This week we are reading a particularly inclusive portion, addressed to all of Israel, from the elderly to the baby in the womb, from the strongest to the weakest, from the richest to the poorest, without distinction of sex, race, or origin, regardless of the era in which one was or will be born, and because it includes the Ger, it is addressed to everyone. Deuteronomy 29:9 -14 says, “All of you are standing before the LORD today…both those who are here with us today before the LORD our God and those who are not here with us today.”

Being such a unique, inclusive, national, individual, and timeless message, I have attempted, with a limited perspective, to grasp the full scope of this message from Moses, and I will now share what I envision for everyone in 2026 on this Shabbat.

Let me begin by asking a question, and I hope each of us will pause while reading this message during the week: What if the biggest problem in our lives wasn’t sin, but forgetfulness? What if God weren’t far away? What if, instead, we had lost the ability to perceive His nearness? Let’s think for a moment… How many blessings do we receive today? How many do we notice? How many do we take for granted? We breathed… we woke up… our hearts kept beating… perhaps we hugged someone… maybe shared a meal… maybe we received help when we least expected it… and yet, often the extraordinary becomes ordinary.

I remember when I was 10 years old, and I first put on a pair of glasses. I had been so used to seeing blurry images, unable to see details in the distance and perceive the world beyond a meter or two. But my life changed completely the day I first wore glasses. It was like being reborn, regaining confidence. What surprised me the most was looking towards the San Salvador Volcano and, for the first time from afar, appreciating the details of each tree that I had previously seen as a green blur, and realizing that there were many shades of green I could distinguish, contemplating the detail and beauty of each leaf. I saw that although I had become accustomed to the illusions of my vision due to astigmatism and myopia, when I could see clearly, the ordinary world became extraordinary. Comparing it to this week’s portion, I believe Nitzavim-Vayelech is not only a parashah about exile and return but also about how humanity stops listening and how God calls us to listen once again.

To better understand this passage from Deuteronomy, let’s return to Genesis 1:31: Vayar Elohim et kol asher asah v’ehine tov meod — וַיַּרְא אֱלֹהִים אֶת־כׇּל־אֲשֶׁר עָשָׂה וְהִנֵּה־טוֹב — “And God saw everything that He had made, and behold, it was very good.” Tov meod means “very good.” Before sin, exile, or correction, God affirms the goodness of His creation. We were created to be a blessing, not a condemnation; to bring life, to strengthen relationships, and to reflect divine goodness.

Do we recognize ourselves as someone created for good, or do we define ourselves only by our mistakes?

After the Fall in Eden, humankind began to exemplify what Moses mentions in Deuteronomy 29:25: “They went and served other gods.” And not only does he add this, but he also says, “They bowed down to them, gods they did not know and whom He had not assigned to them.”

Of course, in Moses’ time there were other “gods” evident to the Israelites, such as Baal, Astarte, Chemosh, and Moloch, among others who were worshipped by the Canaanites. But our prophets later broadened the understanding of idolatry, which we could today summarize with this question: What is that tool, device, “App,” or occupation that absorbs my time, my energy, and my emotions, defines my identity, and becomes my main source of reward?

We may not worship a physical god now, like “Baal”, but we might serve things like prestige, consumption, instant gratification, endless entertainment, social recognition, algorithms, and constant emotions that only boost our dopamine levels, rather than allow us to stop and rest.

This passage made me wonder: How many people dedicate years of their lives to things they don’t really know? Do they truly know the god they are serving? And the passage even adds: “And that He had not assigned them…” What? Does God assign gods to nations?

We must understand that the passage is talking about… Israel, – a people who had accepted to live under the covenant– so this verse doesn’t apply to everyone, but rather to those who have accepted to live under His covenant, that He is their God and they are His people. The idea is more like: “That’s not what God assigned to them.” God gave us the Torah, the Commandments, the Covenant, so why would we seek something more? In other words, they took something that wasn’t meant for them, that wasn’t their path.

If we apply this idea to our time, it could read like this: Each person has a vocation, a mission, a purpose. But we often end up serving things that were never “assigned” to us, such as living to impress others, living to accumulate, or living to constantly compete.

