Nitzavim – Page 10 – Peninim on the Torah

“The hidden (sins) are for Hashem, our G-d, but the revealed (sins) are for us and for our children forever.” (29:28)

Simply, we are not held responsible for those sinners who hide their evil. The hidden sinners are in Hashem’s province. Our focus must be on those whose evil is blatant, who have no shame and no fear. Our lack of response to those sins and sinners – and in some cases, our open acceptance of their evil – impugns the integrity of Klal Yisrael. In an alternative exegesis, the Belzer Rebbe, z.l., suggests that nistaros and niglos, “hidden” and “revealed,” refer to mitzvos and good deeds, but not to sins. His pshat, rendering of the pasuk, is better understood in…

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Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Nitzavim, 5759

You are standing today, all of you, the heads of your tribes, your elders, your small children, your women. (29:9)

Is there a specific reason that the Torah emphasizes the fact that the heads of the tribes, the Jewish leadership, were also gathered there? Horav Tzvi Hirsch Ferber, zl, explains that ultimately Hashem judges everybody, regardless of the importance of his position, whether he has fulfilled his teudah, mission, in life. He cites Horav Chaim Volozhiner, zl, who explains that the tefillah which we recite in the Mussaf Shemonah Esrei of Rosh Hashanah, “maasei ish u’fekudoso” “everyone’s deed and mission”, delineates the function that each individual must carry out. We all have responsibilities that we are to carry out during…

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Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Nitzavim, 5759

And he will bless himself in his heart saying, “peace will be with me, though I walk as my heart sees fit.” (29:18)

One must be extremely sure of himself, ever smug, to feel that he has no cause to worry. Horav Tzvi Pesach Frank, zl, suggests that this pasuk refers to the individual who asserts that his heart will save him. He does not care about mitzvos. He rejects the Torah, but he has a “good heart,” he is a nice, kind human being. He gives of himself,.opening his heart to those in need. Hashem does not forgive such a person. The heart is but one organ of the body, albeit an important one, that keeps the entire body functioning. One who…

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Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Nitzavim, 5759

The later generations will say, your children who will arise after you and the foreigner who will come from a distant land. (29:21)

The Jew and the nachri – foreigner from a distant land – will both be shocked when they see Hashem’s destruction. What seems to be an innocuous verse is tragically a curse that critiques the behavior of Klal Yisrael in the days preceding the advent of Moshiach. Horav Chaim Soloveitchik, zl, bemoans the bitter prophecy, the tragic portent for the “acharis ha’yamim”, the prediction that in the end of the days, the yedias ha’Torah, Torah knowledge, of many Jews will be equivalent to that of a “foreigner from a distant land.” How tragic it is when the non-Jew knows more…

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Moshe Marcovich In Nitzavim, 5758

You are standing today, all of you, before Hashem, your G-d, the heads of your tribes, your elders, and your officers…from the hewer of your wood to the drawer of your water. (29:9,10)

Since the Torah says “kulchem — all of you“, it obviously includes everyone from the “wood chopper” to the “water drawer.” Why is it necessary to reiterate the various classes or positions held by individual Jews? Horav Elyakim Schlesinger, Shlita, suggests that the covenant did not necessarily bind only the klal, the collective community of Klal Yisrael, but also each individual Jew, regardless of his station in life. If ever a breakdown in the spiritual fabric of Klal Yisrael would occur, if the leadership for some reason errs, the covenant would be sustained via the individual Jew. The Brisker Rav,…

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Moshe Marcovich In Nitzavim, 5758

For you pass into the covenant of Hashem, your G-d, and into his imprecation that Hashem, your G-d, seals with you today…Perhaps there is among you a man or woman, whose heart turns away today from being with Hashem. (29:11,17)

The parsha opens with everyone gathered together as Moshe initiates Klal Yisrael into the covenant for the final time. This may be the most idyllic moment in Jewish history. Everyone is together, unified in harmony one with another, about to be charged by Moshe at the closing scenes of his tenure as the quintessential leader of Klal Yisrael. It is a inspirational moment, marked by excitement about a job well done. This moment truly calls for the proverbial “pat on the back.” They have made it! We observe, however, a turn of events. During this exalted moment in time, Moshe…

