Rosh HaShana 5632 Third Ma'amar

The Midrash[1] on the pasuk in parshas Emor which mentions Rosh HaShanah cites the following pasuk from Tehillim (119:89), “לְעוֹלָם ה' דְּבָרְךָ נִצָּב בַּשָּׁמָיִם/Forever, God, Your word stands firm in the heavens.”  What is the connection between this pasuk and Rosh HaShana?

The Ba’al Shem Tov[2] explains that this pasuk harks back to God’s command to create the heavens and is to be understood literally.  God’s command, “Let there be a firmament …,” (Breishis 1:6) the very words of the declaration, stand firm in the heavens and give them existence.  The same applies to all the commands of the Creation.

Why is this so and what is its significance?  The Sfas Emes explains that God's creation commands (i.e. "Let there be light", etc.) are at the root of every part of the Creation. The spiritual sustenance that enables every part of the Creation to continue to exist flows out of God’s very declarations that brought them into existence in the first place. The spiritual energy at the source and its physical counterparts are therefore intimately connected. The Creation was structured so that the spiritual energy actually becomes the physical creations.

Chazal quote this pasuk relating it to Rosh HaShanah because Rosh HaShanah represents the spiritual energy before it changes into distinct and disparate material creations.  The teki’ah sound of the shofar alludes to this concept.  The teki’ah is a simple sound.  It represents sound before it is broken into parts by speech and reminds us of the source of life and existence before it becomes physical and broken into disparate physical forms[3].

On Rosh HaShanah we want to connect – to experience – through the sound of the shofar, to God’s spiritual life force. May we merit it! 

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[1] VaYikra R. 29:1

[2] Cited in Tanya, Sha’ar HaYichud VeHe’Emunah

[3] For a fascinating discussion of this concept, see Ya’aros Devash 1:6.  Rav Yonasan Aibshutz explains the juxtaposition of the different names of God in the pasuk, “עָלָה אֱ-לֹהִים בִּתְרוּעָה ה' בְּקוֹל שׁוֹפָר.”  The Tetragrammaton has no consonants.  As such it is comparable to the teki’ah which is a simple sound unbroken into components by the different parts of the mouth.  The name אֱ-לֹהִים, on the other hand, has consonants.  It is comparable to the teru’ah which is sound broken using parts of the mouth.  It represents God’s influence in the physical world.  Rav Aibshutz also explains that the world was created with the simple sound of the teki’ah because the definition of dibbur is the creation of an “angel”.  For this reason there is no dibbur or amira associated with the first command – Breishis.  This is why we associate the teki’ah with the Creation on Rosh Hashanah –HaYom haras olam.

Rosh HaShana 5632 Fifth Ma'amar

The ten days beginning on Rosh HaShana and culminating with Yom Kippur are called the ten days of repentance.  Of course, we can repent at any time.  However, these days are more conducive to repentance than any other period of the year.  Why is this? 

Chazal[1], addressing this question, teach us that these days are associated with the ten commands with which God created the world and with the ten commandments that we received at Mount Sinai. 

The Sfas Emes explains that both the ten commands of the Creation and the ten commandments have spiritual power.  It is this spiritual power that actually created the world initially and kept the world in existence at Mount Sinai.  And it is this spiritual power that enlightens the ten days of repentance, one command and one commandment for each day.

Why, though, is spiritual enlightenment needed on these days in order to save us and the world, to see us through this period of judgment?  Why is the spiritual enlightenment that created the world and keeps it in existence not enough?  Chazal teach us that the world is actually deserving of destruction were it not for the renewal.  Why is there a need for renewal?

The Sfas Emes explains that the enlightenment that comes from the renewal of the world on Rosh HaShana is actually stronger than the original enlightenment at the time of the Creation and Mount Sinai.  This is in line with the famous principle of Chazal[2] that even the completely righteous cannot stand where ba'alei teshuva stand.  In a certain sense, ba'alei teshuva are on a higher level than those who have never sinned.

It takes more spiritual power to move oneself away from sin and return to God than it takes to maintain a pre-existing relationship.  The spiritual power needed for renewal on Rosh HaShana is actually more powerful than that of the original Creation.  It is this spiritual power that floods the world during this ten day period that makes it so conducive to repentance.  Let us take advantage of this tremendous opportunity to return to God and experience a personal renewal as well.  Amen!

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[1] Pesikta Rabasi 40

[2] Brachos 34b

Rosh HaShanah 5632 Second Ma'amar

On Rosh HaShanah, God provides abundance for the entire year. God’s blessing begins as something spiritual that becomes physical in the material world. In the transformation from spiritual to physical, other changes take place as well. Spiritual abundance is uniform. Physical forms, on the other hand, differ. This concept is suggested by the very name of the holiday. Literally, Rosh HaShanah means the head of the year. However, the word shanah/year also means change. In this sense, Rosh HaShanah connotes the beginning or source of abundance before it changes from spiritual to physical.