Nitzavim | Return and Restoration

Introduction

As the year, with its triumphs and unspeakable tragedies, draws to its close, our attention once again turns to the concluding sections of the Torah.  But with the hindsight afforded by the readings of the entire year, we are now in a better position to discern a broad pattern in time that underlies them all.  Based upon a remarkable understanding of the fundamental cycles that govern human existence and that drive human history, Jewish tradition formulated a particularly meaningful division of the Torah's sections into Books of weekly parashiyot, especially for those communities that share the same hemisphere as the Land of Israel. 

With the dying rays of Summer sinking faster and faster in the western sky, the promise of Fall, with its fructifying and cleansing rains, ushers in the Book of Bereishit, the story of Creation and of man's inherent potential.  Those rains, however, soon give way to the cold and dreary Winter.  Its icy winds rob the vegetation of its vitality and vigor, and in their wake, herald the story of the enslavement and oppression in Egypt.  That momentous struggle culminates with the Exodus and the march to Sinai, as the first beams of Spring's healing sunlight begin to warm the black earth.  The full blossom of that season's hope occurs during the reading of Sefer Vayikra, a Book laden with the multitude of commandments and observances, ritual as well as ethical, that are its lifeblood.  Spring meshes seamlessly with Summer's inexorable approach and arrival.  This season of auric fields full of bountiful and hard-earned harvest, the aim and objective of the entire agricultural sequence, is paralleled by the reading of Bemidbar, the account of the journey towards the land. 

As Summer's golden glow begins its poignant retreat, and the cool winds of Fall rustle ominously through the treetops, our attentions once again turn to the faded dreams that have inescapably drifted beyond our reach, and to the eventual mortality that awaits us all.  The Book of Devarim, auspicious but stern, hopeful but uncompromisingly harsh, locks us in its unsettling embrace of sublime reward and dire punishment, and by its conclusion we are stricken breathless.  As the Book draws to its close while human history continues to relentlessly unfold, its recurring predictions of 'Blessings' and 'Curses' stand revealed for all to see as the inevitable convergence of God's unfathomable plan and man's only too discernible choice.  We reel and stagger from Moshe's dreadful warnings of 'smoking anger,' 'fire and brimstone,' and 'burning rage.'  We grasp for a tatter of comfort, a shred of hope by which to be plucked from among the smoldering ruins, and we are not disappointed.

The Passage of 'Return'

"When all of these things concerning you shall come to pass, the Blessing and the Curse that I have placed before you, then you shall take matters ('vahaSheVota') to heart among all of the nations into which God your Lord has driven you.  You shall return ('veShaVta') to God and hearken to His voice, according to all that I command you this day, both you and your children with all of your heart and with all of your soul." 

"God in turn shall return ('veShaV') your captivity ('SheVutcha') and have compassion upon you.  He will once again ('veShaV') gather you from among all of the nations into which He scattered you.  Though your expulsion may be at the ends of the heavens, from there God shall gather you and from there He shall take you.  God your Lord will bring you into the land that your ancestors once possessed, and you shall possess it, and you shall enjoy more goodness and increase than those ancestors.  God your Lord will circumcise your heart and the heart of your descendants, so that you love God your Lord with all of your heart and with all of your soul, so that you may live."

"God your Lord will place all of these curses upon your enemies and foes that pursued you.  You will return ('taShuV') and hearken to God's voice, to fulfill all of His commandments that I command you this day.  God your Lord will grant you increase in all of your endeavors, your children, animals and harvests, all for the good.  God will again ('yaShuV') rejoice over you for the good just as He rejoiced over your ancestors.  When you hearken to the voice of God your Lord, to observe His commandments and decrees that are written in this Book of the Torah, when you return ('taShuV') to God your Lord with all of your heart and with all of your soul" (Devarim 30:1-10).

Individuals and the Nation

This powerful passage, infused with the rousing vision of restoration, is directed towards the entire people of Israel.  Its emotive verses do not speak to the individual and do not address his existential plight.  The man who is estranged from God is free to return to Him and will find Him receptive, but his story is not to be found in our verses.   It is the nation that is the subject of these charged phrases, a nation exiled from its land and scattered to the four corners of the globe like so much chaff.  The Torah indicates that the interminably long exile will one day come to an end, the people will return to their land, and God will return to them.

