Thoughts Before RH: Time is Linear

Time is linear, not cyclical. Though every year we go through the same calendrical events in the Jewish year, and hear the same famous divrei Torah every year, and say the same tefillos every year, it's always different. We are always moving forward from year to year. When Hashem created the world, He created time. We are on a time line that began with berias haOlam and will continue until Hashem sends the Mashiach bb"a. People who were with us last year are no longer with us this year. Some have passed on, some went off the derech, some went missing. Whatever the case is, things are different now. And someone's tefillos will be different this year. We may same the same words, but each time we have a different heart, for better or for worse. World events change or perspective on life as we approach the Master of the World and pray for a merciful outcome in judgement this year.

Every year, our slate is wiped clean. We can start over. We recognize the reignof Hashem, declaring that we have changed and are different now. We are not the people we used to be. Some people don't appreciate what this means. We are not about to repeat another year, the same as any other; another Rosh HaShanah, then another Yom Kippur where we have to fast, then Succos which is always fun....

Every year we start over, but not from the beginning! Our mistakes are wiped away, but chas v'shalom that we should forget our experiences, the good and the bad! Yes, we start over, but it is the person who just finished 5772 that is about to start anew in 5773. We have the opportunity to grow from our experiences and implement them into a newly invigorated year of avodas Hashem. Though the calander may seem to repeat, we are really moving forward, always. History is not just a blurry downward spiral of wars, calamity, joyous occasions, births, deaths, some good presidents, some bad, Arab dictators etc. as some would see. It's all a process, planned and overseen by Hashem, leading to the End, when we will all live happily ever after.

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!  

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.

Internalize the Message of the Yamim Noraim

As I was saying slichot this morning, a question bogged me. During the slichah "אדון בשפטך" I realized that we were basically asking Hashem not to judge us harshly becasue we are nothing and full of sin. אדון בשפטך אנוש רמה תזכר ברגז חנות רחם- "Master of the World, when you judge man who is but a worm, in Your mercy remember to be have mercy upon us!..."

זדון בחבו הלא און בקרבו. עוון מלא ופשע רב. חשבון ודין למלך מלכי המלכים! סופו לתן בבוא חליפתו

Is not man full of aveirot!?They are not hidden! How can we go before HaKadosh B"H, the Melech Malchei HaMelachim and give him our cheshbon nefesh for all of the terrible things we have done agaisnt him?! And yet, everyone must give their cheshbon before Hashem once his end comes. Our own evils will testify against us; even the walls of our houses will testify against us! This slichah should fill us with such a pachad for our judgement, its words are so powerful. Yet, is it possible that we just skim through these words? Even if we do read and understand these words, how many of us will take them and internalize them? As we go through the Yom HaDin, do we have these things in mind. And just as important, as we go on through the rest of the year will we have these things in mind? Will these words just pass by in our minds for a few minutes or will they leave an imprinted message that we should evaluate the way we act to see if we can improve our shmirat Torah u'mitzvot? Will our Yirat Shamayim be affected in any way?

It says in Bilvavi Mishkan Evneh about emunah that there are 3 broad levels: Chachma, Bina, and Da'at. Chachma and Bina are basically in one category of emunah that we beleive and accept the Hashem exists and created/s the world. But the level of Da'at, understanding, is when we take this belief, this knowledge, and incorporate it into the way we think and act. This has to be our goal during these times; to take the emunah that Hashem is really the Master of the World and that He presides over every creation and is judging us now. We need to ingrain this into our minds so that the teshuvah and intense davening we do now should not be temporary! It should stay with us throughout the year.