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Rabbi Oizer Alport

Parsha Potpourri Rosh Hashana – Vol. 15, Issue 47 The issues of Parsha Potpourri in 2020 are generously dedicated לז"נ אסתר לז"נ הרב מיכל בן This week’s issue is also dedicated בת ניסים יצחק ושמחה ז"ל

מתתיהו הלוי ז"ל לז"נ יוכבד בת צבי ניסן ז"ל לזכות בני דינה לאה בת סימא חיה לשידוכים The issues of Parsha Potpourri for 2020 have been dedicated with tremendous generosity l’zecher nishmas Esther bas Nissim Yitzhak and Simha z”l (Levy). This week’s issue is also sponsored l’zecher nishmas Harav Michel ben Nissan z”l, whose yahrtzeit is on Sunday (2 Tishrei); in the Zechus of Shidduchim for the children of Deena Leah bas Sima Chaya (by Rabbi Meyer and Shulamith May of Los Angeles); and l’zecher nishmas Yocheved bas Zvi Matityahu Halevi z"l, whose yahrtzeit is on Wednesday (5 Tishrei). Please have them all in mind when reading and discussing this issue, and the Torah that is learned should be a merit for them and their entire families. Each issue of Parsha Potpourri requires a tremendous amount of work, and additional sponsorships are greatly appreciated. For more information about dedications, which are $50 per issue, please send me an email. Wishing you all a safe and healthy Shabbos and a Kesiva v’chasima tova, and I hope that you enjoy the Divrei Torah and Points to Ponder!

ובחדש השביעי באחד לחדש מקרא קדש יהיה לכם כל מלאכת עבדה לא תעשו) 29:1יום תרועה יהיה לכם (במדבר

The Gemora in Rosh Hashana (16b) teaches that blowing the shofar has the tremendous effect of confusing and silencing the accusing angel in Heaven. Nevertheless, the Gemora (Ibid., 29b) rules that when Rosh Hashana falls on Shabbos, the shofar may not be blown. This enactment was made due to a fear that a Jew may be unfamiliar with the proper way to blow the shofar. To learn how to do so, he may carry it to the house of the Rabbi, in the process violating the prohibition against carrying in the public domain on Shabbos. Although this would indeed be a tragedy, why did the Sages deny tens of thousands of people this invaluable and irreplaceable merit simply because one Jew may carry it – unintentionally, and for the sake of performing a mitzvah – to a Rabbi to learn how to blow it? Rav Yitzchok Blazer explains that the impending arrival of Rosh Hashana is heralded by the blowing of the shofar each morning during the month of Elul. Certainly, when Rosh Hashana itself comes, everybody will come to the synagogue, anxiously awaiting the 100 blasts that are sounded. When the normal time for the blowing of the shofar arrives but no sounds are heard, people will become curious about the omission. Upon asking, they will be told that it is because of the aforementioned fear of another Jew accidentally carrying the shofar outside on Shabbos. The questioner will press on, wondering why so many people must lose out over such an improbable fear, one that would seem to be greatly outweighed by the guaranteed downside of Jews across the world being unable to hear the shofar blasts. However, from the fact that Chazal nevertheless made their decree, we see that they understood that indeed, the possibility that one Jew may inadvertently carry the shofar outside – even for the sake of a mitzvah – is so incredibly detrimental that they saw no choice but to forbid the blowing of the shofar for everybody. Upon understanding this, the questioner will be left with a new appreciation of the severity of even an accidental sin and all the more so an intentional one. This new recognition will inspire him to a newfound resolve to repent his sins in a manner that even the sound of the mighty shofar could not have accomplished. ובחדש השביעי באחד לחדש מקרא קדש יהיה לכם כל מלאכת עבדה לא תעשו

) 29:1יום תרועה יהיה לכם (במדבר The Aruch L’Ner, Rav Yaakov Ettlinger, writes (Minchas Ani Parshas Haazinu) that upon examining Jewish history, he discovered a peculiar phenomenon. The years that were the best for the Jewish people were all years in which Rosh Hashana fell on Shabbos. However, he also noticed that all the years in which the Jews suffered the most from attacks and persecutions, including the years when both Temples were destroyed, were also years in which Rosh Hashana fell on Shabbos. Why should Jewish history be so dependent on this seemingly arbitrary association, and why it should sometimes be so beneficial and at other times so detrimental to our nation? Rav Ettlinger compares this phenomenon to the case of a king who had two servants who were caught engaging in treasonous activities. At the trial, they were both found guilty, and each was sentenced to death for attempting to rebel against the king’s authority. Prior to their executions, each of their

wives, who also worked in the king’s palace, approached the king to beg him to mercifully spare their beloved husbands’ lives. Each woman argued that although her husband had indeed committed an egregious crime, she had done no wrong. As she had faithfully served the king and did not deserve to suffer the pain of losing her husband, each woman beseeched the king to spare her husband’s life. Because the king prided himself on his reputation as a just and fair ruler, he listened to their arguments and considered their petitions. After some thought, he turned to the first woman and informed her that he had accepted her request and would spare her husband’s life. To the second woman’s chagrin, he then announced that her husband’s sentence would stand. Sensing their confusion over his differing verdicts to their seemingly identical pleas, the king explained that as a merciful and benevolent ruler, he couldn’t help but be swayed by their powerful emotional arguments and was therefore prepared to grant their requests, which he indeed did for the first woman. Upon looking at the face of the second woman, however, he was taken aback by the numerous bruises that testified to the beatings she suffered at the hands of her abusive husband. He therefore concluded that a husband who sins both against the king and against his wife is undeserving of mercy. Similarly, when the Day of Judgment arrives, the prosecuting angel recounts before Hashem all the sins that the Jewish people committed in the previous year. Just when everything is looking bleak, the spouse of the Jewish people – Shabbos (Bereishis Rabbah 11:8) – comes to our rescue and beseeches Hashem not to leave her all alone without the partner enjoyed by the other days of the week. Even if our sins are numerous and overwhelming, Hashem may still commute our sentence and give us another opportunity in the merit of the pleas of Shabbos. If, however, Hashem sees that Shabbos is black-and-blue, beaten up and abused by her beloved spouse, He feels compelled to throw the book at us. Let us resolve to give our beloved spouse the honor she deserves, and in that merit we should all enjoy the best year the Jewish people have ever known.

) 2:5שמואל א - (הפטרה יום א' עד עקרה ילדה שבעה The Haftorah that is read on the first day of Rosh Hashana tells the story of the birth of the prophet Shmuel to the heretofore childless Chana. It concludes with a song of praise in which Chana thanks Hashem for transforming her from a barren woman into one who would give birth to seven babies. The difficulty with this is that the narrative continues to say that she had three sons and two daughters (Shmuel 1 2:21). How could Chana thank Hashem for giving her seven children if she only had five? Chana’s husband Elkanah had another wife named Penina. The Midrash (Pesikta Rabbasi 43) gives several examples of insensitive comments that Penina made to aggrieve Chana. In the morning, Penina would ask her, “Why aren’t you bathing your children and getting them dressed for school?” In the afternoon, she would ask Chana, “Why aren’t you going out to pick your kids up from school?” As if Chana’s bitter plight wasn’t painful enough, Penina would constantly rub it in to her. As a result, Rashi writes that every time Chana gave birth, two of Penina’s children died. After the birth of Chana’s first four babies, eight of Penina’s offspring had died and she was left with only two. When Chana was pregnant with her fifth child, Penina realized that she was being punished for the pain she caused Chana with her insensitive comments, so she begged Chana for forgiveness so that the punishments would cease. Chana forgave her, and Penina’s two remaining children were unharmed. Because they only survived through Chana’s forgiveness, they owed their lives to her and in a sense were considered her offspring. This is what Chana was referring to when she thanked Hashem for giving her seven children, five of her own in addition to two of Penina’s. However, the Gemora (Bava Basra 16a) says that Penina’s intentions in provoking Chana were l’shem Shomayim (for the sake of Heaven), as she wanted to arouse Chana’s painful emotions so that she would daven fervently and her prayers would be answered. If the Gemora testifies that Penina’s motivation was not to hurt Chana but to help her, why was she punished? Rav Chaim Shmuelevitz explains that in areas of bein adam l’chaveiro (interpersonal relations), good intentions are not enough and the ends never

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!baaqtu!ioti!tbs!– trcdk trcd ihc 3 justify the means, for interpersonal transgressions are like sticking one’s hand into fire. Even if somebody means well, fire always burns and causes damage no matter how it came about. Thus, even if Penina’s goal was to help Chana have children and cause her entreaties to be answered, she was ultimately playing with fire and got badly burned.