There is a single word that echoes throughout these verses and across the generations, and that word is 'TESHUVA' or 'RETURN.'  It occurs in the various forms of the verb 'ShUV' (return), that are mentioned eight times in the course of these ten verses, and it is the vision that animates them all.  The restoration after the longest night of exile, the 'return' to the land of Israel of Israel's indestructible remnant, represents the physical manifestation of this process, but the soul that is its engine is a different form of return entirely.

Parenthetically, we will endeavor to use the Hebrew word 'teshuva' to describe this progression, rather than the more commonly used 'repentance.'  This latter word is from an old French or Latin root signifying remorse, contrition or regret.  Although those elements may indeed be included in 'teshuva,' the Hebrew term transcends them all, for it speaks of an all-encompassing and transformative experience in which the person is restored to God and to the deepest truth of their innermost being in the most comprehensive way, and after which life cannot be the same.

An Ancient Dispute

"Rav said:  all of the appointed times (for redemption) have already passed, for the matter depends entirely upon 'teshuva' and good deeds.  Shemuel demurred, saying: the mourner is sufficiently sustained by his mourning (the suffering endured by Israel in exile has provided sufficient merit for them to be restored, even in the absence of their repentance - Rashi).  This disagreement is similar to the following dispute among authorities of the Mishna.  Rabbi Eliezer says: if the people of Israel return then they will be redeemed, but if not, then they will not be redeemed.  Rabbi Yehoshua says: Will they not be redeemed if they fail to do 'teshuva?'  Rather, God will establish a king whose decrees will be as harsh as those of Haman, and then Israel will return and be restored to the good…[does not the verse state that] '…when the time has passed and the holy nation suffer utter degradation, then all these things will be realized' (Daniel 12:7)?  Rabbi Eliezer fell silent (Talmud, Tractate Sanhedrin 97b-98a).

In this famous quarrel, Rabbi Yehoshua and Rabbi Eliezer disagree concerning the role of sincere 'teshuva' in the redemptive process.  According to the view of Rabbi Eliezer, unless the Jewish people sincerely return to God and embrace the observance of His Torah, then redemption will remain a distant and unrealized chimera.  The event of redemption is entirely a function of free human choice and intense human longing for God's word.  As long as the people of Israel remain deaf to the siren call of teshuva, then their tragic exile will be prolonged endlessly.  Rabbi Yehoshua, however, disagrees.  Redemption will follow the bitterness of exile, as surely as the aurora follows the night's darkest gloom.  In the opinion of Rabbi Yehoshua, if the people of Israel do not return of their own volition, then God will assist the process with the appointment of a tyrannical king who will 'encourage' them.

Ultimately, both authorities agree that teshuva is central to the redemptive process.  They part ways, however, concerning the necessity for SINCERE repentance, the type of return that can only be the exclusive consequence of autonomous choice.  For Rabbi Eliezer, in its absence, redemption is impossible.  Rabbi Yehoshua, on the other hand, argues that there is another form of return, one that is precipitated not by genuine and heartfelt feelings of longing, but by the cruel necessity of insufferable distress.  If the people abjure God's patient and beckoning call, refusing to embrace the holy destiny that has set them apart from every other nation since time immemorial, then redemption can still dawn.  But in this less meaningful variation, it will unfold as the only response remaining after every other attempt to overcome oppression and adversity has been exhausted.  In this model, teshuva is a last resort, a mechanistic reaction to trials too difficult to bear.  But as certainly as Rabbi Eliezer falls silent in the end and cannot refute Rabbi Yehoshua's proof text, REDEMPTION STILL COMES IN ITS WAKE!

Considering the Process of Return

Our passage from Parashat Nitzavim sheds much light on this issue.  Ostensibly, it describes the very process of return that is the subject of our discussion, and indeed intimates that national restoration is a consequence of teshuva.  Does it not seem to explicitly support the view of Rabbi Eliezer who demands sincere return as a prerequisite for restoration?  Nevertheless, the verses are puzzlingly repetitive, for they seem to describe the same event no less than three times! On three occasions, we are told that the people will return with 'all of their heart and with all of their soul.'  On two occasions we are told that God will restore them to their land and rejoice over them, bringing them increase and success.  In fact, from Rabbi Eliezer's perspective, the story could have been told in its entirety utilizing half of the verses! 

