{"id":60033,"date":"2026-09-04T16:51:08","date_gmt":"2026-09-04T19:51:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tuviaserber.com\/?p=60033"},"modified":"2026-09-04T16:51:26","modified_gmt":"2026-09-04T19:51:26","slug":"parashat-nitzavim-circumcise-the-heart-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tuviaserber.com\/en\/parashat-nitzavim-circumcise-the-heart-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Parashat Nitzavim \u2013 Circumcise the heart"},"content":{"rendered":"

What Does It Mean to Circumcise the Heart?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Introduction<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Is there such a thing as circumcising the heart\u2014cutting something away from the heart itself? The idea sounds starting at first. But the phrase nitzavim<\/em> actually means "to stand firm" before Gd, and this week's Torah portion introduces exactly this concept.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The verse in question, Deuteronomy 30:6, reads: "Gd 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Commentary of the Ramban (Nachmanides)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Ramban \u2014 Nachmanides \u2014 lived in Spain during the 13th century, and he offers a striking interpretation of this verse. When Gd created man, He created him with two inclinations: a yetzer hatov<\/em>, an inclination toward good, and a yetzer hara<\/em>, an inclination toward evil. Man is given the freedom to choose his own path in life. Gd rewards a person when their choices align with His will, and Gd 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).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Free Will Versus Nature in the Days of Mashiach<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to the Ramban, in the days of the Mashiach, Gd will \u2014 so to speak \u2014 cut away the evil inclination from our hearts, so that following G-d's will become our very nature rather than a matter of struggle and choice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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 \u2014 how much more we choose to learn \u2014 rather than a choice between right and wrong. The moral struggle itself will have been resolved.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Understanding the New Covenant (Jeremiah 31)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Ramban then draws on a set of verses from Jeremiah 31:30\u201332 \u2014 verses that, he notes, have often been interpreted by other religions in ways he considers mistaken.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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 \u2014 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: \u00abI will circumcise your heart. "I will cut away from you the evil inclination." That is the substance of the new covenant.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A New Heart and a New Spirit (Ezekiel 36)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The same idea appears again in the prophet Ezekiel. In chapter 36, verse 26, Gd 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."\u00ab<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What does this \u00abnew heart\u00bb 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 \u2014 because Gd will have circumcised our hearts to love Him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Our Part in Bringing the Redemption<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

How do we arrive at this moment in history? We must do our part: turning back to Gd through teshuvah \u2014 repentance \u2014 and drawing closer to Him. And when we do our part, Gd 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 Gd, dwelling always in His presence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

May this happen quickly, in our days.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"What Does It Mean to Circumcise the Heart? Introduction Is there such a thing as circumcising the heart \u2014 cutting something away from the heart itself? The idea sounds starting at first. But the phrase nitzavim actually means "to stand firm" before Gd, and this week's Torah portion introduces exactly this concept. The verse in\u2026 Read More \u00bbParashat Nitzavim \u2013 Circumcise the heart<\/span><\/a>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":60031,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"neve_meta_sidebar":"","neve_meta_container":"","neve_meta_enable_content_width":"","neve_meta_content_width":0,"neve_meta_title_alignment":"","neve_meta_author_avatar":"","neve_post_elements_order":"","neve_meta_disable_header":"","neve_meta_disable_footer":"","neve_meta_disable_title":"","episode_type":"audio","audio_file":"","podmotor_file_id":"","podmotor_episode_id":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"","filesize":"","filesize_raw":"","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":"","itunes_episode_number":"","itunes_title":"","itunes_season_number":"","itunes_episode_type":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[3337],"tags":[3468],"series":[],"class_list":["post-60033","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nitzavim-en","tag-heart-2"],"episode_featured_image":"https:\/\/tuviaserber.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/VIDEO-EN-Parasha.jpg","episode_player_image":"https:\/\/tuviaserber.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/avatar1400.jpeg","download_link":"","player_link":"","audio_player":false,"episode_data":{"playerMode":"light","subscribeUrls":{"castbox":{"key":"castbox","url":"","label":"CastBox","class":"castbox","icon":"castbox.png"},"rss":{"key":"rss","url":"","label":"RSS","class":"rss","icon":"rss.png"},"spotify":{"key":"spotify","url":"","label":"Spotify","class":"spotify","icon":"spotify.png"}},"rssFeedUrl":"https:\/\/tuviaserber.com\/en\/feed\/podcast\/rabino-tuvia-serber","embedCode":"

Parashat Nitzavim – Circumcise the heart<\/a><\/blockquote>