Nitzavim – Page 4 – Peninim on the Torah

“For the matter is very close to you, in your mouth and in your heart that you may do it.” (30:14)

There is a Midrash on the above pasuk which is particularly relevant at this time of year. Everyone is seeking areas in which to improve. Eliyahu Ha’Navi relates that he was once travelling from region to region, when he came across a man who sneered at him. Eliyahu was taken aback and immediately questioned the individual, “What will you respond to Hashem on the Day of Judgement?” The man quickly responded, “I have a simple answer to give my Father in Heaven. I will tell Him that I was not given sufficient understanding or intelligence to allow me to master…

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והיה בשמעו את דברי האלה הזאת והתברך בלבבו לאמר שלום יהיה לי

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Nitzavim, 5773

And it will be that when he hears the words of this imprecation, he will bless himself in his heart, saying, “Peace will be with me.” (29:18)

People invariably delude themselves into thinking that it will happen to someone else. One can go merrily about his miserable life, doing what he wants, ignoring the admonitions and punishments that are slowly creeping up on him. When he wakes up from his delusion, it is often too late. Hashem has given him every opportunity to return, but he is ignoring it. While this is true for most, there are those who, because they are under the influence of a misguided leader, sadly follow him until they all descend to infamy. A classic case of the above would be the…

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ושבת עד ד' אלקיך ושמעת בקלו

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Nitzavim, 5773

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

The Torah admonishes the sinner to repent. The encouragement often comes in the guise of physical, emotional and financial challenges. Yet, there are those who ignore the message, claiming that it either is not addressed to them, or it really is not a message. It is simply “one of those things” that happen to the best of us. Just forget about it. The believer, however, knows better. Nothing “just happens.” Whatever occurs in our lives is meant to be and is most often a call from Hashem to get our spiritual act together. If so, why does the person not…

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Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Nitzavim, 5772

“From the hewer of your wood to the drawer of your water.” (29:10)

Everybody was present that day, from the woodcutter to the water carrier. Is this the correct sequence? Should it not be worded, “From your leadership all the way down to your woodchoppers” or “From your goldsmiths to your woodchoppers”? One would think that the woodchopper and water carrier are basically on an equal level. Shivim Panim LaTorah suggests the following idea: When the ax is raised up over the head of the woodchopper, the “ax” would never consider that it is higher or more distinguished than the woodchopper, because the woodchopper is the one who is raising it up. Likewise,…

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Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Nitzavim, 5772

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

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Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Nitzavim, 5772

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

There is a remarkable contrast between two types of people: one defies rebuke, laughing it off with disdain and derision; and the baal teshuvah, penitent, who hears Hashem’s call, responds to His voice and returns wholeheartedly. Two people – or could it be one person, one individual in different stages of his spiritual development? Is it possible for the hard-core sinner, the individual who mocks Hashem and His followers bitterly, to return and be accepted? It is certainly possible for him to be accepted: Hashem is a loving Father Who waits patiently for His errant child. How does one…

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Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Nitzavim, 5772

“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, 5771

You are all standing today, before Hashem, your G-d. (29:9)

Much has been written today concerning the meaning of the above pasuk. What is the significance of the nation’s “standing” before Hashem? Also, why enumerate them according to class: leaders, elders, officers, men, women, children, and converts? Horav Karlinstein quotes the halachah that during those parts of the davening when one must stand, he must stand freely. This means that if he leans against something, such as a shtender, lectern, to the point that if it were to be removed he would fall over, it is not considered standing. This is considered leaning. Rav Karlinstein derives an important lesson concerning…

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Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Nitzavim, 5771

You are all standing today. (29:9)

Horav S.R. Hirsch, zl, posits that nitzavim, standing, has a deeper meaning, beyond describing Klal Yisrael’s vertical position as Moshe Rabbeinu delivered his last homily to the nation he had shepherded for the last forty years. Nitzavim has a much more powerful connotation than standing. It is derived from – or closely related to – the word matzeivah, a pillar, a monument. In his last oration to the people, Moshe tells them, “You are the matzeivah, the foundation, the pillar, the force – the very future – and eternal carriers of the flame of Torah. You perpetuate the banner of…

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Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Nitzavim, 5771

You are all standing today… for you to pass into a covenant of Hashem, your G-d, and into His oath, that Hashem, your G-d, forges with you today. (29:9,11)

Chazal teach that when Klal Yisrael accepted the oath at Har Gerizim and Har Eival – naasu areivim zeh la’zeh, “They became guarantors one for another.” The principle, Kol Yisrael areivim zeh la’zeh, “All Jews are guarantors for one another,” is the foundation for many halachos, laws, which relate to Torah observance for the individual and the community. We must care for one another, because we are responsible for each other. This is the novel idea that was declared at Arvos Moav, the Plains of Moav. We wonder what is so novel about this idea that had not been indicated previously by…

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“For the matter is very close to you, in your mouth and in your heart that you may do it.” (30:14)

והיה בשמעו את דברי האלה הזאת והתברך בלבבו לאמר שלום יהיה לי

And it will be that when he hears the words of this imprecation, he will bless himself in his heart, saying, “Peace will be with me.” (29:18)

ושבת עד ד' אלקיך ושמעת בקלו

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

“From the hewer of your wood to the drawer of your water.” (29:10)

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

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

“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 all standing today, before Hashem, your G-d. (29:9)

You are all standing today. (29:9)

You are all standing today… for you to pass into a covenant of Hashem, your G-d, and into His oath, that Hashem, your G-d, forges with you today. (29:9,11)

YEARS

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