In fact, a closer reading of the passage reveals a different possibility.  There is a reciprocal dynamic at work, signified by the recurring usage of the verb 'ShuV':

(1)  The people return to God –  "When all of these things concerning you shall come to pass, the Blessing and the Curse that I have placed before you, then you shall take matters ('vahaSheVota') to heart among all of the nations into which God your Lord has driven you.  You shall return ('veShaVta') to God and hearken to His voice, according to all that I command you this day, both you and your children with all of your heart and with all of your soul" (Devarim 30:1-2). 

(2)  He responds by returning their captivity – "God in turn shall return ('veShaV') your captivity ('SheVutcha') and have compassion upon you.  He will once again ('veShaV') gather you from among all of the nations into which He scattered you.  Though your expulsion may be at the ends of the heavens, from there God shall gather you and from there He shall take you.  God your Lord will bring you into the land that your ancestors once possessed, and you shall possess it, and you shall enjoy more goodness and increase than those ancestors" (Devarim 30:3-5).  

(3)  The people return to Him again – "God your Lord will circumcise your heart and the heart of your descendants, so that you love God your Lord with all of your heart and with all of your soul, so that you may live.  God your Lord will place all of these curses upon your enemies and foes that pursued you.  You will return ('taShuV') and hearken to God's voice, to fulfill all of His commandments that I command you this day.  " (Devarim 30:6-7).

(4)  God responds by proceeding to rejoice over them – "God your Lord will grant you increase in all of your endeavors, your children, animals and harvests, all for the good.  God will again ('yaShuV') rejoice over you for the good just as He rejoiced over your ancestors" (Devarim 30:8-9).

 

(5)  Finally, they return to Him again – "When you hearken to the voice of God your Lord, to observe His commandments and decrees that are written in this Book of the Torah, when you return ('taShuV') to God your Lord with all of your heart and with all of your soul" (Devarim 30:10

Event vs. Process

In other words, the event of national return so eloquently sketched out by our passage is a LENGTHY PROCESS OVER TIME, during which the people of Israel must make the first tentative, halting step.  They are then encouraged by God's magnanimous response, for He sees in their difficult and uncertain move a glimmer of teshuva, and responds by initiating the PHYSICAL ingathering of their exiles.  Of course, as we now know, this ingathering, the concrete manifestation of the process of restoration unfolding, is not at all the culmination of the process.  The nation must still overcome many challenges in order to achieve their independence and secure their sovereignty.  Additionally, they must not only obtain physical self-government, but spiritual sensitivity as well.  They must therefore return 'again,' not in a repetitive act but in a progressive one, for the quality of this second return must begin to incorporate that essential spiritual component.  God again responds, showering them with His bounty and illuminating them with His radiance.  Finally, the people of Israel are ready to initiate the final act of return, the comprehensive, transformative, transcendent teshuva that must follow. 

In this reading, teshuva is exactly what we know it intuitively to be: a gradual awakening of the mind and soul to God's call, a measured but steady process of self-evaluation, re-evaluation, and redirection, a plodding and sometimes faltering series of steps great and small that include dead ends, blind alleys, and even devastating retreats.  But the process is inexorable and its momentum cannot be stayed.  In effect, it could be that Rabbi Yehoshua and Rabbi Eliezer concur, as long as they are discussing the totality of the teshuva process and not simply its starting point!  There is a spectrum of teshuva: on one extreme, there is a teshuva that is entirely imposed by external forces; on the other, a teshuva that is entirely self-inspired and sincere.  The teshuva of Parashat Nitzavim incorporates both elements, and traces the twisted thread that links the two to describe a single continuum.

