Nitzavim
אתם נצבים היום כולכם לפני ה' אלקיכם ראשיכם שבטיכם זקניכם ושוטריכם כל איש ישראל (כט, ט).
והיה בשמעו את דברי האלה הזאת והתברך בלבבו לאמר שלום יהיה לי כי בשררות לבי אלך למען ספות הרוה את הצמאה. לא יאבה ה' סלח לו כי אז יעשן אף ה' וקנאתו באיש ההוא ורבצה בו כל האלה הכתובה בספר הזה ומחה ה' את שמו מתחת השמים. והבדילו ה' לרעה מכל שבטי ישראל ככל אלות הברית הכתובה בספר התורה הזה (כט, יח-כ).
You are all standing today before Hashem your G-d – your heads, your tribes, your elders, and your officers – every Israelite man.
And it shall be when he hears the words of this curse, he will inwardly reassure himself, saying “there will peace unto me when I act according to what I deem proper,” thus adding the slaked to the thirsty. Hashem will not desire to forgive him, rather the wrath and jealousy of Hashem will then smolder against that man and there shall rest upon him the entire curse written in this book and Hashem shall erase his name from beneath the heaven. And Hashem will separate him for misfortune from all of the tribes of Israel, in accordance with all of the curses of the covenant recorded in this book of the Torah.
The Midrash* tells us that our sidra begins as a response to the Tochachah of the previous one. After hearing its frightening ninety-eight punishments, the nation wondered how they would ever survive. To this Moshe responded אתם נצבים היום כלכם, look how much you have angered Hashem over the last forty years and yet you are still standing here today…
Now, this gives the impression that we aren’t supposed to take the Torah’s “threats” so seriously, as if they are just “talk.” As the masses tend to think: it couldn’t be that sin is as serious as the seforim make it sound; it’s just written that way to scare us. Yet, don’t Chazal elsewhere reject this very attitude? As the Talmud says, כל האומר הקב"ה וותרן יוותרו מעוי, anyone who claims that Hashem is indulgent, his innards will be disregarded.**
It would seem to me, then, that this passage is not referring to punishment for personal sins, rather the culpability that the righteous have for the sins of the wicked. It is this that the people feared that they wouldn’t be able to withstand, and to which Moshe reassured them that it had not done them in until now. Hence the emphasis on כולכם, referring to the judgement on the nation as a totality. This was particularly relevant at this juncture, for, as the Zohar says***, the word היום is always a reference to Rosh HaShanah, indicating that that was the date of our sidra. And, as the Rambam writes,**** on Rosh HaShanah there is a judgement on the Jewish People as a whole.
In this light we can interpret the continuation of the passage. As the Olelos Ephrayim renders it, the wicked may be tempted to think that since there is a national judgement, so long as it is positive due to the majority presence of the righteous, he can coast along with it. שלום יהיה לי, everything will be fine with me, למען ספות הרוה את הצמאה, since there is a connection between the slaked (i.e., the wicked, who have no interest in Torah) and the thirsty (i.e., the righteous, who do) – namely, that they are all judged together. To preclude this, the Torah says והבדילו ה' לרעה, aside from the national judgement, there is one for each individual; thus, everybody will get what is coming to him.
Another rendering of the opening verse may be as follows: Where does the Yetzer ha-Ra reside? Wherever there is sin, particularly that of strife. As the gemara tells us*****, after R. Meir brokered peace between a quarrelling couple, the Yetzer ha-Ra was overheard moaning over his having been tossed out of the house. It would follow that the most important time to make certain that harmony reigns is on Rosh HaShanah; we wouldn’t want to enter into judgement with the Yetzer ha-Ra amongst us. For even if we have other failings to account for, peace amongst the people is of paramount importance. As the Sages tell us******, the generation of Achav was egregiously idolatrous, yet it was successful in battle due to its unity. Hence, אתם נצבים היום כולכם, if you are unified, you will be able to withstand the judgement on Rosh HaShanah. However, if there is an attitude of “each man for himself,” שלום יהיה לי, then, והבדילו ה' לרעה…
Yet a third approach, which amalgamates the previous two, can be offered. When the wicked are on good terms with the righteous, they are judged along with them as one national entity. If not, they are left to face their judgement on their own. An example of this is Korach and his ilk. Despite their brazen denial of Moshe’s authority, they were not susceptible to punishment until they detached themselves from the nation. As the narrative begins, ויקח קרח, Korach took,******* which the Sages render: he took himself away from the collective********. (This would give new meaning to the admonition אל תהי רשע בפני עצמך: ********* at the very least, don’t be a rasha who stands alone; stay connected.)
As such, our verses state, אתם נצבים היום כולכם, you will survive judgement when you are united – which requires that every party recognizes his place within the people: ראשיכם, then שבטיכם, then כל איש ישראל. If, however, everyone assumes a position of prominence for himself, בשרירות לבי אלך, they are destined for trouble, והבדילו ה' לרעה. **********
Alternatively, along similar lines: The Alshich*********** explains the verse דרשו ה' בהמצאו קראוהו בהיותו קרוב וגו' וישב אל ה' וירחמהו, to mean that one should preempt the judgement of Rosh HaShanah by repenting in the leadup to it, when He is available with an abundance of mercy; otherwise, He will need to repent on the Yomim Nora’im and earn his forgiveness. I take this “preemption” as referring to the fasting undertaken by the Tzaddikim on the eve of Rosh HaShanah, as described in the Midrash.************ When the nation is in unity, the righteous amongst them can be dispatched to intercede on its behalf. Hence, the verse in Tehillim: בחצוצרות וקול שופר הריעו לפני המלך ה', ************* which we can render: one should call out for mercy before Hashem assumes His majestic judgement on Rosh HaShanah. **************
As such, אתם נצבים היום כולכם, when everyone is in unity in anticipation of the New Year, לפני ה' אלקיכם ראשיכם, it suffices for the heads of the nation to intercede even before Hashem begins His judgement.
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1 Tanchuma, Nitzavim, 1.
2 Baba Kamma 50a.
3 Raya Me’hemna, Pinchas, 231a.
4 Hilchos Teshuvah 3:1.
5 Gittin 52a.
6 Yerushalmi, Pe’ah 1:1.
7 Bamidbar 16:1.
8 See Targum and Rashi, ad loc.
9 Avos 2:13.
10 [This approach seemingly contradicts the entire lesson of the first one, that the wicked do not get a free ride along with the totality of the nation.]
11 Yeshayah 55:6.
12 See Tur, OC 581.
13 98:6.
14 See Taz, OC 585:7.