This led me to think: am I serving what I was created for, or am I serving something I borrowed from the world around me? From this perspective, “gods they didn’t know and that hadn’t been assigned to them” doesn’t just describe ancient statues; it describes the act of abandoning an authentic relationship with God and with one’s own mission to surrender to something strange, something that promises much, delivers little and whose true nature we don’t even know.

Then, in the history of humankind, it’s like a mirror each of us experiences: we are born, we develop, we achieve goals, and at the peak of life, we think we are self-sufficient and immune. And it leads us to understand that the human tragedy is not rebellion: it’s habit.

Little by little, we get used to things… to breathing, to being healthy, to having our family, to waking up each morning, and when we get used to these blessings, we stop noticing them, and our gratitude disappears. Wonder vanishes, as it did for me with my poor eyesight. Worst of all: The heart begins to harden, to become insensitive, indifferent, unable to perceive, and builds up layers.

I remember breaking bones several times, and after not being able to bathe, the area that was in a cast developed a layer of scab that was difficult to remove because I had lost sensitivity to water, to the air, to the sun. This is why verse 29:17-18 makes sense when it says: “Perhaps there is among you a man, a woman, a family, or a tribe whose heart turns away today from the LORD our God to go and worship the gods of those nations. Perhaps there is among you a root bearing hemlock and wormwood. And it will happen that when they hear the words of this oath, they will bless themselves in their hearts, saying, ‘I will have peace, even though I follow the desires of my heart,’ adding the punishment for unintentional sins to intentional sins.”

Hemlock and wormwood are roots that bear fruit; plants that are toxic and bitter. And what is the mistake? We stop listening to God in order to listen to ourselves, and as we say here in my country, to “brainwash” oneself into believing one’s own lies, to deceive oneself and others, to create a false sense of immunity. It’s like saying, I’m Jewish, I’m the “apple of God’s eye,” so I can get away with doing something wrong, and there won’t be any consequences… sadly, look at cases like Bernie Madoff or Jeffrey Epstein.

And then comes the “Divine Solution” for this hemlock and wormwood. We read in Deuteronomy 30:6, “Umal Adonai Elohecha et levavecha וּמָל יְהוָה אֱלֹהֶיךָ אֶת־לְבָבְךָ “And the LORD your God will circumcise your heart.” The word וּמָ֨ל “umal” means to cut or remove a covering. The word “lev” (heart) does not refer only to emotions; it can also refer to the will, understanding, desires, and decisions. God promises to remove whatever prevents the heart from perceiving correctly. It is like saying, “Let Me remove what prevents you from seeing Me; let Me remove what prevents you from hearing Me.”

Why circumcise the heart? “That you may love the LORD your God.” (Deuteronomy 30:6). Ahava, love, is more than a beautiful but fleeting emotion; it is faithfulness, closeness, attachment, loyalty, and the desire for relationship. The ultimate goal of the covenant is not simply obedience; it is love. Because God does not desire a transactional relationship like, “Give Me, and I will bless you; disobey Me, and I will punish you.” He desires a relationship.

But our ingrained desires make us lose sight of how attainable that is, which is why Deuteronomy 30:11-14 says, “For this commandment that I command you today is not hidden from you, nor is it far away. It is not in heaven, so that you should say, ‘Who will ascend into heaven for us and bring it down to us, to tell us so that we may do it?'” It is not far from the sea, so that you have to say, “Who will cross the sea for us and bring it to us, to tell us so that we may do it? Rather, it is very near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart, so that you may do it.”

What enters the heart ultimately finds expression in words and, finally, in actions.

I would like to add that in Hebrew, the expression “to love God” implies attachment, loyalty, a desire for closeness, faithfulness, and is expressed in concrete actions such as listening, walking in His ways, and keeping His Commandments. Perhaps these layers that need to be circumcised are because although we might be in “exile” or “dispersion,” God wants us to circumcise our hearts, according to Deuteronomy 10:16. The good news is that He also wants to help us today. And why the heart? Why not the mind? Because the heart is the place where intentions are born. The problem is not information; it is will. It is not understanding; it is resistance. Love is born from the heart, not the mind.

My prayer is that these layers that prevent us from leaving our state of exile will be removed so that, during these days leading up to the High Holy Days, we can listen, be sensitive to God’s voice, and above all, begin the season with a cycle of love for the Eternal.

Shabbat Shalom

Mauricio Quintero