.NITZAVIM:

Posted on FB:  received good comments from moderators but not so many others: maybe need to intertwine the ideas, not represent 4 separate points..eg I can intertwine the 4  as listed in in the TOC (below, at the top), and then present it in four sections of the same intertwined topic. eg 

https://www.facebook.com/groups/80847655150/posts/10166309635880151/

[or: https://www.facebook.com/groups/80847655150/posts/10166309635880151/?comment_id=10166311839880151&notif_id=1630727636318536&notif_t=group_comment&ref=notif]

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This week God 'does teshuvah' (so to speak) !   And: What makes God so joyful?

This week's portion [the "Netzavim" part] though it is not about Rosh Hashanah itself,  teaches us 4 lessons we can perhaps apply to it: 

1. On Rosh Hashannah we may focus on fixing our own failings, but we do not engage in pointing at the failings of others, 

2. Though Rosh Hashannah is a solmen day and involves judgement and "establishing God as our King" it is also a joyful day, however it is not 'joyful' for us, but rather for God!

3. It takes two ... the teshuva dance: we do tshuva, then H' does: When WE return, it brings about God's return to us. And to what do we return? to ourselves, our essence.

4. What God seeks most is our love and connection, so when we 'return' it is to the deep relationship with God which our soul wants most, after all our soul is of God and wants to 'return'(ie get close again) to its source!   

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1. Jews not criticizing the Jewish People's failings: The portion begins at Deut 29:9 and a few passages later the Torah describes the destruction which will face the Jewish People if they leave the covenant with God. However note the difference between the two passages quoted here, one speaks of the Jewish People at that time plus the other nations, but the second speaks only of the other nations:

29:21 Your descendants and the other nations will see what happens as a result

29:23 And the nations will say... it is because THEY left THEIR God..", where the passage 23 clearly talks of 'the nations' but leaves out "your descendants", which appears in 21.

The clear contrast perhaps means it is not for us to blame ourselves or others among us in this way, verbally openly (as people sometimes say, "the reason for our destruction is..." and then they my point fingers, usually at OTHERS rather than at themselves. It is THEIR fault! However it is enough that the Torah says it, and the other nations will point it out....but not the Jewish People, so I choose to interpret this as a message that we should not point fingers at anyone in our midst, we can leave that finger pointing to the other nations talking of us [If a person wants to blame themselves that is something ese, but don't include others...]

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2. Our return brings God's return (of us, and to us): This shabbat, a few days before Rosh Hashanah, God does teshuvah - so to speak, where "teshuva" means "return". The week's portion says three times (in the first 9 passages of chapter 30) "and YOU will return... and God will return".

The root of the word is "ShV" שֵׁבֹ, and here it is in the form "veshavta" = 'and you will return' and then "veshav Hashem'"= God will either return us to the land or God will return to us, or help us return to God, or God's return to the joyful relation with our forefathers. [See expanded version of this below.] [see more detail below]. As you can see below, even if you don;t read or understand Hebrew, that the root sh-v appears many times in these passages.

So in sum: our return brings along with it many good Heavenly returns....!

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3. What God seeks is our love and connection: The portion mentions (more than once) that we should love God, not just keep God's commands. so it is hinting at the deep relationship with us which is what God wants most, the closeness of "cleaving unto God" ("u'le'davka bo") as mentioned at the very end of the portion.

This is inspiration for why to pray on Rosh Hahshannah, part of our motivation and what underlies our feeling of remorse etc is the distance this caused in our relationship, and what God seeks most of us is to return to our essence and re-establish the closest possible relationship..... may we be blessed on Rosh Hashanah to have God's desire for closeness with us infuse us, inspire us to fully return ...

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4. God's joy at our return: Rosh Hashanah is not a "joyful" holiday, it is serious, solemn, a day of judgement. Since this portion is right before Rosh Hashanah, and it mentions the term "sass" "rejoices" in the context of us returning to God, let's connect them: it is not that we are in joy on Rosh Hashanah (as perhaps on Yom Kippur), rather as the Torah in our portion states, that is God's mood when we do teshuva! ie when we are serious and doing teshuva God is rejoicing - so it IS indeed a holiday with potentially lots of rejoicing, ie when we are able via our serious introspective and self-improvement processing to return to closeness to God, there is real rejoicing on the part of God!