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Moshe Marcovich In Nitzavim, 5758

You are standing today, all of you. (29:9)

When the people heard the frightening klalos, curses, of Parashas Ki Savo, they despaired. They felt they had no opportunity for survival; Hashem no longer cared for them. Hashem responded with the comforting words, “Atem nitzavim hayom kulchem. — You are standing today, all of you.” Hashem had sustained them in the past despite their iniquities; He would continue to maintain them in the future. The Midrash Tanchuma advances this thought with the comment, “Fallen nations never rise to stand again. (Klal) Yisrael falls, but rises to stand once more.” Jewish resilience is integral to our heritage. Indeed, tenacity is…

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Moshe Marcovich In Nitzavim, 5758

The later generation will say – your children who will arise after you and the foreigner who will come from a distant land. (29:21)

The Torah addresses the “later” generation, who will question the devastation that befell the Jewish People and their land. They will surmise that Klal Yisrael forsook Hashem for deities that were nothing more than figments of their imagination. This resulted in Hashem’s reciprocal response. The Bais Halevi approaches this pasuk homiletically, but practically. He observes that one day “your children will arise -who will know as much about Jewish tradition and its noble heritage as the nachri, stranger/non-Jew.” This, regrettably, is the gradual development of years of assimilation, years of lack of pride, years of attempting to fade into a…

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Moshe Marcovich In Nitzavim, 5758

The hidden (sins) are for Hashem, our G-d, but the revealed (sins) are for us and our children. (29:28)

Simply, we are not responsible for the hidden sinners, for those who conceal their evil. We will, however, be called to task for the actions of those who openly rebel. We are all responsible to maintain the integrity of Klal Yisrael. We suggest another interpretation of this pasuk. Those thoughts that are concealed within us, thoughts which we are astute enough not to express, belong to the Almighty. They exercise no influence on those around us, they hurt no one but ourselves. They are between us and G-d. Our revealed actions reflect the thoughts that we could not or did…

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Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Nitzavim, 5757

Then Hashem, your G-d, will bring back your captivity and have mercy upon you, and He will gather you in. (30:3)

Once Klal Yisrael repents, they are assured of the ingathering of the exiles, regardless of where they are located among the nations of the world. The Rambam infers from this pasuk that one must believe in the coming of Moshiach. Indeed, the Rambam writes, “And he who does not believe in him (Moshiach), or he who does not await his coming, does not only repudiate the (prophecies of) Nevi’im, but also denies the Torah and Moshe Rabbeinu.” The Brisker Rav, zl, inferred from the Rambam that he who denies the Geulah, Redemption, is a kofer, non-believer. Even he who does…

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“The hidden (sins) are for Hashem, our G-d, but the revealed (sins) are for us and for our children forever.” (29:28)

You are standing today, all of you, the heads of your tribes, your elders, your small children, your women. (29:9)

And he will bless himself in his heart saying, “peace will be with me, though I walk as my heart sees fit.” (29:18)

The later generations will say, your children who will arise after you and the foreigner who will come from a distant land. (29:21)

You are standing today, all of you, before Hashem, your G-d, the heads of your tribes, your elders, and your officers…from the hewer of your wood to the drawer of your water. (29:9,10)

For you pass into the covenant of Hashem, your G-d, and into his imprecation that Hashem, your G-d, seals with you today…Perhaps there is among you a man or woman, whose heart turns away today from being with Hashem. (29:11,17)

You are standing today, all of you. (29:9)

The later generation will say – your children who will arise after you and the foreigner who will come from a distant land. (29:21)

The hidden (sins) are for Hashem, our G-d, but the revealed (sins) are for us and our children. (29:28)

Then Hashem, your G-d, will bring back your captivity and have mercy upon you, and He will gather you in. (30:3)

YEARS

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