Many commentators have pondered the unusual juxtaposition of this Shabbat's two Torah portions: Nitzavim (which means "to stand") and Vayelech (which means "to go"). How can one both stop and go at the same time?
Here is one theory: we are a dynamic, mobile, active society. We are always on the go, always on the move! We hurry to and fro, jog on treadmills, jump into our cars, pedal our bikes, catch planes. We almost never just STOP to do an accounting of our lives, and think about where we have been and what direction we?re taking for the long term. We're usually so busy thinking about where we have to be NEXT, that we rarely focus on where we are NOW. Yet that is precisely what Hashem wants us to do: stand still, physically and mentally, even spiritually. Take stock, try to make some sense out of the crazy-quilt of our lives, try to bring order to the chaos that all too often engulfs us.
Most of all, we have to come to the realization that WE hold the key to Teshuva (repentance). We could renew ourselves & rebuild the world one day and one Jew at a time - if only we could recognize the problems we face and the power we have to correct them. Judaism, I have always believed, moves by revolution and not by evolution. As Avraham, Moshe, the Chofetz Chaim, Herzl and so many others understood, one person can change the world, if he or she dares to try.
It takes real courage to do Teshuva: to admit that you are wrong about certain ideas or actions, and then literally force yourself to change; to give the other person the benefit of the doubt, or the right of way; to respect the Chasid, or the Soldier, or the secular Jew, even if he pursues a lifestyle different from your own; to show courtesy in line, and in traffic; to be honest in business; to be gracious in defeat; to say, "I love you" to your spouse and to your kids (especially when you don?t want to!); to honor your in-laws; to get up for prayers; to open a Sefer and learn.
There comes a time when we have to take a stand. That time is here, and now, Rosh Hashana 5763. Who knows what trials and tribulations await us personally and collectively in the year ahead, and how crucial each and every action we take will be in determining our own fate and that of all of Klal Yisrael.
Nitzavim: stop, think, take a stand. Followed by Vayelech: go with it, move forward, full speed ahead to the Geula Shlema, Bimhayra B'yamenu.(Full Redemption, make it come speedily in our Days).
----------------------------
Rabbi Weiss is Director of the Torah Outreach Center, Ra'anana
Here is one theory: we are a dynamic, mobile, active society. We are always on the go, always on the move! We hurry to and fro, jog on treadmills, jump into our cars, pedal our bikes, catch planes. We almost never just STOP to do an accounting of our lives, and think about where we have been and what direction we?re taking for the long term. We're usually so busy thinking about where we have to be NEXT, that we rarely focus on where we are NOW. Yet that is precisely what Hashem wants us to do: stand still, physically and mentally, even spiritually. Take stock, try to make some sense out of the crazy-quilt of our lives, try to bring order to the chaos that all too often engulfs us.
Most of all, we have to come to the realization that WE hold the key to Teshuva (repentance). We could renew ourselves & rebuild the world one day and one Jew at a time - if only we could recognize the problems we face and the power we have to correct them. Judaism, I have always believed, moves by revolution and not by evolution. As Avraham, Moshe, the Chofetz Chaim, Herzl and so many others understood, one person can change the world, if he or she dares to try.
It takes real courage to do Teshuva: to admit that you are wrong about certain ideas or actions, and then literally force yourself to change; to give the other person the benefit of the doubt, or the right of way; to respect the Chasid, or the Soldier, or the secular Jew, even if he pursues a lifestyle different from your own; to show courtesy in line, and in traffic; to be honest in business; to be gracious in defeat; to say, "I love you" to your spouse and to your kids (especially when you don?t want to!); to honor your in-laws; to get up for prayers; to open a Sefer and learn.
There comes a time when we have to take a stand. That time is here, and now, Rosh Hashana 5763. Who knows what trials and tribulations await us personally and collectively in the year ahead, and how crucial each and every action we take will be in determining our own fate and that of all of Klal Yisrael.
Nitzavim: stop, think, take a stand. Followed by Vayelech: go with it, move forward, full speed ahead to the Geula Shlema, Bimhayra B'yamenu.(Full Redemption, make it come speedily in our Days).
----------------------------
Rabbi Weiss is Director of the Torah Outreach Center, Ra'anana