WRJ Voices: Nitzavim

This portion is the final thoughts and urgings of our year: to be mindful that mitzvot and their positive behaviors are not out of reach. We must be ever mindful and respectful of positive behaviors. This portion includes women for the first time in the Torah as an equal player and expresses the hope that all people will reach long life and have prosperity. It makes clear that retribution will happen, if we, individually or as a group, decide to stray from what we know is right and just. 

It is also made clear that we can possibly decide to make amends for something we have done wrong or improper and G-d will take us back. The more we consider these appropriate actions and not the negative ones, it gives us a better chance of positive things happening in our lives. It always feels good to do something nice for someone else, especially when it is for someone who is not expecting it. A negative or slight is sometimes a hurt for others, but to surprise them with a positive word or action when it is not expected is a joy for you both. 

The portion conveys that we, as parents or elders, should demonstrate positive and moral behavior. We thus teach a new generation to be mindful of the positives in behavior by our own actions and words. We act as role models for the future generations. 

This means that we should be ever considerate of our own actions and how they affect other people, such as friends, family, and even others who don’t really know us. If we speak “hatefully” about another and someone overhears us, we may affect the way they see us. They may then modify the way they interact with us. If we, by some chance are rude or negative in speech, then we must take it upon ourselves to apologize or make other amends. It really doesn’t matter if the act to be forgiven is overt or not. We know what we said or did and we need to make amends. 

This portion is obviously leading up to the time of refection that comes with Rosh Hashanah and ends with Yom Kippur. We as women take this portion and run with it, as it belongs to us and it is one place in the Torah that we have as much at stake as do the men. As women, we look at life from a global perspective. We also take responsibility for our own actions, one to one. We tend to be the ones who see the errors of a thought or deed then make amends. As we work our way through the High Holidays and we open our minds and our hearts to our own thoughts and deeds, we should remember that all can be forgiven by us and to us.

Meg Marshak is the president of Congregation Beth Ahabah Sisterhood in Richmond, Virginia. She is also a member of WRJ Chai Society and is a Mid-Atlantic Area Director.