Teshuva
The Rambam indicates that Benonim have until Yom Kippur to repent, otherwise they may be condemned to death. Since benonim have equal Mitzvos and sins, why do they die? Why not go leniently on them? (Indeed, after death Hashem does deal leniently with Benonim, erasing sins, so that they enter Heaven. Why not on Rosh Hashanah, then?)
The trial of Rosh Hashanah is to see if we are worth His while: Is He getting a return on his investment? Are we earning our keep? This trial allows no charity; either we are doing our piece or we aren’t. It’s all business. Therefore, a break-even proposition, like a Benoni, doesn’t cut it. Hashem profits nothing by him, for there is no net gain.
(The trial after death, however, is to determine compensation. Hashem is kindly and magnanimous, and wants to endow us as much as possible. He will push an ambiguous score towards the good!)
By this logic, there would seem to be a platform for leniency in this trial; Were a person to set himself on habits that will turn a profit for Hashem, even before those Mitzvos are actualized, he is already worth Hashem’s while. He represents future gain. In short: if we will make proper Kabalos on Rosh Hashanah we may have a winning card.
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Practical Apps
We pray on Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur primarily for Hashem’s greater glory; what can we do everyday to increase Hashem’s glory ourselves?
Here are some suggestions (from the kinderlach);
1. be mekarev Jews to Judaism
2. praise Hashem to others
3. pray to Him
4. close ranks by being in peace with other Jews and thereby increase His kingdom
5. keep His commandments
6. korbanos
7. making a kiddush Hashem
8. doing tshuvah
9. doing what Hashem wants even if it is not explicit, and even when it is not what we want
10. increasing the power and influence of the Torah in the world, by aiding Torah-true initiatives, and Torah-true people.
11. Publicizing His deeds, such as stories of hashgocho or the miracles in Tanach. Maybe do a comic book on it.
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Chumros For A While
People take on chumros during the Aseres Y’mei Tshuva, such as not eating pas paltar, (non-Jewish bakery bread) as the Rema suggests. But only until Yom Kippur. Then we go back to doing our usual thing. Is this fakery?
We have several personas within ourselves. We can choose which of them to actualize. Suppose we act nicely to someone, although we feel lousy at the time. Is that wrong, acting contrary to what we feel? No. We are not faking at all, rather we choose to act in accordance with our inner Tzaddik, not our lousy feeling.
So we act in tandem with our inner tzaddik during this week. Its real and true. And, perhaps even more important; you need to know that there is a tzaddik inside of you!
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Kapparos
The Magen Avraham suggests Rashi’s description of the ancient custom of “Parpisa” as a source to our custom of Kapporos.
Rashi (Shabbos 81B) describes how fifteen or twenty days before Rosh HaShanah they would take a vessel woven of palm leaves, fill it with dirt and manure, plant bean seeds inside and wait for it to sprout. They would make a separate one for every boy and girl (children) in the family. On EREV ROSH HASHANAH they would swing it SEVEN times about the child’s head, and say “zeh tachas ze; this is in place of this, ze chalifascha ze tmurascha”. Then it would be thrown into the sea.
Note; it was erev Rosh HaShanah, not between Rosh HaShanah and Yom Kippur; it was thrown into the sea, not eaten; and it was only for children evidently, not like Kapparos which are done by all. Also, we do three swings, they did seven.
At any rate, this related custom clarifies the essential nature of Kapparos; Kapparos is a t’murah, passing one’s fate over onto another object or animal, so that it takes one’s place, and one’s fate is visited upon it instead. It is substitution; atonement by proxy.
It is not an inspiration for repentance (although that is always dandy), rather it is a technical method for expiation. Is it rational? I doubt it. But Hashem is not our rational. He knows some things that we don’t…eh?
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Do It Just Because….
‘Remember us to life, King who wants Life, and write us in the Book Of The Living For Your Sake, O G-d of Life’. What does ‘For your sake’ mean?
Sometimes someone does a favor to someone. Why? Because he is a good person and likes to do good. There is no ulterior motive. We ask Hashem for favors just because. Help us for Your sake, because You like to help. (This comes next to where we praise Hashem bringing redemption to the grandchildren of his righteous “for His name”, which also means ‘just because’)
We also invoke here ‘Elokim Chayim’ Why? Because You, ‘Elokim Chayim’ – as G-d of life, it is in accordance with Your character to grant us life.
There is great power in this approach: Hashem wants to help us. We need only to allow Him. Just don’t make trouble!
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Counter-intuitive Action
The dichotomy: Rosh HaShanah is a fearful and awesome day, the day of judgement. It determines what will happen in our lives. On the other hand it is YomTov, one of the Moadim, where there is a commandment to rejoice.
It is part of the Aseres Y’mei Tshuvah, so we ought to be doing t’shuvah, yet the Navi’im Ezra and Nechemia firmly forbade any Jew to cry in t’shuva, and sent messengers to stop anyone crying. Instead, they suggested, eat, drink and be happy, for ‘Joy in Hashem is your protection’.
How do the two work together?
A man and his partner received a letter from the prime minister’s office advising them that the game was up; his officers had discovered that they had been cheating the government and they were to appear on the coming Tuesday to a hearing presided by the prime minister himself. The partners panicked. It was true; they had been stealing large amounts, and they stood the chance of being jailed for decades to come.