) בבראש השנה כל באי העולם עוברין לפניו כבני מרון (משנה ראש השנה א: The Gemora (Rosh Hashana 16b) teaches that three books are opened on Rosh Hashana: one for tzaddikim (the completely righteous), one for reshaim (the totally wicked), and one for beinonim (those in the middle). People who are found to be totally virtuous are immediately written and sealed for life, and those who are completely evil are immediately written and sealed for death. The judgment of the beinonim is suspended until Yom Kippur, at which point they are written for life if they are found meritorious and for death if they are not. The Rambam (Hilchos Teshuvah 3:3) emends the last statement of the Gemora and writes that a beinoni who repents his actions before Yom Kippur will be sealed for life, but if he does not do so, he will be sealed for death. Why does the Rambam specifically require him to tip the scales in his favor through the mitzvah of teshuvah instead of accruing a merit through any other mitzvah? The Navi Yeshaya (55:6) exhorts us to seek out Hashem when He may be found and to call Him when He is near. The Gemora (Yevamos 49b) interprets this verse as a reference to the 10-day period from Rosh Hashana until Yom Kippur. In light of this, Rav Yitzchok Blazer explains that although the performance of an additional mitzvah will indeed generate a new merit, the beinoni’s failure to take advantage of this unique opportunity to draw close to Hashem is such a great sin that it outweighs any mitzvah we could possibly do. For this reason, the Rambam writes that there is no alternative but to properly repent our misdeeds and return to Hashem during this period. Other commentators answer that after Rosh Hashana has passed and a new year has begun, doing a regular mitzvah cannot help a beinoni because it will be credited to his accounting for the new year. In order to improve his balance for the previous year, for which he is being judged at this time, his only option is to do teshuvah, which is unique in its ability to go back in time to erase aveiros (sins) and even transform them into merits. Thus, the Rambam is not prescribing repentance for the mitzvah that it represents, in which case any other mitzvah would also suffice, but for its unique ability to retroactively improve our spiritual balance sheet. A third answer is given by Rav Yitzchok Hutner, who explains that the term beinoni does not refer to a person who has an equal number of mitzvos and aveiros. Rather, a tzaddik is a person who normally does what he is supposed to, and a rasha is someone who generally makes the wrong decision. In contrast, a beinoni is a person who is inconsistent. Sometimes he chooses wisely, while in other situations he succumbs to his evil inclination. His life does not have the same predictable trajectory as that of the tzaddik and rasha. With this understanding, Rav Hutner explains that the evaluation of such a person is not a mathematical accounting, in which case doing one additional mitzvah or removing one sin would suffice. Rather, the repentance that is expected of a beinoni during this period is to do teshuvah for living his life as a beinoni by making a conscious decision to overcome his prior struggles and lead his life as a tzaddik. Rabbi Eli Reisman points out that although this novel insight is inspiring, it seems to contradict the words of Rashi, who writes (Rosh Hashana 16b) that the term beinoni refers to someone who is מחצה על מחצה, meaning that his mitzvos and transgressions are evenly balanced. However, upon further examination, Rashi is not only not contradicting Rav Hutner, but he appears to agree with his understanding. When Rashi wrote his commentary on the Gemora, he was extremely calculated and typically translated a word that needs clarification the first time it is used. If Rashi decided to wait to define a term until it appears subsequently, there must be compelling reason. In this case, the term beinoni appears twice on the same page. Initially, the Gemora is discussing the judgment of Rosh Hashana and says that the verdict of a beinoni is suspended until Yom Kippur, a statement on which Rashi offers no commentary. Later, the Gemora discusses the three categories of people on the Yom HaDin, which refers not to Rosh Hashana but to a future Day of Judgment when it is decided who goes to Gan Eden and who goes to Gehinnom. The Gemora says that a beinoni first goes to Gehinnom to receive atonement and cleansing, after which he enters Gan Eden, and it is on this Talmudic statement that Rashi writes that a beinoni is צהמחצה על מח . In other words, when the term beinoni is used in conjunction with the judgment of Rosh Hashana, it does not refer to a mathematical accounting, but rather a reckoning of each person’s trajectory in life, as Rav Hutner explained. Only when a person comes to receive his cumulative reward or punishment at the end of his life do we change the focus from his future to

his past, and it is only in this context that Rashi defines a beinoni as someone whose life was equally balanced between mitzvos and aveiros. Parsha Points to Ponder (and sources that discuss them): 1) In Parshas Emor (Vayikra 23:24), the Torah refers to Rosh Hashana as a remembrance of shofar blasts. In Parshas Pinchas (Bamidbar – זכרון תרועה29:1), it is called יום תרועה – a day of shofar blowing. The Gemora in Rosh Hashana (29b) explains that Parshas Emor refers to Rosh Hashana that falls on Shabbos, in which case the shofar is only remembered but not actually blown, and Parshas Pinchas refers to Rosh Hashana that falls during the week, when the shofar is sounded. Why did the Torah write these two cases in this order, first mentioning the less common case of Rosh Hashana falling on Shabbos and the shofar not being blown? (Rav Akiva Eiger Al HaTorah Parshas Pinchas) 2) There is a Talmudic principle (Pesachim 95a) that although a person who transgresses a Torah prohibition may be punished with malkus (lashes), someone who violates a לאו הניתק לעשה – negative commandment that can be repaired by doing a positive one, such as returning an item that one stole (Vayikra 5:23) – does not receive lashes. How can a person ever be given malkus when every prohibition in the Torah is a לעשהלאו הניתק since it can be rectified through the mitzvah of teshuvah? (Chida, S’dei Chemed) Answers to Points to Ponder: 1) Rav Akiva Eiger cites the Gemora (Shabbos 87b), which teaches that the Exodus from Egypt occurred on a Thursday. In a year in which Pesach starts on Thursday, Rosh Hashana begins on Shabbos. In Parshas Emor, Moshe was addressing the Jews in his generation and teaching them about the festivals they would be celebrating. Although in most years the shofar is blown on Rosh Hashana, Moshe referred to the unusual case in which it is only remembered because Rosh Hashana in that particular year would fall on Shabbos. In Parshas Pinchas, Moshe was teaching the laws that would be applicable for all generations, and as such, he discussed the more typical case in which Rosh Hashana occurs during the week and the shofar is sounded. 2) The S’dei Chemed explains that this Talmudic rule is derived from the Torah’s juxtaposition of לא תחסם שור בדישו – do not muzzle an ox while it threshes – to the laws governing the meting out of lashes (Devorim 25:1-4), which teaches us that only negative commandments that are similar to not muzzling an ox are eligible for malkus. Since this prohibition cannot be rectified through the performance of a positive commandment, any prohibition that can be corrected in this manner is not considered comparable and a person who transgresses it is therefore not punished with malkus. Thus, the key to being exempt from lashes is being unlike לא תחסם However, violating the prohibition against muzzling an ox can .שור בדישוalso be repaired through teshuvah, so other negative commandments that can only be corrected through repentance but not through atypical means (such as returning a stolen item), is identical to it in this regard and would not be considered a לאת הניתק לעשה for this purpose. © 2020 by Ozer Alport. To subscribe, send comments, or sponsor an issue, email oalport@optonline.net

Rabbi Yehoshua Alt

Fascinating Insights On The Parsha כט' אלול תש"פ ראש השנהSeptember 18, 2020 7th year, edition 353 EXCITING NEWS: The newly released sefer, Fascinating Insights, is now available for purchase by sending an email to yalt3285@gmail.com or at https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08929ZCNM. To join the thousands of recipients and receive these insights free on a weekly email, obtain previous articles, feedback, comments, suggestions (on how to spread the insights of this publication further, make it more appealing or anything else), to support or dedicate this publication which has been in six continents and forty countries, or if you know anyone who is interested in receiving these insights weekly, please contact the author, Rabbi Yehoshua Alt, at yalt3285@gmail.com. Thank you. לעילוי נשמת שמואל אביגדור בן יצחק מאיר This newsletter can also be viewed at https://www.dirshu.co.il/category/עלונים -fascinating/ - הורדות insights/ and http://www.ladaat.info/showgil.aspx?par=20200425&gil=2725 Archives: https://parshasheets.com/?s=Rabbi+Yehoshua+Alt To view these essays in German, please visit https://judentum.online/ Please feel free to print some copies of this publication and distribute it in your local Shul for the public, having a hand in spreading Torah. A Complete Cure In the מי שברך for sick people we say לו מהרה רפואה שלמה מן השמים וישלח

פש ורפואת הגוףלרמ"ח אבריו ושס"ה גידיו...רפואת הנ , may Hashem hurry to send him from heaven a complete recovery to his 248 limbs and 365 sinews, among the other sick people of Israel, a healing of spirit and a healing of body…Why does it mention the soul— רפואת הנפש —if we are speaking of healing the body? Also, why does it say to send השמים a complete מן recovery? The Gemara records that in a certain place there was an (1) ערוד that was harming people. They showed R’ Chanina Ben Dosa its hole, and he placed his heel over it. When the ערוד exited and bit him, the ערוד died. He then brought it to the beis midrash and said that אין ערוד ממית אלא החטא ממית , it’s not the ערוד that kills, but rather sin does.(2) That is to say, an ערוד or any creature is just an agent in carrying out a sentence against a person who deserves to die(3) because of his sins.(4)

4 baaqtu!ioti!tbs!– trcdk trcd ihc!

