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Rosh Hashanah

The prophet Amos exclaims, “If a shofar is blown in the city, will not the inhabitants tremble?”1 A day of judgement coupled with the awe-inspiring blasts of

the shofar graphically describes the nature of Rosh Hashanah.

Yet, the prophet Nechemiah exhorts the people to celebrate Rosh Hashanah properly by directing them to, “Go, eat rich foods…and do not be melancholy for (this day which is) a joy for the Eternal is your security.”2 How do we balance these two divergent visions of what Rosh Hashanah is supposed to represent?

There is a tendency in human nature to seek out and serve a cause even unto death. Being attached to something greater than oneself produces an easy sense of self-importance. However, the end result is that the person becomes swallowed up by the ideal and ceases to have his own separate identity. This is obviously unhealthy and self-destructive.

The Torah, one the other hand, teaches otherwise. We toil and show commitment, but we realize that ultimately it is all for our benefit. We grow wiser by studying the Torah. We gain introspection from our prayers. We refine our character through the discipline of fulfilling the mitzvos (commandments).

We are therefore obligated to make responsible decisions by seeking to maximize our growth, rather than mindlessly following a charismatic leader or working blindly for a cause.

The judgement of the Almighty exists not in order to punish, but to allow us to justify our existence. On Rosh Hashanah, we feel awe and trepidation. We know that we are human and have fallen short of reaching our potential. Nevertheless, we feel extremely happy because we realize that G-d, in His overwhelming goodness, has given us life for our own sake.עמוס ג, ו 1

Life is for Ourselves

נחמיה ח, י 2

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Rosh Hashanah

Rosh Hashanah is also called Yom Hadin, the Day of Judgement. This title evokes a formidable image: man standing before the Almighty, trembling in fear,

not knowing the outcome of the Divine sentence. Will he be inscribed in the Book of Life or not?

On the other hand, Rosh Hashanah commemorates the ultimate act of chesed, kindness, the creation of man. How can we understand this paradox?

The universe cannot be based solely upon a system of kindness wherein man is only a taker. If one subsists solely on the largesse of others he exists in a severely diminished capacity. When one gives without enabling the other to earn his keep, this constitutes a lack of kindness.

G-d, in His infinite compassion, created a system where man is able to justify his existence. The system of din allows man to earn the right to G-d’s benevolence. Consequently, din, where G-d determines if one has earned his keep, as it were, is the ultimate act of chesed because it affirms man’s ultimate achievement, the right to exist.

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Din

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Rosh Hashanah

In the very moving prayer of U’Nesane Tokef we read, “On Rosh Hashanah it is written…who will live, who will die…” Every year, G-d examines our deeds and decides our fate.

We seem to find otherwise in the Talmud: “Rava stated, ‘Life, children, and livelihood are not due to one’s merits but rather to predetermined fate (mazal).’”1 However, in another tractate the Amoraim argue over whether the Jewish people are bound by mazal.2 Can a Jew change his fate or not?

The public Torah reading for every festival usually discusses the laws of that particular festival. However, on Rosh Hashanah, the main reading is the portion containing, “And Hashem remembered Sarah…and she gave birth to a son.”3

The Talmud lists this as one of the events that occurred on Rosh Hashanah.4 Thus this reading must be relevant to the nature of the day. How does the story of Sarah giving birth relate to the essence of Rosh Hashanah?

The different times of the year contain specific propensities that reflect past events (e.g. the month of Nissan, because of the occurrence of the Exodus therein, contains the proclivity for redemption).

Since Rosh Hashanah is the day that man was created,5 it follows that every Rosh Hashanah contains the potential for renewal. Although certain aspects of one’s life are predetermined, on Rosh Hashanah the world returns to its origins. One, therefore, becomes capable of removing any limitations caused by his original mazal.

Sarah was born physically incapable of bearing children.6 On Rosh Hashanah, her mazal changed and she gave birth. Thus, this Torah reading encapsulates the essence of Rosh Hashanah – that at this time of year Hashem gives us the opportunity to overcome our very mazal and renew ourselves on every level.


מועד קטן כח 1שבת קנו 2בראשית כא, א-ב 3

Mazal

ראש השנה יא 4ראש השנה י 5יבמות סד 6

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Rosh Hashanah

The Torah refers to Rosh Hashanah as “Yom Teruah,”1 a day of sounding the shofar. The Talmud discusses what sound the teruah of Rosh Hashanah represents:

a grown, a sigh, or a combination of both.2 Clearly, the teruah symbolizes the nature of the day, that of fear and trepidation.

In his second blessing, Bilaam declares, “(G-d) didn’t perceive iniquity in Israel… – ‘U’Seruas Melech Bo’ – and the ‘teruah’ of the King is within him.”3 Rashi explains teruah as meaning dearness and friendship; “and the friendship of the King is within him.” How can teruah create a sense of awe yet also convey a sense of friendship?

One may compare this to a doctor-patient relationship. A patient in need of a health examination enters the doctor’s office in trepidation of the possible negative results. Nevertheless, he is comforted by his trust in the physician whom he recognizes as having his best interest in mind.

