Nitzavim
Deuteronomy 29:9 – 30:20

By Torah Blogger Jen Smith

On the surface, this might sound like some kind of covenantal renewal ceremony. But our ancient rabbis and mystics saw something much deeper. The Midrash Tanchuma teaches that the Torah emphasize “all of [us]” from leaders to laborers because our covenant with God can only exist when every Jew is included. Each part of the community is critical to our spiritual “ecosystem”: The leaders bring wisdom, laborers bring strength, children bring hope for the future, and strangers bring (and test our own) humility. Each role is indispensable.

One of my college professors explained it like this: many years ago, scientists thought that each tree, each flower, and each insect was ceaselessly fighting for its individual survival. Not until the very recent modern era did biologists learn that this model was, well, wrong. Instead, the life of each organism in the rainforest is connected to the survival of all the others; when the health of one tree (or one bug) is jeopardized, the consequences resonate throughout the entire forest. So too does Torah teach that everything – and everyone – is connected: no limb or organ is holier than another, and the body cannot function properly unless each part is healthy.

The Sifrei[2] adds that Moses gathered the Israelites on the day of his death to reassure them that while he wouldn’t be there with them, the covenant between God and the people would always be there, standing right beside them. Our connection to God is not dependent on charismatic leadership; the community itself is responsible for carrying this covenant and connection.

The Zohar reads Nitzavim (standing) as more than mere physical posture; it means to stand firmly, rooted in one’s own soul and its connection to the divine. In kabbalistic thought, the soul has many layers: the outer layers are colored by our moods, habits, and struggles. But at the innermost point lies the yehidah, the pure essence, inextricably connected to God. When we stand before God, we not only physically stand with our bodies, but we also stand to reveal our soul’s innermost truth.

Rabbi Levi Yitzchak of Berditchev [3] taught that when we enter the Days of Awe, God does not look at us as individuals weighed down by misdeeds and regret. Instead, God looks upon us nitzavim kulchem – a community of souls standing together; where one individual’s shortcoming is balanced by the merits and mitzvot of the rest of the group, tilting the divine scale toward mercy.

Later in the portion we read that famous declaration: It is not in the heavens, that you should say: who among us can go up to heaven and get it for us… no, it is very near to you, in your mouth and in your heart, to do it. (Deut. 30:12,14)

The Talmud famously uses this verse in the story of the debate in Oven of Achnai[4]. When Rabbi Eliezer summons miracles to prove his argument (which is about clay, though it applies to every argument about Jewish law/practice), Rabbi Yehoshua responds: Lo bashamayim hi – [the Torah] is not in heaven!

Indeed, Torah is not in heaven; the words, interpretation, debate, and application belong to human beings. Torah is a living covenant, and our role is to engage with it in real time, using our own voices. We should not believe that connecting deeply with God requires mystical journeys to the heavens. It is as simple and profound as the words that come from our own mouths. Every blessing before a meal, every kind word spoken, every pursuit of justice, and every prayer whispered draws divine holiness ever closer.

I like to think about it this way: Nitzavim reminds us to stop adding layers of complexity to spirituality. You don’t need a PhD in theology, and you do not need to scale a mountain to find God. We can simply open our mouths to say a blessing, open our hearts to forgive, and open our hands to help. It is in these simple gestures of human compassion that we can find diving blessing.

On Shabbat Tshuvah, the Shabbat of Return, Nitzavim calls us to stand together. Not as leaders and not as sages, but as a community, knowing each role is honored and each soul is exalted. Our ancient divine covenant is not in heaven, nor is it bound to our ancestors alone. It is in our mouths, in our hearts, and in our choices…right here and right now. Shabbat Shalom!

[2] Meaning the midrashim on Numbers and Deuteronomy

[3] (1749-1809) the Berdichever Rebbe was the disciple of the Baal Shem Tov’s successor, the Maggid of Mezritch

[4] Bava Metzia 59b, the argument over the use of clay and the argument between Rabbi Eliezer and Rabbi Yehoshua