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Dina Gudai, Israeli Representative
Phone: 074-7800643
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The Schechter Institutes, Inc. (a 501(c) 3 tax exempt organization)
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Attn: Mr. Avrum Lapin, North American Representative
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Email: schechter@thelapingroup.com
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Phone: 416-789-2193, ext. 2139
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Please mail a check to:
The Schechter Institutes
Attn: Dina Gudai, Finance Department
PO Box 16080,
Jerusalem, 9116002
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For assistance, please call Dina Gudai at 074-780-0643 (8:00 AM – 3:00 Israel time Sunday through Thursday).
Your donation will be tax deductible in the US to the extent allowed by the IRS.
To make a tax-deductible donation by wire transfer in the US, please contact:
Avrum Lapin, North American Representative
Toll-free: 1-866-830-3321
Email: schechter@thelapingroup.com
To make a tax-deductible donation in Israel, please contact:
Dina Gudai, Israeli Representative
Phone: 074-7800643
Email: dina@schechter.ac.il
Please mail your check to:
The Schechter Institutes, Inc. (a 501(c) 3 tax exempt organization)
Box #3566
PO Box 8500
Philadelphia, PA 19178-3566
Attn: Mr. Avrum Lapin, North American Representative
Toll-free: 1-866-830-3321
Email: schechter@thelapingroup.com
Please indicate the donation is "for your joint Schechter Institutes program."
Checks should be made payable to the Jewish Theological Society of Canada and mailed to:
Jewish Theological Society of Canada
c/o Camp Ramah in Canada
3845 Bathhurst St., Suite 310
Toronto, ON, M3H 3N2
Phone: 416-789-2193, ext. 2139
E-mail: accounting@campramah.com
Please mail a check to:
The Schechter Institutes
Attn: Dina Gudai, Finance Department
PO Box 16080,
Jerusalem, 9116002
Israel
For assistance, please call Dina Gudai at 074-780-0643 (8:00 AM – 3:00 Israel time Sunday through Thursday).
The parashiyot of Nitzavim–Vayeilekh are intimately woven into the rhythm of the liturgical year as they are typically read either immediately preceding Rosh Hashanah or during the intervening Shabbat between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. Indeed, the very opening of this section, with its devotion to the Covenant and returning to God, are rooted deeply in the essence of the High Holidays:
Surely, this commandment which I enjoin upon you this day is not too baffling for you, nor is it beyond reach. It is not in the heavens, that you should say, “Who among us can go up to the heavens and get it for us and impart it to us, that we may observe it?” Neither is it beyond the sea that you should say, “Who among us can cross to the other side of the sea and get it for us and impart it to us, that we may observe it?” No, the thing is very close to you, in your mouth and in your heart, to observe it. (Deut. 30:11–14)
Having drifted from the path of God and the mitzvot, we are encouraged to rediscover and rebuild relationships—with God and with our fellow humans.
Yet, how does one begin a process of teshuvah, returning—especially when such an endeavor seems counter to human nature?
Parashat Nitzavim anticipates our sense of trepidation with regard to this sacred act. Deuteronomy 30:11 declares that “this commandment . . . is not too baffling for you, nor is it beyond reach.” Though many commentators understand this verse and section to refer to the entirety of Torah, Nahmanides reads it differently.
He argues that this excerpt refers very specifically to the mitzvah of repentance: “The expression used here refers not to the entirety of Torah but specifically to the mitzvah of repentance which immediately precedes this verse. It is stated in a future tense to suggest, in the form of a pledge, that it is destined that Israel will repent.” Even though one may think that it is far beyond one’s ability, teshuvah is within reach.
Ramban’s commentary is sharp, encouraging each and every one of us to reconsider the possibility of change in our lives. Too often, we crave rootedness and stability in our lives.
Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel laments that such a tendency leads to a spiritual death; we refuse to acknowledge that hayyei olam nata betokheinu, “eternal life has been planted in each of us.”
Our Torah readings this week bind together the opposites: nitzavim means “rootedness,” while va-yeilekh denotes “moving.” Ironically, to move forward with integrity, we must be rooted.
May this coming season of the High Holidays be a time for rooting ourselves more deeply in Judaism and moving forward toward more intimate and meaningful relationships with God and our fellow humans.
Wishing all a Shabbat shalom as we pray for the peace of Israel and may our hostages be Home speedily.
image: shutterstock
Rabbi Matthew Berkowitz, an accomplished educator and artist, brings decades of experience in development to his position. From 1999 to 2008, he served as JTS’s Senior Rabbinic Fellow based in NY and Florida, responsible for cultivating and expanding the donor base and teaching adult learning study groups throughout the United States. From 2009, he served as Director of Israel Programs for JTS working closely with rabbinical and cantorial students to significantly enrich their Israel experience.
He is a founding partner of Kol HaOt studio project in Jerusalem’s Artist Lane — which weaves the arts deeply into Jewish learning.
Rabbi Berkowitz is the author and illuminator of the widely used The Lovell Haggadah published by Schechter in 2008.
Matt is a Wexner Graduate fellow alumnus and serves on the faculty of The Wexner Heritage Program.
He is married to Nadia Levene and the proud father of three children.
