This Week's Torah Portion
Parashat Nitzavim-Vayeilech
The weekly Torah portion: its big idea, discussion questions, and lessons already prepared.
We all stand together in an eternal circle of community, holding a precious choice that is never out of reach: to choose life, love one another, and always find our way back home.
Discussion Questions
- 1.The Torah introduces a beautiful but heavy concept: collective responsibility. We stand together as one, and the actions of an individual can affect the whole community ('to the utter ruin of moist and dry alike'). How do we balance modern personal autonomy with our deep, covenantal responsibility to the collective Jewish story?
- 2.Moses addresses the people 'who are not with us here this day'—meaning future generations, including us. How does it feel to think that a leader thousands of years ago was thinking about you specifically? Do you feel connected to that long chain, or does it feel distant?
- 3.Moses says that everyone is standing together in a big circle—from the leaders to the people who chop wood and carry water. If our family made a giant circle of friends and helpers, who would you want to invite to stand with us, and what would we all do together?
The Full Shabbat Table
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