Parashat Nitzavim - Patriot Shabbat

    Shabbat Shalom, and welcome to our honored guests. This week’s Torah portion, our weekly segment of scriptural reading, is Parashat Nitzavim, Deuteronomy 29:9-30:20. We are nearing the end of the Torah, the end of the wandering in the desert, and Moses has just a few more reminders to give to the Children of Israel before he dies and they enter the promised land. This is one of my favorite portions, and we read it on the last Shabbat before Rosh HaShanah every year, and then again at Yom Kippur in the Reform movement.

    It is a reminder of our ultimate equality, that we are all one under the One Who Unites Us All. Moses tells the people gathered before him that this heritage, this Law, this Earth, belongs to each of them equally and they should all have access to it, and not only to them, but to all of their children and their children’s children, and their children’s children’s children, and so on. The key to a good life is not in the heavens or across the sea or locked in some esoteric texts, but it is here before us, available to any who seek it.

    Yet, though Moses addresses the whole community and expresses this intended equality, Moses also knows that there will be those in the community with different relationships to the Torah and to the rest of the community. There will be scholars and religious leaders who may come to know it more intimately, and there will be tribal heads and secular leaders, judges and officials, whom the rest of the community will look to to set community norms. So when Moses addresses the whole community, he starts with these folks, the leaders, those he knows will have to set the example. Then he continues to name the men of Israel, those in their time were the teachers for their children. Then he names even the immigrant and visitor, those who may not quite be assimilated into the community yet, but are living peaceably among the People of Israel and are expected to follow the same rules. He names that this applies equally to those with prestigious jobs and those with manual labor jobs.

    The 16th century Italian Rabbi Sforno comments that the leaders enumerated at the top of the list are named as such because, “each one of these categories of people have the duty to teach the people (within the parameters of their special competence) how much better it is for them to accept Torah law than to defy it or neglect it.” They are in a unique position to embody the Divine Law, to live righteously so that others will see them and live by their example. It can be a strenuous mantel to carry, to always have to live up to others’ expectations and be the model citizen, but that is the responsibility leaders bear in exchange for the authority their titles lend them.

    Later in this portion, the Torah warns that those who think the expectations of God will not apply to them, will be sorely mistaken. The great Rashi, a 12th century French rabbi and our most prolific commentator on ancient Jewish texts, clarifies that this applies to one who thinks that he may have the authority to bless himself and avoid the curses promised in other parts of the Torah. Not only will such a person still be cursed, but will face every curse named in the Torah for the sin of arrogance to think the law does not apply to him. The Torah really wants to make sure we all understand - the blessings of the Torah are available to all, no matter how great or small one may seem in their own eyes or the eyes of the community; and the consequences of ignoring the Torah will apply to all, no matter how great or small one may seem in their own eyes or the eyes of the community. The rules are varied, and some may be specific to the Land of Israel or to the Jewish community, but the gist of the whole Torah can be summed up as a Golden Rule that I’m sure we all can agree upon: “That which is hateful to you, do not do unto others. That is the whole of the Torah. The rest is commentary; go and learn.”

    This Patriot’s Shabbat, we honor those who have done their best to live a model life for the citizens they serve. We thank you all for your service to our community and country, and wish you the best as you continue on in your journey. May we be blessed to live in a world where all are equal and everybody is able to and tries their hardest to live their best lives, and may we continue to work together to build a holy community among us all. Amen and Shabbat Shalom.