The Gemara(5) says that אין אדם נוקף אצבעו מלמטה אא"כ מכריזין עליו מלמעלה , one doesn’t stub his toe down here on earth unless it is decreed from above. The Shomer Emunim(6) explains that a קליפה , shell of impurity, comes about from the sin one commits. This קליפה gets clothed in a stone, dog, mouse, and the like that eventually afflicts the person thereby atoning for his sin. הנפש הגוף and רפואת are not two separate entities. Rather when רפואת someone sins and he doesn’t do teshuva he becomes sick(7) and needs a refua. So the sin is now expressed through the body (גוף ). When the soul needs rectification, the body gets sick. So to get a רפואת הגוף , one requires to first get a רפואת הנפש , by improving himself. To answer our other question, שמים can refer to spirituality (whereas ארץ refers to physicality). מן השמים means to send a recovery to his decline in spirituality that caused the sickness. Then he can be healed physically. This fits well with the words that follow גידיו ושס"ה אבריו as the 248 limbs correspond to the— לרמ"ח positive commandments ( עשה s) while the 365 sinews correspond to the negative commandments (לא תעשה s).(8) With this we can grasp how the Karbon Asher(9) explains the sequence that we say in יךאבינו מלכנו : החזירנו בתשובה שלמה לפנ , return us to You in perfect repentance, followed by עמך לחולי שלמה רפואה send a complete , שלח recovery to the sick of Your people. Since the body gets sick because of the neshama, so first one needs to do teshuva and then he can get a complete recovery. An Exciting Future How many translations can we come up with for the word קץ ? It can be interpreted as “end” and also “to awaken” as in (10) יעקב This . וייקץ explains why אלול which is the end of the year expresses the idea of עורו to wake up. In fact, the first Halacha stated in Shulchan Aruch in— ישינים reference to Elul is to awaken early for Selichos.(11) The word קץ can also refer to לבא לעת יד , ultimate future as in (12) בקש הקץ את לבא We herald in .לגלות through the shofar as we say in לעתיד Shemoneh Esrei תקע בשופר and (13). והיה ביום ההוא יתקע בשופר גדול This gives us a deeper appreciation in (14) כדי לערבב השטן, the shofar is blown…in order to confuse the Satan, since in לעתיד לבא there will be no שטן as it says

מעליכם ארחיק הצפוני קץ )15(ואת is also related to (16) קוץ , point, since everything is clear in לעתיד לבא and as the Gemara(17) informs us that we won’t accept converts in the days of Moshiach. This can be compared to one who dates a girl and rejects her. The next day she wins the lottery, and now he decides to retract his decision. It is obviously too late. The same is with the future as all is clear then. Therefore, on Rosh Hashana we speak about the future redemption in ומפני חטאנו in Shemoneh Esrei. We also see that Yitzchak is associated with Rosh Hashana as shown in the following: 1) The Shulchan Aruch tells us that the shofar is because of the איל of Yitzchak and Rosh Hashana is the day of the shofar— יום תרועה . 2) The Krias Hatorah of the second day of Rosh Hashana is about עקידת Additionally, the shofar of Rosh Hashana is customarily made of (18). יצחקa ram’s horn to recall the merit of the עקידה since a ram was substituted for Yitzchak.(19) We also eat on the night of Rosh Hashana the head of a כבש as a remembrance for the איל of Yitzchak.(20) This is obviously no coincidence as it is Yitzchak who is connected to the future as presented in the following: A) In regard to the future we are told אז ימלא שחוק פינו , then our mouth will be filled with laughter, and (21). ותשחק ליום אחרון This refers to יצחק whose name is rooted in צחוק , laughter.(22) B) יצחק is composed of the letters קץ חי . He lives in the (23) קץ which refers to the future. C) Although nowadays the Halacha rules in accordance with Beis Hillel, in the future, the Arizal tells us we will regulate in accordance with Beis Shamai.(24) Shamai personifies the attribute of Din.(25) This is also the trait of Yitzchak as it says פחד יצחק . So, again we see Yitzchak associated with the future. Moreover, the word יצחק is future tense (as this is what a י at the beginning of a word can do).(26) Choose Your Friends The Rambam(27) writes it is natural for a man’s character and actions(28) to be influenced by his friends and associates and for him to follow the local norms of behavior. Therefore, he should associate with the righteous and be constantly in the company of the wise, so as to learn from their deeds. Conversely, he should keep away from the wicked, so as not to learn from their deeds.(29) For this reason, we are instructed to distance ourselves from a bad neighbor and to not associate with the wicked.(30) This is just as it says הולך את החכמים יחכם... , one who walks with the wise will become wise while one who associates with fools will suffer.(31) Studies show that we pick up the moods and habits of the five people we spend the most time with. The energy of those that we surround ourselves with makes an enormous impact. Their positivity becomes our positivity.

Their tendency to dream bigger leads to the expansion of our dreams. Their positive outlook on the world and on others becomes our perspective as well. And their encouragement and belief in us becomes the impetus for us to view ourselves in a brighter light. And when we are surrounded by the wrong people, the opposite is true. This is the intent of(32) ובמושב לצים לא .praiseworthy is the one who doesn’t sit in the company of scorners ישבDon’t hang out with negative, cynical people as they drain your energy and get you down. One is influenced by the company he keeps as it says אם (33) . ...ללציםThis idea is shown in the Mishna(34) that tells us someone asked R’ Yose Ben Kisma if he would be willing to live in his locale even offering him lots of wealth. He replied that even if he was given all the wealth in the world he would dwell only in a place of Torah.(35) In August 2007, a boy, named Yaakov, that was visiting the Catskills stayed by a friend who had someone there that wasn’t religious, named Meir. In the morning, when Yaakov arose for Shacharis, Meir decided to join him. From that morning onward, Meir continued to daven Shacharis with a Minyan for the remainder of his stay in the Catskills for the summer. Soon after, Meir attended Shor Yoshuv full time. The word חבר rearranged spells בחר since we should choose good friends. These letters also comprise the words חרב , sword and ברח , flee, because bad friends are like a sword since we should run away from such people. Rabbi Alt merited to learn under the tutelage of R’ Mordechai Friedlander Ztz”l for close to five years. He received Semicha from R’ Zalman Nechemia Goldberg. Rabbi Alt has written on numerous topics for various websites and publications and is the author of the Sefer, Fascinating Insights: Torah Perspectives on Unique Topics. His writings inspire people across the spectrum of Jewish observance to live with the vibrancy and beauty of Torah. He lives with his wife and family in a suburb of Yerushalayim where he studies, writes and teaches. The author is passionate about teaching Jews of all levels of observance. 1. Brachos 33a. This is a crossbreed of a snake and a צב , toad. 2. Bamidbar 17:13, Rashi. They then said, “Woe to the man who is met by an ערוד , but woe to the ערוד that is met by R’ Chanina Ben Dosa.” 3. This can be compared to a diabetic who eats sugar, as he is now a step closer to death. 4. See Nedarim 41a. A transgressor is punished with afflictions that correspond to his sin and affect the part of the body that performed it (See Sota 8b-9b). 5. Chullin 7b. .Chapter 9 , מאמר השגחה פרטית .67. Or afflicted in some other way. We see this from the Gemara (Brachos 5a) that says if a person sees that afflictions are befalling him, he should investigate his deeds to determine which sin he may have committed that would cause such suffering. If he examined his actions and he didn’t find that he committed a sin that would warrant such suffering, he should attribute his afflictions to neglect of Torah study… 8. See the Nefesh Hachaim, 4:29. 9. This was authored by R’ Asher Anshel Yehuda Miller (1880-1961), a student of the Shevet Sofer, who was a rav in Petroşani, Romania for some fifty years. At the end of his life he moved to Eretz Yisrael where he spent his final two years. His responsa were published posthumously. 10. Breishis 28:16. 11. Orach Chaim 581. 12. Breishis, 47:28 Rashi. 13. Yeshaya 27:13. 14. Rosh Hashana 16b. 15. Yoel 2:20. Also Succa 52a. In the Hagada we say ואתא הקב"ה ושחט למלאך . המות16. A thorn, which is pointy, is called קוץ . 17. Avoda Zara 3b. 18. Shulchan Aruch 601:1, see Mishna Brura there. Also, see Kitzur Shulchan Aruch 129:21 how Tashlich which we say on Rosh Hashana is to remember the merit of the עקידה . 19. Also, the Tur (Hilchos Yom Kippur 605) teaches that one of the reasons why a תרנגול (rooster) is chosen over a בהמה וחיה for Kapores is because in the places of the wealthy they would do an exchange ( תמורה ) with rams, mainly that which has horns, since it resembles the איל of Yitzchak. 20. Shulchan Aruch, Orach Chaim 583:2. 21. Tehillim 126:2, Mishlei 31:25. 22. Also see Baal Haturim, Breishis 25:18. The name יצחק is spelled at times with a ש (as in Tehillim 105:9). Laughter happens when the unexpected occurs. An example is if one steps on a banana peel and slips. In essence it is not funny, it is just unexpected. Similarly, in the future the unexpected will occur as now we are looked down upon and the like contrary to what will be in the future. 23. See Vayechi 47:28, Rashi. We also find this term in the Hagada— חשב קץ) The Gur Aryeh explains it refers to the future since it is an end . את הקץ) to Galus. 24. See also Hamaor Hagadol, p. 454. 25. Bnei Yissaschar Shevat 2:4.

