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Home -> 5782 -> Nitzavim

כי הוא חייך וארך ימיך

Sruly Schnair
In Nitzavim, 5782

For He is your life and the length of your days. (30:20)

Hashem is our life. He sustains and infuses us with life. For this alone we should love Him. To do this, we must study His Torah for its sake. Love means to care only for the subject of one’s love – not for any other reason. One who studies Torah for ulterior motives will not come to love Hashem. We love G-d as a result of our love/study of the Torah. The two go hand in hand. Horav Reuven Karlinstein, zl, relates a story that he heard from the son of Horav Shmaryahu Greineman, zl, who never left the side…

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Home -> 5782 -> Nitzavim

ושבת עד ד' אלקיך ושמעת בקולו

Sruly Schnair
In Nitzavim, 5782

And you will return to Hashem, your G-d, and listen to His voice. (30:2)

The reason for repentance should be a desire to come closer, to attach oneself to Hashem. This does not mean that teshuvah, repentance, spurred on by a desire to be rid of suffering, or to garner Heavenly blessing, is not effective. It certainly is. Teshuvah is effective. It is only that one who repents because he loves, achieves greater efficacy than one who repents out of fear. Furthermore, there is a designated time when one’s teshuvah is most appropriate and hence achieves greater productivity. During the forty-day period from Rosh Chodesh Elul through Yom Kippur, Hashem waits for us to…

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Home -> 5782 -> Nitzavim

והיה בשמעו את דברי האלה הזאת והתברך בלבבו לאמר שלום יהיה לי כי בשררות לבי אלך למען ספות הרוה את הצמאה

Sruly Schnair
In Nitzavim, 5782

When he hears the statement of this oath/curse, he will imagine self-blessings, saying, “Peace will be my lot when I shall follow what my thoughts envision, so that the quenched may be added to the thirsty.” (29:18)

The pasuk addresses the observant Jew who does not believe that Torah study is an absolute requirement. Horav Shimon Schwab, zl, observes that, throughout Tanach, thirst is a metaphor for the Jew’s desire to learn Torah. Torah is compared to water. The Navi Yeshayah (55:1) declares, Hoi kol tzamei la’mayim; “Ho, everyone who is thirsty, go to water.” Chazal comment, “Water is always a symbol for Torah.” Having said this, we understand the pasuk to be intimating that Hashem will not forgive the fellow who is fully satiated (ravah) with his frumkeit, mitzvah observance, considering himself devout and righteous, reasoning…

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Home -> 5781 -> Nitzavim

אם יהיה נדחך בקצה השמים משם יקבצך ד' אלקיך

Sruly Schnair
In Nitzavim, 5781

If your dispersed will be at the ends of Heaven, from there Hashem, your G-d, will gather you in. (30:4)

Horav Yechezkel Levinstein, zl, interprets this pasuk pragmatically. If your dispersed will have a relationship with spirituality in such a manner that they just cling to the ends of Heaven, where they have a faint positive acknowledgment of spirituality, of Yiddishkeit, of Torah, of mitzvos – this will be considered sufficient for their ingathering and redemption. The Sefarim HaKedoshim teach that this is why the human body contains a small bone which does not decompose. It is from this tiny, indescribable bone that the person will be resurrected during Techiyas HaMeisim, Resurrection of the Dead. Thus, from there b’ktzei ha’Shomayim,…

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Home -> 5781 -> Nitzavim

ושב ד' אלקיך את שבותך

Sruly Schnair
In Nitzavim, 5781

Then Hashem will bring back your captivity. (30:3)

Rashi comments: “Our sages derived from here that the Shechinah resides among Klal Yisrael when they are in exile.” Why is the word shvuscha, your captivity, used instead of the more practical galuscha, your exile? Horav Lazer Brody, Shlita, suggests that shvuscha refers to a specific exilee, the tinok she’nishbah, child taken captive. In our modern day vernacular, this refers to the assimilated Jew who never had a chance to learn about the beauty of Judaism and its observance, who has been, so to speak, taken captive by the culture in which he was raised. Without the opportunity to learn…

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Home -> 5781 -> Nitzavim

ושבת עד ד' אלקיך

Sruly Schnair
In Nitzavim, 5781

And you will return unto Hashem, your G-d. (30:2)

“And you will return to Hashem.” Is this not obvious? If one has experienced a deficit in the spiritual sphere of his life, it would be understandable that his return be unto Hashem. I think the Torah is conveying a powerful message with regard to teshuvah. It is not unusual for one who is dealing with personal and familial issues to blame it on Hashem and renege his observance as a means of avoiding or assuaging his own painful burdens. In such a circumstance, returning to Hashem will be difficult, since “returning” means going back to one’s point of departure…

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Home -> 5781 -> Nitzavim

ושבת עד ד' אלקיך

Sruly Schnair
In Nitzavim, 5781

And you will return unto Hashem, your G-d. (30:2)

Teshuvah should address three concepts: the sin; the sinner and before whom/or to whom one has sinned. The Nesivos Shalom explains the words, Atem nitzavim hayom… lifnei Hashem Elokeichem, “You stand here today… before Hashem, your G-d.” Remember before Whom you have sinned, and repent accordingly. Teshuvah which addresses a sin committed to a human being will not cut it. It is insufficient until one takes to heart that he has also sinned before Hashem Yisborach. He must consider who he is, his spiritual stature, his failings, but also his incredible potential, and how this sin affects who he is…

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Home -> 5781 -> Nitzavim

פן יש בכם שרש פרה ראש ולענה

Sruly Schnair
In Nitzavim, 5781

Perhaps there is among you a root flourishing with gall and wormwood. (29:17)

Gall and wormwood? What is the meaning of these terms? One who is a sinner is evil. The Torah is speaking about a person who does not see the evil that he perpetrates. Such an individual will say, “Peace will be with me.” In truth, he agrees that there are others who are evil – but he is not one of them. He is one of the “good ones” who have the audacity to bless themselves and contend that they warrant blessings in their lives. Apparently, a wide gap exists between reality and this person’s perception of himself and his…

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Home -> 5780 -> Nitzavim

ושבת עד ד' אלקיך

Moshe Marcovich
In Nitzavim, 5780

And you will return unto Hashem. (30:2)

Teshuvah means return. One returns to his source, his beginning, from where it all began, so that he can start over again and repair what requires restoration. This is not consistent with the objective of society, which focuses on the future, ignoring the past. What happened, happened. Forget about it. Move on. What society ignores is the dross which envelopes us. Unless we expunge it, it accompanies us wherever we go. Focus on “Why? “Where? How did it all start?” A pathologist searches for the sources, the etiology. Teshuvah is a pathology, searching for the beginning, “Why? How? Where did…

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Home -> 5780 -> Nitzavim

החיים והמות נתתי לפניך הברכה והקללה ובחרת בחיים

Moshe Marcovich
In Nitzavim, 5780

I have placed life and death before you, blessing and curse; and you shall choose life. (30:19)

One would think that choosing life is a decision that requires little to no mental effort. Why would the Torah exhort us to choose life? This question has inspired much commentary. Obviously, the meaning of “life” in Torah-speak is different than the mundane, physical existence to which many have become accustomed. Furthermore, as Horav Moshe Feinstein, zl, observes, the Torah implores us to choose life, so that our children will live. The message is clear: the decision we make for ourselves affects our families. What our children will be in twenty years, their demeanor – moral, ethical and spiritual –…

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