Parashat Nitzavim

Shabbat Shalom! This week’s Torah portion is Parashat Nitzavim, which we will read again in just over a week for Yom Kippur as well. The parasha contains some of Moses’s final address to the people, including words of teshuvah. The passage (Deuteronomy 30:1-3) makes clear that God expects us to miss the mark, to transgress the Torah, and to need to make teshuvah, to need to make active efforts to return to God. God does also, of course, assure us that God will take us back, but there will be hard roads ahead as the People of Israel sin and repent and need to be punished before their apologies are fully accepted again. 

We will soon talk about forgiveness and teshuvah so much the words may run the risk of losing all meaning. However, here’s one more offering in preamble to the high holy days; I will keep this brief:

 If you haven’t already, the time is nigh to start making your apologies to those you’ve hurt in 5779, and start offering your forgiveness to those who’ve hurt you in 5779. These conversations are rarely easy. If they do feel easy, they are probably happening on too superficial a level. They should be at best awkward, and at worst they can be heart-wrenching and inconclusive as you seek resolution for the open wounds in your life. 

And yet, if we learn from this parasha that sins and misteps are inevitable, perhaps it can allow us so more comfort in accepting the uncomfortable reality of accepting responsibility for our mistakes and understanding the reasons why others have made mistakes we think should have been obvious no-nos. Most human relationships do not come with such explicit instructions and agreements as that which is given to us in the Torah, and yet if we can break those specified laws and still be accepted as God’s holy people, then I think we can each find it within ourselves to accept the teshuvah of others in our lives. 

May we build a strong and trusting community with forgiveness and love. Amen and Shabbat Shalom.