Parashat Nitzavim - Second Aliyah
Read the biblical text and try to understand it on your own, before reading the commentary.
A covenant that binds even those who are not there
After the long list of who is standing at the assembly, the second aliyah turns to the question of why. Moses says that the assembly is meant to establish Israel today as a people, and that God will be their God. The two sides are defined here in relation to each other, and not only committed to one another.
Right after that he connects this moment to the past: as he spoke to you and as he swore to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac and to Jacob. The covenant being made now is not a new initiative but the realization of an old promise.
The second verse widens the circle of those bound by it: not with you alone am I making this covenant and this oath. Moses states explicitly that the people standing there are not the only side.
The last verse spells out the extension: with whoever is here with us standing today before God our God, and with whoever is not here with us today. The Torah does not explain here who those absent ones are, but it does state that the covenant applies to them as well.
The three verses are built as one sequence: a purpose, a promise given to the fathers, and an extension beyond those present at the place. The covenant moves from the standing of a single day to a framework that continues in time.
Insights from the aliyah
A covenant defines identity, it does not only assign duties
The verse does not say only what each side will do, but who each side will be: Israel as a people, and God as their God. At the level of the idea, there is a difference between an agreement that regulates behavior and a bond that determines who you are.
An old promise proves itself only when it is kept
The oath to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob is mentioned exactly at the moment when it comes into effect. Until here it remained a promise given to the fathers, and here it takes the form of a covenant with the people themselves.
A commitment meant to last does not close within the circle of those present
Moses says explicitly that the covenant is not made with those standing there alone. A commitment that is supposed to continue beyond the moment has to include in advance also whoever is not in the room.
Whoever is born into a framework receives it before choosing it
The covenant applies also to whoever is not here, and that raises a question about the consent of someone who was not there. At the level of the idea, every person inherits frameworks they did not build, and their task is to decide what to do with them.
Saying it out loud is better than a quiet assumption
It would have been possible to hold the assembly itself and assume that the covenant would carry forward on its own. Instead Moses says the extension out loud, as part of the wording of the covenant. Something you want to bind over time has to be said, not left as self evident.
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