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The concept that halakha is determined by human reasoning and thought is one of the foundations of the Jewish legal system. The Talmud is peppered with examples of this idea. (See Bava Metzia 86a for an exceptional story). The source for this concept is found in our parasha. The Torah teaches us that "this commandment" is not at a far distance, not in the heavens, nor is it in some unreachable destination. Rather it is inside of each of us in our hearts and on our lips. (Devarim 30:11-14) Though R'Yehoshua in our story has used the verses to teach that halakha is indeed in our hands, the verses on a contextual reading seem to refer to the mitzva of teshuva – repentance. Perhaps, however, we can forge the two ideas together.

Teshuva is something which the individual must come to on their own. Only from a piercing view and a profound understanding of one's own life can teshuva be performed. So, too, with halakha. One who is detached from life unaware of human existence, cannot decide how the law should be determined. The halakhist is one who must be firmly in touch with the world and have the ability to sensitively apply the divine will to our human world. Though God gave us the laws it can only be we who are responsible for their implementation and practice. Indeed, from the conclusion of the story we see that God agrees – the halakha is in the possession of man. Hopefully we will succeed in our task so as to return ever closer to the divine.

Aytan Kadden

The Gemara in Masekhet Chagiga (3a), as part of its discussion of the obligatory pilgrimage to Jerusalem on the festivals, cites the following verse from Shir Hashirim (7:2): "How lovely are your footsteps in sandals, daughter of nobles!" The Gemara suggests that the "footsteps" refer to the triennial pilgrimage to the Temple. "Daughter of nobles," comments the Gemara, refers to Benei Yisrael's distinction of being the progeny of Avraham, who is called a "noble" in other contexts.

Two basic questions arise from this Gemara. What is so beautiful about the pilgrimages to Jerusalem that warrants such a passionate expression of love in Shir Hashirim? Additionally, how is Avraham particularly relevant to this mitzva? Wherein lies the connection between our being descendents of Avraham and the mitzva of aliya le-regel, traveling to Jerusalem thrice a year?

The answer lies in a fundamental understanding of the mitzva of teshuva, repentance, which takes center stage in our preparations for the Yamim Noraim (Days of Awe). Teshuva involves not merely the correction of individual flaws and specific forms of wrongdoing. Rather, it requires a relentless drive forward, a concentrated effort to consistently progress forward at every stage of life. The battle cry of Elul is the celebrated verse in Shir Hashirim, "I am for my beloved, and my beloved is for me." What does this expression of love have to do with the month of awe, the time of year characterized by intense fear and overwhelming trepidation of the imminent trial before the Heavenly Tribunal? The answer is that repentance means focusing all of one's energies towards his relationship with the Almighty. Indeed, it is about love, it is about devoting oneself entirely towards his relationship with God, and working to come closer and closer. Teshuva constitutes the antithesis of complacency; it requires constant effort and determination towards greater levels of connection with the divine.

Indeed, "the footsteps" of Benei Yisrael are most praiseworthy. When the nation travels forward in the direction of Jerusalem - towards the source of sanctity, moving further in their pursuit of spiritual perfection, then the verse exclaims, "How lovely are your footsteps!"

In this context, when Benei Yisrael drive themselves forward relentlessly, when they overcome the natural tendencies of complacency and exert themselves to the utmost for the sake of avodat Hashem, we are identified most fully as the children of Avraham. In this sense we are less connected to Yitzchak and Yaakov, who were raised in a home infused with the ideology and spirit of monotheism and godliness, but to Avraham, the first of the patriarchs, who spent his childhood in Ur Kasdim, surrounded by idolatry, interacting with no one other than worshippers of graven images. Indeed, Avraham embodies the process of aliya le-regel, of leaving one's home and proceeding further to seek new heights of spirituality. He is the quintessential pilgrim, the ultimate seeker of truth and religious growth.

In the weeks to come, then, let us embark upon this pilgrimage. We must apply ourselves towards the ideal established by our great patriarch, the drive towards perfection, to accustom oneself to self-scrutiny and the constant reassessment of his values and conduct. This is the ultimate fulfillment of teshuva.

Rav Ezra Bick (sicha delivered in the Beit Midrash of Yeshivat Har Etzion, 10 Elul, 5759, summarized by David Silverberg)

In the beginning of Parashat Nitzavim, Moshe reiterates his warning against idolatry. He recognizes the fact that Benei Yisrael have been exposed to idolatrous influences and may be tempted to follow suit. Recalling the people's experience in Egypt, he comments, "You have seen the detestable things and the fetishes of wood and stone, the gold and silver that was with them."

At first glance, it would seem that the final phrase of the verse, "the gold and silver that was with them," refers to the golden and silver images of the gentiles. In other words, "them" here refers to the idolaters.

