Parashat Nitzavim - Vayelech

'Atem nitzavim' - 'You are standing today before the Lord your G'd'. The opening words of this week's parsha may have been referring to all the people standing in front of Moses on the day of his death, when he assembled young and old, rich and poor, male and female, learned and ignorant before him for his final discourse. It is also reasonable to suggest that these words relate to us today. Wherever and whoever we are, we stand before G'd. The meaning of the phrase is clear: we are accountable for our own actions.

The parsha contains the wonderful verse, 'The secret things belong to the Lord our G'd, but the things that are revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may do the words of the law'. For generations, the Jewish people have interpreted this verse as meaning that we have a responsibility to apply wisdom and justice and the best of our human endeavours on those matters which are within our control.

There will always be matters that we cannot understand and thus cannot control. However, we have enough human ability to make just decisions and proper judgments, based on law. We cannot prosecute the Tsunami for its indifference to human suffering but we can and must administer justice to humans who have such disregard for human life. Those matters which are outside our scope of understanding or outside the jurisdiction of human law, the Torah proclaims, will be properly adjudicated in the Divine rea 

Nitzavim 5768/2008

Once, the entire Jewish nation, from young to old, from wood-chopper to scholar to craftsperson, stood in front of Mt Sinai, in the Divine presence, and entered into a Covenant. The sound of the shofar was heard, overpowering and awe-inspiring. Next week, we will gather again, in our dispersion around the world, regardless of social status, profession or age, in communities, and we will blow the shofar in renewal of that covenantal relationship.
This week, in parshat Nitzavim, Moses reminds the Jewish people, as they are about to enter the Land without him, that the promise G'd made with our forefathers and renewed at Sinai is eternal.
We are told that our future is not in Heaven and not across the sea; it is with us, in our hearts and mouths, and within our capacity to control. This is an empowering message. When we sound the shofar, we symbolise the fact that we are ready and willing to do G'd's work on earth - to create a just society and to take responsibility for the welfare of the environment in which society can prosper