!baaqtu!ioti!tbs!– trcdk trcd ihc 5 26. The phrase נחמו נחמו (Yeshaya 40:1) has a Gematria of 208, the same as This is because he is the one who comforts us since he is associated . יצחקwith the future redemption (See Chasam Sofer, Sefer Zikaron p. 71, Bnei Yissaschar Tammuz Av, 5:1:1, Meor Vashemesh, Haftoras Shabbos Nachamu.) Also see Shabbos 89b in a dialogue with Hashem and the Avos, Yitzchak is the one who gives comfort to bearing our sins. 27. Hilchos Daos 6:1. 28. Man’s ethical makeup is a combination of character and action (See the Rambam in Sefer Hamitzvos, 8מצות עשה ). 29. Now we can have more Kavana when we say והרחיקנו מאדם רע ומחבר רע , distance us from an evil person and an evil companion. 30. Avos 1:7. When the American soldiers went into combat in World War Two, 25% of them were unable to kill their enemy, since it’s not easy psychologically to kill another person. The Americans hired a team of mental health professionals—psychologists, psychiatrists and social workers—to teach these soldiers how to kill, in which they were successful. Years later, during the Vietnam War, the Americans again began this program with the mental health professionals. However, this time, it was immediately canceled. This was because there was no need for this program since it was the first war fought by a generation raised on watching television. As a result, they already knew how to kill because they saw many murders on television. What can be said of today where the youth spend an immense amount of time surrounded by such violent scenes and murders in movies they watch, video games they play and the like? (This doesn’t even include foul language, criminal behavior and other negativity they are exposed to from this.) 31. Mishlei 13:20. 32. Tehillim 1:1. 33. Mishlei 3:34. See Rashi. 34. Avos 6:9. 35. In this light we can understand why the section of Nazir and Sota are juxtaposed. Anyone who sees a Sota in her state of disgrace should separate himself from wine by vowing to become a nazir since wine brought her to such a state (see Sota 2a). This is why the Mesachtos of Nazir and Sota are juxtaposed. Holy Horn It is written ובחרת בחיים , choose life (Devarim 30:19). Who would choose death? Continues the Pasuk- ,למען תחיה so that you will live. These words seem to be unnecessary? Authentic life is that which contains spirituality. Just as we need food to satiate our physical body, we need spirituality to satiate our soul. The Shofar awakens us to this reality as the Rambam (Hilchos Teshuva 3:4) writes עורו ישינ ים משינתכם ... , awaken those who are sleeping. In fact, the word שופר is related to פיר ש , improve, beautify (See Vayikra Rabba 29:6. —was the name given to Yocheved because she beautified the child שפרהShemos 1:15, Rashi.). It therefore comes as no surprise that the first letters of the words ראש ולענה פרה שרש (Mayana Shel Torah, Devarim 29:17.), a root flourishing with gall and wormwood, spell שופר because the Shofar helps us rid ourselves of impurity. Indeed, the initials of אין שטן ואין פגע רע , no adversary and no misfortune (Melachim 1, 5:18), form the word שופר (Tur, Orach Chaim, 585:5). The Shem Mishmuel (Ki Savo, תר”פ , s.v. מה tells us a deeper ( ולפי significance regarding the names of the sounds of the Shofar - תקיעה, שברים, hang them , ’ והוקענום לה can be understood as to hang as in תרועה . תקיעה(Shmuel 2, 21:6). שברים can be translated as to smash as in תשבר שבר (Shemos 23:24). תרועה also means to smash as in תרעם שבט ברזל , you will smash them with an iron rod (Tehillim 2:9). These three remove the three shells of impurity (klipos) of the heart A man named Yaakov that was doing Kiruv in Kfar Vardim brought his Shofar on the morning of Rosh Hashana there. Seeing one walking his dog, he approached and asked if he would like to hear the Shofar blown. He agreed and it was blown. Fast forward 15 years when Yaakov was now the rabbi in Kfar Vardim after having built a Shul and Mikva in this area. A man approaches and thanks him for who he is today. The rabbi asked if he is new in town since he didn’t recognize him. He told the rabbi that he owns a house here but he has been away for 15 years as he became a Baal Teshuva. The rabbi exclaimed, “you are the one with the dog that I blew Shofar for.” The man told him, “that wasn’t me, rather I was sitting on my porch with my coffee that Rosh Hashana morning when you blew the Shofar. I was completely unaware that it was Rosh Hashana. I was stuck and confused in life. When you blew the Shofar, I decided to discover my roots which eventually led me to become a Baal Teshuva.” Rosh Hashana is called יום תרועה , the day of the Shofar (Bamidbar 29:1). This is .(as in Bamidbar 23:21) ריעות -is a term that means friendship תרועהbecause the purpose of the Shofar is to improve our relationship with Hashem who is called ריע , friend (Mishlei 27:10, Shabbos 31a, Rashi s.v. רעות ה ’ . we get תרועה In fact, if we break up the word .( דעלך

On Rosh Hashana during the Seuda when we eat the Simanim, we say ... to be as the head and not the tail. Taking a closer… , יהי רצון לראש ולא לזנבlook at the word לראש , we notice it is the first letters of לעשות רצון אבינו .to do the will of our father in heaven , שבשמיםThe Pasuk states ה’ לפני המלך הריעו וקול שופר , with the Shofar, call out before Hashem (Tehillim 98:6). This can be understood to mean the blowing of the Shofar is to get us close to Hashem. In fact, the initials of שערים ראשיכם פתחי raise up your heads…so that the King of Glory may enter , והנשאו (Tehillim 24:7. Also 24:9.), spell שופר . After the Shofar is sounded at Shacharis we recite לדוד ה’ אורי (Tehillim 27). What does it speak of? Closeness to Hashem (Among the Pesukim there is אחת… ה’ בבית שבתי I ask that I dwell in the house of Hashem all the days of my , … שאלתיlife…). The תרועה is a broken sound. The Sefer Hachinuch tells us this alludes to breaking the Yetzer Hara (Sefer Hachinuch, Mitzva 311. Also 405.). Rosh Hashana is referred to as יום תרועה (Bamidbar 29:1. See Tur 591.), a day to break the Yetzer Hara, Satan. The Satan is known as the ס ם - . Adding up these two letters we arrive at a total of 100. On Rosh Hashana we blow 100 Shofar blasts (Rosh Hashana, Tosafos, 33b. Tur, 592.). In fact, before Tekias Shofar we say כף , תקעו sound the Shofar (Tehillim 47:2). This alludes to the 100 Shofar blasts, as blow , תקעו בחדש שופר has a Gematria of 100. Another hint is found in כףthe Shofar… (Tehillim 81:4), as the sum of 576 - תקעו - is the same as 100 Shofar blasts. These 100 are to overcome the power of Satan. In מאה קלת ,this way we can understand כדי לערבב השטן , in order to confuse the Satan (Rosh Hashana 16b). The purpose of the 100 Shofar blasts is to get us closer to Hashem, to live a more spiritual life. The Gematria of שופר is 586. Tallying another 100 to this (for the 100 Shofar blasts), we arrive at 686, the precise sum of ובחרת This is telling us that through the Shofar, we are empowered to ! בחייםchoose real life- spirituality. In this light we can grasp the continuation of the Pasuk- למען תחיה , in order to live a true existence.

