Nitzavim

On Weight Loss and Teshuva

A Reflection on Parashat Nitzavim

Parashat Nitzvim may reveal a deep connection between weight loss and Teshuva. Noom is a weight loss program which claims to be built on well-researched psychological principles. It requires no crash diets, no carb counting, no extreme exercise regimen. In fact, on Noom, all you have to do is scrupulously record everything you eat on their app.…

The King’s Speech: Two Tannaitic Takes on Hakhel (Audio Only)

by Rabbi Shmuel Hain
Posted on September 22, 2022

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God Is King. What Does That Mean for Us?

by Rabbi Dov Linzer
Posted on September 2, 2021

What is the meaning of Rosh HaShanah as a day of kingship? The idea of kingship is central to Rosh HaShanah. In the third blessing of Shmoneh Eisrei, starting with Rosh HaShanah and moving all the way through Yom Kippur, we say that God is not HaEl HaKadosh, “Holy God,” but rather HaMelech HaKadosh, or “Holy King.”…

Parashat Ha-Teshuva: Deuteronomy Chapter 30 and Its Location in the Book

by Rabbi David Bigman
Posted on September 15, 2020

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To Lead, Perchance to Dream

by Rabbi Dov Linzer
Posted on September 29, 2016

In memory of Shimon Peres, z”l, 1923-2016 The people about to enter the Land of Israel are different than those who left Egypt a generation earlier. These people were born free from slavery and can face the future without fear. They have forged a deep and lasting relationship with God over forty years in the wilderness.…

A Living Covenant of Torah

by Rabbi Dov Linzer
Posted on September 9, 2015

Parashat Netzavim opens with a gathering together of all the people of Israel to enter into a covenant with God. The Torah goes out of its way to make it clear that every single person is present and accounted for: You stand this day all of you before the Lord your God; your captains of your tribes, your elders, and your officers, with all the men of Israel, your little ones, your wives, and your stranger that is in your camp, from the hewer of your wood unto the drawer of your water.…

The Triumph of Hope Over Experience

by Rabbi Dov Linzer
Posted on September 14, 2012

Can a relationship survive after one of the parties has gone astray, has been unfaithful, or has just constantly failed to keep up his end, his responsibilities? Parashat Nitzavim and Parashat Bechukotai offer two different answers to this question. Both Nitzavim and Bechukotai describe the aftermath of Israel’s sinning against God, and of their having suffered and been punished as a result.…

Sacrifices, Teshuva and Our Relationship with God

by Rabbi Dov Linzer
Posted on September 23, 2011

Parshat Nitzavim always falls immediately before Rosh HaShana, and appropriately so. For it is in this parasha that the Torah speaks at great length about the power of teshuva: “And you will return to the Lord your God and obey God’s voice… you and your children, with all your heart and with all your soul” (Devarim 30:2).…