Nitzavim Vayelech 5786
As we stand a week before Rosh Hashana, Parshas Nitzavim - the final parsha read annually before Rosh Hashana - speaks to us about an important, holy, and albeit, at times challenging, mitzvah.
Throughout Chapter 30 of Devarim, the Torah references the mitzvah of teshuva (repentance) over and over again.
The pasuk tells us:
וְשַׁבְתָּ עַד־ה' אֱלֹקִיךָ וְשָׁמַעְתָּ בְּקֹלוֹ כְּכֹל אֲשֶׁר־אָנֹכִי מְצַוּךָ הַיּוֹם אַתָּה וּבָנֶיךָ בְּכָל־לְבָבְךָ וּבְכָל־נַפְשֶׁךָ - And you will return to Hashem, your G-d, and you will listen to His voice, like all that I command you today, you and your children, with all your heart and with all your soul (Devarim 30:2).
Encouraging us to grab the opportunity to repent, Moshe Rabbeinu says:
כִּי הַמִּצְוָה הַזֹּאת אֲשֶׁר אָנֹכִי מְצַוּךָ הַיּוֹם לֹא־נִפְלֵאת הִוא מִמְּךָ וְלֹא וְחֹקָה הִוא - For this commandment that I command you today is not hidden from you, nor is it far away (Devarim 30:11).
The Torah then exhorts us to keep in mind that this mitzvah is not in the heavens, nor is it across the sea. We do not need to send someone on an extraordinary journey - whether to space above, or to oceans below - to find it. כִּי־קָרָוֹב אֵלֶיךָ הַדָּבָר מְאֹד בְּפִיךָ וּבִלְבָבְךָ לָעֲשׂתְוֹ Rather, the matter is very close to you, in your mouth and in your heart to fulfill it (Devarim 30:14).
The Ramban explains: '... This commandment' refers specifically to teshuva... to hint at the promise that this matter is destined to happen in the future. The reason for stating this is to say that even when you are scattered to the ends of the heavens and are in the hands of the nations, you will be able to return to Hashem and do all that I command you today. For the matter is not hidden or far from you, but it is very near to you to perform it (teshuva) at any time and in any place.
“And this is the meaning of 'in your mouth and in your heart, that you may do it' - that they shall confess their sins and the sins of their fathers with their mouth, and return in their heart to Hashem, and accept the Torah upon themselves today to fulfill it for generations, just as it mentions (Deuteronomy 30:2): 'you and your children, with all your heart,' as I have explained there."
It is not for naught that Nitzavim is always read before Rosh Hashana and the Aseres Yimei Teshuva.
We must believe - and know - that teshuva is possible and is close to each of us.
We sometimes think of teshuva as something that requires us to become an entirely different person in the blink of an eye! We imagine that before we can return to Hashem, we need to fix everything, overcome every weakness, and reach the highest level of spiritual perfection.
But the Torah tells us: לֹא וְחֹקָה הִוא - it is not far away. Teshuva begins with recognizing where we are right now, today. It begins with a person saying: “Hashem, I want to be better." It begins with one decision to change, one apology, one commitment, one tefila with extra kavanah (intent), one moment of resisting the yetzer hara.
It does not require us to cross an ocean. It requires us to turn around and take a look at our own selves.
The word שׁוּב “to return,” has a gematria (numeric value) of 302. The word קָרֵב “to be close/ draw near,” also has a gematria of 302. (My thanks to my friend Esti Klein for pointing this gematria out to me.)
This teaches us that when a person returns to Torah and mitzvos, he draws near to Hashem. Teshuva is not simply about leaving our past. It is about moving upward, forward and closer to Hashem.
When we think of repentance, we may focus on what we have done wrong during the past year - the words we wish we had not said, the opportunities we missed, the moments when we could have acted differently. That reflection is important.
Aval - but - teshuva is not meant to leave us stuck in the past. The purpose of looking backward is to help us move forward.
When we choose to speak more carefully, we are closer to the Shechina. When we make time for Torah, we are closer to the Giver of Torah. When we repair a relationship, we are closer to our fellow man. When we choose patience instead of anger, humility instead of pride, or kindness instead of indifference, we are closer to our own neshamos.
Perhaps this is why the Torah emphasizes that teshuva is בְּפִיךָ וּבִלְבָבְךָ לַעֲשׂתו - “in your mouth and in your heart, to do it.” It begins with what we say, what we feel, and ultimately, how we act and what we do.
The distance between who I am today and who I want to be may feel enormous, but the first step is always within reach.
As we prepare to enter 5787, may we take the age-old words of Moshe Rabbeinu to heart.
May we recognize the courage within ourselves to take that first step, as we return to Hashem, draw closer to Him, and become the people we are capable of becoming.
May all of Am Yisrael be blessed with a year of bracha, refuah, simcha, shalom, and revealed tova.
בברכת בשורות טובות ושנה טובה ומתוקה