Rabbi Benjamin Blech – Aish.Com

Life's Two Essentials Sep 12, 2020 Both our bodies and our souls require sustenance and nourishment. What's essential? The term has gained considerable prominence in this time of global pandemic. Professions that are deemed essential are granted the privilege of being exempt from stay-at-home mandates and lockdowns. It's surprising what some state governments are willing to include as so “essential” that they override any possible threats to the health and welfare of society. Florists can still deliver bouquets in Delaware and golf courses can stay open in Arizona. New York, while forbidding physical exercise in gyms and indoor dining in restaurants even with social distancing and the wearing of masks, seems to acknowledge that liquor stores need to remain open. So what is really “essential”? It's an important question to answer during these days leading up to Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. The best answer I’ve heard is that the most essential thing in life is to be wise enough to know what is truly essential. And that’s the primary purpose of the High Holy days. Throughout the year we spend our days pursuing things that don’t really have any lasting value or significance. And once a year there comes a time when we get off the treadmill of our lives to stop and rethink. While governments are busy trying to resolve the actual meaning of essential, Judaism has provided us with the most powerful and profound response by way of a Jewish law. Judaism mandates countless blessings. According to the Talmud every Jew should recite at least 100 blessings daily. Yes, Tevye, there’s a blessing for a sewing machine and even a blessing for the czar. But almost all of these blessings are rabbinic. They have no source in the Torah. They come from the heartfelt desire of sages to give expression to their love of God and their gratefulness for his numerous acts of kindness. Yet there are only two blessings whose source is the Torah itself and thus they have the force of biblical commandments. They are the two – and the only two – essentials of our lives. The first of them is the Grace after Meals. The second is the daily commandment to bless God for giving us the Torah. And what is the connection between these two blessings? The first – the blessing for food – puts into words the thanks we owe the Almighty for sustaining us physically and giving us life. The second reminds us to express gratitude for nurturing our souls and giving us a reason for living. In Genesis, the creation of man is described as a duality of two sources. We are created from the dust of the earth. That is the key to our bodies. But bodies without souls are nothing more than corpses. Life came about when

6 baaqtu!ioti!tbs!– trcdk trcd ihc!

God blew into Adam some of his divine spirit. That is when we became “created in the image of God.” On Rosh Hashanah we commemorate this uniqueness with the blowing of the shofar, replicating that moment when our bodies became united with a part of divinity. God and His breath entered into our very being. The English language takes beautiful note of this historic moment. The Latin for breath is spiritus. We are alive for as long as the soul remains within us. The breath of God’s shofar makes us human. To die is to expire; it is the moment when God’s spirit, His breath, chooses to leave us. When our bodies become aware of our spirituality, of God’s presence in our very being, we are inspired. Our souls feel God’s presence. When God decides that we have either fulfilled our purpose in life or that we are no longer inspired to do so - His decree is that we expire, and that we return His breath to him. The two biblical blessings refer to the two essentials of our lives. Both our bodies and our souls require sustenance and nourishment. Our bodies need food. No one can deny that is essential for life. But our souls also require something equally important. Just as we eat three times a day, so too we pray the same number of moments. Food fills our stomachs; Torah satiates our souls. In these past few horrible months we have come to recognize more than ever the real meaning of necessity. We have gone without many things, and thankfully most of us have survived. Coming face-to-face with the High Holy days we need to rethink our priorities and to pray with full hearts for the two biblical blessings that best define us. We are bodies and we also souls – and we have to bless God for giving us the opportunity to fulfill the truly “essential” needs of both.

Rabbi Shlomo Caplan

Mishulchan Shlomo Rosh Hashana – Aim High Rav Chaim Shmuelevitz cites an awesome Medrash which comments on the pasuk in Micha (7,8), “Do not rejoice, my enemy; although (ki) I have fallen, I will rise, although (ki) I sit in darkness Hashem is a light unto me.” The Medrash renders the Hebrew ki not as although, but as because - “because I have fallen.” “Had I not fallen, I would not have risen, and had I not sat in darkness, Hashem would not have been my light.” (Yalkut Tehillim 628). The sin itself can be an impetus to rise even higher. This is why “In a place that a baal teshuva stands, perfectly righteous people cannot stand.” Rav Chaim suggests that this is the pshat of the following pasuk: “Return O Yisrael, to Hashem your G-d, because you have stumbled in your iniquity.” Chazal comment, “Great is Teshuva that it can reach all the way up to the Throne of Glory.” Here, too, the word ki means because. Specifically because of the sin, one is able to do a Teshuva which will rise straight to Hashem’s Throne. Rav Chaim explains that it is the very shock and abhorrence at how low one has sunk that can propel him to the highest levels of Teshuva. However, it is not necessary to wait till we hit rock bottom to accomplish this. Through the sincere introspection generated by Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur one can derive the inspiration to bounce back even higher than before. However, I believe there is another reason why one who does Teshuva can rise even higher than those who have not sinned. It is based on the Gemara in Menachos (29b) which sheds new light on the process of Teshuva. The Gemara states that this world was created with the letter hei because the letter hei is open on the bottom, to symbolize that one who wants to drop out (to sin) is free to do so. The little opening near the top on the left side is for one who wishes to do Teshuva and come back into this world. The Gemara asks why the baal teshuva cannot re-enter through the opening through which he fell. The answer is that it won’t work. We need to understand why it won’t work. The reason is that Teshuva is not a process of undoing the past by retracing your steps. That path would result in another encounter with the sin, and you don’t want that. The key to mitigating the past lies in the future. Teshuva is the process of overriding the past by forging a new self who has risen above the sin. When you struggle and climb to the opening at the top, you have followed a totally new path and created an even higher level of closeness to Hashem. Therefore, those who never sinned, while they may have many more Mitzvos, cannot achieve that special closeness achieved only through Teshuva. Had we not fallen so low by doing aveiros in the past year, we would not be able to rise high enough to reach Hashem’s Glorious Throne. Rosh Hashanah is the beginning of Aseres Yemai Teshuva when Hashem is so near and the route to the Throne is even shorter. By acknowledging the lowness of sin, we gain the necessary thrust to climb to the top and propel our Teshuva all the way up to Hashem’s Throne.

Chicago Community Kollel

Encounters Vol. VIII Issue 1 / יום כיפור תשפ"א - ראש השנה A Publication of Chicago Community Kollel 773-262-9400 � General Editor: Rabbi Akiva Niehaus Roshei Kollel: Rabbi Dovid Zucker, Rabbi Moshe Francis Peninei HaMoed By Rabbi Pesach Gottesman A Day of Preparation Although Rosh Hashanah is the first day of the Aseres Yemei Teshuva, we don’t find any particular stress on teshuva in the davening of Rosh Hashanah. In fact, we are not supposed to make any mention of sins at all during Rosh Hashanah. In what way, then, is it one of the days of teshuva? The Lakewood Mashgiach, Rav Nosson Wachtfogel zt”l, explains that there is a very specific avodah for Rosh Hashanah, and it is a prerequisite to the process of teshuva. The Abudraham cites a Medrash (Vayikra 29:12) that points out that regarding all the korbonos of Yom Tov, the pasuk states, “vi’hikravtem Olah – and you should offer a Korban Olah,” but by Rosh Hashanah it says a different expression, “Va’asisem Olah – you should make a Korban Olah.” Rosh Hashana, he explains, is the day that one must make himself into a new person; as Rabbeinu Yonah writes in Yesod HaTeshuva, to make it as if one was born today. As long as one is bogged down by his old habits and mindset, he can’t even begin to work on changing his old ways. By making himself a new person, he can begin improving himself. Thus, we avoid any mention of transgression on Rosh Hashana. Rather we focus on the first step, to remake ourselves into new people. Tip the Scale The Rambam (Hil’ Teshuva 3:4) writes that on Rosh Hashanah, everyone’s actions are tallied up; if the majority are good, he is given a favorable judgement; if not, the opposite. If it is 50 - 50, one is given the Aseres Yemei Teshuva to repent in order to tip the scale. The classic question is asked, if he is 50-50 between his merits and transgressions, why must one do teshuva to tip the scale – after all, he can tip the scale by simply doing one more Mitzvah? Rav Itzele Peterburg zt”l (Kochvei Ohr #5) explains that if Hashem comes so close to us during these days to gives us the opportunity to do teshuva, failing to act upon it is such an immense infraction, that no positive action, no matter how great, could make up for the sin of not doing teshuva. Rav Aryeh Pomaranchik zt”l, in his Sefer Emek Beracha, offers an alternative answer. He explains that the judgement on Rosh Hashanah is for the previous year’s behaviors and actions. Any good deed done moving forward will be put on the next year’s account but won’t change the score for the previous year. The only solution is to remove some of the negative aspects of last year’s account. This can only happen via the medium of teshuva which, through Hashem’s kindness, can remove those transgressions from last year’s account. In the Palace of Hashem Rav Nosson Wachtfogel (Leket Reshimos pg. 66) would often expound on a fundamental principle regarding the entire approach one should have toward Rosh Hashanah. He would relate of someone who was invited to tour and wander through the king’s palace. For two complete days, he would have permission to walk around and see the greatness, power, beauty, and magnificence of the monarch. No doubt he would come out a different person! The same is with Rosh Hashanah. We spend much of the year focused on one thing, ourselves (our zich)! However, on this day, when we spend time with the King of Kings, it is a time to forget about ourselves, not focus on the past or even the future (if possible!) and just, through the davening, talk about the greatness of Hashem. This is the intent of the proclamation when the Chazzan introduces Shacharis and declares – “HAMELECH!” Wake up and focus on the moment. Avodas HaMoed By Rabbi Chaim Tzvi Weg The Epitome of Kingship Fish heads are great, honey cake even better, but the Gemara says that the real avodah of Rosh Hashanah is “shetamlichuni aleichem – you shall make Me King over you.” Harav Yeruchum Pitter shlit”a, Mashgiach of Mesivta of Long Beach, once gave an insight on how to be make Hashem the King on Rosh Hashanah in a practical sense. One year, on the first night of Rosh Hashanah, he said the following: “After davening, you are all going to have your seudah, and the kugel will be passed around the tables. As the plate of kugel comes towards you, you spot the perfect piece of kugel, and you eye it as it comes closer and closer to your seat. But, right before the plate of kugel reaches your hands, you observe in horror as the bachur sitting next to you takes his fork and sticks it right into your piece of kugel.” The Mashgiach asked, “How will you feel at that moment? If you allow that incident to bother, then you are not fully accepting the Kingship of