Returning to the Text

A number of textual anomalies are resolved by this approach.  The first mention of 'return,' the blessed teshuva that should have heralded a glorious reconciliation, is here curiously described as a 'taking to heart' rather than a return to God: "When all of these things concerning you shall come to pass, the Blessing and the Curse that I have placed before you, then you shall take matters ('vahaSheVota') to heart among all of the nations into which God your Lord has driven you…"  This indicates that the first, halting step of which we spoke need not even incorporate a conscious awareness of God and a desire to embrace His word.  Here, in the national return of the people of Israel, it is simply a 'taking to heart,' a questioning of the meaning of exile and of the riddle of Jewish suffering.  The second stage of this return is in fact 'God directed' but nevertheless deficient: "You shall return ('veShaVta') to God and hearken to His voice, according to all that I command you this day."  In the original Hebrew, the verse states that "you shall return 'ad' God", which is here translated as 'to God' but is more accurately rendered as 'up to God,' implying a distance that remains to be bridged between the Deity and the people of Israel. They return, but having reached the threshold, they can advance no further.  The reconciliation at this point is incomplete.   

 

The Divine response is, in fact, an initiation of that very return and ingathering of which our ancestors dreamt, but one that is correspondingly devoid of any spiritual content.  It is a physical restoration of Israel to its ancient land, but at this stage in the process, Israel, though committed to the endeavor of nation building with 'heart and soul,' is still painfully unaware that it remains shorn of its spiritual patrimony.  Only with the next teshuva is this additional dimension awakened: "God your Lord will circumcise your heart and the heart of your descendants, so that you love God your Lord with all of your heart and with all of your soul, so that you may live."  This 'circumcision of the heart' is understood by the commentaries to be a reference to some sort of stirring of the spirit, in which the insensitivity and callousness of the heart is shed, to be replaced by a more profound awareness of the Divine and a more pronounced commitment to the Torah.  Thus, "you will return ('taShuV') and hearken to God's voice, to fulfill all of His commandments that I command you this day."

This next stage is again reciprocated by God with a still greater response: "God your Lord will grant you increase in all of your endeavors, your children, animals and harvests, all for the good.  God will again ('yaShuV') rejoice over you for the good just as He rejoiced over your ancestors."  The Divine rejoicing, coupled with a fond reminisce of the people's ancestors, the devoted and steadfast Patriarchs and Matriarchs, signals the people's return to their former status of favor in God's eyes, to their unblemished past.  That ideal state had been characterized by a harmony between God and man, between man and the cosmos, between man and himself, and is here reconstituted under the unfurled banner of God's love.

The next stage is the last, the final act of teshuva that completes the people's transformation: "When you hearken to the voice of God your Lord, to observe His commandments and decrees that are written in this Book of the Torah, when you return ('taShuV') to God your Lord with all of your heart and with all of your soul."  Significantly and in contrast to the above, the 'return to God' here enunciated is described in the original Hebrew as 'return 'el' God,' a complete return to God's waiting embrace as all distance evaporates and complete resolution is achieved.

Conclusion

We live in confusing and unsettling times, especially as regards the Jewish state.  Our world seems to be in a constant state of flux and upheaval, and to predict the next day's events seems the height of recklessness.  Some of us look at the Jewish state and can see nothing remarkable, as if the foretold return of the Jews was an event like any other, as if the resurrection of a people and a language all but given up for dead is as mundane as the weather.  Others look at the Jewish state with studied alarm, as if a cherished and flawless image of the Redemption has been monstrously twisted out of shape by a secular vision of material excess. 

In order to truly appreciate the magnitude of our times, one must maintain as broad a perspective as possible.  And from that perspective one fundamental principle emerges: the teshuva of the nation is a process in time.  As a process, it must include various stages that address many aspects in the national life of the Jews, some of which have not been seriously considered for two millennia: self-government, self-defense, leadership, et al.  As a process, teshuva can be incremental at times and may even appear to be static.  But it is not.  Human history marches on, the Jewish people advance forward, and God continues to wait for our next move. 

Let us hope and pray that as we begin yet another chapter colored with terrible uncertainty and frequently underscored with dread, we are able to maintain our tight clasp on Moshe's portentous words:

"God your Lord will place all of these curses upon your enemies and foes that pursued you.  You will return and hearken to God's voice, to fulfill all of His commandments that I command you this day.  God your Lord will grant you increase in all of your endeavors, your children, animals and harvests, all for the good.  God will again rejoice over you for the good just as He rejoiced over your ancestors.  When you hearken to the voice of God your Lord, to observe His commandments and decrees that are written in this Book of the Torah, when you return to God your Lord with all of your heart and with all of your soul" (Devarim 30:1-10).

Shabbat Shalom