Nitzavim-Vayelech
What final message would you expect the Torah to provide on what is effectively the last Shabbat of the year? What parting thought should it leave us with as we end another cycle of seasons?
If we were to take a survey of a hundred people, here are the suggestions that are most likely to score the highest percentages.
A restatement of the fundamental principles of faith. A summons to the Jewish nation to live up to their calling as the Chosen People. A reminder of the awesome nature of the Almighty and His universe?
But that is not what we find.
Instead, we are presented with something much less quixotic, the opening words of the sedra simply read, 'All of you are standing today before the Lord your God.' This seems somewhat disappointing, if not anticlimactic and it certainly was not the type of inspiration we were necessarily expecting at this crucial point. Let us attempt to understand the true depth of this statement.
At the end of the year, on the precipice of a new dawn, we are asked to contemplate a simple truth - we are still here, still standing, we were spared to survive another twelve months and whatever we have had to endure, whether it was triumph or tragedy, many have not even been afforded the privilege that is life itself. Never mind lofty concepts - there is plenty of time to ponder them - for now just appreciate that you are alive, recognise the gift of life and be thankful to the source of all life.
At this level of consciousness you are ready for the process of teshuva - the return to God described later in the sedra, 'When all these things come upon you, the blessing and the curse... and you will return to the Lord your God.'
The Ohr HaChaim explains that although it maybe more natural for a person to be goaded into teshuva by feelings of distress, it is also possible, and far more preferable, to be motivated by the presence of good in your life.
At this point, poised to begin a new year, the Torah's vision is most uplifting. Focus on all the good in your life, the successes you have enjoyed, the times of joy and laughter and utilise those memories as a springboard to approach God, to deepen your relationship, to return home. By so doing, teshuva unlocks the door to reveal that today you are standing before God.
Rabbi Alex Chapper is minister of Ilford Federation Synagogue (www.ilfordfeds.org)
