Final Shabbat of the Year: Reflect, Synthesize & Prepare
With Selichot this Saturday night and Rosh Hashanah less than a week away, we are now entering the home-stretch of 5784. Our task, as we move through these final days of the year, is to reflect on the year that's drawing to a close and prepare to welcome in a new one. We engage in this work of taking stock on many levels at once: as individuals, as a Jewish community, as members of a broader society and world. On the Jewish communal level, at least, I can't remember any other year in my lifetime that has felt as fraught, heavy and complex as this one has been. Truly, it feels like we have our work cut out for us this year as we try to wade through it all and center ourselves in preparation for change, growth and newness.
This week's Torah reading, fortunately, provides us with many prompts and lessons to aid in this work. This Shabbat, we read a double parasha: Nitzavim-Vayeilech. In both of these Torah portions, which appear towards the end of the final book of the Torah (Deuteronomy), Moses is giving a farewell speech to the Israelites, trying to impart wisdom before he dies and before they cross the Jordan River to inhabit the land God has promised to them. Moses urges the Israelites to uphold the covenant in Nitzavim, and then in Vayeilech, concludes his speech, blessing his successor Joshua and instructing the Israelites to gather every seven years to publicly read from the Torah. These two short Torah portions are jam packed with language, imagery and themes, many of which have the capacity to be helpful to us in this season of review. Here are some examples that jumped out at me this week:
1) The very names of these two Torah portions stand in tension to one another. Nitzavim means "standing" -- it comes from the opening verse of that parasha, which begins "Atem nitzavim hayom kulchem," "You stand this day, all of you, before the Lord your God...." (Deut. 29:9). Vayeilech, on the other hand, means "going" -- as in "Vayeilech moshe vayidaber et had'varim ha'eileh el kol yisrael," "Moses went and spoke these things to all Israel" (Deut. 31:1). The contrast between standing statically and firmly, on the one hand, and going (that is, moving and changing position), on the other, is an animating tension that leads to productive questions for this season. We might ask ourselves: What has stayed the same for us this year? In what ways are we feeling solid and prepared to continue standing right where we are? What has shifted? In what ways are we experiencing movement, and how are we ourselves changing?
2) Both Nitzavim and Vayeilech are grounded in a keen awareness of life and death, generational change, meaning and legacy. In Nitzavim, Moses says: "I make this covenant, with its sanctions, not with you alone, but both with those who are standing here with us this day before the Lord our God and with those who are not with us here this day" (Deut. 29:13-14). Just a few verses later, the text says that "later generations will ask -- the children who succeed you" how the world came to be in the state it is in. The text seems to know that the our actions matter not only for our own generation but also for future generations -- precisely the kind of heightened awareness we strive to achieve at this time of year as we reflect on our lives. In addition, in Vayeilech, God says to Moses explicitly, "The time is drawing near for you to die. Call Joshua and present yourselves in the Tent of Meeting, that I may instruct him" (Deut. 31:14). Similarly, this time of year, we are drawn into awareness of our own mortality. With increased cognizance of our own impermanence, a perspective that includes the generations to come, and the ability to view our lives within the context of a broader sweep of history and continuity, we are encouraged to make the most of our lives and imbue them with goodness and purpose.
3) These Torah portions contain beautiful words of encouragement, serving as a spiritual pep talk. Transitions are inherently difficult; this is true for Moses as he faces his own impending death, for the Israelites, as they prepare to enter into the land, and also for us today, as we stand on the brink of a new year of life. Nitzavim states that Torah is not beyond reach -- "It is not in the heavens... nor is it beyond the sea... No, the thing is very close to you, in your mouth and in your heart, to observe it" (Deut. 30:12-14) -- promising the Israelites that they already have access to everything they will need to be successful in their new place. Vayeilech offers the kind of advice a coach might before a big game: "Be strong and resolute" (Deut 31:6) and "Fear not and be not dismayed!" (Deut. 31:8). In doing so, the text of the Torah acknowledges how overwhelming life can be and how daunting change can feel, how easy it is to slip into doubt, fear, and despair. Through its language, these Torah portions lay down a permanent record of reassurance and support, so that we might return to these words every year and feel it possible to hang in there, even as we move through hard transitional moments.
4) Finally, Vayeilech ends with mention of a special gathering called Hakhel that was supposed to take place every seven years: "Gather the people -- men, women, children, and the strangers in your communities -- that they may hear and so learn to revere the Lord your God and to observe faithfully every word of this Teaching" (Deut. 31:12). The world must have felt particularly frightening for the Israelites as they contemplated moving forward without Moses as their leader; here, Moses emphasizes the importance of gathering, and being in it together. Only together will they be able to achieve everything they must: come to terms with mortality, face uncertainty, make the giant leap (both physically and mentally) from one place to another. So too should it be for us! It is our tradition to come together -- to gather in community -- for Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, so that we can do the important spiritual work of the season in good company, with all the support we need in place.
As we head into this final Shabbat before the New Year, I hope we can each take some time to reflect, to synthesize and to prepare. It feels like there is more work to do than ever, if we are to ground ourselves against the backdrop of a world that is so in flux. And yet, the Torah portions of Nitzavim and Vayeilech come at just the right time to offer us the support and scaffolding we need to do this work: to stand firm and to move, to gain perspective on our lives, to feel encouraged through transition, and to join together in community.
I look forward to seeing many of you next week as we celebrate Rosh Hashanah together. May our work of the season pave the way for the renewal and change that we and the world so desperately need!
Shabbat Shalom,
Rabbi Rachel Nussbaum
