Nitzavim
נצביםStanding Together
66 translated essays · 66 total
תרל"א(1870)
Toil Brings Torah Close· Essay 1
My grandfather and teacher expounded on the verse, "It is not in the heavens, to say..." (Devarim 30:12). The Sfas Emes opens by citing his grandfather's teaching on the verse that the Torah is not in the heavens. For one who desires with h…
Natural Pull Toward Good· Essay 2
On the verse "I have called as witnesses against you..." (Devarim 30:19), Rashi z"l explains: Have the heavens and the earth ever changed their nature? — Just as the sun and moon never deviate from the path set for them, so too you should n…
Inborn Love For Hashem· Essay 3
And this is the true answer to the question of the Rambam: how is it possible for there to be a positive commandment such as "And you shall love" (Devarim 6:5) and the like, namely things that depend upon the heart? The Rambam asked how the…
Nitzavim תרל"א
תרל”א אא”ז הגיד ע”פ לא בשמים היא לאמר כו’. The Chidushei Harim explained the pasuk (Devarim 30:12) “It (the Torah) is not in the Heaven, that you shal lsa “Who will go up up and get it for us…for it is close to…
תרל"ב(1871)
Transcriber Editorial Note· Essay 1
[In brief; these divrei Torah are not arranged in order.] This is an editorial notation from the transcriber, indicating that what follows is recorded in an abbreviated form and not in its original sequence. Summary: This entry is not a dva…
Drawing Hashem Through Concealment· Essay 2
"All of you" (Devarim 29:9). The pasuk addresses "all of you," indicating that every individual is included. Each one of you in his entire essence, apart from all the particular details: "The hidden things belong to Hashem" (Devarim 29:28).…
תרל"ג(1872)
Ordered Life Force of Yisrael· Essay 1
The Midrash speaks of the appointed times of tefillah; see there. The Sfas Emes opens by pointing to a Midrash that deals with the fixed times of tefillah, inviting the reader to study it there. For everything receives its life-force from H…
Blessings Drawing Torah Close· Essay 2
In the Midrash on the verse "For this mitzvah" and so forth, our Sages connect it to the blessing over the Torah recited both before and after — the bircas haTorah. The Midrash links the verse about "this mitzvah" to the blessings made over…
Strength Of Baalei Teshuvah· Essay 3
The parsha of "Atem Nitzavim" — "You are standing" — was placed immediately before the section dealing with teshuvah. The Torah deliberately sets the verse "You are standing" right before the passage about teshuvah to link the two. For Mosh…
תרל"ד(1873)
Daily Renewal Through Tefillah· Essay 1
It says, "This day [you stand before Hashem your God]" (Devarim 29:9) — meaning on every single day, as it is taught, "They should be in your eyes like new" (Rashi on Devarim 26:16), and as the pasuk says, "Today, if you would but hearken t…
Tefillah From The Darkness· Essay 2
And in the Midrash it states that the evening tefillah has no fixed obligation. The Midrash notes that, unlike Shacharis and Minchah, the evening tefillah was instituted without a binding fixed status. The Sfas Emes will read this as pointi…
Strength Before The Fall· Essay 3
And Rashi, may his memory be a blessing, explains that when the leadership passed from Moshe Rabbeinu to Yehoshua, he set them up as a monument, etc. Rashi teaches that at the transition of leadership from Moshe Rabbeinu to Yehoshua, Bnei Y…
Revealing the Hidden Point· Essay 4
"For it is very close to you, in your mouth and in your heart, to do it" (Devarim 30:14). The Torah testifies that the avodah of Hashem is not distant or beyond reach — it is right alongside a person, accessible through his speech and his h…
תרל"ה(1874)
Teshuvah Heals the Worlds· Essay 1
In the verse, "You are standing this day, all of you" (Devarim 29:9). The Sfas Emes opens with the verse describing Bnei Yisrael standing before Hashem, which he will read as an ongoing reality rather than a one-time event. For the collecti…
Inherited Merit Of Teshuvah· Essay 2
