I previously wrote about how, at Sinai, everyone there became a part of the covenant. Thus, just like we are all called “Yehudim” becuase the largest majority of us was from the tribe of “Yehuda,” we are all the “Children of Israel” because that was the majority. But it was NOT the entirety.
By the time of Nitzavim, our heroes have been in the desert for 40 years. Notice that those who are not descendents of Jacob are no longer described as simply being “among” them; now they live WITHIN the various camps. The Egyptians and others who chose to come with us have by now become integrated into one tribe or another, and are a part of the community.
Now, after all of this time, perched on the edge of entering into Israel and beginning a new page, the Covenant is reiterated; it is with EVERYONE present. Men, women, children, elders, the powerful and the manual laborers, the descendents of Jacob and those who joined us. All present at the time, and THEIR descendents.
We enter into the covenant as individuals AND as a community, becoming intertwined as one people, with a common fate, each responsible one to another.
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