Parshat Nitzavim-Vayeilech: Upholding the Covenant: An Individual and Communal Responsibility

BY: MELISSA CZINN
Parshat Nitzavim starts with a renewal of the covenant between God and the people of Israel. The parsha begins with Moshe addressing the people that are standing (nitzavim) before Hashem in groups: heads of tribes, officers and men. There are many different opinions as to why the people are split into groups. One view is that even though the people are one nation, the nation is made up of individuals and each person is making an individual commitment to Hashem and the covenant. Rabbi Shubert Spero says that Moshe points out to the people that they are each responsible for their own actions and that they will have to choose the way they are going to live their lives in Israel including how they will worship God.

The parsha continues to state that the people of the nation are to establish themselves as God’s people and to recognize Him as their God. However, the people already made a covenant with Gd at Sinai in parshat Yitro. The parsha even states that a prior commitment has been made: כַּאֲשֶׁר דִּבֶּר לָךְ וְכַאֲשֶׁר נִשְׁבַּע לַאֲבֹתֶיךָ לְאַבְרָהָם לְיִצְחָק וּלְיַעֲקֹב – as he spoke to you and as he swore to your forefathers Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob (Devarim 28:12). So why did G-d want to renew the covenant? According to Rashi, Hashem wanted the new generation to accept the oath and not make Him angry by rejecting an oath that they are already obligated to follow. It appears that even though the people were already part of the original covenant, God wanted them to willingly accept the covenant on themselves. However, the parsha does end with the people having the choice to follow God’s commands. Yet, warnings are given as to what would happen to them if they did not follow what has been requested of them. Therefore the people could go against the covenant but would have to deal with the consequences of their actions.

In chapter 28,verse 14, God says that he is making the covenant not only with the people before Him but also with whoever is not with them at that time (וְאֵת אֲשֶׁר אֵינֶנּוּ פֹּה עִמָּנוּ הַיּוֹם). According to R’ Bachya this could be referring to all the unborn generations-- that even though future Jews are not present in the moment with them, the covenant will apply to them. Children are bound to the oath by their parents and therefore it is very important that the older generations teach Judaism to the younger ones in order for them to keep the covenant to God that their ancestors had made.

Nitzavim is all about people as individuals making a promise to God. Yet the covenant comes with the responsibility that each person will uphold their promise and educate future generations. It is extremely imperative for the future children of Israel to be informed of their responsibilities so that they can each individually accept the covenant upon themselves which will in turn help the whole entire nation of Israel keep their commitment to God.

Parshat Ki Tavo: Oh Joy! Bikkurim and Ma’aser

BY: YITZY DACHMAN

Parshat Ki Tavo introduces the two mitzvot of mikra bikkurim, the declaration of the first fruits and viduy ma’aser, the declaration of the tithes, against the backdrop of Parshat Ki Teitzei’s list of laws connected to the land of Israel. In his article, R. Yaacov Steinman[1] notes that as the finale of this series these two mitzvot serve as “meta-mitzvot” which celebrate our observance of all mitzvot in the land. This celebratory aspect is manifested in the declarations associated with each mitzvah. Additionally, taken together both mitzvot depict a reciprocal relationship of giving between G-d and Bnei Yisrael.

Further analysis of the contexts and declarations of mikra bikkurim and viduy ma’aser reveals their celebratory and jovial nature as fundamental to a relationship with G-d. Mikra bikkurim is an annual mitzvah when the farmer brings his first fruits to the Temple. In the bikkurim declaration, the bringer of first fruits relates the history of Bnei Yisrael’s sojourning from Yaakov’s wanderings to Bnei Yisrael entering the land. Viduy ma’aser is said in the fourth year of the shmittah count, after the three year ma’aser cycle is completed. In the declaration the individual states how he gave the tithes, ma’aser ani and ma’aser rishon, to the appropriate parties, the Levite, the convert, the orphan, and the widow. He also makes a second statement regarding ma’aser sheini that he did not misuse the tithe for forbidden purposes. For both statements the declarer asserts that he did “as he was commanded.” To cap off the declaration he issues a prayer to G-d.             

Common to both mitzvot is the giving away one’s produce as a gesture of subservience to G-d. However, the parallel extends further. The Talmud, Pesachim 36b, states the verse “And thou shalt rejoice in all the good” teaches us that the declaration of bikkurim must be stated during a time of joy, which is the time period from Shavuot to Sukkot when farmers gather their produce[2]. Similarly, Rashi comments that joy is manifested in viduy ma’aser since the command fulfilled by the individual who separated and allotted tithes was that he “rejoiced and made others rejoice[3]” - he rejoiced by eating his ma’aser sheni in Yerushalayim, and he made others rejoice by giving ma’aser rishon and ma’aser ani to the needy. Therefore, both of these declarations, one a historical narrative and the other a personal confession and prayer, must be made on the basis of “שמחה” - joy.  The root of this joy is the understanding that one has fulfilled his responsibilities; it is a joy of self-fulfillment. In a similar vein, the Maharam states that the individual who brings the first fruits is likened to one who has fulfilled all of the mitzvoth.[4] This echoes the idea that a realization of full potential is integral to the mitzvah of bikkurim, and thus serves as the background for great joy.

At this seminal moment when the Nation of Israel is about to initiate a covenant with G-d and enter the Land of Israel, they are given these mitzvot which speak of a future where G-d is encountered in times of joy. This deeply contrasts with the relationship Bnei Yisrael had with G-d throughout Egypt and the desert, when G-d answered Bnei Yisrael when he heard them in distress – “and the children of Israel sighed by reason of the bondage, and they cried, and their cry came up unto God by reason of the bondage. And God heard their groaning, and God remembered His covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob”[5] additionally Bnei Yisrael were only receivers of G-d’s bounty but not givers. In the Land of Israel, that will change. Bnei Yisrael will be givers as well and once Bnei Yisrael have reached this stage of independent action in the Land of Israel then they can truly relate to G-d out of joy, for true joy flows from a sense of accomplishment, an arrival at destiny, as the one who brings bikkurim declares: “I profess this day unto the LORD thy God, that I am come unto the land which the LORD swore unto our fathers to give us”[6].

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[1] http://www.vbm-torah.org/parsha/49kitavo.htm

[2] See Rashi Deuteronomy 26:11

[3] Rashi Deuteronomy 26:14

[4] Maharam Deuteronomoy 26:13

[5] Exodus 2:23-24, JPS Translation

[6] Deuteronomy 26:3, JPS translation