Ziv: Parashat Nitzavim 2


Each week, Gad Barnea or Sister Agnès de la Croix (from the Community of the Beatitudes) proposes a reflection on the portion of the Pentateuch that is read in the synagogue (parashat hashavua). This week the portion is from Deuteronomy 29:9 - 30:20 with the haftarah (additional reading) from Isaiah 61:10 - 63:9. They call their reflection “ziv” – a ray of light.

ziv roshhashana

My soul thirsts for God, for the living God

As we reach the end of the Pentateuch, the end of the Torah and the end of the Law, Moses makes us - and the children of Israel - face eternity. The parasha begins with the words “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 Israel, your little ones, your wives, and the sojourner who is in your camp, from the one who chops your wood to the one who draws your water, so that you may enter into the sworn covenant of the Lord your God, which the Lord your God is making with you today” (Deuteronomy 29:10–12). This covenant is eternal and all encompassing - its “today” is an eternal day since its audience is those standing in the plains of Moab on that day, “with whoever is standing here with us today before the Lord our God, and with whoever is not here with us today” (Deuteronomy 29:14–15). It is a covenant struck with every human being that has ever existed and will ever exist - those standing on that day in the plains of Moab - and those who have ever had, or will ever have, the breath of life. Among those standing to enter the covenant - on that day, and at any time in history - a very special emphasis is given to the sojourner. Only the sojourner is described fully, as being “from the one who chops your wood to the one who draws your water” - every nation under the sun that stands within the camp of Israel enters into this eternal covenant - and must therefore renounce idolatry. Idolatry, Moses warns us, in insidious. It is especially treacherous to anyone standing in this covenant, to the “one who, when he hears the words of this sworn covenant, blesses himself in his heart, saying, ‘I shall be safe, though I walk in the stubbornness of my heart.’ (Deuteronomy 29:19a-b). At this point Moses reveals to us the subtle reason for the idolatry of the believer who falls away - in our translation - “to put an end to thirst by satiation” (Deuteronomy 29:19c). The life of a believer - of all those who enter the eternal covenant of God is one of constant thirst. As David exclaims for example in Psalm 42:2 “my soul thirsts for God, for the living God”! It is a life of constant striving to God that can make us weary, tired of thirst and looking for easier solutions. For this reason, when the law comes to an end, Moses reminds us to cling to the faith that is within us: “For this commandment that I command you today is not too hard for you, neither is it far off. It is not in heaven, that you should say, ‘Who will ascend to heaven for us and bring it to us, that we may hear it and do it?’ Neither is it beyond the sea, that you should say, ‘Who will go over the sea for us and bring it to us, that we may hear it and do it?’ But the word is very near you. It is in your mouth and in your heart, so that you can do it.” (Deuteronomy 30:11–14). Indeed as the law ends and the eternal covenant is announced, Jews and Gentiles alike, standing in the camp before God are to walk in the ultimate closeness to God that comes from faith. Shabbat Shalom.

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