PATRIOT DAY: 9-11-20 TORAH PORTION FOR THIS SHABBAT 23 ELUL 5780; 6 PM TORAH STUDY; 7:30 PM SHAZOOM
KETIVAH V’CHATIMAH TOVAH
MEDITATION
From PSALM 27 (Robert Alter translation)
- Hear, O [Eternal One], my voice when I call,
and grant me grace and answer me.
- Of You, my heart said:
“Seek My face.”
Your face, [Eternal One], I do seek.
ְPARSHA
From ReformJudaism.org https://reformjudaism.org/torah/portion/nitzavim-vayeilech
Nitzavim (נִצָּבִים — Hebrew for “ones standing”/You Stand {this day}) and Vayëlech (וַיֵּלֶךְ — Hebrew for “then he {Moses} went out”) Deuteronomy 29:9-31:30
[According to the triennial cycle, Deut. 29:9-30:14 is read in 2020.]
SUMMARY:
- Moses tells the assembled people that God’s covenant speaks to them and to all of the generations who will follow. (29:9–14)
- God warns the Israelites that they will be punished if they act idolatrously, the way the inhabitants of the other nations do. (29:15–28)
- Moses reassures the people that God will not forsake them and that they can attain blessings by following God’s commandments. (30:1–20)
- Moses prepares the people for his death and announces that Joshua will succeed him. (31:1–8)
- Moses instructs the priests and the elders regarding the importance of reading the Torah. (31:9–13)
- God informs Moses that upon his death, the people will commit idolatry and “many evils and troubles shall befall them.” God tells Moses to teach the people a poem that will “be My witness.” (31:14–30)
Isaiah 61:10-63:9 concludes the cycle of seven haftarot of consolation after Tisha B’Av, leading up to Rosh Hashanah and the Yamim Nora’im (Days of Awe). It features God’s salvation, redemption, mercies and compassion. This year Rosh Hashanah begins on the evening of Friday, September 18, 2020 – in one week!
STRUGGLING WITH TORAH
Nitzavim (you stand) and Vayëlech (went out) [or is it Vayëchal (finished)?]
The thoughts on these portions compiled below are taken almost verbatim from more extensive articles about these Parashot and Deuteronomy found in Wikipedia.
From Wikipedia.org
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nitzavim
In the parashah {Nitzavim, Deut. 29:9-30:20}, Moses told the Israelites that all the people stood before God to enter into the covenant, violation of which would bring on curses, but if they returned to God and heeded God’s commandments, then God would take them back in love and bring them together again from the ends of the world. Moses taught that this Instruction was not beyond reach, and Moses put before the Israelites life and death, blessing and curse, and exhorted them to choose life by loving God and heeding the commandments.
{According to the “literary” outline of Deuteronomy by Canadian scholar John Van Seters, who is currently University Distinguished Professor Emeritus at the University of North Carolina}, Chapters 29–30: {are Moses’ concluding} discourse on the covenant in the land of Moab, including all the laws in the Deuteronomic code (chapters 12–26) after those given at Horeb; Israel is again exhorted to obedience.
Professor Robert Alter of the University of California, Berkeley, read the words of Deuteronomy 29:14, “but with him who is here standing with us this day … and with him who is not here with us this day,” to state an idea paramount for Deuteronomy’s theological-historical project — that the covenant was to be a timeless model to be reenacted by all future generations {similar to R. Dena Freundlich’s interpretation}.
Noting numerous connotations of the word “Torah” (תּוֹרָה) in the Pentateuch, Professor Ephraim Speiser of the University of Pennsylvania in the {mid-20th} century wrote that the word is based on a verbal stem signifying “to teach, guide,” and the like. Speiser argued that in Deuteronomy 29:20, the derived noun refers to specified sanctions in a covenant, and in Deuteronomy 30:10, it refers to general instructions and provisions, and in context it cannot be mistaken for the title of the Pentateuch as a whole.
