Dear Congregation Kehillah and Friends,
Parashat Nitzavim opens with the theme of the unity of the Jewish people: "You stand today, all of you, before Adonai your G-d..." and culminates with this motivational statement "For the mitzvah which I command you this day, it is not beyond you nor is it remote from you. It is not in heaven...It is not across the sea...Rather, it is very close to you, in your mouth, in your heart, that you may do it", and into the exhortation that we choose life: "I have set before you life and goodness, and death and evil; in that I command you this day to love God, walk in God's ways and keep God's commandments...Life and death I have set before you, blessing and curse. Choose life." We are a people who have been taught to choose life: to value it, save it, preserve it, honor it, and to bring about the vision of our prophets, a world of peace, harmony and wholeness! So central to Jewish life, practice and belief are these statements that Parashat Nitzavim is also read on our holiest day, Yom Kippur.
