Nitzavim - נצבים : "You are standing"
Torah : Deuteronomy 29:9-30:20
Haftarah : Isaiah 61:10-63:9
Gospel : Acts 19-20

Thought for the Week:

“Obviously no one can keep the whole Torah. No one is perfect. Therefore, we should not try to keep the Torah because it is too difficult.” Moses must have foreseen our faulty logic. Therefore he insists in no uncertain terms that “this commandment which I command you today is not too difficult for you, nor is it out of reach” (Deuteronomy 30:11). The Apostle John agrees saying, “For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments; and His commandments are not burdensome” (1 John 5:3). It’s not about being perfect, it’s about loving God.

Commentary:

Moses sums up his entreaty to Israel with the passage that begins, “See, I have set before you today life and prosperity; and death and adversity” (Deuteronomy 30:15). If the Torah can be summed up into nutshell, Deuteronomy 30:15–20 is that nutshell. God sets before His people a choice. The choice is obedience or disobedience. The former leads to life, the latter to death. God dictates the choice, commanding us even, “Choose life in order that you may live!” (30:19) Yet it is a real choice, with real consequences. Man’s freedom to choose, to accept or to reject God, is a fundamental princi...