Parashat HaShavua - Nitzavim - Rosh HaShanah

God works in mysterious ways. In this week’s reading of Nitzavim, which leads us into Rosh HaShanah, we might find that message in the following passage: “The hidden things belong to the Lord, our God, and the revealed things apply to us and to our children forever / הַנִּ֨סְתָּרֹ֔ת לַֽיהֹוָ֖ה אֱלֹהֵ֑ינוּ וְהַנִּגְלֹ֞ת ֹלָֹ֤נוֹּ ֹוֹּלְֹבָֹנֵֹ֨יֹנֹוּ֨ עַד־עוֹלָ֔ם.” (Deut. 29:28) However, within the context of the parasha and our time of year - which is always when we read Nitzavim - one can understand it as actually referring to the hidden inner life in each of us, our innermost selves.

In support of this idea, immediately following that passage, the Torah foretells that “you will return to your heart / וַֽהֲשֵֽׁבֹתָ֙ אֶל־לְבָבֶ֔ךָ.” (Deut. 30:1) And, moreover, “you will return to the Lord, your God…with all your heart and with all your soul / וְשַׁבְתָּ֞ עַד־יְהֹוָ֤ה אֱלֹהֶ֨יךָ֙…בְּכָל־לְבָבְךָ֖ וּבְכָל־נַפְשֶֽׁךָ.” (Deut. 30:2) Again and again, the parasha reiterates this idea of return. (Deut. 30:3; 30:5, 30:8)

It is no wonder that every year this is our reading before Rosh HaShanah. Very obviously, the Torah is reminding us to return to God. At an even deeper level, the Torah is also reminding us to return to ourselves, our true selves, to examine, to reflect, and to renew. This, it seems to me, is what the Torah is referring to as the “hidden things.” And even though they belong to us, and are about us, they are not as apparent to us as they are to God. As Rav Kook writes in The Lights of Repentance, this potential is always deep within us: “Teshuvah constantly dwells in the heart. Even in the midst of sin, teshuvah is concealed in the sinner’s soul.” (6:2) 

Revealing that teshuvah is up to us. Rabbi Soloveitchik echoes and adds to Rav Kook when he says, “Judaism has always held that it lies within our power to renew ourselves, to be reborn and to redirect the course of life. In this task, we must be self-reliant; no one can help us. We are our own creator and innovator. We are our own redeemer, our own messiah who has come to redeem us from the darkness of exile to the light of personal redemption… The idea that in the mystique of each person’s soul there is an aspect that remains as a pure core, despite the impurity, is reflected in our daily prayers: “My Lord, the soul you gave to me is pure / אֱלֹהַי, נְשָׁמָה שֶׁנָּתַתָּ‏ בִּי טְהוֹרָה.” (On Repentance 182-86)

May this be a Rosh HaShanah when we accomplish this return by reconnecting with our innermost selves, as we look forward to a year full of goodness, within each of us and in the world around us.

Shabbat Shalom and L’Shana Tova Techateivu Ve’techatimu,

May we be written and sealed in the book of life.

Rabbi Jack Nahmod
Middle School Judaic Studies Head
Rabbinic Advisor