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Detail: (Expanded version of 2) :The shin-vet (not the intelligence agency!), in this week's portion:  [Hebrew letters v = b; vet, bet]

Read the first 9 passages of chapter 30, דברים פרק ל, below, specifically paying attention to the multiple appearance of sh-v in the first and last three passages: note the play on the root 'shin vet', 3 types of meaning: 

lashuv = to return, 

shvus = captivity, 

lasheves = to settle]

And note where it is talking of us returning, and to what we retun, and where it is God 'returning', and where it is God 'returning us'.

א  וְהָיָה כִי-יָבֹאוּ עָלֶיךָ כָּל-הַדְּבָרִים הָאֵלֶּה, הַבְּרָכָה וְהַקְּלָלָה, אֲשֶׁר נָתַתִּי, לְפָנֶיךָ; וַהֲשֵׁבֹתָ, אֶל-לְבָבֶךָ, בְּכָל-הַגּוֹיִם, אֲשֶׁר הִדִּיחֲךָ  ה' אֱ' שָׁמָּה.

1 And it shall come to pass, when all these things are come upon thee, the blessing and the curse, which I have set before thee, and thou shalt RETURN TO THY HEART wherever you are among all the nations, whither the LORD thy God hath driven thee,

ב  וְשַׁבְתָּ עַד-ה' אֱ', וְשָׁמַעְתָּ בְקֹלוֹ, כְּכֹל אֲשֶׁר-אָנֹכִי מְצַוְּךָ, הַיּוֹם:  אַתָּה וּבָנֶיךָ, בְּכָל-לְבָבְךָ וּבְכָל-נַפְשֶׁךָ.

2 and shalt return unto the LORD thy God, and hearken to His voice according to all that I command thee this day, thou and thy children, with all thy heart, and with all thy soul;

ג  וְשָׁב ה' אֱ' אֶת-שְׁבוּתְךָ, וְרִחֲמֶךָ; וְשָׁב, וְקִבֶּצְךָ מִכָּל-הָעַמִּים, אֲשֶׁר הֱפִיצְךָ ה' אֱ', שָׁמָּה.

3 that then the LORD thy God will overturn thy captivity, and have compassion upon thee, and will return and gather thee from all the peoples, whither the LORD thy God hath scattered thee.

ד  אִם-יִהְיֶה נִדַּחֲךָ, בִּקְצֵה הַשָּׁמָיִם--מִשָּׁם, יְקַבֶּצְךָ ה' אֱ', וּמִשָּׁם יִקָּחֶךָ.

4 If any of thine that are dispersed be in the uttermost parts of heaven, from thence will the LORD thy God gather thee, and from thence will He fetch thee.

ה  וֶהֱבִיאֲךָ ה' אֱ, אֶל-הָאָרֶץ אֲשֶׁר-יָרְשׁוּ אֲבֹתֶיךָ--וִירִשְׁתָּהּ; וְהֵיטִבְךָ וְהִרְבְּךָ, מֵאֲבֹתֶיךָ.

5 And the LORD thy God will bring thee into the land which thy fathers possessed, and thou shalt possess it; and He will do thee good, and multiply thee above thy fathers.

ו  וּמָל ה' אֱ' אֶת-לְבָבְךָ, וְאֶת-לְבַב זַרְעֶךָ:  לְאַהֲבָה אֶת-ה' אֱלֹהֶיךָ, בְּכָל-לְבָבְךָ וּבְכָל-נַפְשְׁךָ--לְמַעַן חַיֶּיךָ.

6 And the LORD thy God will unblock thy heart, and the heart of thy seed, to love the LORD thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, that thou mayest live.

ז  וְנָתַן ה' אֱ', אֵת כָּל-הָאָלוֹת הָאֵלֶּה, עַל-אֹיְבֶיךָ וְעַל-שֹׂנְאֶיךָ, אֲשֶׁר רְדָפוּךָ.

7 And the LORD thy God will put all these curses upon thine enemies, and on them that hate thee, that persecuted thee.

ח  וְאַתָּה תָשׁוּב, וְשָׁמַעְתָּ בְּקוֹל יְהוָה; וְעָשִׂיתָ, אֶת-כָּל-מִצְוֺתָיו, אֲשֶׁר אָנֹכִי מְצַוְּךָ, הַיּוֹם.

