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September 22, 2000/22 Elul 5760, Vol. 52, No.55
If we reach out, God will reach back
Torah Study
RABBI SHLOMO RISKIN
Nitzavim/Vayeilech, Deuteronomy 29:9-31:30
"It's my nature to be jealous; it's part of my makeup to become angry and shout invectives; no matter what I do, I'll never be able to go on a diet and keep the weight off."
How often do we hear such statements from others, and even from ourselves.
But Judaism, especially during this Elul period of Repentance leading up to Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur with their message of freedom of choice and ability to change, seems to be imparting a very different expectation of human nature.
My rebbe and mentor, Rav Yosef Soloveitchik, suggests a fascinating interpretation of the following verse in this week's Torah portion: "I have put before you life and death, blessing and curse. Choose life - if you and your offspring would live." (Deuteronomy 30:19)
We have already received, argues the Rav, the charge to choose commandment and blessing rather than transgression and curse. Some 20 chapters earlier, the Torah declared: "See, this day I set before you blessing and curse: blessing, if you obey the commandments of the Lord you God ... and curse, if you do not obey the commandments." (Deuteronomy 11:26-28)
Why does God present us with this choice again in the portion Nitzavim?
The Rav suggests that there are in actuality two separate experiences of choice: one is the ability of the individual to choose the correct path before he has sinned, and this is the interpretation of the first passage; the other is the ability of the individual to accomplish that which is almost impossible, to go against his basic nature and choose the correct path even after he has succumbed and has already sinned - and this is the interpretation of the second passage in Nitzavim.
I would however go one step further in order to take into account the human difficulty in overcoming one's weakness. Indeed, our Torah portion in Nitzavim still presents the choice after he has already transgressed, "thinking I shall be safe, though I follow my own willful heart." (Deuteronomy 29:18)
But our Torah portion also adds one more dimension to the choice, which does not appear previously. While the individual is expected to begin the process of repentance, God - as if aware of the difficulty of changing one's nature - will step in and complete the process on behalf of the penitent.
The next reads, "Then the Lord your God will open up your heart and the hearts of your offspring to love the Lord your God with all your heart and soul, in order that you may live." (Deuteronomy 30:6)
From the perspective of the Sacred Zohar, the mystical interpretation of the Bible, this is precisely the higher meaning - and the difference between Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur.
Rosh Hashana falls on the first day of the month of Tishrei, when the moon - symbol of God's light and grace - is hidden and barely visible; the individual approaches the synagogue aware, when the moon is evolving and is glowing brightly in order to imbue the darkened skies with light and hope; the individual is then ecstatically reborn, transformed and purified by the grace of divine love and forgiveness.
With this understanding, we can appreciate anew the enormous power of the Day of Forgiveness, the one time during the year when the Almighty grants us not only forgiveness, but also the renewed inner strength to overcome our inborn weaknesses and foibles.
An individual once came to a rebbe, bitterly complaining that he beat his breast each Yom Kippur for a litany of transgressions, only to continue to repeat the same sins all over again once the new year got underway. The rebbe smiled sympathetically and walked the petitioner over to a window.
"Do you see the baby playing in the yard? He is my grandson, just learning to walk; he continually attempts to get up only to fall on his face.
"Eventually, however, he will stand by himself. And if he will only cry out to his father, and turn to him for a helping hand, he can shorten the process considerably."
Rabbi Shlomo Riskin is the spiritual leader of Efrat, Israel.
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