2014-2015 CYCLE
P206 Parash 51 Nitzavim (Standing) D’varim/Deuteronomy 29:9 – 30:20
Synopsis – The Parshah of Nitzavim includes some of the most fundamental
principles of those who would be called by His name, set apart as Kadosh (Holy):
The unity of Israel: "You stand today, all of you, before the Lord your God:
your heads, your tribes, your elders, your officers, and every Israelite man;
your young ones, your wives, the Goyim in your gate; from your wood hewer to
your water drawer."
The future redemption: Moshe warns of the exile and desolation of the Land that
will result if Israel abandons God's WAY (laws), but then he prophesies that, in
the end, "You will return to the Lord your God... If your outcasts shall be at
the ends of the heavens, from there will the Lord your God gather you... and
bring you into the Land which your fathers have possessed."
The practicality of Torah: "For the Mitzvah which I command you this day, it is
not beyond you nor is it remote from you. It is not in heaven... It is not
across the sea.... Rather, it is very close to you, in your mouth, in your
heart, that you may do it."
Freedom of choice: "I have set before you life and goodness, and death and evil;
in that I command you this day to love God, to walk in His ways and to keep His
commandments (Your commitment to Him)... Life and death I have set before you,
blessing and curse. And you shall choose life."
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