MembersThoughts for Shabbat

Weekly Torah Portion – כִנִצָּבִים – וַיֵּלֶךְ – Nitzavim-Vayeilech – You Stand-And He Went; Deuteronomy 29:9-30:20 / 31:1-30 Isaiah 61:10-63:9 / Hosea 14:2-10

Shortly before Rosh Hashanah, God’s Word does not first ask us where we want to go in the new year, but where we stand today. This is precisely where the tension of the two weekly portions Nitzavim and Vayeilech lies: standing and going, pausing and setting out. For before a new path can begin, we must recognize what we want to take with us, what we must leave behind, and where God wants to lead us from here.

Sometimes it seems to us as though we are not making progress. We stand still, observe, question, doubt. Sometimes we even return to places we had long been convinced we had left behind. And then there are other times when something opens up. We make decisions, act, try things out, make mistakes, correct them, and move on.

This year, the two weekly portions Nitzavim and Vayeilech are read together. And it is precisely this combination that has made something clear to me about the...

Israel Today Membership

Become a Member

• Read all member content

  Get exclusive in-depth reports from Israel.

• Get exclusive in-depth reports from Israel

  Connect with Israel, right from your home.

• Lift up the voice of truth and hope

  Support Jerusalem-based Zionist journalism.

Become a Member

Already a member? Login here.