Nitzavim-Vayeilech: All That You Can Accomplish in One Day

"You stand THIS DAY, all of you, before the Lord your God... to enter into the covenant of the Lord your God, which the Lord your God is concluding with you THIS DAY, with its sanctions: to the end that God may establish you THIS DAY as God's people and be your God" (Deut. 29:9-12). 

Our Torah reading this week begins with a very powerful statement. Moses declares to the entire people, as they are about to enter the Promised Land, that they are in a binding covenant and relationship 

with God. But, you see, Moses also makes it ABUNDANTLY clear that the covenant isn't just with the people standing in front of him right there and then, on THIS DAY. It is also a covenant for all future generations, i.e. you and me (as well as our great-grandparents AND our great-grandchildren). As mentioned above, I think this is a really impactful and significant declaration by Moses. But what's also fascinating to me is his repetition of the term "Ha-yom," meaning "this day," over and over again. Why so emphatic about this seemingly minor point?

In fact, I even cut out a few additional "Ha-yom"s from the part I quoted to you! I stopped at verse 12, but verses 13 and 14 state: "I make this covenant, with its sanctions, not with you alone, but both with those who are standing here with us THIS DAY before the Lord our God and with those who are not with us here THIS DAY." So five 

instances of "Ha-yom" in six verses! And I want to bring in one other (arguably unrelated) observation. This Saturday evening, we will hold a service called S'lichot, which is our first introduction to the High Holiday season. It's always conducted on the Saturday before Rosh Hashanah, and some congregations begin the service at midnight (ours starts at 8:00 p.m.; who can stay up that late???). S'lichot reacquaints us with some of the High Holiday liturgy, and begins to put the melodies and themes of the Yamim Noraim, the Days of Awe, into our hearts and minds. One of the main liturgical pieces of the High Holidays is called, you guessed it, "Ha-yom."

These two points may indeed appear disparate, but I think there's a significant lesson in here for us all. You see, I don't think that either instance is really talking about the significance of "today," meaning the actual date on the calendar. Even though Moses emphasizes "this day" 

and the High Holiday song repeats over and over "this day," both are actually trying to say that ANY day can be "this day." Moses, especially, is reminding us all - in every generation - that we cannot forget our covenant with God because that day has passed, and the warranty has run out. And every year we sing about the importance of "Ha-yom," clearly it isn't referring to that one particular day when the author composed this piece. In fact, the rabbis remind us of this point in many different ways. Torah, they say, is not received once and then we can check that box. We have to choose, every day, to continue to receive it, to accept it. 

This may sound daunting, but it's the same with anything that really matters in life. If you declare your love for your spouse on your wedding day, are you then 'covered' for the rest of your marriage? No need to say "I love you" or find new ways of expressing your love, right? Of course not! And if you once taught 

your child how to tie his/her shoe or tell time, have you fulfilled your obligation to teach that child about life? Again, certainly not. Real, lasting relationships take ongoing work, and require us to keep checking in and reaffirming our commitment. In many ways, the High Holidays are about making that same commitment to yourself. How do you want to change and improve in the year ahead? Having once made an effort to improve 15 years ago just ain't enough; you deserve more. So take a moment - this day - and think about what you want out of life, and how you're going to work towards it in the New Year. Teshuvah, repentance, comes from the word 'to turn around'; change only requires one small step in a new direction. There is so much you can achieve and accomplish right here, right now... on this day.

Photos in this blog post:
1. CC image of "Tablets of the Ten Commandments (Bible Card)" courtesy of The Providence Lithograph Company on Wikimedia Commons
2. CC image courtesy of Geagea on Wikimedia Commons
3. Image courtesy of Rabbi Gerber's desk calendar (you'd think there would be images of such a thing available for common use online, wouldn't you??)
4. CC image courtesy of Jay from UK on Wikimedia Commons