"And Hashem your God will circumcise your heart and the heart of your offspring" (Devarim 30:6). The Sfas Emes opens with the pasuk that promises Hashem will Himself remove the spiritual blockage of the heart, both for a person and for his …
Yiras Shamayim Embeds The Covenant· Essay 3
Rashi explains the words "to pass you into" ("l'avrecha") as meaning "that you should be one who passes through" (an active form), and it would not be correct to interpret it like "to bring you across" ("l'havircha"). Rashi reads the word "…
Mutual Responsibility And Justice· Essay 4
"In order that the watered one be swept away with the thirsty" (Devarim 29:18) — this hints that unintentional sins (shegagos) become like willful sins (zedonos). The Sfas Emes opens with a pasuk that warns how the watered (the secure) is s…
Inner Torah Rectifies Worlds· Essay 5
"It is not too wondrous for you" (Devarim 30:11) — the Midrash expounds on the verse "It is hidden from the eyes of all living" (Iyov 28:21), that the inner depths of the Torah are concealed even from the angels and the holy Chayos, and yet…
תרל"ו(1875)
Two Paths To Torah· Essay 1
"For this mitzvah which I command you this day is not hidden from you, nor is it far off. It is not in heaven... nor is it across the sea..." (Devarim 30:11-13). The pasuk states that the mitzvah of Torah is accessible: it is not in heaven …
Shared Merit Through Arvus· Essay 2
In the Midrash Tanchuma on the verse "all of you" (kulchem). The Sfas Emes opens by citing the Midrash Tanchuma's teaching on the word "all of you" at the start of the parsha. "All of you" — you are guarantors one for another; even if there…
Partnership With Hashem In Mitzvos· Essay 3
"The hidden things belong to Hashem our God, but the revealed things are for us... to perform..." (Devarim 29:28). The Sfas Emes opens with the verse distinguishing what is hidden, which belongs to Hashem, from what is revealed, which is ou…
תרל"ז(1876)
Opening And Sealing The Heart· Essay 1
In the Midrash on the verse "For this mitzvah" (Devarim 30:11), it expounds that the Torah is referred to as "the One who opens and the One who closes," hinting at two distinct powers. The Sfas Emes opens by citing a Midrash that calls the …
Uniting Thought Speech Deed· Essay 2
"For it is in your mouth and in your heart, to do it" (Devarim 30:14) — this encompasses the entirety of man: thought, speech, and deed. The Torah locates avodas Hashem in mouth and heart, which together with action make up the three facult…
תרל"ח(1877)
Brief Notes On Nitzavim· Essay 1
With the help of Heaven. Parshas Nitzavim, in brief. This is the opening header of the piece, invoking Hashem's help and noting that the following remarks on Parshas Nitzavim are presented in a condensed form. Summary: This entry serves onl…
Standing Within The Klal· Essay 2
"You are standing today, all of you" (Devarim 29:9). The Sfas Emes opens with the posuk from the parsha that all of Bnei Yisrael are standing together before Hashem. "Today" means on every single day, when a person draws himself into the kl…
Unlocking The Heart's Seal· Essay 3
"It is very close to you, in your mouth and in your heart, to do it" (Devarim 30:14). The Sfas Emes opens with the verse that the Torah is not distant but is found close to a person, in his mouth and his heart, ready to be fulfilled. The Mi…
Yearning Removes The Heart's Orlah· Essay 4
"And Hashem your God will circumcise your heart" (Devarim 30:6). The Sfas Emes opens with the pasuk that promises Hashem Himself will one day circumcise the heart of Bnei Yisrael. Just as there is an orlah of the body, so too with Avraham A…
Humility After Spiritual Ascent· Essay 5
The placement of the passage of teshuvah after all the rectification, as it is written, "And you shall return" (Devarim 30:8). The Sfas Emes notes that the Torah sets the passage of teshuvah only after describing the whole process of rectif…
תרל"ט(1878)
Opening And Sealing The Heart· Essay 1
