Selichot; Nitzavim-VaYelech

Deuteronomy 29:9–31:30

Punishments, Land, And People

Even during their long exile from the land of Israel, the Jewish people will retain their covenant with God, despite the punishments God exacts against the land.

By Rabbi Avraham Fischer - Provided by the Orthodox Union, the central coordinating agency for North American Orthodox congregations.

Moses spoke with frightening detail regarding the destruction that will befall the people of Israel if they are disloyal to Hashem.

Siege, famine, poverty, war, exile, desolation--all these are part of the covenant between the people and Hashem.

Then, Moses provides us with a glimpse of the future, after the destruction:

(21) And it will say--the later generation, your children who will arise after you, and the stranger who will come from a distant land--and they will see the plagues of that land and its afflictions with which Hashem afflicted it: (22) "Sulfur and salt, the entire land burnt, not to be sown, nor to sprout, nor for any vegetation to come up on it--like the overthrow of Sodom, Amorah, Admah and Tzevoyim which Hashem overthrew in His anger and His wrath." (23) And all the nations will say: "For what did Hashem do so to this land? What is the heat of this great anger?" (24) And they will say: "Because they forsook the covenant of Hashem, the G-d of their fathers, which He made with them when He took them out of the land of Egypt, (25) and they went and served other gods and prostrated themselves to them--gods that they had not known, and which had not benefited them. (26) And the wrath of Hashem burned against that land, bringing upon it all the curse that is written in this Book. (27) And Hashem uprooted them from their soil, with anger, with wrath and with great fury, and He cast them away to another land, as at this day." (28) The hidden matters are for Hashem, our G-d, but the revealed matters are for us and for our children forever, to fulfill all the words of this Torah (Deuteronomy 29).

Moses hopes, through this graphic depiction of what may happen, to jolt the people from their false sense of security, and to both warn and motivate them to prevent this scene from becoming a reality.

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KI TAVO

DEUTERONOMY 26:1–29:8

Twice Warned

The two extended warnings for breaking the covenant reflect the changing relationship between the people of Israel and God as well as the two different exiles.

By Rabbi Haskel Lookstein

Provided by the Orthodox Union, the central coordinating agency for North American Orthodox congregations.
The Tokhackah, G-d's stern warning to the Jewish people of what will befall them should they stray from His commands, appears twice in the Torah, first in Parashat B'hukotai and again in this week's parashah.

This follows the ruling of the prophet Ezra, "that they read the curses in Torat Kohanim (Leviticus) before Atzeret (Shavuot) and the ones in Mishneh Torah (Deuteronomy) before Rosh Hashanah."

The link between the Tokhakhah and Shavuot--the anniversary of our acceptance of the Torah--is readily understandable. But what accounts for the connection between this week's Tokhakhah and the start of the New Year?

The new year includes Yom Kippur, Rav Yosef Dov Soloveitchik, Z"tl (may his memory be a blessing) notes, which is also Zeman Matan Torateinu (the time of the giving of the Torah)--it is the date on which Moses brought down the second lukhot (tablets) from Sinai.

But there is a difference between the two Tokhakhot, Abayei points out in Tractate Megillah. The first Tokhakhah is stated in the plural and delivered by Moses from the mouth of G-d. The second Tochacha is stated in the singular and delivered by Moses on his own.

How is it that the second Tokhakhah was delivered independently by Moses? Tosafot (Talmudic scholars of 12th-13th centuries) answer that he did so with ruah hakodesh (divine inspiration)--the words still came from G-d.

Rav Soloveitchik suggests another, textual answer. The Tokhakhah in Ki Tavo concludes, "These are the words of the covenant…besides the covenant that was executed with [the Jewish people] at Horev [Sinai]."

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Ki Teizei

Deuteronomy 21:10–25:19

And Your Camp(s) Shall Be Holy

The laws regarding the purity of the Tabernacle and the purity of military camps remind us to ensure the sanctity of all of our dwelling places.

By Rabbi Avraham Fischer

Provided by the Orthodox Union, the central coordinating agency for North American Orthodox congregations.

Shortly, the people of Israel will begin its national life, including the conquest and settlement of the land.

And when Israel goes to war, Moses teaches, the Torah continues to maintain its concern for sanctity:

(10) When you go out as a camp (mahaneh) against your enemies, you shall be on guard against any bad thing. (11) If there will be among you a man who will not be pure because of an incident of the night, he shall go forth outside of the camp (la'mahaneh); he shall not come inside the camp (ha'mahaneh). (12) And it shall be towards evening, he shall wash in water, and when the sun has set he may come into the camp (ha'mahaneh). (13) And a designated place shall you have for yourself outside of the camp (la'mahaneh), and you shall go there outside. (14) And a spade shall you have for you with your implements; and it shall be when you sit outside, you shall dig with it, and you shall turn back and cover your discharge. (15) For Hashem, your G-d, walks in the midst of your camp (mahanecha), to save you and to deliver your enemies before you; and your camp(s) shall be (v'haya mahaneycha) holy; and He will not see in you any indecent thing, such that He will turn from behind you (Deuteronomy 23).

Aside from the fact that the word mahaneh, camp is mentioned a significant seven times, this passage describes appropriate and inappropriate behavior in the military camp. However, it also sheds light on the general life of the society.

One who becomes impure (tamei) through emission is required to remain outside the precincts of the Tabernacle (or, in later history, the Temple); this is the camp spoken of in verses 11-12. Then, in verses 13-14, the focus is on cleanliness and maintaining the proper atmosphere in the military camp. Rambam, (Laws of Kings and Their Wars, 6:14, 15), explains these laws as follows:

It is forbidden to relieve oneself within the camp or in the field in any place. Rather there is a positive commandment to establish there a special path to relieve oneself there, as it says, "And a designated place shall you have for yourself outside of the camp."

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Shof'tim

Deuteronomy 16:18−21:9

Wary Of War

The understanding that Israelite troops were addressed on two different occasions before they entered war reflects the idea that our reactions to war often depend on its imminence.

By Rabbi Avraham Fischer

Provided by the Orthodox Union, the central coordinating agency for North American Orthodox congregations.

Judges and the judiciary system, the king, the kohanim (priests), and the prophet--each contributes to the nation, each interacts with the other, so that the Children of Israel can function as the nation of the Torah.

When the Children of Israel goes to war, all segments of the realm are involved, both on the military and the spiritual level.

Before the battle, the kohen (priest) who has been anointed for war (mashuach milchamah) addresses the troops:

(1) When you go out to battle against your enemy and see horses and chariots, a people more numerous than you, do not be afraid of them, for Hashem, your G-d is with you, Who brought you up from the land of Egypt. (2) And it shall be, when you come near unto (k'karov'chem el) the battle, that the priest shall approach and speak to the people. (3) And he shall say to them: "Hear, O Israel, you are coming near to (kreivim . . . l') the battle today against your enemies, let not your hearts falter, fear not, do not panic nor become terrified before them. (4) For Hashem, your G-d, is He Who goes with you, to fight for you against your enemies, to save you" (Deuteronomy 20:1-4).

In the verses that follow (5-8), the mashuach milchamah instructs those who had "unfinished business" back home which might distract them from fighting whole-heartedly to return and provide service from behind the fighting lines.

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