!baaqtu!ioti!tbs!– trcdk trcd ihc 7 Hakadosh Baruch Hu, for it was decreed in Shamayim that that piece of kugel was not ‘cut out’ for you but rather for your neighbor. This is kabbalas ol malchus shamayim – accepting the yoke of heaven, when we don’t let anything that happens to us bother us. When we accept everything as the will of the Ribbono Shel Olam, that’s when we will truly be making Him our King.” The Mashgiach ended his speech by saying that everyone present should accept upon themselves, at least for the two days of Rosh Hashanah, to not allow anything to bother them so that they will be in fulfillment of the avodah of “shetamlichuni aleichem.” We must carry this idea from Rosh Hashanah through the entire year. Harav Moshe Brandsdorfer shlit”a said that when we make a cup of coffee in the morning, we take the bitter coffee and add sweet sugar to it. We then fill the cup with hot water and add a bit of cold milk. Finally, we make the beracha of shehakol nihyeh bidvaro – that everything is from Him. We can learn a great lesson from this: when we wake up each morning, we should realize that regardless of whether the day will be bitter or sweet, hot or cold, it is all the will of our loving Father Who is doing what is best for us. We should then say with full kavanah: shehakol nihyeh bidvaro! A Business Expense The Gemara says that there is a significant difference between one who does teshuva m’yirah – from fear of receiving the punishments promised to those who don’t keep the mitzvos, and one who does teshuvah mei’ahava – from love of Hakadosh Baruch Hu. The one who does teshuva m’yirah will be forgiven for his misdeeds, but one who does teshuvah mei’ahava will have his aveiros counted as mitzvos. What is the difference – didn’t they both do teshuva? Harav Betzalel Rudinsky shlit”a relays a beautiful mashal to explain this Gemara: There was once a wealthy man who had two servants, Reuvein and Shimon. They both were very good servants and their master treated them very well. One day, without notice, they both disappeared. The master was very disappointed. He sent out messengers to announce that if the servants do not return, they will suffer the consequences. After a few days, both servants showed up at their master’s doorstep. The master was delighted that they returned and asked them, “what made you come back?” Reuvein replied, “I heard the messengers warning of the punishments I would receive if I didn’t return, so I ran back as soon as I could.” The master then asked Shimon why he had returned. Shimon replied, “I actually did not hear the warnings. I ran away to see the world; after living by you my entire life, I wanted to see what life was like outside of your house. Although every place I went to was nice, I came to the realization that there was no place like your home. You gave me a comfortable bed, good food, and you were so kind to me. I realized that I want to live in your home and nowhere else.” The master was elated to hear Shimon’s words. He said to both servants, “I am so glad that you both returned to my house; you can remain without receiving any of the punishments.” And then he continued, “But you, Shimon, not only can you stay, I will even pay you for the time you were out!” Upon hearing this, Reuvein exclaimed, “We both did the same crime! Why is he getting paid for his misdeed?” The master replied, “I will answer you with a mashal: there is a concept in the business world called a company-paid vacation. This means that, at times, a company will pay for an employee to go on vacation with his family – they will cover his airfare, hotel, car rental, food, and even attractions. Why does the employer do this? Because he knows that when the employee returns, he will be refreshed and grateful to the company and his performance will improve as a result. Therefore, the time he is on vacation can be considered “company time,” because it will benefit the business.” The master continued, “When Shimon ran away, he learned from his travels that there is no place like my home, so it was a learning experience for him. Now he will work for me with extra motivation, knowing that my home is the best place for him in the world. Therefore, I must pay him for the time he was out, for that time was “business time.” However, back and will be the same servant you were until now, so there is no reason to pay you for the time you were out.” The same applies to teshuva. When a person does teshuva mei’ahava, he realizes, after committing the aveirah, that this is not what he wants; aveiros make him feel guilty and immoral and he wants to be closer to Hakadosh Baruch Hu. He utilizes the experience to come to the realization that there is nothing better than being an eved Hashem. Hashem therefore “pays” him for the time he was out. However, when one does teshuvah m’yirah, he is simply afraid of punishment; he is not using his misdeeds to come closer to Hashem. Therefore, although he will be forgiven, he will not receive reward for those aveiros. May we all be zocheh, together with all of klal Yisrael, to reach the level of teshuvah mei’ahava during this opportune time, the Aseres Yimei Teshuvah, and be zocheh to a kesivah vachasima tovah! Did You Know? הלכות החג By Rabbi Akiva Niehaus

Tallis Katan During Selichos The common custom is that men do not recite a beracha when donning their Tallis Katan (“tzitzis”) and instead have it in mind when they recite the beracha on the Tallis Gadol before Shacharis. There are different customs regarding wearing a Tallis Gadol during selichos recited before Shacharis – some wear it but others don’t. Those in the latter group often have a long break between donning the Tallis Katan and the beracha recited on the Tallis Gadol before Shacharis. Is it better to recite a beracha on the Tallis Katan in order to avoid this interruption? Some Poskim write that he need not recite a beracha when he dons the Tallis Katan because it is often too small to fulfill the mitzvah correctly (or has other issues). Therefore, it’s proper to wait until donning the Tallis Gadol when the beracha can be recited in the proper manner. (This applies even for those whose Tallis Katan is the correct size, similar to tearing kriyah which is delayed until the levaya so that it can be done properly with guidance from the presiding Rav even for someone who does not require guidance.) (Halichos Shlomo, Hilchos Tefillah 3:10, based on Mishnah Berurah 8:24) Tzidkascha Tzedek on Rosh Hashanah This year, 5781, Rosh Hashanah falls on Shabbos and Sunday. Throughout the year, we generally recite Tzidkascha Tzedek during Mincha on Shabbos, recalling Hashem’s attribute of Judgement. However, we don’t recite it on a day when Tachanun would be omitted if it was a weekday, such as Rosh Chodesh. Since Tzidkascha is a somber recitation, it’s inappropriate to recite it on a happy occasion (Shulchan Aruch 292:2). Should Tzidkascha be recited on Rosh Hashanah which falls on Shabbos, such as this year? The Ran (Rosh Hashanah 9a d”h michlal) notes that this is subject to a dispute amongst the Geonim, and it hinges upon the question whether or not Rosh Hashanah is a day of simcha. One opinion holds that since Hallel is not recited due to the somber nature of the day, Tzidkascha should be recited, whereas others rule that since Rosh Hashanah is a Yom Tov, there is an obligation to rejoice and Tzidkascha should be omitted. Shulchan Aruch (598:1) rules that Tzidkascha is recited. Rama, however, argues that it should be omitted, and this is the common custom in Ashkenazic circles. (See, however, dispute between Shulchan Aruch and Rama 597:1 regarding fasting on Rosh Hashanah.) Vidui Posture The Shulchan Aruch (607:3) rules that Vidui must be recited while standing because this is a sign of humility and submission. One should avoid leaning on anything to the extent that he would fall if the item were removed; if one indeed leans too much, it’s possible that Vidui needs to be repeated (Mishnah Berurah 607:10). If one finds it overly difficult to stand without leaning (such as the infirm or elderly), he may be lenient and lean on something (Kovetz Halachos 26:12). One should bow down like he does by Modim (the full back bent over – not just the head), but if this proves difficult, one may be lenient and bend one’s head – especially by the Vidui recited during Chazaras Hashatz (Shaar Hatziyun 607:6). Some say that the same is true if the full bending disturbs one’s concentration (Kovetz Halachos 26:13); in this case, one may remain standing upright (without leaning) and simply bend one’s head. It should be noted that the middle stanza of V’al Kulam is not part of Vidui and there’s no need to lean while reciting it (ibid. 26:14). Food For Thought By Rabbi Yoel Steinmetz The Shulchan Aruch (297:5) posits that one who does not have a sense of smell can nonetheless recite a berachah on Besamim for someone else who can smell. Although many argue on this ruling (see Mishnah Brurah ad loc.), this is due to the fact that the berachah of “Borei Minei Besamim” is a birchas ha’ne’henin, a voluntary berachah on enjoyment and not a birchas ha’mitzvos, an obligatory berachah on a mitzvah. All would seem to agree that one can recite a berachah and do a mitzvah for another even if he himself cannot physically do the mitzvah. This would seem to contradict the Gemara (Rosh Hashanah 29a) that one who can’t hear cannot blow the shofar for another. What’s the difference? (Sefer Mishmeres Chaim from Rav Chaim Pinchos Sheinberg zt”l) The Rashba (Rosh Hashanah 16a) posits that if one does not blow shofar on Rosh Hashanah at all, he would be liable for transgressing the prohibition of Ba’al Tig’ra – subtracting from one’s Torah obligations (see ibid. with regards to Rosh Hashanah which falls on Shabbos). However, regarding the prohibition of adding mitzvos to the Torah – Ba’al Tosif – many Rishonim are of the opinion that one is liable only if one performs a mitzvah that is already in the Torah too many times (e.g. sleeping in the Sukkah for more days than necessary); simply creating a new mitzvah doesn’t make one liable. Why is this different than the prohibition of subtracting mitzvos which one isn’t liable if completely disregarding a mitzvah in the Torah? (R’ Elchonon Wasserman HY”D in Kovetz Shiurim 2:33)

8 baaqtu!ioti!tbs!– trcdk trcd ihc!

