Dressed for Redemption (Shabbat Nitzavim)

We approach the High Holidays this year with mixed emotions. We thought last year would be the only time we would observe them during pandemic. Yet, after living through the relative sameness of the past year -the longest Groundhog Day ever, it’s even more important that we make our holidays special, even if we just get our hair done, or wear a special outfit.

On this final Shabbat of 5781, we bring the Seven Haftarot of consolation to a close. These prophetic readings invite us to stop waiting, and instead begin to prepare for redemption:

עוּרִ֥י עוּרִ֛י לִבְשִׁ֥י עֻזֵּ֖ךְ צִיּ֑וֹן לִבְשִׁ֣י ׀ בִּגְדֵ֣י תִפְאַרְתֵּ֗ךְ

“Awake, awake, O Zion! Clothe yourself in splendor” (Isa 52:1).

What does it mean to clothe ourselves in splendor, and what does it have to do with redemption?

The ways we get ready for Shabbat and holidays - dressing, eating, and speaking with more intention- reminds us of our aspirations towards physical and spiritual renewal, and show we’re ready for a different world. When we enter the world prepared for change, we are no longer waiting for the world to get better: we are making a change ourselves. 

I remember how thrilled many of you were after months of letting your hair grow out, when you were finally able to go back to the hair salon! After muddling through each day’s strange mixture of boredom and fear, we all wanted to do something special to prepare for better days ahead of us. Returning to the hair salon (besides making you all look fabulous!) restored a level of normalcy and hope to many of us.

Every year, before Rosh Hashanah, we take our preparation to a whole new level: we reflect on what garments, what layers we have wrapped around us, whether spiritual or physical that we no longer need, and want to shed. This week’s parasha, Nitzavim, tells us the small choices we make about how we prepare ourselves for each day has the potential to fundamentally transform us and the world we all share:

כִּי הַמִּצְוָה הַזֹּאת, אֲשֶׁר אָנֹכִי מְצַוְּךָ הַיּוֹם--לֹא-נִפְלֵאת הִוא מִמְּךָ, וְלֹא רְחֹקָה הִוא

For this mitzvah which I give you today, it's not too difficult, nor is it beyond your reach. 

For the medieval sages, Ramban amongst them, this one commandment that is within our grasp is teshuvah - transformation, change. It is not in the heavens, or beyond the sea; no, the Torah continues, it [teshuvah] is in our mouths and in our hearts - in our everyday actions: how we speak and carry ourselves, what we wear, what we set our mind on when we wake up or go to bed.

This weekend, we prepare ourselves for Rosh Hashanah, and think not just about what outfit we’ll wear to make the holidays special (even if we’re watching them on 918!), but also reflect on the other spiritual and emotional garments we might change. Every small change, Torah tells us, adds up to a bigger change, and brings us closer to a world redeemed.

These High Holidays, may we find the inspiration we need to stop waiting for things to change, to get better (they will!), and instead discern what is within our reach to do - that we may create, individually and collectively, a new year filled with happiness, health, ease and wellbeing.

L’shanah tova u’metukah!