Nitzavim: Heaven and Earth as Witnesses

            Toward the end of Parashat Nitzavim (30:19), Moshe tells Benei Yisrael that he was summoning the heavens and earth as “witnesses” against them.  Rashi, citing from the Sifrei, explains:

The Almighty said to Israel: Look at the heavens which I created to serve you – did they alter their conduct?  Did the ball of sun ever not rise in the east to illuminate the entire earth… Look at the earth which I created to serve you. Has it ever altered its conduct?  Have you ever sown it and it did not grow?  Or have you ever planted wheat and it produced barley?  If these, which were not made for profit or loss…never altered their conduct, then you, who will receive reward if you are meritorious and will receive punishment if you sin, all the more so!

The heavens and earth “testify” against Benei Yisrael by establishing a contrasting model to our unfortunate pattern of sin and betrayal.  The natural forces run consistently and unfailingly, and thus they “testify” against us for our lack of consistency in obeying God’s laws.

            Seemingly, however, this “testimony” is fundamentally flawed, and Moshe’s comparison is not fair.  Human beings, unlike the natural forces, are endowed with free will and subject to temptation.  Is it really fair to expect us to follow the example set by nature?  Are we really capable of being impeccably consistent and unchanging like the natural world?

            Perhaps, this equation is meant to change our perception about ourselves and the spiritual challenges we face, and to tell us that essentially, we are naturally inclined to do the right thing.  True, we will never achieve the kind of automatic compliance exhibited by the forces of nature.  Nevertheless, Chazal teach us that God created us with a natural tendency to good.  The choice between good and evil, which Moshe outlines in the preceding verses, is not perfectly even.  We are born with a conscience and a natural desire to act justly and piously.  Although we must struggle against certain sinful tendencies, deep inside our true desire is to obey God.  (This notion is famously developed by the Rambam in Hilkhot Geirushin 2:20.)

            This is perhaps the message conveyed by the “testimony” of the heaven and earth.  True, we cannot be reasonably expected to serve God in “autopilot” like the forces of nature.  But they nevertheless serve as an example of obedience for us to follow because we are created with a natural desire for goodness, even if it is occasionally subdued by conflicting pressures and tendencies.

Courtesy of Yeshivat Har Etzion - www.etzion.org.il