The Value of Every Jew
Chaya Mushka and Nechama Krimmer
This parsha, parshas Nitzavim, is always read on the Shabbos before Rosh Hashana. The Baal Shem Tov concluded that the interplay between Moshe and the Jewish people in this parsha took place on Rosh Hashana itself.
On the day of his death, Moshe gathered the Jewish people together to speak his final words. He reassured the Jewish people that the covenant established at Mount Sinai between Hashem and the Jewish people will remain intact after his passing and that Hashem is renewing His covenant with the Jewish people on that very day.
Moshe said to the Jewish people, "You stand upright this day, all of you, before the Lord, your G‑d: your heads, your tribes, your elders, your officers and all the men of Israel; your little ones, your wives, and your stranger that is in your camp, from the hewer of your wood to the drawer of your water" (Devarim, 29:9).
Moshe admonished that, in the future, if the Jewish people fall prey to false gods or veer off the path of G‑dliness, there will be harsh repercussions for their actions.
In these dark times, however, the Jewish people may seem far from Hashem but, in truth, there is nothing that can sever the relationship between Hashem and the Jewish people. The Jewish people are forever bonded with Hashem through the covenant established with the giving of the Torah and renewed on the day of Moshe's death.
Moshe continues his address to the Jewish people, saying "Not with you alone do I make this covenant and this oath; but with those who stand here with us this day before the Lord, our G‑d, and also with those who are not here with us this day" (Devarim, 30:20).
Our Sages explain that, like at Har Sinai, the souls of the entire Jewish people, including future converts, were present on that day, regardless if the souls present were inhabited in physical bodies or not. That means that the souls of all Jews, from the past to those not yet born, were present on that day. It means you and I were there!
When Moshe addressed the Jewish people he empathized that he was speaking to both the holy leaders and chieftains of the Jewish people and the lowly water carriers and hewers of woods.
There is a story in Talmud Pesachim that a particular rabbi, Rav Yosef, was near death. When he recovered from his illness, he was asked what he saw. The Rav replied that he saw that the spiritual world was the reverse of the physical world, that the water carriers and hewers of wood had the loftiest of souls.
In the eyes of Hashem, regardless of our religious practices, our errors and transgressions, and our Jewish knowledge - or lack thereof - we are all equal. On a soul level, the loftiest Rabbi and the simplest, unlearned man or woman are equal as we are all infused with the essence of Hashem.
Furthermore, the Jewish people are compared to a human body. Our leaders may be the brains and the water carriers, the feet, but there is no hierarchy when it comes to the body. The feet are just as important as the brain, and the liver, just as important as the kidneys. Every Jew is needed for the celestial body to work properly.
Moshe concludes with the words, "The Lord your G‑d will return your captivity, and have compassion upon you, and will return and gather you from all the nations amongst whom the Lord your G‑d has scattered you" (Devarim, 30:3).
This, of course, is a reference to the coming of Moshiach when the Jewish people will return to Eretz Yisroel with the building of an everlasting edifice, the 3rd and final Holy Temple, where all nations of the world can come to worship Hashem.
The previous Rebbe, also known as the Freidiker Rebbe, said during his reign that all preparations for Moshiach are complete. All we have to do is "polish the buttons," so to speak. The Lubavitcher Rebbe went further in saying that we are the last generation of galus, exile, and the first generation of geulah, redemption.
In some ways our current generation is a mirror of the generation in this week's parsha. We are both on the precipice of a whole new world.
May Moshe's words about the future redemption come speedily in our days. May we open our eyes and see that Moshiach is already standing in front of us!
Wishing you all a good and sweet new year full of wealth, health, inspiration, and a deeper relationship with Hashem!
LaShana Tovah!
