THE NEW COVENANT WITH GOD

Rabbi Dunner looks at Moses’ dramatic speech to the Jewish nation at the beginning of Nitzavim as they prepared for their conquest of the Holy Land. This particular speech was special. It marked a new covenant between the Jewish nation and God – the second and final covenant between God and his Chosen People.

But the address contains a number of anomalies. Why did Moses refer to the Jews as “nitzavim” and not “omdim”? Why did he particularize specific groups, if he had already generalized them all with the word “kulchem”? What did he mean when he said that the new covenant with God included people who were not present?

Rabbi Dunner examines all of these fascinating questions through the eyes of the classic commentaries, shedding light on one of the most fundamental moments in our history.