Shabbat Nitzavim

My new tefillin arrived today. All my thanks to Rabbi Zalman for his help in getting them to me. But of course the story does not end there. Rearmed and ready to face the challenges of the new year, with Elul drawing to a close, I continue to look back, and look ahead. And we have collective challenges as a people as well.

We read the last of the haftorot of consolation this week, and see that HaShem is restless, on the move, and making ready for our redemption. Yeshayahu speaks of watchmen upon the walls of Jerusalem. We see an image of G-d doing battle with His enemies. The metaphor is of blood staining a raiment, as HaShem has trodden upon his enemies like grapes in the winepress, even as he is ready to redeem us and take us to Him as a groom weds his bride.

In this time, when the voices of our enemies grow louder, as they demand our land, our cities, our capital so too must we stand up. If we are being wed to HaShem, how can we be ready if we are silent? If G-d is going to battle with our enemies, then we are bidden to do so as well, each in their own way. When our destruction is sought, every act we commit that upholds our laws and traditions is a blow to our enemies. Every time we stand up to the voices of propagandists and liars, even those among our own people (unfortunately, there are many), we thwart those who seek to do us harm, and bring the redemption of all of Israel that much closer.

Who are the watchers on the walls? We are. When the government of the United States does not recognize Jerusalem as our capital, and seeks to divide the city as the Jordanian Army did, expelling us totally; when they say that Jews born in Jerusalem cannot denote Israel as their country of birth on an American passport, we must be the guardians. We must be the voice that speaks out. We must be the shofarot that blast the message that we are in our land, we are in our Holy City, and we are not leaving again.

Chazak v'amatz, and Shabbat Shalom