Nitzavim
Rabbi Schapiro on the Parshah: Nitzavim
Weighs two readings of ומל ה' אלקיך את לבבך: the Targum's view that Hashem will cut away the orlah, the stuffing that blocks the heart from fearing Him, against a second reading, possibly Rashi's, that the pasuk speaks of circumcising the heart itself only after teshuvah has already removed that orlah. Identifies two distinct causes of galut, an inherently stuffed heart versus the natural pull of ayin ro'ah v'lev chomed, and shows why only Hashem, not the person, can sever the connection between what the eye sees and what the heart desires. Connects the pasuk's roshei teivot for Elul to the progression from the lower level of teshuvah me'yirah to the higher madreigah of teshuvah me'ahavah, ahavas Hashem.
A Vort From the Rebbe: Nitzavim
The Torah describes a person who strays from mitzvos as blessing himself with confidence that all will be well, yet the Targum Yonatan translates the same words as an expression of yeiush, giving up hope. Drawing on Chassidus and Kabbalah's teaching that a Yid can draw his life force either from kedushah, limited strictly to what he has earned, or from kelipah, which can grant far greater gashmiyus success with no such limit, the vort explains that a person who turns to sin for worldly gain often senses this apparent success is really a quiet despair of ever reconnecting to kedushah — a realization that can become the very opening for teshuvah.
Parshas Nitzavim
A vort on Parshas Nitzavim exploring the promise of the ingathering of exiles, and the deeper meaning of being scattered to the edge of the heavens before Mashiach gathers the Jewish people home.
Parshas Nitzavim-Vayeilech
A vort on Parshas Nitzavim-Vayeilech exploring the mitzvah of Hakhel and why the king's Torah reading took place on a specially built wooden platform in the Temple courtyard.
Parshas Nitzavim-Vayeilech
A vort on Parshas Nitzavim-Vayeilech exploring the mitzvah of Hakhel and why the king's Torah reading took place on a specially built wooden platform in the Temple courtyard.