From the very beginning מבְּרֵאשִׁ֖ית we are taught and experience the power of words. 

וַיֹּ֥אמֶר אֱלֹהִ֖ים יְהִ֣י א֑וֹר וַֽיְהִי־אֽוֹר׃

God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light.

בָּרוּךְ שֶׁאָמַר וְהָיָה הָעוֹלָם

Blessed is He Who spoke, and the world came into being. 

Our foundational texts and our liturgy reflecting these core ideas abound with speech and narration. Our best and tragically frequent worst moments occur through words. 

There are two “sayings” that are particularly conspicuous in the portion of Nitzavim. They occur one after the other, giving them all the more perhaps doubling their significance. The context in a sense introduces the irony if not the angst. We last week read the ominous and harrowing curses that Moses detailed. Entering the portion of Nitzavim we........

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