the current milieu of militarism, vengeance, abrogation of international laws and frequent lack of concern for human life, I can be strong. I can speak what otherwise would be hidden.

Let us not be silenced. Let each of us discern what Jewish values lead us to say. This may be different for you than for me.

For each of us, let us meditate on the resonances among

לׅׄוּׅׄלֵׅ֗ׄאׅׄ - "had it not been for" and

אלול – ֵElul and

וְהַנִּגְלֹ֞ת לָ֤ׄנׄוּׄ וּׄלְׄבָׄנֵ֙ׄיׄנׄוּ֙ׄ עַׄד־עוֹלָ֔ם the things that are told, for us and for our children for all time

We are in Elul in the year 5784, we are engaged in teshuva, we can consider the consequentiality of speech and actions, and we can say the things that we discern are right - say them now, and teach our children that this is what they must do as well.

At this season, as we prepare for the turning of the year and as we take account of ourselves, let us affirm that we will reveal truths that have been hidden; let us affirm that even though - - we have been in the midst of inimical forces, nonetheless we can strive to bring the beauty and unity of the Divine presence into this world, today, היום.

(For a brief introduction to the topic of puncta extraordinaria, please see:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Puncta_extraordinaria

For a detailed exploration of these markings in this parsha, please see:

https://www.thetorah.com/article/dots-on-deuteronomy-29-28-a-polemical-response-to-qumrans-secret-laws