One fellow happened to be a cousin to one of the Minister’s assistants. He ran to him for advice. The cousin heard him out and said “Your case is indeed most serious, and the prime minister will not take this lightly.
My advice? Next week Monday, he is marrying off a daughter. At the wedding itself he is likely to pass the time by reading the cases that will be decided on the morrow, and he will make up his mind then, not at the trial itself. Dress up in your finest tuxedo. I’ll get you an invitation to the wedding. At the smorgasbord, go up to the prime minister and introduce yourself by name. Have a drink with him and tell him a great story. He absolutely loves stories! Get on his good side and you stand a chance”.
The man followed the advice: trembling within, he attended the wedding and struck up an acquaintance with the minister. Later, during a lull in the meal, the prime minister asked to see tomorrow’s docket. Reading thorough, he noticed his new friend’s name. “Is this the gentleman I just met earlier?” he asked his aid. Yes, It was.
Suddenly there was noise and commotion; a fellow was trying to get past the guards, scuffling with security. Soon, he broke through and fell sobbing at the feet of the prime minister. He looked unkempt and tore wildly at his hair, begging the minister for forgiveness. It was the other partner, obviously with a different strategy…
The minister was displeased. Embarrassed before all his guests and family, he yelled for his guards; “Get this man out of here!”.
Tomorrow was the trial; please hazard a guess: who was pardoned, and who still sits in jail today?
Indeed, we stand judgement for heavy crimes. But this day is not just judgement; it is also Hashem’s yomtov. He wants to rejoice on this day. Although it appears counter-intuitive, weeping and repentance will only get us into deeper trouble. What we need to do is to rejoice with Hashem. That’s our greatest hope. So perhaps despite it being a day of judgement, we need to make a “great rejoicing” (-ibid, Nechemia) for that is what will turn the tide, not tears.
The Shulchan Aruch and the Rambam do not seem to go with it. They indicate that a person must act subdued and fearful as he rejoices.
Perhaps we can explain. Indeed, there was sequel to our little tale; At the trial the prime minister asked the one he had met at the party: “Were you also scared and distressed as you chatted with me, knowing of your impending trial, yet you overcame your feelings for my sake, or did you party because you simply do not care?” “Oh, I was petrified!” said the man.
Had he laughed off the charges against him, the prime minister would never let him off. He got a break only because he was serious about his situation, yet acted appropriately so as not to spoil the minister’s event. So too, a person must have restraint and fear within his rejoicing. Otherwise the rejoicing will be meritless, the raucous laugh of a scofflaw.
Rejoice, yet with trembling.
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Ten For Tshuvah
I suspect that repentance is a poor term for t’shuvah. It really ought to be ‘the ten days of RETURN’. Here’s why:
T’shuvah encompasses the full spectrum of return to Hashem, in the context of living with Him. T’shuvah means talking things out with Him, unburdening one’s self to Him, caring about His issues – chillul Hashem and mankind sinning, – and considering if He prefers we do our plans or not. Repentance is a small portion of this. In particular Regret, which is the Yom Kippur part.
For this we need ten days: repentance itself takes but a few seconds. As the Torah says: ‘it’s in your heart and mouth’, right at hand = just confess your sins, regret them, and accept to do better. The reason for ten days is to build a relationship with Hashem. THAT takes time.
This time ought to be devoted to repairing our relationship with Hashem. Rosh Hashanah is part of these ‘days of return’, although we do not mention sin, nor ask forgiveness. Most of the s’lichos do not relate to sin, but rather to our relationship with Hashem, our need for him, and longing for redemption and closeness.
What to do:
Some ideas for what to do might include 1. a regular moral inventory, 2. talking to Hashem in our own words at the end of Shmone Esrei. Step by step.
As I once heard: Rosh Hashanah is the first two days of the aseres y’mei teshuva, but no sin is mentioned. All we talk of is the primacy of Hashem’s kingship. What teshuva is there?
The teshuva is the acceptance of Hashem’s monarchy. We may have been lacking in our commitment to Him, and we now accept upon ourselves His leadership of our lives. We deepen our commitment. That is the teshuva…
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The Meaning Of Shofar
Hashem never visits this world. His Hand is always veiled; we perceive him only through His influence, never directly. Only once did He visit here: at the giving of the Torah. And the Shofar then sounded, louder and louder.
At war we are to blow the Shofar, as well as upon sacrifice in the Beis Hamikdash. What is he common denominator? In war the Torah repeatedly tells us that ‘Hashem walks within your camps’ to drive us to victory. His presence is there. And so does His presence manifest in the Beis Hamikdash when we bring Korbanos.
Perhaps the common thread here is that Shofar heralds Hashem’s presence.
We say Malchiyos on Rosh HaShanah, to crown Hashem upon us, then we say Zichronos, that we be regarded favorably before Him and with what? With Shofar (Shofaros) because shofar signifies Sovereignty, His presence.
How exactly does Shofar relate to this? I don’t know. Perhaps the Shofar is an alarm, telling us to pay attention – something important is about to be. And that is a reference to Hashem. For what else can be as important as Hashem?