Shabbos Shuvah 5770

We now find ourselves in the midst of what should be the ten most fearsome, awesome, and impactful days of the year. The two days of Rosh HaShanah, Yom Kippur, and the days between them comprise the עשרת ימי תשובה, the period when we are faced with a final opportunity for repentance as we are faced with the writing and eventual sealing of our judgment. The Shulchan Aruch (403:1) writes that during these days every person should search our and examine his deeds, and do teshuvah for them. The Piskei Teshuvot brings down that during these days a person must be careful to take hold of the matter of taharah, to purify the heart from machshavot aveirah and any middot ra’ot that lie therein. And as Rambam writes, the main taharat hamachshavah comes from learning Torah (so it’s a good thing you’re reading this). Shabbos is a special time of elevated holiness in this world; perhaps we can take advantage of Shabbos Shuvah to delve ourselves into the proper attitude which is proper for this time until the upcoming Yom Kippur. The first pasuk of this week’s haftorah is:  שובה ישראל עד ה' אלוקיך כי כשלת בעונך

Something we learn, which is really amazing, is that Hashem is mekayem the entire Torah (Shemot Rabbah, Yerushalmi Rosh HaShanah). Since He upholds all of the miztvot, Hashem is also mekayem the mitzvah doing teshuvah. When Hashem takes back the bad that was sent to Bnei Yisrael, or that which He said to happen, that is in effect His teshuvah. וינחם על הרעה אשר דיבר לעשות לעמו לעמו- And He reconsidered the evil which he said to do to his nation. What does it mean that Hashem “reconsidered”? That is kivyachol Hashem’s charatah, the first part of teshuvah. But when the teshuvah is only on the evil which was added onto us, we still remain chas v’shalom, in the same difficult situation as we were originally. If only the bad which Hashem added, or wanted to add onto us is removed, then we are still in the lowly, harsh reality that we were stuck in to begin with!

שובה ה' עד מתי והנחם על עבדיך. שבענו בבקר חסדך ונרננה ונשמחה בכל ימינו.- Return, Hashem, until when? Relent concerning your servants. Satisfy us in the morning with Your kindness, then we shall sing and rejoice throughout our days. What does this mean? The holy Piaseczner Rebbe explains that we pray “Shuva Hashem!” Kivyachol, Hashem should do teshuvah with us! Until when will Your teshuvah just be "והנחם"? How long will it simply be a reconsideration for those tzarot that are additionally put upon us, while leaving us in the state that we were before? We are still in a poor state without this! “Sabeinu baboker chasdecha”, Satisfy us in the morning with Your kindness, and then we shall sing and rejoice for that will be your teshuvah, kivyachol. Let us wake up the next morning, the day of geulah v’yeshua, of redemption and salvation, filled with Your chesed Ribono Shel Olam! Let us leave behind the night of our exiled state! (ע"פ דברי רש"י).

We must also do teshuva in this manner. When a person (that’s you and me) does an aveira, if he only does teshuva on that aveira that he has put upon himself, then afterwards he remains in the same state he was before the aveirah. This is not our tafkid, how can this be a Jew’s goal in life?

"שובה ישראל עד ה' אלוקיך כי כשלת בעוניך"- The main part of doing teshuva is returning to Hashem for we have stumbled in our lowly darkened ways. But we might think that all we need to do is repent for stumbling in our sins and that’s it. Hence, the Navi proclaims to us not just to return and to do teshuvah, but it should be "עד ה' אלקיך"! We must raise ourselves completely in higher level of kedushah and taharah towards Hashem.

אמר רבי עקיבא אשריכם ישראל לפני מי אתם מטהרים מי מטהר אתכם אביכם שבשמים. (יומא ח"ט)

The Arvei Nachal brings down from Teshuvot Maharam m’Rotenberg, who has a kabalah, that one who is killed al pi kiddush Hashem doesn’t not feel any afflictions. The Arvei Nachal explains the reason for this being that since such a person is filled with the overwhelming fervor for his desire to die al pi kiddush Hashem, all of his feelings are elevated into the world of thought until he is completely enwrapped in thought, and his physicality is separated from him. Therefore, all he feels is this great joyousness in what he is doing. The same is true of all man’s troubles. All of our suffering is hard, but when a person knows that it is all to “polish” off his aveirot and be metaher him so that he can become closer to Hashem, then the deeper he roots himself in this thought and attached himself to it, the lighter and easier his burdens are to bear.