Similarly, at this time of year, we are subjected to a spiritual examination by our Heavenly Father – one that may in fact bear fearsome results. But we find solace in the knowledge that Hashem loves us, that He seeks to help us ascertain and arrest the spread of any spiritual maladies.

The sound of the shofar does in fact instill fear, but nevertheless represents a call of friendship as well.


במדבר כט, א 1ראש השנה לג 2במדבר כג, כא 3

Shofar

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Yom Kippur

On Yom Kippur we fast, pray, and ask for forgiveness for our past sins. At the same time, we commit ourselves to sin no more. Yet we all know that it is inevitable that

we sin again. How can we possibly justify committing to sin no more, while knowing that next Yom Kippur we will be back asking for forgiveness again?

The Mishna informs us that there are two types of love relationships. One is dependent on something and the other is not. In the case of the former, if that something disappears, so goes the relationship. The latter, however, remains forever.1

One may ask, does not all love begin with a specific foundation? The answer is that eternal love is one that transcends the initial reason; the two parties share and grow together to the point that they become one. The original reason for their love becomes superfluous.

This is the relationship we achieved with G-d at Sinai when the Jewish people and G-d became indivisible. The climax of this relationship was reached after the sin of the Aigel (the Golden Calf ) upon receiving the second Luchos (Tablets) on Yom Kippur. There it was revealed that our relationship cannot be broken, that despite our sins it will survive.

Thus, the essence of achieving forgiveness on Yom Kippur is truly sensing the core of one’s relationship with the Almighty – to feel that we are inseparable from Him, unable to exist without Him. Then G-d too assists us in achieving atonement, as He is reminded, as it were, that our relationship must endure.

That is how we can say that we will sin no more. It is not untrue. For at that level we have become our true selves, one with the Almighty. It is only during the rest of the year, when we aren’t in touch with our true essence, that do we deviate. We act in ways that we sense deep down are not reflective of who we really are. Only on Yom Kippur can we be entirely in touch with our relationship with G-d and fully realize who we are. Once we are in touch with our true selves we can then ask for forgiveness for acts that do not represent the person we want to be.


אבות ה, יט 1

Commitment

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Yom Kippur

The Kol Nidrei prayer is essentially an annulment of oaths and vows (Nedarim u’Shvuos etc.), a shortened version of the Hatoras Nedarim performed after

morning prayers on the eve of Rosh Hashanah. Why is the most solemn day of the year ushered in with the concept of vows and oaths?

The Rambam implies that the primary aspect of repentance is “vidui” – the verbalized confession of one’s sins.1 Why is verbalization such an important facet of the repentance process?

The Targum Onkelos explains the posuk, “And He blew into his (Adam’s) nostrils a living soul,”2 by stating that G-d imbued Adam with the ability to speak, transferring, as it were, His power of speech to man. Just as G-d created the world with words,3 man has been endowed with the ability to create new realities.

This is the source of how a prohibition, a neder, can take effect on something. Man can transform the reality of an object from being permitted to prohibited; so too can be done with repentance. Essential to the teshuva process is the verbalization of a sincere confession together with the commitment to sin no more. Through speech alone, man transforms his reality from sinner to penitent.

This is the message of Kol Nidrei. Through our speech we can effectuate our transformation. The concept of oaths and vows, then defines the nature of Yom Kippur, the day when we beseech the Almighty to transform us through his forgiveness.


רמב”ם )הלכות תשובה א, א(י 1בראשית ב, ז 2פרקי אבות ה, א, תהלים לג3

Speech

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Yom Kippur

The Rambam describes how to accomplish complete teshuva: “…the sinner should leave his sin, remove it from his thoughts, commit never to do it again, regret his

transgression, and the One Who Knows Hidden Things should testify that he will never return to this sin again.”1

Is this not an impossible demand? To whom does it apply? Which person can claim that he has repented so completely that G-d Himself can testify that he will never return to that sin?

Perhaps one reason teshuva seems so difficult is due to how we perceive ourselves. Namely, that we are the sum of our deeds. Just as Adam through his sin was transformed from immortal to mortal, so too does a sin indelibly taint us. We are now the one that transgressed that sin. The reformed alcoholic cannot help thinking as he passes a tavern, “I’m the one who likes drinking. That’s who I am.”

The special gift of teshuva is that G-d has enabled us to change into entirely different people altogether. By doing teshuva (literally returning), coming back to G-d, to our Source, we successfully bypass the acts that once defined who we were. We become one with G-d and metamorphose into a new person.

That is why it is possible for the One Who Knows Hidden Things to testify that a person will never return to the sin again; because he has become a different person. He will no longer sin “because I cannot help it; it’s who I am.” Yes, man is human and “…there is no saint in the land that does good but never sins,”2 but now he can confidently declare, “I am no longer that person who defined himself by the accumulation of his experiences. If I sin, it will be because of new circumstances. Not due to my inability to break away from my past identity.”

That is why it is not hypocritical to commit on Yom Kippur never to sin again. After Rosh Hashanah, and the Ten Days of Repentance culminating in Yom Kippur, we have each become a new person by coming back to our Source. We therefore commit that our former selves and experiences will never again play a role in inducing us to sin.רמב”ם )הלכות תשובה א, א( 1

Teshuva

קהלת ז, כ 2

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