This Shabbat we study the Parshas Nitzavim (“standing”) and Vayelech (“and Moses went)”. (Deuteronomy 29:9 and 31:1). Nitzavim includes some of the most fundamental principles of the Jewish faith: the unity of Israel, the future redemption, the practicality of Torah and freedom of choice. Vayelech recounts the events of Moses’ last day of earthly life and concludes with the prediction that the people of Israel will turn away from their covenant with Gd, causing Him to hide His face from them, but also with the promise that the words of the Torah “shall not be forgotten out of the mouths of their descendants.”

Chabad.org

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This week’s Torah reading begins Atem nitzavim, “You are standing here today, all of you... from the heads of tribes... to the woodcutters and water-drawers.” The commentaries explain that nitzavim in Hebrew means “standing firm” This verse teaches us that our standing firm is conditional upon it being all of you standing together. Each of us, from the highest to the lowliest, has our part to play and our own potential to fulfill.

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The Talmud’s Ethics of the Fathers tells us, “Who is rich? He who is happy with his lot.” Rather than worrying about why we are not standing in somebody else’s shoes, our task is to fulfill our potential at the level we are at, in the situation where we are now, knowing that even if it may seem insignificant, each of us contributes on our own level and in our own way to the greater picture. In order to “stand firm” as a nation, we need the contribution of each person, on every level.

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The story was told of Rabbi Aryeh Levin (known as “the tzaddik from Jerusalem”) who informed the doctor that “my wife’s leg is hurting us.” This idea applies to all of us, as a community. When one person suffers, another feels the pain, even at a distance.When an event takes place in a distant country, this affects us as much as if it were to happen next door.

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There is no “us and them.” Anything which undermines decency and the sanctity of human life, the very fabric of our community, has an effect on all of us, whether we are directly involved or not. Each person needs to be intact, in order for us to achieve our communal potential. If one person is suffering or is otherwise affected by something, this has an impact on all of us.

Rabbi Mordechai Wollenberg

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We created beings can know only that which is. That which is not, we can only imagine—or exert effort to make it happen. But imagine a great mind from which thoughts emerge and then crystallize as the events of the physical world—spontaneously, without effort.

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All events and all things, except for those matters for which this world was originally brought into being. Those are hidden thoughts—they neither emerge nor crystallize, but only unfold through our choice to do good. 

When we choose life, we redeem Gd’s subconscious, His most hidden desire.

Rabbi Tzvi Freeman

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Rashi comments: The return of the captivity will be “as though Gd Himself seizes with His hands every single individual from his place, as it is said, ‘you will be gathered up one by one, O Children of Israel’” (Isaiah27:12). As the redemption will be brought about by teshuvah-repentance (“you will return unto Gd”), it follows that just as the redemption itself will be for “every single individual... one by one,” so, too, every single one shall return unto Gd. Thus it is stated explicitly in the next verse of Isaiah’s prophecy: “On that day, a great shofar will be blown, and those who are lost in the land of Assyria and those who are cast away

in the land of Egypt shall come, and they will bow down before Gd on the holy mountain in Jerusalem” (Isaiah 27:13). In other words, even those who are so deeply immersed in the galut that they became “lost” and “cast away,” they, too, will be awakened by teshuvah.

Rabbi J. Immanuel Schochet

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Did you hear of the fellow who proudly announced, “I am a man of principles! And if you don’t like my principles, well then, I have others.” The portion of Vayelech follows directly after Nitzavim. In fact, in most years, the two are read together on the same Shabbat. Now, nitzavim means standing firm, while vayelech means to move and be mobile, which seem somewhat contradictory. However, the juxtaposition of these two Parshahs prompted the Rebbe to comment that while they may seem to reflect conflicting themes, there is a very powerful message in the one following directly on the other.

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Nitzavim doesn’t only mean “standing.” That would be the Hebrew word omdim. The word nitzavim means “standing firmly.” And the Rebbe’s message is that only by standing firmly by our principles and convictions can we, in fact, move forward in life and live to express the vayelech “upwardly mobile” theme. We need principles that are real and uncompromising. There are so many stories that I’m sure so many of our readers can share when they experienced this message personally. Let me share two, both on a similar theme.

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Back in the early 1970’s, I spent several years studying in Montreal at the Rabbinical College of Canada. I also received my semichah (rabbinical ordination) there. One of the prominent families in the Montreal Jewish community back then were the Richlers. And I remember clearly the true story of their family business and the challenges they faced, specifically regarding Shabbat observance. The Richler Brothers ran a very big business in the motor industry, selling and servicing trucks, if I’m not mistaken.

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The family was Shabbat-observant. Their business, as big as it was, was closed on Shabbat and Yom Tov. Once, they were given a very lucrative contract with the Ford Motor Company of Canada. But when Ford discovered that Richlers didn’t operate on Shabbat, they canceled the contract, arguing that it could never work. However, sometime later, Ford approached the Richlers again, and this time they offered to abide by their religious requirements. Apparently, the other company they had engaged didn’t quite meet their professional expectations, and they came back to the Richlers “cap in hand.” Ford and Richler went on to have a very successful relationship for many years. In my own community in Johannesburg, South Africa, a similar story played out back in the 1970’s and 80’s, albeit on a smaller level. The Arenstein Brothers, Monty and Itz, had started a motor dealership. It was a retail business selling automobiles. Monty was Shabbat-observant and insisted that the business would be too. Now, anyone who is familiar with the motor trade knows that most car sales are made on weekends when people have time to go shopping and test drive cars to their satisfaction. How would a motor dealership ever succeed if it was closed on Shabbat? But Monty insisted. The brothers even borrowed the title of an old movie, and their slogan, bumper stickers and all, was “Never on Shabbos.”

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I distinctly remember a particular Tishrei, a month replete with Jewish holidays, which decreased the number of days they were open for business to a fraction of a regular month’s work. The other partners argued that it would be impossible to sell even a minimum of vehicles that month. How would they survive financially? Well, what should I tell you? Not only did they survive, but they thrived. And after some years they sold the business for a very good price. Like the Richlers in Montreal, the Arensteins in Johannesburg stuck by their convictions.

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May we all have the courage of our convictions and see the blessings materialize in our lives.

Rabbi Yossy Goldman

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