Nitzavim-Vayeilech - An Awesome Opportunity

The gateway to a brand New Year and a brand new you.

This Shabbat is the final Shabbat of the Shiva d’Nechemta, the seven weeks of consolation that began with Shabbat Nachamu, the Shabbat after Tisha B’Av. All of the Parshiot that lead up to the High Holidays include messages that are meaningful for this special holiday period to help us prepare for these critical days. But this week’s parsha has a unique connection with the High Holidays because it’s literally the entranceway to the new year: we always read Parshat Nitzavim on the Shabbat prior to Rosh Hashana. I think the key to understanding this connection is a word repeated no less than 16 times in this double-Parsha, hayom, today. In the very first verse, Moshe tells the Jewish people

אַתֶּ֨ם נִצָּבִ֤ים הַיּוֹם֙ כֻּלְּכֶ֔ם לִפְנֵ֖י יְהֹוָ֣ה אֱלֹהֵיכֶ֑ם רָאשֵׁיכֶ֣ם שִׁבְטֵיכֶ֗ם זִקְנֵיכֶם֙ וְשֹׁ֣טְרֵיכֶ֔ם כֹּ֖ל אִ֥ישׁ יִשְׂרָאֵֽל

You are all standing today before your God, your tribal heads, your elders, and your officials, every householder in Israel [Deuteronomy 29:9]

But the word hayom, today, seems a bit redundant; Moshe was speaking in the present tense, so why bother to add the word today? The commentaries offer numerous answers to this question. In one explanation provided by the Zohar, hayom refers to Rosh Hashana. So right from the Parsha’s opening verse, we can see its connection to the upcoming holiday.

Enjoying this Substack? Get a copy of The Book of Life: A Transformative Guide to the High Holidays for more of Rabbi Hirsch’s unique insights that upend common misconceptions about Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur. This guide will dramatically transform your holidays into a powerful and uplifting experience, profoundly impacting your outlook on life.

This message echoes what the Rambam teaches in Hilchot Teshuva – that Rosh Hashana is a distinct holiday with its own character, not merely a less intense version of Yom Kippur. You can’t duplicate it on Yom Kippur, or any other day, for that matter. 

That’s one reason why I always take issue with the famous Unetana Tokef prayer, which is of relatively recent origin and not really sourced in Jewish texts. The prayer states

בְּרֹאשׁ הַשָּׁנָה יִכָּתֵבוּן, וּבְיוֹם צוֹם כִּפּוּר יֵחָתֵמוּן

Our fates are written on Rosh Hashana and sealed on Yom Kippur.

Many people take a cue from u’nitaneh tokef and skip Rosh Hashana altogether, only attending shul at the very end of Yom Kippur. They figure, why come at the beginning of the High Holidays? It’s like a sporting event when you don’t care all that much about the sport, but still want to know how it turns out, you can tune in for the final moments.  However, in reality, if you make that mistake about Rosh Hashana, you would be depriving yourself of a unique opportunity you won’t find on any other day of the year. 

As the Talmud teach us, the most salient feature of Rosh Hashana is that it’s the ultimate day of din, of strict justice.  We’ve explained in the past that the harshness of this world, which is founded on din, is designed to create an environment where we can struggle, achieve, and by doing so become independent individuals.  And since Rosh Hashana is the ultimate day of din, it’s an unparalleled opportunity for self-actualization.

Rosh Hashana is a reboot of our lives. It is the one holiday where we can define our potential for the year ahead, simply by contemplating and defining what we ideally want out of life. But we can only accomplish this if we have self-confidence. And this week’s parsha, Nitzavim-Vayeilech, provides us with this very confidence. Not with a haughty kind of overconfidence, but with a deep understanding that each of us is unique and has unique abilities to accomplish things no one else will ever be able to replicate. This is why the Mishna tells us

וכל המקיים נפש אחת מישראל מעלה עליו הכתוב כאילו קיים עולם מלא

And whoever saves a single life, the Torah considers it as if he saved an entire world. [Sanhedrin 4:5]

Because the unique opportunity each of us has in this world can never be accomplished by anyone else, saving one person’s life is like saving an entire world. Only with this confidence and belief in our unique journey can we activate the potential Rosh Hashana provides for every one of us. Hayom, today, here, right now, you have a unique opportunity to be you.

As Rashi brings the midrash which explains the phrase Atem Nitzavim, you are standing, as Moshe’s inspirational message to the Jewish people. 

לְפִי שֶׁהָיוּ יִשְׂרָאֵל יוֹצְאִין מִפַּרְנָס לְפַרְנָס מִמֹּשֶׁה לִיהוֹשֻׁעַ לְפִיכָךְ עָשָׂה אוֹתָם מַצֵּבָה כְּדֵי לְזָרְזָם

Because the Jewish people were now passing from one leader to another, from Moses to Joshua, he made them stand in ranks that he might address and encourage them [Rashi, Deuteronomy 29:12]

It was Moshe’s way of saying, “You’ve been through the wringer, you’ve had more downs than ups.  But you passed the test and made it through, and the proof is that you’re still standing.” Furthermore, Moshe’s message was not meant for just that point in time. It was intended for the Jewish people throughout history, including for us today.  

כַּיּוֹם הַזֶּה שֶׁהוּא קַיָּם וְהוּא מַאֲפִיל וּמֵאִיר, כָּךְ הֵאִיר לָכֶם וְכָךְ עָתִיד לְהָאִיר לָכֶם

Like the “day” which endures forever, for though it becomes dark for a period it shines again [Midrash Tanchuma, Nitzavim 1]

No matter how privileged we are, no matter how comparatively easy life may seem, every one of us has endured much in our lives, and Boruch Hashem, just like our ancestors, those of us who are still here have made it through, and stand as proof that the Jewish people are alive and well. אַתֶּם נִצָּבִים הַיּוֹם, We are still standing today.

Nitzavim-Vayeilech is a wake-up call to be conscious of the fact that the new year is upon us, and we need not be afraid.  Instead, we should feel excited. Rosh Hashana is an incredibly unique holiday; when we can convey to God in our mind’s eye what we really want out of our ideal life and thereby receive the potential to achieve that vision in the year ahead. This is what makes the upcoming days of Yamim Noraim, the High Holidays, more than simply days of awe; they are days which are Noraim, they provide an awesome opportunity of a lifetime. 

Shabbat shalom.

Eliezer Hirsch

Enjoying this Substack? Get a copy of The Book of Life: A Transformative Guide to the High Holidays for more of Rabbi Hirsch’s unique insights that upend common misconceptions about Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur. This guide will dramatically transform your holidays into a powerful and uplifting experience, profoundly impacting your outlook on life.