We learn in the Zohar: בעובדא דלתתא אתער עובדא דלעילא, with an action from below, an action from above is awakened. Therefore, we attach ourselves so much to this thought, to attach ourselves to Hashem, until our physical feelings are basically nullified. To that extent HaKadosh Boruch Hu also affixs Himself to us with his thought until his feelings, the anger which is upon us, are overturned and we have a yeshuah.

Since Rabbi Akiva was killed al pi kiddush Hashem and all his life he walked bearing the thought of being moser nefesh for Hashem, as we learn in the Gemara in Berachot (61b), when R’ Akiva was being killed by the Romans, he said “I always bothered by the pasuk of "בכל נפשך"- to serve Hashem even if it takes your life, and I would say, ‘when will I have the opportunity to perform this mitzvah?’ Now that I have the opportunity at hand, will I not uphold it?” This is the reason why it was Rabbi Akiva who taught the Mishnah in Yoma quoted above, which now has a new, deeper meaning. Praiseworthy are you O Yisrael, even with yisurim, when you remember before Whom you are purified because then your physical feelings will become batel and you will no longer feel the yisurim which you suffer from. And that which its say ""מי מטהר אתכם אביכם שבשמים, your Father in Heaven, is because just like a father cancels out his anger for the good of his son, so too Hashem does everything for Bnei Yisrael, and then all of the judgments against us will be nullified and then it will truly be a state of "אשריכם ישראל".         

Rosh HaShanah Drasha: 2 Aspects of the Shofar

One of the most noteworthy and defining aspects of Rosh HaShanah is definitely Teki’at Shofar. Its sound rings in our ears and minds from Rosh Chodesh Elul until Rosh HaShanah, reminding us to arouse ourselves to teshuvah as Rambam writes. And just as the Torah is a limitless wellspring of knowledge, so too there is plenty to learn about Teki'at Shofar.

Rosh (Rosh HaShanah 4:10) writes that according to Rabbeinu Tam, we make a berachah on the blowing of the shofar because with that act is the completion of the mitzvah, "דעשייתה היא גמר מצוותה וכו'".  In the Teshuvot HaRambam the question is posed, what is the difference between "לשמוע קול שופר", to hear the soundof the shofar, and "על תקיעת שופר", on the blowing of the shofar? There is a great difference, Rambam writes, as the mitzvah that we are obligated with here is to hear the shofar blast, not to blow it. If the mitzvah were the actual blowing of the shofar, we wouldn’t be yotzei the mitzvah by listening through shomei’ah k’oneh; everyone would be obligated to fulfill it themselves, just as everyone must sit in the succah to fulfill that mitzvah on their own. The mitzvah is the shmi’ah, the teki’ah is only a means to this.

We seem to now have before us a machloket Rishonim. From the words of Rabbeinu Tam, the teki’ah is a component of the mitzvah itself, whereas Rambam, like we said, holds it to be a means to perform the mitzvah. This problem by further explaining what exactly Rabbeinu Tam’s understanding of Teki’at Shofar is. According to Rabbeinu Tam’s shitah, the blowing of the shofar is a form of speech which is a tefillah and tza’akah to Hashem. As we say in davening, שומע קול תרועת עמו ישראל ברחמים. If so, that teki’at shofar is a tefillah, a form of speech, then for sure the din of shomei’ah k’oneh applies to it. Conversely, Rambam writes in Hilchot Teshuva (3:4) that the reason for Teki’at Shofar is as if it is telling the slumbering to awake from their sleep and do teshuvah. Of course that definitely means that the mitzvah is in the shmi’ah.   

What is the underlying reality here? Rav Shlomo Fischer shlit"a writes, there are two categories within Teki’at Shofar. We see this said explicitly in the Gemara in Rosh HaShanah 16a says:

ואמרו לפני בראש השנה מלכיות זכרונות ושופרות מלכיות כדי שתמליכוני עליכם זכרונות כדי שיעלה זכרוניכם לפני לטובה ובמה בשופר.

Everyone knows that we have three parts to blowing the shofar throughout davening on Rosh HaShanah: Malchuyot, Zichronot, and Shofarot. As we see in the Gemara, Malchuyot is in order to accept Hashem’s kingship, and Zichronot is in order that Hashem should remember us for good. Thus we see that both aspects of blowing the shofar that Rabbeinu Tam and Rambam are taught. The shofar is the means by which we achieve both of these aspects: a) As a tefillah crying out to Hashem to remove the Satan from prosecuting us. b) To instill fear into a person and break through the depths of his heart. This is what the pasuk in Parshat Nitzavim is talking about, "...פֶּן-יֵשׁ בָּכֶם, שֹׁרֶשׁ פֹּרֶה רֹאשׁ וְלַעֲנָה", Perhaps there is among you a root flourishing with gall and wormwood. 

