From: Netvort@aol.com Sent: Friday, September 30, 2005 1:53 AM To: JoshHoff@aol.com Subject: Netvort : parshas Nitzovim, 5765 Hidden Agenda By Rabbi Joshua (covenantally known as The Hoffer) Hoffman This week's parsha begins with a description of a gathering of all the different elements in the Jewish nation, to enter into a covenant with God : " You are standing today, all of you, before the Lord your God : The heads of your tribes, your elders and your officers - all the men of Yisroel ; your small children, your women, and your convert who is in the midst of your camp, from the hewer of your wood to the drawer of your water, for you to pass into a covenant of the Lord your God… "(Devorim 29:9-11). Many commentators point out that the opening verse seems to be a direct continuation from the previous parsha, which presented the contents of the covenant being entered into, and ended with the verse, " And you shall keep the words of this covenant, so that you will succeed in al that you do" (Devorim 29:8). They are therefore bothered by the seemingly purposeless interruption between these two parshas. The medieval commentator Rabbeinu Yitzchok ben Yehudoh HaLevi, in his work Pa'aneach Raza, suggests that the word 'today' in the first verse of the parsha is actually a hint to the day of Rosh HaShanah. Even though the event being described did not occur on Rosh HaShanah, the commitment it describes does have relevance to the Rosh HaShanah experience. For this reason, he continues, parshas Nitzovim is read every year on the Shabbos directly preceding Rosh HaShanah, even though, as we noted last week, the Talmud tells us that the section of curses in Ki Savo is read every year before Rosh Hashanah to indicate our hope that the year and its curses should end. What, then, is the message in parshas Nitzovim that has relevance to Rosh Hashanah? Rabbi Yosef Dov Soloveitchik, in his work On Repentance, writes that the covenant described in parashas Nitzovim is not the same covenant that was described in parshas Ki Savo. The covenant described in Ki Savo, he says, is a reiteration of the covenant made with our forefathers and then with the Jewish people as a whole at Mt. Sinai. This 'kedushas Avos," or sanctity of the forefathers, is irrevocable, and generates the halachic principle that a Jew, even if he sins, remains a Jew. However, there is a second covenant, which generates a second kind of sanctity, and that is the individualistic covenant that is described in parshas Nitzovim. An apostate Jew, who has the formal status of 'mumar,' loses this aspect of Jewish sanctity, and, although still part of the Jewish people and under obligation to observe the mitzvos, is not qualified, for example, to slaughter kosher meat. In order to regain his status he needs to repent and thereby reacquire his individual sanctity. Rav Soloveitchik elaborated upon this idea in a talk on Rosh HaShanah which he presented in 1968, as transcribed by B. David Schreiber in his recently published work Noraos HoRav, volume 15. Every Jew, says Rav Soloveitchik, needs to renew his individual covenant with God on a daily basis. This idea, he continues, is expressed in the Shemoneh Esreh of Musaf, in the second of the three additional blessings, the 'zichronos, or 'remembrances,' which, according to Rabbi Yosef Albo, reflects the fundamental Jewish belief in God's hashgacha pratis, or individual providence, remembering the acts of each individual and judging him for them. Following on the allusion to Rosh HaShanah in the word 'today' mentioned in the first verse of parshas Nitzovim, then, we can add, according to Rav Soloveitchik, that there is a further allusion to the need for each Jew to renew his individual covenant with God each day of the year, as articulated in the blessing of zichronos that is included in the Musaf of Rosh HaShanah. This is why all sectors of the nation are singled out in these opening verses of the parsha, and why, further on, the Torah tells us that this covenant is being made not only with those who are present at that time, but for those who are not there, as well (Devorim 29:14). God exercises His providence over each Jew, and each one must renew his individual covenant with Him on a regular basis. Carrying our proposed allusion further, I believe it can be applied to the other two special blessings added to the Musaf of Rosh Hashanah, the malchiyos (the plural of malchus, or kingship), referring to God's kingship over the world, and the shofros ( the plural of shofar), referring to God's revelation in history, as well. Rav Soloveitchik explains that the blessing of malchiyos expresses the need for man to recognize God's mastery over the world by virtue of having created it. Moreover, it obligates man to comply with God's will, and to remove all traces of idolatry from the world. I believe that an allusion to the message of the malchiyos blessing can be found in the verses in parshas Nitzovim which follow the opening verses we have cited. In these verses (Devorim 15-21), the people are reminded of the idolatry they saw practiced by the nations, and warned not to abandon God and worship these idols themselves. Do not think, the Torah tells us, that an individual can separate himself from the nation, worship idols and not be punished. The individual covenant each Jew has with God obligates him to comply with God's will and observe his commandments, together with the rest of the nation. In regard to the blessing of shofros, which refers to God's revelation in history, Rav Soloveitchik says that each individual Jew has an obligation to recognize God's presence in his own life. The Shulchan Aruch, which is the code of Jewish law, bids us to keep in mind the verse in Tehillim, "I place God before me constantly," and deport ourselves in everyday life with a constant awareness of God's presence. The verses of the blessing of shofros refer to various times in history in which God's presence was revealed, beginning with the revelation at Mt. Sinai. Rabbi Ya'akov ben Asher, in his commentary Ba'al HaTurim, finds an allusion to this event in the first verse of our parsha, in the words "you are standing today.' The word for 'standing' - 'nitzovim' - is similar to the word 'vayitzyatzeiv' that is used in parshas Yisro to describe the nation standing at the foot of Mt. Sinai (Shemos 19:17). We can, thus, view this verse as an allusion to that revelation, and as a message to each individual, as he renews his individual covenant with God, to also strive to experience God's presence in his own daily life. After the conclusion of each of the three special blessings in the Musaf of Rosh HaShanah, the shofar is sounded. Rav Solovetchik explains that in this way, the commitments expressed in these blessings are confirmed. Interestingly, Rabbi Shlomo Ephraim of Lunshitz, author of the commentary Keli Yakar, writes in his work Sifsei Da'as that there is an allusion to the blowing of the shofar in the opening verse of parshas Nitzovim. The Yalkut, he says, derives the obligation to blow the shofar after the three blessings of malchiyos, zichronos and shofros from verses in connection with the blowing of the chatzotzros, or trumpets, mentioned in parshas Beha'aloscha. In those verses, Rabbi Shlomo Ephraim points out, all of the different sectors of the nation are referred to, although differently than they are in parshas Nitzovim. The idea being expressed by the midrash, he says, is that the purpose of the shofar, as well as the trumpets, is to arouse the people to return to God, and, therefore, each individual in the nation is being addressed. May we all internalize the message of the shofar as it is sounded this coming Rosh HaShanah, and merit to be written and inscribed for a wonderful new year. 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