The Mishnah Berurah {written by Israel Meir Kagan} noted that the first Hebrew letters of the words of Deuteronomy 30:6, אֶת-לְבָבְךָ, וְאֶת-לְבַב, et-levavecha, v’et-levav, “[the Lord your God will circumcise] your heart, and the heart [of your seed, to love the Lord your God with all your heart],” spell out אֱלוּל, Elul, the name of the month that includes Rosh Hashannah and Yom Kippur. The Mishnah Berurah cited this as Scriptural support for the practice of rising early to say prayers for forgiveness (סליחות, Selichot) from the first day of the month of Elul until Yom Kippur.
Alter saw in Deuteronomy 30:15, “life and good and death and evil” an echo of “the tree of knowledge good and evil” in Genesis 2:17. Alter taught that the point is that good, which may lead to prosperity, is associated with life, just as evil, which may lead to adversity, is associated with death. Alter wrote that the Deuteronomic assumptions about historical causation may seem problematic or even untenable, but the powerful notion of the urgency of moral choice continues to resonate.
Professor James Kugel of Bar Ilan University {near Tel Aviv} wrote that the words of Deuteronomy 30:15–20 resounded in the ears of generations of Jews and Christians. Kugel taught that in a sense, all Jewish and Christian devotion — religious services, prayers, the study of Scripture, and dozens of other acts intended to carry out God’s will — find at least part of their origin and inspiration in these words.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vayelech
In the parashah {Vayëlech, Deut. 31:1-30}, Moses told the Israelites to be strong and courageous, as God and Joshua would soon lead them into the Promised Land. Moses commanded the Israelites to read the law to all the people every seven years. God told Moses that his death was approaching, that the people would break the covenant, and that God would thus hide God’s face from them, so Moses should therefore write a song to serve as a witness for God against them.
Some scholars who follow the Documentary Hypothesis find evidence of three separate sources in the parashah. Thus some scholars consider God’s charges to Moses in Deuteronomy 31:14–15 and to Joshua in Deuteronomy 31:23 to have been composed by the Elohist (sometimes abbreviated E) who wrote in the north, in the land of the Tribe of Ephraim, possibly as early as the second half of the 9th century BCE. Some scholars attribute to the first Deuteronomistic historian (sometimes abbreviated Dtr 1) two sections, Deuteronomy 31:1–13 and 24–27, which both refer to a written instruction, which these scholars identify with the scroll found in 2 Kings 22:8–13. And then these scholars attribute the balance of the parashah, Deuteronomy 31:16–22 and 28–30, to the second Deuteronomistic historian (sometimes abbreviated Dtr 2) who inserted the Song of Moses (Deuteronomy 32:1–43) as an additional witness against the Israelites.
While in the Masoretic Text and the Samaritan Pentateuch, Deuteronomy 31:1 begins, “And Moses went and spoke,” in a Qumran scroll (1QDeut), some Masoretic manuscripts, and the Septuagint, Deuteronomy 31:1 begins, “And Moses finished speaking all.” Robert Alter noted that the third-person forms of the verb “went,” wayelekh, and the verb “finished,” wayekhal, have the same consonants, and the order of the last two consonants could have been reversed in a scribal transcription. Alter argued that the Qumran version makes Deuteronomy 31:1 a proper introduction to Deuteronomy chapters 31–34, the epilogue of the book, as Moses had completed his discourses, and the epilogue thereafter concerns itself with topics of closure.
In the Masoretic Text and the Samaritan Pentateuch, Deuteronomy 31:9 reports that Moses simply wrote down the Law, not specifying whether inscribed on tablets, clay, or papyrus. But a Qumran scroll (4QDeut) and the Septuagint state that Moses wrote the Law “in a book.” Martin Abegg Jr., Peter Flint, and Eugene Ulrich suggested that the verse may have reflected a growing emphasis on books of the Law after the Jews returned from the Babylonian exile.
REFLECTION
Gratitude – during the third and final guided meditation during Elul led by a member of Temple Sinai in Oakland, the guide pointed out that Jews are called the people of thankfulness. The Hebrew name for Judah, Yehudah (יהודה), literally “thanksgiving” or “praise,” is the noun form of the root Y-D-H (ידה), “to thank” or “to praise.”
