Netzah: Endurance

      The qualities of endurance, fortitude, determination, certitude, energy and commitment are associated with netzah. While often translated as “victory,” netzah really has more to do with achievement. It is the sefirah of creativity. Like hesed, its energy flows outward. As the sefirah of creativity, it has no limits and boundaries. It is the sefirah that reminds us that we are powerful; we are “little lower than angels.”

      As we mark the 75th anniversary of the founding of the State of Israel, it could be said that its creation is a demonstration of the power of netzah. In pre-modern times, teshuvah was seen as an individual accomplishment. “Religious Zionists added a new, communal-collective dimension to the idea of teshuvah.” (Ehud Luz). They believed the founding of a state would lead to a transformation of the Jewish people. Jews would become a people of netzah-taking their destiny into their own hands rather than being a powerless minority dependent on others’ tolerance.  In the minds of religious Zionists, this became a form of restorative teshuvah.
      What has been lost is the complementary sefirah of hod. The qualities of humility, yielding, modesty, patience, planning, calm, forgiveness and compromise are associated with hod. Hod focuses the energy of netzah. It takes creativity and actualizes it in reality. It reminds us that we are not always right, and there are times when change and compromise may be necessary. Our sense of humility comes from a recognition of the limitations of our power. Even as netzah calls upon us to engage in the work that needs to be done, hod reminds us that it is not possible for us to finish it all. A synthesis of the two is required.

For there is a different model of teshuvah that is utopian rather than restorative. The book of Deuteronomy ends with the Israelites on the far side of the Jordan. We never read the book of Joshua. There is no Jewish holiday that remembers the conquest of the land of Israel. For in that model of teshuvah, we are ever on the way. The Promised Land lies just over the next hill. Yet together, netzah and hod can balance each other leading to the next sefirah—yesod/the solid foundation that comes from bringing everything together.

Od lo avda tikvateinu—the millennial hope is not yet lost.