Nitzavim: choose life

Nitzavim: choose life

אַתֶּ֨ם נִצָּבִ֤ים הַיּוֹם֙ כֻּלְּכֶ֔ם לִפְנֵ֖י יְ

You stand this day, all of you, before your God 

You are standing before Gd. All of you. No exceptions. Not by class. Not by variation in belief.

Nitzavim: You are standing at attention: stiff and on alert. You are proffered something that stands somewhere  between an offer and an order. You have the skepticism of the buyer and the acceptance of the soldier.

 All are entering into the contract enforced by blessing for adherence and curse for deviation. Do not think that there are exceptions, detours around the stipulations, viable alternative paths.

וְהָיָה֩ כִֽי־יָבֹ֨אוּ עָלֶ֜יךָ כׇּל־הַדְּבָרִ֣ים הָאֵ֗לֶּה הַבְּרָכָה֙ וְהַקְּלָלָ֔ה אֲשֶׁ֥ר נָתַ֖תִּי לְפָנֶ֑יךָ

When all these things befall you—the blessing and the curse that I have set before you 

After all the curses have been exhausted. That is the I was born into. The greatest act of Divine wrath, the Holocaust had been perpetrated on my immediate ancestors. All of my grandparents, uncles and aunts had been murdered; my parents tortured by starvation, homelessness  and criminalization. I am the heir to their resignature on this agreement; the beneficiary of the redirection of Gd's wrath.

Today is the yahrzeit (anniversary of the death) of my father.  His life was an affirmation of the covenant. How could it be that he was not bitter? - he was not bitter.  How could he continue his commitment to  this Gd?  He did. The odds had no power over him.  He rose in all circumstances. 

Yesterday, my newest grandchild, Eden Raphaela, had her simchat bat, the celebration of her birth. She was introduced into the covenant.  How long will Gd's good will last?  When will the anger be rekindled? Will the violation of a rule that seems venal to me spark another severe retribution?

The parsha ends with a seduction:

הַעִדֹ֨תִי בָכֶ֣ם הַיּוֹם֮ אֶת־הַשָּׁמַ֣יִם וְאֶת־הָאָ֒רֶץ֒ הַחַיִּ֤ים וְהַמָּ֙וֶת֙ נָתַ֣תִּי לְפָנֶ֔יךָ הַבְּרָכָ֖ה וְהַקְּלָלָ֑ה וּבָֽחַרְתָּ֙ בַּחַיִּ֔ים לְמַ֥עַן תִּֽחְיֶ֖ה אַתָּ֥ה וְזַרְעֶֽךָ׃ 

I call heaven and earth to witness against you this day: I have put before you life and death, blessing and curse. Choose life—if you and your offspring would live—

The implied meaning is that choosing obedience is choosing life.  I cannot resists taking the instruction out of context

וּבָֽחַרְתָּ֙ בַּחַיִּ֔ים    choose life

That is what my father did...all his life .  That, in all its complexity,  becomes his legacy. That is what Eden, and those who brought her to this place have done. This is a good instruction.