Reply To: Short & Sweet

Nitzavim: Returning to our Ideals

This parsha contains some famously stirring words about a particular mitzva: לא נפלאת היא ממך… לא בשמים היא… כי קרוב עליך הדבר מאוד. However, there is a disagreement between Rashi and the Ramban which precise mitzva this is referring to. Rashi is of the opinion that the mitzva being discussed is the study of Torah, while the Ramban thinks the we are talking about the mitzva of teshuva.

However, we can suggest that two opinions are not necessarily in conflict. Translated literally, “teshuva” means “to return”. During the course of a full year, it is all but guaranteed that there are times that we will have fallen short, times when we will not have moved up to the ideals that we cherish. Teshuva is the process of returning back to the ideals that we may have abandoned.

This is where studying Torah comes in. The Torah is the ultimate, divine guide to Jewish ideals. By studying the Torah, we can ensure that our ideals are not watered down by the times that we’ve fallen short, and that we have pristine ideals to return to.

לע״נ דוד חיים בן ישראל דוב הכהן
לע״נ ר׳ חיים דוב בן ר׳ בןציון שלום