Classical Commentary on Nitzavim

In his book, The Language of Truth, Arthur Green points out how the Chasidic sage Sefat Emet understood the line “You stand this day before the Lord your God” as encouragement to consider the timelessness of covenantal connections.

Green poetically claims, “…at its deepest core, it knows that we are ever with God, and that time and space themselves cannot touch this constant truth.”

Every single Israelite is taking part in the ceremony establishing the covenant with God. Moses has alluded to this ceremony before, but we do not know precisely when it took place or of what it consisted, since the text never actually narrates it.

Verses 9-14 are organized in a chiastic pattern with the covenant formula, its focal point, at the center (v.12):

A. You[present generation] stand…this day before the Lord your God…(9-10)

B. to enter the covenant…which the Lord…is concluding…with its sanctions (11)

C. that He may establish you as His people and be your God…(12)

B. I am concluding this covenant…with its sanctions…(13)

A. those who are standing here…this day before the Lord out God and future generations

On that day, Rabbi Eliezar gave them all the proofs in the world and they did not accept his position. He said to them: “If the law is as I say,let this carob tree bear witness to it.” The carob tree uprooted and flew a hundred cubits. They said: “No proof is adduced from carob trees.” Again he said to them: “If the law is as I say, let the aqueduct bear witness to it.” The water in the aqueduct began flowing uphill. They said: “No proof is adduced from aquedcuts.” Again he said to them: “If the law is as I say, let the walls of the academy bear witness to it.” The walls of the academy tilted, about to fall. Rabbi Yehoshua rebuked them saying: “Sages are discussing Halakhah, what right have you?” they did not fall in deference to Rabbi Yehoshua and they did not aright themselves in deference to rabbi Eliezer, and they tilted to this very day. Again he said to them: “If the law is as I say, let the heavens bear witness to it.” A voice came from the heavens and said: What do you want with Rabbi Eliezer? Halakhah is decided according to his view i every case.” Rabbi Yehoshua arose and said: “It is no in the heavens[Deut. 30:12], we do not obey a heavenly voice, for you have written Torah, ‘side with the many’ [Exod. 23:2].”

It is readily accessible to you, you know it by heart. Compare Hebrew be-`al peh, "by mouth," the equivalent of English "by heart," "from memory." This manner of speaking reflects a predominantly oral culture in which learning and reveiw are accomplished primarily by oral recitation( See JPS Commentary on Deut. 6:7 and 31:9-13). Compare 31:19,21, "Write down this poem and teach it to the people of Israel; put it in their mouths…it will never be lost from the mouth of their offspring," and Joshua 1:8, Let not this Book of the Teaching cease from your mouth, but recite it day and night, so that you may observe faithfully all that is written in it." Since Moses taught the Instruction to the people by heart, that - and not writing the copy that he gave to the priests and elders(31:9) - constituted its publication.

“This figurative language is intended to convey the pre-eminence and uniqueness of Moses as a prophetic figure who experiences a special mode of revelation. His experience is personal and direct, not mediated through visions or dreams, and the message always is plain and straightforward, free of cryptic utterances.”

So Jacob named the place Peniel, meaning,”I have seen a divine being face to face, yet my life has been preserved.”

But Jacob said, “No, I pray you; if you would do me this favor, accept from me this gift; for to see your face is like seeing the face of God, and you have received me favorably.”

“The idiom ‘face to face’, used only of divine-human encounters, may describe either an adversarial experience or one of extraordinary intimacy. Here the deliberate ambiguity reflects the menace and the promise inherent in the furious struggle. This is the biblical way of expressing the intensity of an encounter with the divine presence- the overwhelming nature of the mysterious contact with God.”

“This is the distance between “speaking to God, face to face, as one speaks with one’s fellow” (33:11) and “seeing God’s face” (33:20). To encounter God’s face is possible only with language, in a “speaking with” Him that respects difference. The difficulty of this encounter is in its humbling effect: the only union possible is in relationship, which means separateness.”

Face to face the Lord spoke to you on the mountain out of the fire.