8 And thou shalt return and hearken to the voice of the LORD, and do all His commandments which I command thee this day.

ט  וְהוֹתִירְךָ ה' אֱ' בְּכֹל מַעֲשֵׂה יָדֶךָ, בִּפְרִי בִטְנְךָ וּבִפְרִי בְהֶמְתְּךָ וּבִפְרִי אַדְמָתְךָ--לְטֹבָה:  כִּי יָשׁוּב ה, לָשׂוּשׂ עָלֶיךָ לְטוֹב, כַּאֲשֶׁר-שָׂשׂ, עַל-אֲבֹתֶיךָ.

9 And the LORD thy God will make thee over-abundant in all the work of thy hand, in the fruit of thy body, and in the fruit of thy cattle, and in the fruit of thy land, for good; for the LORD will again rejoice over thee for good, as He rejoiced over thy fathers;

י  כִּי תִשְׁמַע, בְּקוֹל ה' אֱ', לִשְׁמֹר מִצְוֺתָיו וְחֻקֹּתָיו, הַכְּתוּבָה בְּסֵפֶר הַתּוֹרָה הַזֶּה:  כִּי תָשׁוּב אֶל-ה' אֱ', בְּכָל-לְבָבְךָ וּבְכָל-נַפְשֶׁךָ. 

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Transliterated:

(1) vehashevosa el levovecha...

(2) veshavta ad hashem elokecha

(3) veshav hashem elokecha

et [shvutkha = your dispersion, not your return],

veshov vekibetskha mikol haamim

( ve'ata tashuv veshamata bekol hashem

(9) ki yashuv hashem

lasuss alekha letov, ka'asher sass al avotekha

(10) ki tashuv el hashem elokecha bcehol levovcho ubchol nafshekha

...[lasheves= to settle on, not to return] al haadama...

Ends with: "Le'ahava es hashem elokecha..uledovko bo..ki hu chayecha

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Conclusion: May we be blessed to never point fingers at fellow-Jews (it is enough that others will do so...), and we do not need to be judgemental, that is God's role on the Day of Judgemen; what God wants from us is not useful slander to have as part of a prosecution, but rather that we should all love each other and give support; and in merit of that as our 'return', God should return us all to the Land,  and return to us - and we should strengthen our resolve to deserve all that by undertaking to always make the effort to judge others favorably.

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דברים פרק ל

ב וְשַׁבְתָּ עַד-ה אֱלֹהֶיךָ, וְשָׁמַעְתָּ בְקֹלוֹ, כְּכֹל אֲשֶׁר-אָנֹכִי מְצַוְּךָ, הַיּוֹם:  אַתָּה וּבָנֶיךָ, בְּכָל-לְבָבְךָ וּבְכָל-נַפְשֶׁךָ.  ג וְשָׁב ה אֱלֹ' אֶת-שְׁבוּתְךָ, וְרִחֲמֶךָ; וְשָׁב, וְקִבֶּצְךָ מִכָּל-הָעַמִּים, אֲשֶׁר הֱפִיצְךָ יְהוָה אֱלֹהֶיךָ, שָׁמָּה.  ......  כִּי יָשׁוּב ה, לָשׂוּשׂ עָלֶיךָ לְטוֹב, כַּאֲשֶׁר-שָׂשׂ, עַל-אֲבֹתֶיךָ.  י כִּי תִשְׁמַע, בְּקוֹל ה אֱלֹ', לִשְׁמֹר מִצְוֺתָיו וְחֻקֹּתָיו, הַכְּתוּבָה בְּסֵפֶר הַתּוֹרָה הַזֶּה:  כִּי תָשׁוּב אֶל-ה אֱלֹ', בְּכָל-לְבָבְךָ וּבְכָל-נַפְשֶׁךָ. 

A few times mention loving God, and then:

 לְאַהֲבָה אֶת-ה אֱלֹהֶיךָ, לִשְׁמֹעַ בְּקֹלוֹ וּלְדָבְקָה-בוֹ:  כִּי הוּא חַיֶּיךָ, וְאֹרֶךְ יָמֶיךָ