It is important to give thanks for all that we are and have, especially our talents and abilities, and to take stock of ourselves as we are about to celebrate S’lichot. On the Saturday evening before Rosh Hashanah, Reform congregations hold a special S’lichot program about the themes of repentance and forgiveness, followed by a Service which is much like what we find on Yom Kippur. Before the Service, the Torah covers are ritually changed to white ones specifically designed for the High Holy Days.
HIGH HOLY DAYS
As previously explained, Temple Kol Hamidbar has decided this year to forego providing either in person or online Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur Services.
As announced, we will have a Shazoom Service for Shabbat Shuvah on Friday, September 25, 2020, and a special Zoom gathering after Yom Kippur to Break-the-Fast at 6 PM on Monday, September 28, 2020. The Break-the-Fast online event will include sounding a Shofar recently donated in memory of Samuel Klein, a Havdalah service, and a chance to schmooze and nosh virtually with members of our community.
To help make the High Holy Days as meaningful as possible, the Union for Reform Judaism and various congregations within the Reform Movement are providing free online services and resources during the month of Elul and the High Holy Days to anyone interested in participating. As a result, Temple Kol Hamidbar is providing the following websites for individuals to access. You may need to visit their websites more than once for their latest information.
Temple Emanu-El in Tucson, AZ https://www.tetucson.org/
Temple Sinai in Oakland, CA https://www.oaklandsinai.org/
The Union for Reform Judaism https://urj.org/
PRAYERS
We recite MI SHEBËRACH for the victims of brutality, abuse, fear, natural disasters, pandemics, violence, and war; for all those at home alone; for all those in need of physical, emotional, and mental healing. “R’fuah sh’lëmah” – a complete recovery!
We say KADDISH YATOM for those of our friends and families who have died and been buried this last week; those in the period of Sh’loshim (30 days since burial); those who have died in the last year; and those whose Yahrzeits/Anyos occur at this time; as well as the victims of brutality, disease, natural disasters, war and violence – especially the victims of the four coordinated September 11 attacks today on Patriot Day, the 19th anniversary of 9/11. We remember, too, those victims of the Shoah (Holocaust) who died at this time of year and have us to say “Kaddish” for them. “Zichronam liv’rachah” – May their memories be for blessing.
TORAH STUDY – 6 PM
We will meet for an hour and fifteen minutes. Using the JPS translation as the main text, we will read and discuss Deut. 29:9-30:14, the portion of Parsha Nitzavim for this year of the triennial cycle. We will then break for fifteen minutes.
SHAZOOM: ONLINE SERVICES – 7:30 PM
All are greatly encouraged to have on hand Shabbat candles, wine/grape juice for Kiddush, and Challah for Motzi for the blessings during the Service, hence making Shabbat a bit more tangible. During Elul we will continue to hear the Shofar sounded at the beginning of the Service to welcome Shabbat.
NOTE: We will NOT meet for Torah Study or Shazoom next Friday, September 18, 2020, Erev Rosh Hashanah.
Zoom continues being updated for security and performance features. Making sure you have the latest version of Zoom, please join us online this evening:
Topic: Torah Study
Time: Sep 11, 2020 06:00 PM Arizona
and/or
Shazoom – Erev Shabbat Service
Time: Sep 11, 2020 07:30 PM Arizona
To join Zoom Meeting click on the following link [you may need to copy it into your browser]:
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/72510500854?pwd=Z3VQZWF4U1BBZytNYmh3aHFTWkFDZz09
Or from Zoom go to join meeting and enter the following information:
Meeting ID: 725 1050 0854
Password: 4NrMk0
Hint: The last character of the password is the number zero.
Or you may also access Erev Shabbat Services directly through the Temple Kol Hamidbar website at https://templekol.com/
Ketivah Vechatima Tovah,
Shabbat Shalom – Buen Shabbat!
-Ruben