HaShem blessed our people as we entered the Promised Land:
Hazak ve’ematz … v’anokhi eh’yeh i’makh
“Be strong and courageous, and I will be with you.”
Through those words, kol B’nei Yisrael,Â
The whole of Israel, was strengthened …
In partnership, in hevruta, in friendship, and in deeds.
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We were transformed into a brave and courageous people,
Accepting our path without fear, aware that HaShem would never forsake us.
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Pausing to count our blessings, we discovered how much we are part of one another,Â
Even as p’kudei revealed the obvious truth: that anakhnu is far greater than ani.Â
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Our individual sh’leimut became our joined completeness,
Metamorphosing us into a people capable of overcoming any obstacle.
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In that moment, we were no longer strangers, we had become Nitzavim:
Together in courage, united in love, standing tall before HaShem,Â
Secure in the knowledge that Ertez Yisrael, and her people, will endure.
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This is why, in this time of unexpected endings and difficult new beginnings,
We stand with each other and say: hazak, hazak, v’nitkhazek
“From strength, to strength, and always we will grow stronger…”
