At the beginning of Nisabim, Moshe gathers the entire Jewish Nation for a renewed covenant with G-d. He stands before them and says: “You stand, today, all of you, before G-d, your tribal heads, your elders, and your officers, the entire body of Israel, your children, your wives, even the stranger within your camp, from woodchopper to waterdrawer, to enter into the covenant of G-d” (Debarim 29:9-10).
The Torah could have saved a lot of room and simply stated all of Israel stood before G-d. Why does it list several groups instead? The Zohar teaches (Zohar II, 32b, Perashat Bo) that when the Torah states “today,” it is alluding to Rosh HaShanah. It is on that day that we stand before G-d, together, as part of the Jewish Nation, “all of you,” and as individuals which the Torah charges by listing individual groups. Both realities exist together.
Leaders and workers, young and old, are all part of the same covenant. We stand together as one nation before G-d. We are all a vital and important element of the nation. No one can make a claim they are insignificant or have nothing to contribute. The Gemara teaches that we also stand as individuals before G-d (Rosh HaShanah 18a). As individuals, we each have our own merits. G-d does not ask one person to live another person’s life. G-d does not judge us by whether we had someone else’s talents, opportunities, personality, or circumstances. The Gemara teaches (Berachot 58a) that just as our faces are not alike, our minds are likewise not alike. Instead, G-d asks you: What did you do with what I gave you?
This is both comforting and sobering. It is comforting because we do not need to spend our lives comparing ourselves to others. We are not expected to chase another person’s dreams. Yes, there will always be someone who seems more learned, more successful, more confident, or more spiritually accomplished. Yet their mission is not ours. We can strive to be better, we can look up to them and be inspired by them, but without looking down at ourselves in the process. Each of us has strengths that others do not. We only need to look inward and realize them.
G-d placed us in our particular homes, families, communities, and circumstances for a reason. He connected us with certain people and opportunities with purpose. It is up to us to recognize this and act. Rather than becoming complacent, step forward and embrace your role. The question is whether we believe that G-d entrusted us with a mission, and whether we are willing to answer that call.
On Rosh HaShanah, we stand before G-d. Before this day arrives, we must do an internal audit. What have I been avoiding what I know I can do? Where have I settled for less than I am capable of? What small act of growth, courage, kindness, Torah, prayer, or teshubah is being asked of me now? Even the smallest change to your daily routine is a step forward.
We need not look further than Moshe himself, our greatest leader, for the ultimate example. In perashat Vayelech, the Torah states “Moshe went” (Debarim 31:1) but does not state where he went. This was Moshe’s last day on earth. He had every reason to reflect on his own accomplishments, and to dwell on the fact that he wasn’t entering Israel. Instead, Moshe went out to the people. He visited each tribe, he went to each person and told them to “be strong and courageous; do not be afraid” (Debarim 31:6). Moshe knew that he would leave them on this day and they might be uncertain about what the future held. He therefore knew that his mission, even on his very last day, was to strengthen the people and be there for them, as he had been doing his entire life (Ibn Ezra, Debarim 31:1).
That may be one of the greatest messages we can take with us into Rosh HaShanah. We may carry regrets about the year that has passed. We may think about what we failed to accomplish, the opportunities we missed, or the person we hoped to become but didn’t. Teshubah does not begin with despair. It begins with acknowledging those failures, standing up, and starting anew.
You are standing today, on Rosh HaShanah, the Torah tells you. G-d is not asking us to finish our missions overnight. He asks us to take the next step and to show up, to return, to use the strengths that we have been given and to do the good that only we can do. The world we live in has a tendency to knock us down, to tell us that we are not good enough. Yet G-d, Master of the world, tells you that you have everything you need right in front of you. Trust Him, He knows best. The mission is yours should you choose to accept it. Will you?