TORAH PORTION I

NICOLETTI Rt NATUZZI

I M P

Linking The Generations
In Commitment To Torah

RABBI RICHARD HERTZ

Special to The Jewish News

T

he final two sedras
of Deuteronomy are
joined together to be
read on the Sabbath before
Rosh Hashanah. The High
Holy Days are upon us. The
Torah bespeaks a message ap-
propriate for these coming
days of awe.
This Sabbath we read how
Moses has assembled all the
children of Israel to hear his
farewell address. In previous
orations, Moses recounted all
the events that led from
Egypt to Sinai to this last mo-
ment before entering the Pro-
mised Land. He knows he
himself will not be privileged
to cross over the Jordan. In-

Shabbat
Nizavim-Vayelech:
Deuteronomy
29:9-31:30,
Isaiah 61:10-63:9.

stead, he wants his people to
remember where they have
come from, the covenant that
Israel has made with God. In
dramatic and sweeping
words, he lays down the foun-
dation for Israel's religion.
The Torah is to be for all
generations — not just the
past but the future as well.
"You stand this day, all of
you, before the Lord your God
-- your tribal heads, your
elders and your officials, all
the men of Israel, your
children, your wives, ever the
stranger within your camp,
from wood-chopper to water
drawer, to enter into the Cove-
nant of the Lord your God,
which the Lord your God is
concluding with you this day?'
We can picture the masses
of the children of Israel, the
men and women and their
children, gathered before
Moses as his voice reaches out
still strong and vigorous. He
wants one more time. He is
ready to turn over the reins of
leadership to Joshua, his suc-
cessor. But he wants to be
sure the succeeding genera-
tions will follow the com-
mandments of God and be
assured that "the Lord your
God may bless you and the
land which you are about to
invade and occupy."
Moses emphasizes continui-
ty and commitment to the
future of all generations.
Even though they had no part
in the struggles through the
desert of Sinai, even though

Richard Hertz is rabbi
emeritus of Temple Beth El.

they were not present in per-
son at the giving of the rThn
Commandments, still they
are committed.
Moreover, Moses em-
phasizes in this closing ora-
tion that the Torah belongs to
all the people. It is accessible
not just to a chosen few, as
some other religions may
have done. The Torah is a part
of every son and daughter of
Israel. He says, "It is not in
the heavens that you should
say, 'Who among us can go up
to the heavens and get it for
us and impart it to us that we
may observe it!' No, the thing
is very close to you, in your
mouth and in your heart to
observe it."
The Ibrah is part of every
Jew, and the Jew carries the
Ibrah with him wherever he
goes. Thus Moses binds not
only the living who hear him
but their distant posterity as
well.
Two ways lie before every
Israelite.-One leads to life and
good, the other to death and
evil. The choice is in every in-
dividual person's hands. Free
will in Judaism is basic and
rooted since the days of
Moses. It is granted to every
person to make of his life
what he will. If he desires to
incline toward the good way
and is righteous, he has that
power to do so. And converse-
ly, if he desires to lead toward
sin and wickedness, he has
the power to do that, too.
The second sedra associated
with this Sabbath, Vayelech,
deals with the close of Moses'
life and includes his farewell
song and blessing. Moses
realized his days were at an
end. "I am 120 years old this
day," he says, and turning to
Joshua, he adds, "Be strong
and of good courage, fear not,
neither be afraid for the Lord
thy God is with us wherever
thou goest . . . He will not fail
thee, neither forsake thee,
fear not, neither be
dismayed?'
With the reading of
Vayelech, the shortest sedra
in the Torah, we are ready for
the sound of the shofar of
Rosh Hashanah. We are
ready to face the new year
with courage and determina-
tion. Many choices face us.
Many opportunities await us.
Our children are our
guarantee that we will be real
Jews. We are bidden to hold
fast to our people and our
faith, to review our commit-
ment to our survival as Jews,
to help those in need and to
dedicate ourselves to what is
good and true and noble in
our tradition.

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THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS 43