אַתֶּ֨ם נִצָּבִ֤ים הַיּוֹם֙ כֻּלְּכֶ֔ם לִפְנֵ֖י יְהוָ֣ה אֱלֹהֵיכֶ֑ם רָאשֵׁיכֶ֣ם שִׁבְטֵיכֶ֗ם זִקְנֵיכֶם֙ וְשֹׁ֣טְרֵיכֶ֔ם כֹּ֖ל אִ֥ישׁ יִשְׂרָאֵֽל׃
טַפְּכֶ֣ם נְשֵׁיכֶ֔ם וְגֵ֣רְךָ֔ אֲשֶׁ֖ר בְּקֶ֣רֶב מַחֲנֶ֑יךָ מֵחֹטֵ֣ב עֵצֶ֔יךָ עַ֖ד שֹׁאֵ֥ב מֵימֶֽיךָ׃
You stand this day, all of you, before Adonai your God — your tribal heads, your elders and your officials, all the men of Israel; your children, your wives, even the stranger within your camp, from your wood-chopper to your water drawer — to enter into the covenant of Adonai your God.
In its sweeping inclusivity, this is a bold statement. Seldom in Tanakh, in which censuses famously count only men (and sometimes, only men of “fighting age”) this naming of the community that is to be included in the covenant which will define both the social contract of the nascent Jewish people as well as its relationship with the Divine is striking in its breadth. It goes on, though, to be even more sweeping. God, Moses declares, is not making this covenant only with you at this moment, but rather, is making it eternally with those “who are not here with us today” (which Rashi famously interprets as including future generations, too.)
Atem nitzavim ha-yom. You, all of us, here around this reading this email (and our partners, offspring and the strangers within our camp, from our wood-chopper to our water drawers) are standing HaYom - in a cosmic, timeless, and eternal Today.
So, how do we do it? How do we, in 2019, take our place in this eternal chain of those standing at the shores of the Jordan river ready to accept God's covenant? Easy - the Torah says (Deut 30:12-14) - "It is not in the heavens…or beyond the sea, that you should say, Who among us can cross to the other side of the sea and get it for us and impart it to us, that we may observe it? But rather very close to you, in your mouth and in your heart."
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