Rav Shimshon Rafael Hirsch, however, offers a most insightful interpretation of this verse. "Them" modifies not the idolaters, but the idols. Thus, the "gold and silver that was with them" refers to the elaborate adornments with which the idols were decorated. Moshe was concerned not that the idolatry itself would lure the people, but rather the honor and glory afforded to the idols would capture the minds of the Jewish nation. Upon seeing how enthusiastically the gentiles approach their inanities, how much honor and prestige they bestow upon their pagan rituals, Benei Yisrael will likely be absorbed into the polytheistic culture and mindset, and may soon find themselves engrossed in the practice of paganism.

Rav Hirsch wrote these comments many decades before the mass media of the twentieth century. Yet, he intuited and sensed the reality of cultural influence and, more specifically, the power that "fads" hold over the masses. As a schoolchild in yeshiva, I was always startled by Benei Yisrael's inability to withstand to the temptation of idolatry. Is it so difficult to avoid attributing divine qualities to inanimate objects? But the answer, in effect, is clear to anyone who has found himself "caught up" in any contemporary fad, be it professional sports, the apple at Times Square on New Years' E, cabbage-patch dolls, etc. The human being is capable of generating intense excitement over pure nonsense when he sees others who exhibit such enthusiasm and when the public at large affords exaggerated significance and importance to the subject at hand.

As Moshe understood several millennia ago, it is not easy to withstand the pressures and subtle influences of popular fads. We must constantly reaffirm our commitment to the single ideal of the Torah. The significance of anything else must pale in comparison with the importance we afford to the study and consistent observance of God's Word.

After the covenant in Ki Tavo, Moshe delivers his last speech to Bnei Yisrael. Like the great covenants of Bechukotai and Ki Tavo, it includes a threat of punishment for wrongdoing, and a promise of a reward for behaving righteously. Here, however, the order is altered: the punishment first, with the reward following, and finally a stress on the free choice granted to us. For this is not a covenant; it is designed to give the message that the choice is always in our hands, and to recommend the right choice to us – rather than just expose the consequences of making each of them. Truly, a message appropriate for the last Shabbat before Rosh Hashana.

But the first part of this speech is rather unclear. Verses 17-20 deal with an individual who willfully decides to ignore the covenant, and promise he would be singled out for terrible punishment. However, verses 21-27 describe the whole country as a desolate, smoking desert – taking part in the punishment inflicted on the transgressing nation, which has sinned as a whole. And it is summed up by the last, mysterious verse quoted above.

Ramban, alone among the commentators, tries to see coherence in this speech. He understands verses 17-20 as gradually describing the punishments on a single person, then family, then tribe – with the whole punishment of the land inflicted on the territory of only one single tribe, and turning to the whole nation only in verse 27. With this (very problematic grammatically) reading, he can approach verse 28 without burdening it with the need to reconcile the different parts of the speech. He interprets it as expressing a soothing idea: that the secret sins, those secret even from ourselves, remain hidden with the Lord; and we are subject to those punishments only if we transgress in the open.

But even the Netziv, who accepts Ramban's reading of verses 17-20, admits that 21 opens a new subject. And he is forced to explain the mysterious, concluding verse as expressing the mystery of God's secret judgements. Before both the fall of the individual, and the destruction of the nation we stand awe-stricken and speechless. The secret things are not for us; we must content ourselves with doing our best to keep the things which are revealed.

Rashi leads a group of commentators, who understand verses 17-20 as one case, regarding one sinning individual. And the breathtaking leap to a total destruction of the whole land is there exactly in order to stagger us by the contrast. After verse 27, Rashi visualizes a horrified, reeling people, confusedly asking: 'What is there to be done? Shall the many be punished for the inner thought of the single?' To which the answer comes: The secret things (as in verses 17-20) – they are with the Lord our God. But we are charged with the revealed (vs. 21-27) – and if we fail to uproot evil from within us, we are all held responsible.

The opening of the parasha expresses the same idea: "You stand today, all of you, before the Lord your God…" (29;9) – all of us as one, each responsible for the others; and so we stand next week, in Rosh Hashana, before the Lord our God: as one, each by himself – but each responsible for his brethren.

David Fuchs

In this week's parasha, every individual and group within the Jewish people is warned not to stray from serving God. The punishment is then explained, starting with the punishment for the individual which ends thus:

The punishment for the individual leads directly to a description of the destruction of the land. This appears strange. How do we explain this? In addition, what does this teach us?

In the first verse we looked at, we see both individuals and large groups within the people being warned not to stray. Clearly the destruction of the land is when large groups stray and the whole nation is sentenced into exile. This punishment comes straight after the punishment of the individual which is worse - total destruction. The whole Jewish people can never be destroyed, that is God's promise to us. But an individual can.

On a deeper lever, there is a link between one person's wrongdoing and the society that he is in. Others may follow his example and hence in time the whole society will be corrupted. But also God's judgement on the people is affected by the deeds of every individual. Hence the exile of the people can be described straight after the case of the individual. As we inspect our deeds in the run-up to Rosh Hashana, we might consider the following quote from Rambam's Hilkhot Teshuva about the importance of our individual deeds:

Samual Jackman

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