It has been very encouraging to read the list each week of new members who have made the step of joining our community. There is an exciting dynamic in this shul because so many of you – so many of us – were not here only a few months ago. But this dynamic is not only encouraging and not only exciting – it also imposes a responsibility upon us.
It is tempting and quite natural, when looking at a sea of new and unfamiliar faces, to only greet those who are already your friends, and to create a social network among those you already know. But if that happens, then the shul would become a cold and unfriendly place, and our community would be deprived of the leadership that it needs.
In a functioning community, all types of people are needed and everyone has to work together and make their unique contributions. The same is true for the Jewish people’s relationship with the Torah. Our parashah this morning, Nitzavim, opens with a litany of those who stood and embraced the covenant with God: Atem Nitzavim HaYom Kulkhem – all of you are standing today before the Lord your God.” Rasheichem, Shivteichem, Zikneikhem, Shotreikhem – The heads of your tribes (the political leadership), your elders (the religious leadership), the officers – every person of Israel. Women and children, the stranger in your midst and the hewer of wood and the water drawer.”
The covenant must be accepted by all Jews – every segment of leadership, every age and demographic, every profession and class must embrace the Torah.
However, the leadership roles of each segment of the Jewish community are not identical. The Yerushalmi, the Jerusalem Talmud, compares the opening words of Parashat Nitzavim to a similar – but strikingly different passage in the Book of Joshua.
In Chapter 24 of the book of Joshua, we read about an assembly that Joshua convened in Shechem. And there, the gathering is described in this way: “Joshua summoned Israel’s elders and commanders, judges and officers.” The Yerushalmi lists four possible explanations for why Moshe listed the tribal leaders first and the elders second, mentioning the political leadership before the religious leadership – whereas Joshua listed the elders first and the tribal leaders second:
The first explanation is that the elders were Moshe’s own students. He didn’t list them first because he was unable to see them in a primary role – distinct from the secondary role that they had in relation to Moshe himself because they had all been his students.
The second explanation is that Yehoshua needed the assistance of the elders in order to conquer the Land of Israel. For this reason he prioritized them in the list. Moshe did not need the elders in that way and so they are listed second.
The third explanation is that Moshe did not personally toil in his Torah studies – he was taught Torah directly from God without any need to break his teeth to understand what he was learning. Yehoshua did have to work hard to study and understand the Torah. For this reason, Yehoshua listed the elders first. The effort that Yehoshua devoted to Torah study gave him a greater appreciation for Torah scholarship more broadly.
According to each of these first three explanations, there was something in the personal psychological history of Moshe and Yehoshua that biased their priorities and led to privileging either the elders or the tribal leaders. As I have contemplated that list, it has become clear to me that this Talmudic passage is criticizing Moshe’s choice. Although all of us view the world and evaluate the world through the lens of our unique subjectivity, Moshe, the Talmud is saying, should have been able to transcend that personal perspective and evaluate the importance of the elders in a more objective way.
He should have been able to understand that although they had been his students, they had advanced enough to deserve honor for their own scholarship and achievements. Although he didn’t personally need them to conquer the Land of Israel, he should have recognized how Jewish peoplehood is completely dependent upon Torah scholarship and prioritized the elders. Finally, although Moshe’s knowledge of Torah came through prophetic insight and not study, as the master teacher of Torah, he should have understood the effort that the elders devoted to Torah study and honored that commitment.
The Talmud Yerhsualmi, however, offers a fourth interpretation and this one justifies Moshe’s choice: Moshe knew, through prophetic insight, that the Jewish people would go into exile and they would be lead, not by Torah scholars, but by their political leadership, and so he prioritized the political leadership. As Rabbi Barukh Halevi Epstein explains, in his commentary Torah Temimah: At a time of foreign subjugation, it is only Jewish political leadership that enables Torah to survive and for this reason the tribal heads, the political leadership was mentioned first.
According to this interpretation, Moshe was not acting out of a narrow subjective perspective; he was acting in a broad-minded way with a fuller perspective on the sweep of Jewish history. It was appropriate for Yehoshua, leading a Jewish army in Eretz Yisrael to prioritize the elders because prioritizing Torah scholarship is how authentic Jewish societies are organized. But Moshe recognized that, standing in the desert, his task was to establish the legitimacy of an alternative paradigm, where political leadership creates a safe space for Torah.
With this understanding, the inclusive message of Parashat Nitzavim is reinforced. Not only does the Torah emphasize that everyone must be present and accounted for in order to accept and uphold the Torah, but it is also true that the role that we each play in our communities is not static. There are times when the elders are listed first, when their accomplishments must be honored. There are times when the tribal heads, the political leadership is mentioned first and their accomplishments are honored. There are also times when the wood choppers and water carriers deserve to be mentioned first because there are occasions when their contribution is decisive.
This message needs to be remembered and reinforced for the New Year.
Our task is to always be aware that the person we are talking to has a role to play in Jewish life and in perpetuating the Torah. Whether ignorant or educated, rich or poor, man or woman, all of us need to participate and all of us have a turn to come first. Invite people to your Shabbat and yom tov meals whom you don’t know. Say hello at Kiddush to someone you haven’t met. Help those who are new to our community find ways to contribute in the ways that only they are able to.
Perhaps hardest of all, we have to recognize that we ourselves may, at times, have a decisive role to play in perpetuating the Torah in our own lives, in the lives of our families, and in the life of our community.
We are days away from Rosh Hashanah. If we accomplish nothing else over the many hours we will spend in prayer and introspection, let us open ourselves to the possibility that we each possess infinite potential to accept the Torah, to uphold the Torah, and to spread its benevolent message in the world.
Shabbat Shalom.
Rabbi David Wolkenfeld 