PARSHAT NETZAVIM – CIRCUMCISE THE HEART · Sukkat Shalom B'nei Noach

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Parashat Nitzavim In this week’s Torah reading appears an intriguing verse about the circumcision of the heart. What does it mean? What is the “new covenant” that Jeremiah talks about in 31:30-21?

What Does It Mean to Circumcise the Heart?

Introduction

Is there such a thing as circumcising the heart — cutting something away from the heart itself? The idea sounds startling at first. But the phrase nitzavim actually means “to stand firm” before G-d, and this week’s Torah portion introduces exactly this concept.

The verse in question, Deuteronomy 30:6, reads: “G-d will circumcise your heart and the heart of your offspring, to love Him with all your heart and with all your soul, that you may live.” So what does it actually mean to circumcise the heart? Clearly, this is not a physical act but a spiritual one. The question is: what spiritual reality is being described here? To answer that, it’s worth turning to the commentary of the Ramban.

The Commentary of the Ramban (Nachmanides)

The Ramban — Nachmanides — lived in Spain during the 13th century, and he offers a striking interpretation of this verse. When G-d created man, He created him with two inclinations: a yetzer hatov, an inclination toward good, and a yetzer hara, an inclination toward evil. Man is given the freedom to choose his own path in life. G-d rewards a person when their choices align with His will, and G-d punishes a person when their choices depart from it. This has been the order of the world from the moment of creation up until the coming of the Mashiach (Messiah).

Free Will Versus Nature in the Days of Mashiach

According to the Ramban, in the days of the Mashiach, G-d will — so to speak — cut away the evil inclination from our hearts, so that following G-d’s will becomes our very nature rather than a matter of struggle and choice.

Interestingly, this is where the Ramban parts ways with the Rambam (Maimonides). In that future era, we will all be immersed in learning G-d’s wisdom and G-d’s Torah, and our only “choice” will be a matter of degree — how much more we choose to learn — rather than a choice between right and wrong. The moral struggle itself will have been resolved.

Understanding the New Covenant (Jeremiah 31)

The Ramban then draws on a set of verses from Jeremiah 31:30–32 — verses that, he notes, have often been interpreted by other religions in ways he considers mistaken.

The prophet writes: “Behold, days are coming, says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah — not like the covenant I made with their forefathers.” What, then, will this new covenant actually be? According to the Ramban, it is precisely what our verse in this week’s Torah portion describes: “I will circumcise your heart. I will cut away from you the evil inclination.” That is the substance of the new covenant.

A New Heart and a New Spirit (Ezekiel 36)

The same idea appears again in the prophet Ezekiel. In chapter 36, verse 26, G-d says: “I will give you a new heart, and I will put a new spirit within you… and I will cause you to walk in My statutes.”

What does this “new heart” mean? It means that doing good will become the very nature of every human being. There will no longer be a free will suspended between good and evil, as there is now — because G-d will have circumcised our hearts to love Him.

Our Part in Bringing the Redemption

How do we arrive at this moment in history? We must do our part: turning back to G-d through teshuvah — repentance — and drawing closer to Him. And when we do our part, G-d says, He will do His: He will bring the Mashiach, and He will circumcise our hearts. From that point on, we will live in constant awareness of G-d, dwelling always in His presence.

May this happen speedily, in our days.

Good Shabbos.

Talk from Rabbi Tuvia Serber

The above is a representation of the spoken text converted to written text.