DEBARIM 29:9 – 30:20
This week’s parashah is titled Niṣabim. Some translators outside of our people render this as “standing.” However, the word niṣabim implies standing upright, being established, and being designated. It is always used to indicate something judicial or of great importance. From this we see that all the people of Israel were standing, to establish a covenant and to be designated for a perpetual legacy, as it says:
אַתֶּם נִצָּבִים הַיּוֹם כֻּלְּכֶם, לִפְנֵי יְהוָה אֱלֹהֵיכֶם: רָאשֵׁיכֶם שִׁבְטֵיכֶם, זִקְנֵיכֶם וְשֹׁטְרֵיכֶם, כֹּל, אִישׁ יִשְׂרָאֵל
The last two portions enumerated various blessings and curses that come as a consequence of keeping or violating, respectively, the divine covenant of Sinai. Some Israelites at that time might have wondered, “What does that covenant have to do with me? I wasn’t there; nobody gave me free choice!” The law establishes that a child must be initiated into the covenant of Abraham on the eighth day through circumcision. However, the child is not capable of rejecting or affirming this act. The law further establishes that an Israelite does not lose his identity even if he rebels against the Torah. In fact, the Talmud in Tractate Sanhedrin says that an Israelite who transgresses all the commandments is still an Israelite for a thousand generations (Babylonian Talmud, Sanhedrin 44a). From this we understand that if one is born of a Jewish mother, even if he was not raised as a Jew, or if he was and later decided to abandon the Torah, he still remains a Jew.
The Sages derived this principle from our parashah, as it says:
“You are here to enter into a covenant with the LORD your God, a covenant the LORD is making with you this day and sealing with an oath, to confirm you this day as his people, that he may be your God as he promised you and as he swore to your fathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. I am making this covenant, with its oath, not only with you who are standing here with us today in the presence of the LORD our God but also with those who are not here today.” (Deut. 29:12–15)
Whom does Moshe Rabbenu, peace be upon him, refer to when he says, “but also with those who are not here with us today”? Rashi, the French commentator, said that the covenant includes the future generations. Sforno, the Italian commentator, also held that it refers to generations to come. Even more, the exegete Ibn Ezra said this refers to the children of the children, and he emphasized that it should not be understood as some claim—that the souls of future generations were literally present. Finally, Sa‘adya Gaon explained beautifully in his commentary on this verse using qal vaḥomer (argument from the lesser to the greater), comparing it with Qohelet chapter 8 (Ecclesiastes):
“I say: Obey the king’s command, because you took an oath before God.”
He explains that “the king” is the Holy One, blessed be He, and the oath was that which our fathers swore at Sinai. Likewise, we must also consider the oath that Yehoshua bin Nun (Joshua) made with the Gibeonites, which included all the people of Israel.
To our surprise, from the time King Saul killed them, all Israel began to suffer hardships—plagues and three years of famine—as it says:
“During the reign of David there was a famine for three successive years; so David sought the face of the LORD. The LORD said, ‘It is on account of Saul and his blood-stained house; it is because he put the Gibeonites to death.’” (2 Samuel 21:1)
Therefore, we must uphold the oath that the Holy One, blessed be He, made at Sinai with our fathers, as it says:
“The LORD our God is making this covenant, with its oath, not only with us who are standing here today in his presence but also with those not here today.”
This should be enough for that renegade or cynical Jew who is doubting his importance in this world. What value is there in being Jewish? Much, in every way! For to the people of Israel were entrusted the divine oracles, the covenants, and the promises.
May the Eternal, blessed be He, allow us to reaffirm the oath He made with our ancestors.