The mefarshim grapple with the meaning of the these psukim in Parshat Nitzavim, "שורש פורה ראש ולענה", "למען ספות הרוה את הצמאה", and. The pshat is that the whole parshah is coming to remove any מחשבת און, thoughts of sin, which may rise in the heart of any man, woman, family, or shevet, to say that he or she will walk complacently with themselves, not giving too much concern to the miztvot and not come to any damage for it, for Bnei Yisrael will be good and deserving to receive a shefa brachahv’hatzlachah. This thought is comparable to one who waters his fields, and even though between his fields there is one which is watered and he doesn’t have intent to water it, nonetheless, it will still drink from the water going to the other fields. So too, HaKadosh Boruch Hu will not discern those who think and act this way from the rest of Bnei Yisrael for bad. This way of thinking is exactly the “root flourishing with gall and wormwood,” for it will lead a person to commit avodah zarah with no fear. That is why the Torah coming to tell us otherwise; there is hashgacha pratitover each and every individual, even among the water carriers and wood choppers, "מחוטב עציך עד שואב מימיך". Every person is judged on his own and cannot make himself subsidiary to the mass of the tzibbur.

Furthermore, within this notion of individual judgment are two points. Firstly, it serves as tochachah, to instill fear into the heart and penetrate it, for there is the root of this corrupted thought. However, the second aspect is that of showing Hashem’s reign.

In Masechet Berachot we learn that the entire year we say "הא-ל הקדוש" except for the ten days from Rosh HaShanah to Yom Kippur when we say "המלך הקדוש".  Rav Fischer points out that this is a little odd. Going from "הא-ל" to "המלך" is like switching to a lesser adjective? Rather, the truth is that "הא-ל" is not so coupled with the idea of us as a nation. Which is not the case by מלך which cannot exist without an עם, as learn "ברב עם הדרת מלך". This why Chazal established for us to say this, in order to remind ourselves that we must show Hashem’s kingship over us as His nation.  

Rav Fischer writes that with this we can resolve a seeming dispute between the Gra and the Arizal. According to the Gra, we must have a lot of simcha by Teki’at Shofar, just like a country on the day that they accept a king’s rule and crown him. So too, by blowing the shofar we are making HaKadosh Boruch Hu our King in all of the עולמות, for we are indeed his people. Wheras the Ari HaKadosh writes that one should be doing וודוי by Teki’at Shofar, which is definitely not like what the Gra says. What is the holy truth? There is no argument; the Ari’s statement to say וודיו is for the very same reason. Since we are ממליך Hashem with Teki’at Shofar, we must consider ourselves and our actions at that time. Someone who does not feel the need for this at that moment of hearing the shofar is showing himself to be like a simple animal with no responsibilities and that doesn’t care about its actions. This is mamash a detraction in the kingship of Hashem, for a king is connected to his people, as we mentioned. 

Perhaps, as Rosh HaShanah is rapidly approaching, we can try to have more kavanah as we listen to the shofar, the teki'ah d'chova, and realize how much the piercing blast of a ram's horn impacts us and what it should mean to us. Shana Tova u'Metuka, Ketiva v'Chatima Tova, & Shabbat Shalom!  

Have you done anything to actually improve yourself lately? I don't mean just learning nice Yamim Noraim inyanim or listening to shiurim and such. I mean a real attempt to be metaken you're middot, not just a few minutes of cheshbon hanefesh and hitbonenut here and there even, mamash real ameilut to put into practice an attempt to be the better Jew that you are and always have been capable of being before the judgement tomorrow. It's really hard, just like R' Yisrael said, harder than learning shas. But still, we can learn shas and we can be metaken middot, it's been proven. Shkoyach to those who have been succesful at this, hopefully you'll be a real motivation for those around you.

K'tiva v'Chatima Tova

BS"D We Will Do Good

Before blowing the shofar we say: ערוב עבדך לטוב אל יעשקוני זדים.-"Be Your servant's guarantor for good, let not willful sinners exploit me." (Tehillim 119:122))

Above is one of the psukim said before Teki'at Shofar. The hailege Piaseczner Rebbe writes (Aish Kodesh: Rosh HaShanah 5701) an short but very important concept in teshuvah. The main part of teshuvah is not returning to your aveirot. There are 2 ways through which we must do this, based on the pasuk "סור מרע ועשה טוב". The bad which we have done we must now refrain from, and the good which we did not do we must now perform. It is easier to do teshuvah in terms of the sur me'rah aspect, that we should not do any more bad. However, this is not the case by actively doing good. It is much harder as we are all surrounded by bitter yisurim which basically rob us of strength. How will we be sure to be able to learn Torah, give tzedakah, or do other mitzvot? This goal really requires an active dedication to bettering ourselves. So what do we do? We ask Hashem, "Be Your servant's guarantor for good", meaning we want, and need, HaKadosh Boruch Hu's help to actively do good, to be mekayem mitzvot and learn Torah; "let not willful sinners exploit me" and we will b'ezrat Hashem do tov.