The Gemara (Sanhedrin 60) states that if two people are witnesses, both must expressly state their full testimony; it is insufficient for one to say his testimony and the other to merely express, “I saw like him.” This would seem to imply that for all other statements that are not under the category of testimony (eidus), a second person may state, “I say as him.” If so, why is it necessary for everyone to recite the full text of the Hataras Nedarim discourse on Erev Rosh Hashanah – why can’t one person recite the text and everyone else merely declare to the judges, “I say as him?” (Teshuvos V’hanhagos – Rosh Hoshanah from Rav Moshe Shternbuch shlita)

HaRav Eliezer Chrysler

Midei Shabbos This issue is sponsored l’iluy Nishmas בן דוד ויצחק הלוי דוד יצחק בן ירחמיאל .ירחמיאל הלוי למשפחת ולס ז"ל ת.נ.צ.ב.הVol. 27 No. 48 Rosh Ha’Shonoh - Turning Din into Rachamim “Elokim ascended with the Teru’ah, Hashem with the tone of the Shofar” (Tehilim 47:6). The posuk begins with “Elokim” (judgement) and concludes with “Hashem” (mercy). Chazal explain that the tone of the Shofar turns G-d’s Midas ha’Din into Midas Rachamim. How does this work? One way of understanding it is by means of Chazal, who say that when there is din below, there is no din (only Rachamim) on High. In other words, we control G-d‘s Midas ha’Din. To put it simply, by being strict with ourselves, we enable G-d to be lenient with us. He is strict with us only when we become lax. The shofar is the very embodiment of Midas ha’Din, as the Novi writes “Will a shofar sound in the city and the people will not tremble?” If we take the shofar’s message to heart and acknowledge G-d‘s Midas ha’Din, then He will respond by bestowing upon us His Midas ho’Rachamim. That is precisely the message inherent in the posuk in Tehilim. Another interpretation of the switch from din to Rachamim is through a deeper perception of the Shofar blasts: the Teki’oh signifies Midas Rachamim, which explains why it is one straight note (the same note that they blew on the trumpets in the desert, to gather the people to form one unit). The Teru’ah (and the Shevorim) on the other hand, which is a broken note (which is why they blew it as a sign for the people to disperse), signifies the Midas ha’Din. It is of no mean significance that the note that they blew (seven times) to bring down the walls of Yericho, was a Teru’ah. Others explain that the first Teki’ah signifies Chesed (Avrohom), the Teru’ah and the Shevorim, Din (Yitzchok) and the final Teki’ah, Rachamim (Ya’akov). It is no coincidence that the Teru’ah is contained in between two Teki’os - demonstrating that thanks to the mitzvah of Teki’as Shofar, the Midas ha’Din is kept in check. All of these explanations will help to clarify what the commentaries mean when they refer to Rosh Hashonoh as ‘Din be’rachamim’. The Sh’loh puts it like this: The human body passes through three stages – health, sickness and death, and the same three stages exist in a person’s spiritual being – the fulfillment of Torah and mitzvos and good midos (health); a decline in one’s level of Torah observance and midos (sickness); and a sharp deterioration from this state of decline (death – in the same way as a sick person whose sickness deteriorates sharply, dies). And this is what Chazal mean when they say ‘Resho’im already in their lifetime are called ‘dead’. That is why we blow ‘Tashrat’! – as Chazal have said: ‘Shevorim resemble a sigh’ (like sick people tend to do); ‘Teru’ah resembles sobbing’ (in the way that one weeps over one’s dead). Hashem made everyone straight, Chazal say, and it is man who deviates from the truth and makes himself corrupt. This is depicted by the first Teki’ah, which is a long straight note, followed by a Shevorim, a sigh denoting the sickness of the soul. Until finally, one blows a Teru’ah, a sobbing that represents the serious sins which resemble death (for which one ought to shed pools of water). And the last Teki’ah, concludes the Sh’loh, depicts teshuvah. If the sinner repents sincerely for what he has done, Hashem, in His mercy, will forgive him, and he will revert to the level of sinlessness with which he was born, and in which he was, prior to having sinned. With the explanation of the Sh’loh, we can easily understand the sequence of Chesed, Din and Rachamim which we discussed earlier. Because chesed describes Hashem’s relationship with us before we sin, din, after we have sinned, and rachamim after we have done teshuvah. Rosh Ha’Shonoh Thoughts (Adapted from the Yalkut Yitzchok) Tishrei The word ‘Tishrei’ points out the Kol Bo, is the Arama’ic for ‘You will forgive’, a clear enough hint as to the essence of the month. The Yom-tov of Rosh Hashonoh

The reason that work is prohibited on Rosh Ha’Shonoh is because, following the opinion of Rebbi Eliezer, the world was created on Rosh Ha’Shonoh, and to commemorate the creation, G-d fixed that day as the day of judgement. He did this so that each year, He will be able to take the sinners to task before their sins accumulate. As a result, it is not allowed to reach the stage where their numerous sins cause their annihilation. In this way, the institution of Rosh Ha’Shonoh prevents the world from destruction, setting it up, for all its awesomeness, as another of G-d’s acts of Chesed. That is why the Torah fixed it as a Yom-tov. Moreover, it is not befitting for a person who is being judged, to continue with his daily occupation as if nothing was happening. On the contrary, he is expected to be free from work, to ponder over the Day of Judgement, and tremble in fear at the prospect of having to give reckoning of his deeds before his Creator. This will have the effect of causing him to repent and to arouse himself from his slumber, to extricate himself from the pit of inertia into which he is sinking. And we blow the Shofar for the very same reason; because that is precisely the effect that the Shofar has on us. Three Times Three The Mishnah in Rosh Hashonoh explains that the order of blowing comprises three groupings (one for Malchi’os, one for Zichronos and one for Shofros), each consisting of three notes (Teki’ah, Teru’ah and Teki’ah). The significance of the number three, explains the Magid Meishorim, lies in the words of Chazal who equate the Yeitzer ho’ra with the Soton and with the Angel of Death. He descends in his first capacity and talks a person into sinning; then he goes up to heaven and, in his second capacity, he prosecutes the sinner before the Heavenly Tribunal. And finally, in his third capacity, he takes his Soul. Perhaps this describes the inherent power of the Shofar: one group of Teki’os can dispel the Angel of Death, commuting the sinner’s sentence to a lesser punishment; the second group can dispense with the Soton, until he is unable even to prosecute; whilst the third has the ability to transform the listener into a tzadik, who can no longer be led into temptation by his Yeitzer ho’ra, as is hinted in the letters of ‘Shofar’ – Soton ve’ein pega ra’. The number three here is also reminiscent of the three Books that are open before G-d on Rosh Ha’Shonoh, to goad a person into action to do what needs to be done before his fate is sealed on Yom Kippur, to ensure that he is written in the Book of Life. Both explanations go nicely with the Chazal discussed earlier – see main article – which states that when there is Din below there is no Din above. Right, Up and Standing The Shofar is held pointing to the right, says the Magid Meishorim, to conform to the posuk “And the Soton was standing on his right-hand side to prosecute” (Zecharyah 3:1) And to conform to the posuk in Tehillim (47:6) ”G-d ascended with the Teru’ah ... “, the shofar should be pointing upwards when it is blown. And the mitzvah to blow standing is based on the concept that the Shofar plays the role of a defense counsel. In that case, the listeners are considered the defendants, and the litigants, we are taught, are obliged to stand whilst the court-case is in progress.

