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Parsha Nitzavim begins; “Atem Nitzavim HaYom…Today you are standing before Hashem, your Lord… You are thus being brought into the covenant of Hashem, your Lord, and [accepting] the dread oath that He is making with you today. He has established you as his nation, so that He will be a G’d to you…” (Devarim, Perek 29, posukim 9-12)
L’l Mode U’Lamed comments on these first few p’sukim of Nitzavim noting;
That all members of Klal Yisrael, from the greatest of leaders to the simplest woodcutter, stood together as equals before Hashem…. Thus the poor woodcutter who is devout in his ways and who raises his children as true Jews is elevated to the same level as the wealthy supporter of Jewish causes. No man should consider himself too insignificant to be a partner in the covenant between the Jews and Hashem. (L’l Mode U’Lamed on the Weekly Parsha, Parsha Nitzavim, page 183)
In the renewal of Hashem’s covenant with B’nai Yisrael, this equality reflects itself through the introduction of the concept of mutual responsibility for one another where every Jew is obligated to help others to cleave to Hashem, to observe the Torah and to restrain them from violating Halacha. Rabbi Artscroll refers to the Or HaChaim who noted “…that Hashem would not hold them responsible for the sins that had been done secretly, but that they would be liable for transgressions committed openly.”
Artscroll then states that;
This is essential to the world view of the Jew, for it explains why one may not be apathetic to the shortcomings of others and why public desecrations of the Torah are the concern of every Jew of good conscience. (Artscroll Stone Edition Chumash, Parsha Nitzavim, page 1086)
And in Torah Gems, a Maharal is brought on “Atem Nitzavim HaYom Kulchem l’fnai Hashem …” which teaches that;
Moshe assembled them before G’d on the day of his death, to enter them into the covenant (Rashi). Only … on the threshold of Eretz Yisrael were they able to enter into the covenant, because it is Eretz Yisrael which unites the Jewish people. (Torah Gems, Aharon Yaakov Greenberg, Parsha Nitzavim, page 297)
It would seem that this concept of collective responsibility for each other is not restricted to the Asseret HaDiv’rot, refraining from loshen hora or pointing out to our fellow Yid the position of his Tefillin Shel Rosh when need be. It would seem that this concept of collective responsibility extends to such Halachot as Pidyan Sh’vu’im — redeeming our Jewish brethren held captive; be it by their home nation, by a foreign nation or by an enemy nation.
And collective responsibility also extends to asserting our inalienable, divinely-given legacy — our right and inheritance, Eretz Yisrael.
The non-action, political cheshbonot and equivocation of successive Israeli governments has resulted in Jonathan Pollard’s continued incarceration in prison in the US for the “crime” of having a Yiddishe Neshama and for having acted to save 10s of thousands, perhaps hundreds of thousands or millions of Jewish Lives.
Our failure to assert the mitzvah of Pidyan Sh’vu’im with regard to the kidnapped soldiers, the MIAs and Jonathan Pollard and tendency of the government of Israel and many Israelis toward equivocation and relinquishment regarding our Divine legacy of and inalienable right to Eretz Yisrael both seem to meet the Or HaChaim’s criteria of liability “for transgressions committed openly.” For these transgressions have been done openly, obviously, before the entire gentile world, thus creating a Chillul Hashem, an embarrassment, a blot Chas V’Challiya on the nation which Hashem took as his own.
As the Yom HaDin approaches, may we, the B’nai Yisrael be zocha that our brethren — the refugee families from Gush Katif be permanently settled and be made totally whole, that our dear brother Jonathan Pollard and the 3 captive Chayalim and the other MIAs be liberated and returned to us and that we fulfill Hashem’s blueprint of B’nai Yisrael as a Unique people — an Am Segula, not to be reckoned with as with “the nations” and may we be zocha the Moshiach, the Ge’ula Shlaima, as Dov Shurin sings; “Yom Hashem V’Kol HaGoyim”, the Ultimate Redemption, bim hay v’yameinu — speedily, in our time”, — Achshav, Chik Chuk, Miyad, Etmol!!!
Good Shabbos! L’Shana Tova!
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Moshe Burt is an Oleh, writer and commentator on news and events in Eretz Yisrael. He is the founder and director of The Sefer Torah Recycling Network.