8.29.2013






Sat, 31 August 2013 
כ״ה בְּאֱלוּל תשע״ג
 Sat. 25th of Elul, 5773










“For this commandment . . . is not in heaven,
 that you should say: ‘Who shall go up for us

 to heaven, and bring it 
to us . . . ?’(Deuteronomy 30:11–12.)




The commandments to destroy the seven Canaanite 
nations are perhaps best understood as a later
 generation's struggle with idolatry.

Regarding the inhabitants of that land, Moses says that
 God is going to "wipe out those nations from your path
 and you shall dispossess them" (Deuteronomy 31:3).


Kind of makes you squirm, doesn't it? Deuteronomy is
 loaded with similar passages that most of us find
 irreconcilable with the Torah's more inspiring 
commandments. According to Deuteronomy, the 
Israelites were to "proscribe" the seven Canaanite
 nations (20:17), "doom them to destruction, grant them
 no terms, and give them no quarter" (7:2), as well as 
"tear down their altars, smash their pillars...and consign
 their images to the fire." (7:5) MORE>





Moses describes the Covenant between God and the
 Israelites, urging the Israelites to uphold the Covenant
 and honor the Torah so that they may be rewarded with
 life in the land of Israel.


“For this commandment . . . is not . . . beyond the sea,
 that you should say: ‘Who shall go over the sea
 for us, and bring it to us . . . ?’” (Deuteronomy 30:11–13.)





Moses concludes his speech to the Israelites, blesses 
Joshua, and instructs the community to gather every 
seven years to read publicly from the Torah; God 
predicts the eventual straying of the Israelites.


File:Israel Enters the Promised Land.jpg
The Ark Crosses the Jordan River (illustration from a
 Bible card published circa 1896–1913 by the Providence
 Lithograph Company)


*********************

HARAV * KOOK'S * 

 * TORAH * INSTITUTE



PARASHAT   * NITZAVIM *

More Commentaries From 

Different Sectors Of Judaism



 from Torah Topics for Today

from Hillel

 from Kolel

from AJWS

 from Orthodox Union 

 from Jewish Outreach Institute

********************




Isaiah offers a hopeful 
anticipation of redemption.
The haftarah selection comes from Isaiah 61:10-63:9.

File:Book of Ezekiel Chapter 1-1 (Bible Illustrations by Sweet Media).jpg
The text contains a palpable sense of anticipation, and Isaiah's tone is both excited and hopeful.

Isaiah begins by reminding the people that salvation is near, and that all of the nations will see it. He invokes imagery of weddings to symbolize triumph, and seedlings to symbolize growth. The nasty names that Israel has been called in the past--"Forsaken," "Desolate"--will be replaced by terms of affection.

Isaiah describes God’s commitment to the city of Jerusalem: "For the sake of Zion I will not be silent, for the sake of Jerusalem I will not be still" (62:1). He details the ways that God will strengthen Jerusalem by appointing watchmen to guard the city day and night.

Then Isaiah describes God as a warrior who has returned victorious from battle, but is covered in the blood of his enemies. The prophet reminds the people that when God needed to be defended there was no one to come to His aid, because the people had abandoned Him. Still, God defeated His enemies, even without His people at His side.

At the end of the haftarah, Isaiah reassures the people that God will always come to their rescue: "In His love and pity He Himself redeemed them, raised them and exalted them all the days of old" (63:9).

Though the haftarah doesn't contain an explicit connection to the Torah portion, it does point towards a future redemption. As we prepare for Rosh Hashanah,



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