Nitzavim- Being a Tzibbur

In this week's parsha we have the somewhat well known pasuk "הנסתרות לה' והנגלות לנו ולבנינו"- from here we learn the important concept (look in Rashi/Ramban) of kol yisrael areivin (ערב=guarantor) zeh bazeh. We have a principle of being responsible for other people’s Torah u’mitzvot. And, sure enough, there are halachic ramifications for this. Rashi (ר"ה פ"ג) says that you have a right to be motzi someone else for Kiddush; but how can you have shomeiah k’oneh if you yourself were already yotzei? Because of kol yisrael areivin zeh bazeh. If there are Jews out there that have not heard Kiddush then you are not completely yotzei.

A certain Rosh Yeshiva like to say there as many different unique aspects of Eretz Yisrael: smicha, egla arufa, nevua, plus the special agricultural aspect… That being said we see that something special is going on above and beyond just the soil. There's a reason why areivut could only begin when Bnei Yisrael entered Ereytz Yisrael. We are primarily a tzibbur when in our holy land, Eretz Yisrael. The atmosphere of its kedushah affcets us and is part of who we are as a nation.

This notion of areivim is a major theme in the parshah, and this means that we are not just individuals but a tzibbur. את אשר ישנו פה ואת אשר איננו פה, tzibbur is something which transcends individual people; it is a new unit which is formed as we enter our land. Hashem should help us to make oursleves deserving of returning to our land to once again become a single unit, an unearthly nation in Eretz Yisrael. Sometimes we forget that we are inherently connected to the Jew next to us, and unfortunately that leads to our own undoing when we cannot bring oursleves to act propelry towards them. How can we be called back to our home if we have not made ourselves decent? We are not in galut for no reason. I think it was from a shiur by Rav Yisachar Frand that I heard this mashal on the churban bayit (and it's definitely a little different than the way I heard it); imagine that a young talmid was brought into the Chofetz Chaim's home to stay there. Such an experience was a reality for certain special and fortunate individuals, and its profoundity can certainly be imagined by any who have notion of the Chofetz Chaim's persona. This young man had a wonderful privelage which he cherished immensly. Then one day he walked into the house to find the tzaddik sitting at his table with solemn look on his face. He looked up and said to the young man, "I'm sorry but you cannot stay in my home anymore. Today I heard you speak lashon hara, you must leave." - We detsroyed ourselves with Sinat Chinam, baseless hatred, and were tossed from our home by the one with Whom we shared residence, HaKadosh Boruch Hu. Unless we try to repair that which we we have cracked, to what end to we expect to come? As the Yamim Noraim approach and we are faced with the dread of our judgement's inscription and the yearning for atonement, maybe we should keep this idea in mind.

(What’s the difference between the tochacha in Bechukotai and the one in Ki tavo? Bechukotai is in lashon rabim and Ki tavo is in lashon yachid. The Gra writes that when you have a chovat tzibbur it often is in lashon yachid. - Where do we see an example of this newfound tzibbur aspect taking effect in E”Y? In Sefer Yehoshua by kibush haaretz, everyone suffered because one man, Achan, did an aveira by taking the verboten booty of Yericho.)

Back for a New Year

Well, it's been a lengthy intermission with the end of the last school year and a couple of months devoted to learning over the summer. B"H the summer was amazing in Morasha Kollel; there was such a shtark chevra of guys from all over- Yerushalayim Ir HaKodesh, Sderot, Alon Shvut, Teaneck, one kid Virginia, Canada, England, Queens, Monsey, Riverdale... Nothing like it, such a geschmak embodiment of ahavat haTorah. Anyway, as we are now starting a new year, yeshiva has just started and Rosh HaShanah is a week away, hopefully we can enter into a new time for hitorerut in our learning, in our mitzvot, in our ahavah and yirah, and most of all in knowing who we are and what our tafkid is. בע"ה יתרבך this should be a year of ameilut and mesriut, and more (good) blog posts than last year. כן יה"ר.

Shabbat Shalom!