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. R T E D 0 LEATHER 07D:?; JUST ARRIVED... NEW STYLES! NEW COLORS! SATURDAY &SUNDAY, SEPT. 23 & 24 A complete SHERWOOD