Standing at the Threshold

During the final days of Elul, on the Shabbat prior to Rosh HaShanah, we read Parashat Nitzavim-Vayelech (Deuteronomy 29:9–31:30).

In the previous Torah portion, Ki Tavo, we encountered the crucial relationship between the nation of Israel and the very ground of the Promised Land. The connection begins in Genesis:

“GOD appeared to Abram and said, ‘I will assign this land to your offspring.’ And he built an altar there to GOD who had appeared to him.” — Genesis 12:7

From that moment forward, references linking Israel to the Land appear in every book of the Torah. In Deuteronomy 26:1–10, the declaration made by those bringing the First Fruits deliberately joins together three things: the people, the Land and the fruit of the ground. Even Israel’s three annual pilgrimage festivals are tied to the agricultural cycle of the Land.

And perhaps that suggests something else we encounter repeatedly in Torah: what might be called a Rule of Three that we encounter repeatedly in Torah.

Here are just a few, among many…

Three Patriarchs (Avraham, Isaac and Jacob)

Three Day Journey for The Akeidah

Three Signs Given to Moses at the Burning Bush

Three Days Preparation for Giving of the Torah

Three Leaders of Israel in the Wilderness - Moses, Aaron and Miriam

Three Locations for Stones Inscribed with Torah: The Jordan River, Mt Eval and Gilgal

Parashat Nitzavim seems to offer a particularly striking example.

According to MeAm Lo’ez, we can identify three major covenantal moments in the Torah, each marking a new stage in the relationship between HaShem and Israel.

The first occurs at Marah. Israel has escaped Egypt and crossed the Sea, but has not yet reached Sinai. At Marah we read:

“There He made for them a statute and an ordinance, and there He tested them.”

— Exodus 15:25

Rashi, citing the tradition of the Sages, explains that certain commandments were given there in preparation for Sinai. Exodus 24:8 reveals the second covenantal moment at Sinai:

“Moses took the blood and dashed it on the people and said, ‘Behold the blood of the covenant that the Eternal has made with you concerning all these words.’”

And there, HaShem defines Israel’s national destiny:

“You shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.” — Exodus 19:6

Then comes the third covenantal moment, here in Parashat Nitzavim when Israel is no longer standing at the foot of Sinai. They are standing on the threshold of the Promised Land.

Moses tells them in Deuteronomy 29:9

“You are standing today, all of you, before the Eternal your God…”

And then:

“…that you may enter into the covenant of the Eternal your God, and into His oath, which the Eternal your God makes with you today, in order to establish you today as His people, and that He may be your God…” — Deuteronomy 29:11–12

Rambam, in the Mishneh Torah, Hilchot Berakhot 2:3, while discussing Birkat HaMazon and the blessing for the Land, distinguishes the thirteen covenants associated with circumcision from the three associated with Torah, citing the covenant in Deuteronomy 28 and the covenant of Nitzavim.

But in Nitzavim, Moses deliberately expands this covenant beyond the people physically standing before him:

“Not with you alone do I make this covenant and this oath, but with whoever is here standing with us today before the Eternal our God, and with whoever is not here with us today.” — Deuteronomy 29:13–14

Those standing before Moses are the immediate audience, but they are not the final audience. It is important when the Torah begins to speak prophetically about exile and return:

“And your God will bring you to the land that your fathers possessed, and you shall possess it; and [God] will make you more prosperous and more numerous than your ancestors.” — Deuteronomy 30:5

The above verse--promising that God will bring Israel back “to the land that your fathers possessed”—is traditionally counted as the 5,708th verse of the Torah.

The Hebrew year 5708 corresponds to 1948, the year in which the State of Israel was established. The numerical correspondence has been noted by contemporary Torah scholars as a remarkable allusion: the 5708th verse speaks precisely of Israel returning to possess the Land in the year 5708.

For me, the restoration of Israel as the Jewish nation is a article of faith.

It’s one of the reasons I believe in Torah.

As I write these words, the Jewish people once again face enemies who openly speak of removing Israel from the map, Nitzavim reminds us that the survival of Israel does not rest solely upon military strength, politics or diplomacy.

We know it will survive because our Creator keeps His word.

The prophet Jeremiah expressed that promise in extraordinary terms:

“Thus said GOD, Who established the sun for light by day,

The laws of moon and stars for light by night,

Who stirs up the sea into roaring waves,

Whose name is GOD of Hosts:

If these laws should ever be annulled by Me—declares GOD—

Only then would the offspring of Israel cease

To be a nation before Me for all time.” — Jeremiah 31:34–35

Jeremiah continues:

“If the heavens above could be measured, and the foundations of the earth below could be fathomed, only then would I reject all the offspring of Israel for all that they have done—declares GOD.” — Jeremiah 31:36

The approaching Ten Days of Awe are a call for all of us who love the God of Israel to return to Him. But for the Jewish people, returning now is critical. Malbim teaches that Am Israel cannot achieve complete return(teshuvah )unless they are living in the land of Israel where with complete teshuvah will usher in the arrival of Moshiach.