In the Midrash on "For this mitzvah" (Devarim 30:11), it speaks of the One Who opens and Who seals with the Torah. The Midrash, expounding the pasuk "For this mitzvah," describes Hashem as the One Who both opens and seals through the Torah.…
Forging Teshuvah For Generations· Essay 2
On the verse "You are standing" (Devarim 29:9). The piece opens on the verse "You are standing," the beginning of Parshas Nitzavim. Rashi explains that Moshe Rabbeinu set them up as a standing monument before he departed from his stewardshi…
Bittul Reveals the Concealed· Essay 3
Regarding the verse, "The hidden things belong to Hashem our God" (Devarim 29:28), this principle applies to everything in which there is an aspect of the concealed (sasim) and the revealed (galya), as the Zohar HaKadosh states that the Nam…
תר"מ(1879)
Revealing Your Torah Portion· Essay 1
In the Midrash: the one who opens the Torah reading and the one who concludes it recites the blessing before it and the blessing after it. The Midrash teaches that the same person who begins the Torah reading with its opening blessing also …
Gathering For Heaven's Sake· Essay 2
On the verse "You are standing... to bring you across" (Devarim 29:11-12), Rashi explains that it means "so that you should pass over," rather than the expected phrasing "to cause you to pass over." Rashi notes that the verse uses a word me…
The Root In Galus· Essay 3
Regarding the pasuk, "If your dispersed ones will be at the edge of the heavens..." (Devarim 30:4). The pasuk speaks of Bnei Yisrael being scattered to the "edge of the heavens," and the Sfas Emes opens by quoting this unusual phrasing. Thi…
תרמ"א(1880)
Opening And Sealing Torah· Essay 1
In the Midrash: "Ki HaMitzvah HaZos" — 'For this mitzvah' (Devarim 30:11) — the one who opens and the one who closes the Torah recites a berachah before it and after it, and so forth. The Sfas Emes opens with the Midrash on the verse 'For t…
Redemption From Galus Itself· Essay 2
On the pasuk, "If your dispersed ones be at the ends of the heavens... from there Hashem your God will gather you, and from there..." (Devarim 30:4). The Sfas Emes opens with the pasuk in Nitzavim describing how, even if Bnei Yisrael are sc…
Opening Torah Through Yiras Shamayim· Essay 3
The Midrash that begins and concludes [the Torah reading] etc.: "You perform a mitzvah upon My world" etc. The Sfas Emes opens with a Midrash teaching that when a Jew expounds Torah, he performs a mitzvah upon Hashem's world itself. The mea…
Entering Covenant Through Acceptance· Essay 4
On the verse "You are standing today... etc., for you to pass... etc." (Devarim 29:9-11). The Sfas Emes opens with the verse that begins the parsha, where Bnei Yisrael stand assembled to enter into a covenant with Hashem. The meaning is tha…
תרמ"ד(1883)
תרמ"ה(1884)
תרמ"ו(1885)
תרמ"ז(1886)
Torah And Tefillah Foundation· Essay 1
The Midrash speaks about the matter of tefillah. The Sfas Emes opens by noting that the Midrash on this parsha addresses the theme of tefillah. For the essential power of Bnei Yisrael lies in the mouth, namely in Torah and tefillah. The uni…
Two Paths Of Return· Essay 2
"You are standing" (Devarim 29:9) — Rashi explains that Moshe Rabbeinu gathered them together and roused them at the time when they were departing from his authority. The piece opens with Rashi's comment that Moshe Rabbeinu assembled Bnei Y…
תרמ"ט(1888)
Brief Note On Nitzavim· Essay 1
From the parsha of Nitzavim-Vayeilech, in brief, for I have forgotten. This is a brief note from the Sfas Emes himself rather than a full piece of Torah, indicating that he is recording his thoughts on the combined parshiyos of Nitzavim and…
Daily Renewal Of Covenant· Essay 2
"You are standing this day, all of you, before Hashem your God" (Devarim 29:9). The verse opens by describing all of Bnei Yisrael standing together as one before Hashem to enter into the covenant. This takes place every single day through K…
תר"ן(1889)
Covenant Binding All Generations· Essay 1
