In Parshat Nitzavim Moshe gathers everyone together, particularly the younger generation and the children, and brings them into the covenant with Hashem to keep the Torah. Moshe then warns of the dangers of an individual, family or a tribe turning to other beliefs and in verse 18, “And when a person hears the words of this oath and he bless himself In his heart, thinking – I will be safe, even though I persist in going my own way, this will lead to sweeping away the moist and the dry alike (in Hebrew – lema’an sapot ha’rava et hazemeah). Trranslation of these few words is difficult and this leads to various different interpretations, of what Moshe is trying to tell us about the disasters that may befall us.
Rashi, sees the word sapot, which I translated as “sweeping away,” and being related to the word “to add.” He understands, based on Onkelos’s Aramaic translation, that the moist and the dry refer to an individual who starts off trespassing by accident and then gets carried away. So, the expression refers to Hashem, who will add punishments upon punishments for an individual’s sins.
Ramban interprets this, as referring to the person themselves, he is “giving himself a blessing” when all the others are nervous of the curses related in the last chapter. He thinks that by exempting himself from the covenant, the consequences won’t apply to him. Furthermore, in his opinion “the moist and the dry” is a description of the psychological consequences of “following” one’s problematic desires. First, somebody does something they ought not do accidentally, and then they keep on trespassing, looking for a greater thrill every time, in order to find some satisfaction of their desires.
Ibn Ezra takes a different track, still referring to the individual but with different thinking. The person reckons that as Hashem in his goodness takes care of all Israel and he will be fine as he is part of the community.
Interestingly, having had difficulty in translating the moist and dry I looked online for English translations and found several translations each clearly unable to just translate but having to interpret the words.
Chabad went with Rashi “ And it will be, when he hears the words of this oath, that he will bless himself in his heart, saying, “I will have peace, even if I follow my heart’s desires,” in order to add the [punishment for the] unintentional sins [of this man] to that of [his] intentional sins. The King James translation bases on Ramban’s understanding, “And it come to pass, when he heareth the words of this curse, that he bless himself in his heart, saying, I shall have peace, though I walk in the imagination of mine heart, to add drunkenness to thirst.” There are more, each differing in some way, showing how translation can be a real challenge and many of the translators Jewish or Gentile had to be familiar with the Rabbinical commentaries.
Having been listening to a few very learned shiurim the other day, several of the speakers noted how appropriate this week’s Parsha is to the whole topic of tshuva/repentance and the approaching high holidays. Many had a theme that tshuva is less about repentance but more related to the future, finding you own way and fulfilling your potential. I would suggest that is what Moshe is saying here, you can fulfil your own potential and dreams, but it should not be out of the framework. I have brought you all together to a shared future, each with your own part to play, to quench your thirst within reason.
Shopping last night in the local Yochananof supermarket (to be recommended), we had a wonderful togetherness experience. I was helped to take the best vegetables by a proud Ethiopian grandad, then Aviva was instructed by a South African butcher on how to cut and cook the meat, while I was being guided to the low fat cream cheese by a very French Cheeseman. Then, buying some freshly roasted nuts, I was given a handful to taste by the very dark skinned Yemenite nut man. Finally, at the till, we were cheerfully checked out by a smiley young Arab lady, managing to check out and eat a banana simultaneously. As Moshe said we are all part of the covenant. Enjoy your preparation for the New Year.