Illustration Credit: Noa Kelner
Commentary פַּרְשָׁנוּת
At the beginning of Parashat Nitzavim Moshe explains that God is entering into a full בְּרִית (brit, covenant) with Benei Yisrael.
לְמַעַן הָקִים אֹתְךָ הַיּוֹם לוֹ לְעָם וְהוּא יִהְיֶה לְּךָ לֵאלֹהִים כַּאֲשֶׁר דִּבֶּר לָךְ וְכַאֲשֶׁר נִשְׁבַּע לַאֲבֹתֶיךָ לְאַבְרָהָם לְיִצְחָק וּלְיַעֲקֹב׃
In order to set you up today for God as a people, and God will be your Lord, just as God spoke to you and swore to your ancestors—to Avraham, to Yitzhak, and to Yaakov.
Rashi explains that Moshe is saying something about the special relationship between the Jewish people and God:
לְפִי שֶׁדִּבֵּר לְךָ וְנִשְׁבַּע לַאֲבוֹתֶיךָ שֶׁלֹּא לְהַחֲלִיף אֶת זַרְעָם בְּאֻמָּה אַחֶרֶת, לְכָךְ הוּא אוֹסֵר אֶתְכֶם בַּשְּׁבוּעוֹת הַלָּלוּ שֶׁלֹּא תַקְנִיטוּהוּ, אַחַר שֶׁהוּא אֵינוֹ יָכוֹל לְהִבָּדֵל מִכֶּם.
God spoke to you and swore to your ancestors that God wouldn’t exchange their descendants with a different nation. Therefore, God binds upon you all these promises so that you do not anger God, since God is not able to separate from you.
Rashi explains that God is SO committed to us that God can never leave us, no matter how frustrating or disappointing we might be. We should follow the Torah because God loves us, and we should show our appreciation. But even if we fall short, God will never abandon us or separate from us.
Rashi says something similar in Parashat Vayeilekh:
לֹא יִתֵּן לְךָ רִפְיוֹן לִהְיוֹת נֶעֱזָב מִמֶּנּוּ:
God will never let you go; you’ll never be abandoned by God.
- How does it feel to think of God as never separating from you and never letting go of you?
- Does this surprise you? What does this teach us about God? What does this teach us about the Jewish people?
- Why is this an important idea to learn about as the Torah is coming to an end?
- Try it out! The next time you feel sad or alone, try thinking about the idea that God cannot separate from you or let go of you. What is that like?
-------------------