It says, "This day... that you should pass into..." (Devarim 29:11). The Sfas Emes opens with the pasuk describing the day Bnei Yisrael entered the covenant with Hashem. For it is taught that any gathering that is for the sake of Heaven wil…
Teshuvah as Returning Root· Essay 2
In the passage dealing with teshuvah, the Torah states, "For this mitzvah which I command you this day" (Devarim 30:11), and so forth. The Sfas Emes opens by noting that the Torah's teaching about teshuvah is framed by the verse "For this m…
תרנ"א(1890)
תרנ"ב(1891)
תרנ"ג(1892)
תרנ"ד(1893)
Covenant Binding All Generations· Essay 1
On the pasuk "to bring you into the covenant of Hashem your God" (Devarim 29:11). The Sfas Emes opens with the pasuk describing how Bnei Yisrael are brought into a covenant with Hashem, and he will explain what this covenant truly is. This …
Finding Torah In Galus· Essay 2
On the verse "For this mitzvah" etc. (Devarim 30:11), and in the Midrash, "and it is hidden from the eyes of all living" (Iyov 28:21) etc. The Sfas Emes opens with two sources: the verse describing the mitzvah as accessible and a Midrash te…
תרנ"ה(1894)
Heading For Nitzavim Vayeilech· Essay 1
For Parshas Nitzavim-Vayeilech. This is the heading that introduces the divrei Torah of the Sfas Emes on the combined sidros of Nitzavim and Vayeilech. Summary: This line serves as the heading marking the beginning of the Sfas Emes's teachi…
Standing Firm Through Shabbos· Essay 2
I heard from my grandfather, of blessed memory, that Parshas Nitzavim was set to be read at the end of the year, as Chazal said: when Bnei Yisrael passed from one leader to the next, Moshe Rabbeinu set them up as a standing monument. The Sf…
תרנ"ו(1895)
Unchanging Inner Point· Essay 1
"You are standing today, all of you, before Hashem your God..." (Devarim 29:9). The piece opens with the verse from the parsha, where Moshe Rabbeinu gathers all of Bnei Yisrael to stand before Hashem to enter the covenant. In the Midrash Ta…
The Unchanging Voice Of Yaakov· Essay 2
This is the matter of the blowing of the shofar on Rosh Hashanah: speech is subject to change and variation, but the sound that comes forth through the windpipe does not change. The Sfas Emes distinguishes between articulated speech, which …
תרנ"ז(1896)
תרנ"ח(1897)
תרנ"ט(1898)
Covenant That Guarantees Teshuvah· Essay 1
The Torah placed the covenant of rebuke before the parsha of teshuvah. The Sfas Emes notes that the Torah deliberately positioned the covenant of rebuke just before the section dealing with teshuvah. Because Bnei Yisrael accepted the covena…
Torah As Living Vitality· Essay 2
In the Midrash on the verse "It is not beyond reach" (Devarim 30:11), this is what the verse means, "For they are life to those who find them" (Mishlei 4:22). Rabbi Chiya taught: it is like an eye-salve for the eye, a poultice for a wound, …
תר"ס(1899)
Torah Inheritance Uniting Yisrael· Essay 1
"You are standing this day, all of you" (Devarim 29:9) and so on — Moshe Rabbeinu gathered Bnei Yisrael together into a covenant before his passing. The parsha opens by describing how Moshe Rabbeinu assembled all of Bnei Yisrael into a sing…
Mouth And Heart· Essay 2
On the verse, "For this matter is not too wondrous from you" (Devarim 30:11), and so forth. The Sfas Emes opens with the pasuk in Parshas Nitzavim that declares the Torah is not beyond a person's reach. He reckons four levels, and two place…
תרס"א(1900)
Refining Good From Evil· Essay 1
On the verse, "And Hashem your God will make you abundant in all the work of your hand... for good" (Devarim 30:9). The Sfas Emes opens with the verse promising that Hashem will make Bnei Yisrael abundant in the work of their hands for good…
Milah Gateway To Geulah· Essay 2
On the verse "If your dispersed ones will be at the edge of the heavens, from there Hashem your God will gather you in" (Devarim 30:4) — the Torah is called "the heavens," and the bris (covenant of milah) is called "the edge of the heavens.…