Nitzavim: The renewal of the covenant and the future redemption.

Moses gathers the entire Israelite nation to renew their covenant with God. What makes this renewal so interesting is it’s not just about the Israelites of today, but also for those of the future. So, the future generations of the Jewish people will also be bound by this covenant.

Moses issues stark warnings

Moses doesn’t mince words when it comes to his warnings after affirming the covenant. He goes into great detail about the consequences of betraying it. He talks about the desolation that will fall upon the people who stray from God and worship idols. The description is so terrifying that people immediately understand their fate if they would pursue such actions.

The Torah must be accessible

Moses is explicit when he says that people must have access to the Torah. What he is saying is that all people must have access to religious texts so they can study them. It’s not only the priests who should have access to the Holy Words but all people, even commoners.

Repentance and future redemption

Nitzavim is always read on the Shabbat before Rosh Hashanah it’s a nice reminder of the High Holiday season. The return of God’s people is a nice way of bringing attention to repentance. It’s one of those things they do during this time of year that helps people reflect on their actions and seek forgiveness.

While it is true that most of this focuses on current redemption, Moses does mention future redemption. He says that people from all corners of the earth will come back to God and return to Israel. Many people believe this is why people are now returning to Israel, turning his words into actual prophecy.

The idea is that during this time, people will have a new spiritual awakening. They’ll become closer to God and want to return to Israel. It makes sense if you look at it in the current context of things and you uniquely believe that these are those times.

Many people believe that the future redemption spoken by Moses is currently happening now. While there is great debate if it’s happening right this second, there is no debate that it will happen someday. If it’s today or a thousand years from now, that’s all up for questioning. What isn’t up for questioning is that the people will seek future redemption and return to Israel.

What do we learn from all of this?

The most important thing to learn is that all people need access to the Torah. They need access to the Torah so they are fully aware of what happens when they disobey God. Also, people need to be aware if they obey God, what are the blessings in store for them. None of this can be fully understood if they don’t have access to the Torah.

The repentance and redemption can be seen as the natural cycle of a person’s religious life. No person is perfect, and they will have times when they stumble, but the most important thing is to repent and seek redemption from God.

Wishing you a blessed and sacred day!

See you in the upcoming post,

Tohar Liani