This year the Torah portion of Nitzavim-Vayeilech is split over two weeks; Nitzavim is read on the Shabbos before Rosh Hashanah and Vayeilech is read on the Shabbos after Rosh Hashanah. (Nitzavim-Vayeilech is actually one Torah portion that is sometimes split into two, unlike some other Torah portions that are actually two portions that are sometimes combined into one.) Nitzavim means “standing” and Vayeilech means “and he went” – going. Nitzavim-standing represents the essential greatness of every Jew, even before we do any work. Every Jew deserves and receives the greatest delicacies and wealth from G-d just because we are Jewish. If we are so special even before our work, imagine how much we accomplish with our work of Torah and Mitzvos! Our work is represented by Vayeilech-going. The splitting of Nitzavim-Vayeilech emphasizes our essential greatness on its own (Nitzavim-standing as a Torah portion on its own), which in turn shows how much we accomplish with our work (Vayeilech-going).
(See talks of the Lubavitcher Rebbe King Moshiach Shlita, Nitzavim-Vayeilech 5751-2 (1991))