Rabbi Yissocher Frand-Torah.Org

RavFrand Dedicated to the speedy recovery of Mordechai ben Chaya Thoughts for Erev Rosh Hashana This Dvar Torah was adapted from remarks made by Rabbi Yissocher Frand on Erev Rosh Hashanna many years ago. K’siva V’chasima Tova! In Tractate Brochos (29a), the Talmud says that on Rosh Hashana, we daven a Shmoneh Esrei (referring to the “standing prayer”) of nine blessings (the standard opening three blessings, the standard closing three blessings, and the middle three special blessings of Malchiyos, Zichronos, & Shofros — the middle portions of the Rosh Hashana Musaf service dealing respectively with Kingship, Remembrances, and Shofar Blasts). The Gemara says that the source for the number of these blessings, nine, comes from the nine Azkoros — the nine times that G-d’s Name is mentioned in the prayer of Chana [Samuel 2:1-10]. The story of Chana [Samuel 1:1-2:10] is the Haftorah on the first day of Rosh Hashana. Chana was barren. She came to the Mishkan (Tabernacle) every year to cry her heart out. (The Mishkan was originally built during the years in the Wilderness, and was located up in Shilo during the time of the story of Chana. It eventually gave way to the Beis HaMikdash.) Chana suffered the humiliation of her husband having a second wife who was blessed with children, and who taunted Chana over her inability to have children, though for a noble reason (because she wanted to inspire Chana to pray more). Chana’s prayers were finally answered on Rosh Hashana.

!baaqtu!ioti!tbs!– trcdk trcd ihc 9 She eventually gave birth to a son who grew up to become the great prophet Samuel. The story of Chana contains a lesson that is so vital and central to the message of Rosh Hashana that not only do we read this Haftorah on the first day of Rosh Hashana, but the whole Tefillas Musaf (Additional Prayer) on Rosh Hashana was structured around the nine mentions of G-d’s name in Chana’s prayer. What is so important about this episode that causes us to base the central prayer of Rosh Hashana on the prayer of Chana? An analysis of Chana’s prayer reveals that it emphasizes that life is full of changing fortunes. Chana says “…while the barren woman has born seven, she that had many children has been bereaved (2:5)”. Chana describes the fact that in the past she was barren and her co-wife, Penina had many children. But now Chana has 7 children and when each baby was born to Chana, Penina lost a child. G-d makes some people poor and he makes some people rich. He makes the haughty low and the humble high. Fortunes keep changing. Chana cautions and says (2:3) “Al Tarbu t’dabru gevoha gevoha…” (You mighty ones — don’t speak with haughtiness) “…Keshes Giborim chatim, v’nichsalim ozru chayil” (because you may fall and the weak will be girded with strength) (2:4). This is Chana’s message to the Jewish People on Rosh Hashana: Life is so fickle. Fortunes are so fragile. Rosh Hashana is an unbelievably scary day! Emotionally, Rosh Hashana is one of the most difficult days of the year. We can deal with Yom Kippur. We do not eat. It is a day of Mercy. We separate ourselves from the rest of the world and we pour our hearts out. But what are we supposed to do on Rosh Hashana? Rosh Hashana is the Yom HaDin (Day of Judgment). Everything is riding on this day. And yet there is an obligation to observe this day as a Festival — looking and acting and eating like a Yom Tov. How do we cope with this dichotomy? Rav Tzadok HaCohen (1823-1900; Chassidic Sage and thinker; one of leading Torah scholars in the 19th century; author of Pri Tzadik) points out that the Shevarim and Teruahs, which are the broken sounds of the shofar (representing the crying out of a broken spirit), must always be sandwiched between two Tekiahs. The firm, unbroken, Tekiah sound represents Simcha (joy). This, Rav Tzadok says, captures the theme of the day. On the exterior, we must act and feel like it is a Yom Tov. But on the interior — between the Tekios — we must have a terrible, terrible, fear: a fear that anything can happen. If anyone doubts this for a minute, they just need to think back about these past few years. Think back on what happened in the world, what happened to individuals, what happened to communities. It is nothing less than frightening! This is what Chana is trying to tell us. For some people, this year will bring the greatest sorrow… and for some people this year will be one of “the barren woman turning into a mother of seven”. Chazal say that the 100 Shofar blasts which we blow on Rosh Hashana correspond to the 100 cries that Sisro’s mother cried on the day of battle (Shoftim 5:28-30, based on Medrash). Rav Schwab asked, what is the significance of associating our Shofar blasts to the wailings of Sisro’s mother? Rav Schwab explained that the wailings of Sisro’s mother represented the uncertainty of the future. If Sisro would come back victorious, this would represent the greatest triumph of his military career. On the other hand, he might come back in a coffin. Sisro’s mother did not know which scenario would occur, so she wailed out of uncertainty and fear. Life and Death. Success and Failure. On Rosh Hashana, everything lies in the balance of Judgment — nothing less than totally changing out fates. And yet, we as Jews, have to surround these emotions with the Tekiah — the firm blast of confidence. We cannot wear our emotions on our sleeve. But we must realize that what will be determined on this day is nothing less than the fate of our lives, of our family’s lives, of our community’s lives, and indeed the life of the entire world. Anything can happen. This is the message of Chana. There are no givens, there are no “Chazakas” (presumptions based on historical precedent), nothing can be taken for granted. May it be G-d’s will that we as a community, together with the entire House of Israel, be written for a good, lengthy, and peaceful life. Transcribed by David Twersky; Jerusalem DavidATwersky@gmail.com Technical Assistance by Dovid Hoffman; Baltimore, MD dhoffman@torah.org This week’s write-up was adapted from remarks made by Rabbi Yissocher Frand on Erev Rosh Hashanna many years ago. A complete catalogue can be ordered from the Yad Yechiel Institute, PO Box 511, Owings Mills MD 21117-0511. Call (410) 358-0416 or e-mail tapes@yadyechiel.org or visit http://www.yadyechiel.org/ for further information. Rav Frand © 2020 by Torah.org. support Do you have a question or comment? Feel free to contact us on our website. Join the Jewish Learning Revolution! Torah.org: The Judaism Site brings this and a host of other classes to you every week. Visit http://torah.org to get your own free copy of this mailing or subscribe to the series of your choice. Need to change or stop your subscription? Please visit our subscription center, http://torah.org/subscribe/ -- see the links on that page. Permission is granted to redistribute, but please give proper attribution and copyright to the author and Torah.org. Both the author and Torah.org reserve certain rights. Email copyrights@torah.org for full information. Torah.org: The Judaism Site Project Genesis, Inc. 2833 Smith Ave., Suite 225 Baltimore, MD 21209 http://www.torah.org/ learn@torah.org (410) 602-1350

Rabbi J. Gewirtz

Migdal Ohr Volume 22 – Issue 48 Rosh Hashana 5781 A‰PwT HNwH wAR A publication dedicated to Harbotzas Torah “May You renew for us a good and sweet year.” „HQWTMW HBWU HNw WNYLE wDXTw R‰HY‰ When we dip the apple in honey, we say this phrase before eating it. We ask Hashem to give us a year which is good and sweet. That seems redundant. Upon closer reflection, though, it is not the same thing. Hashem will always do that which is good for us. However, sometimes what is good is not sweet, like a doctor prescribing a beneficial treatment which may be painful. We therefore ask that all the “good” things Hashem does for us be “sweet” as well. Grammatically speaking, this phrase should be, “WNL wDXTw“ to renew for us, but we say, WNYLE, upon us. There is a key lesson here. We ask for a sweet year, but taste is subjective, with each person having a different perception. In this prayer we ask Hashem that even if we must endure something uncomfortable, let US find the sweetness in it and realize that it comes from Hashem with love. “Today is the birth(day) of the world." (Rosh Hashana prayers) (HNwH wAR TLYPT) „...OLWE TRH OWYH” These words are said after the blowing of the Shofar on Rosh HaShana. Chazal tell us that Hashem began Creation on the 25th of Elul and Rosh HaShana corresponds to Friday, the day that Man was created. We celebrate Rosh HaShana on this date because before Man was created, there was no purpose to the world yet. As Hashem says, “I did not create the world to be desolate, but formed it to be populated.” (Isaiah 45:18) Though this is the typical translation of the phrase, that this is the day the world was born, the word ‘harah’ doesn’t mean birth, but conception. We find in numerous places (including the Haftarah of Chana on the first day of Rosh Hashana) the phrase, “vatahar vatailed bain,” and she conceived and she gave birth to a son. If this is so, then what is meant by saying “this is the day the world was conceived”? The world was created; we should say, “Hayom Huledes Olam.” The truth is that the word used here is very precise. This is the day the world was conceived, when it began its journey to completion. Now that human beings existed, the world could come to its perfection. As R’ Akiva told Turnus Rufus HaRasha, Hashem left things in Creation undone so that we might become His partners in it. All people are born with a ‘tzelem Elokim,’ the form of Hashem. But we know Hashem has no form! To what, then, are we referring? We are referring to His role as a Creator. Each person is imbued with the ability to create, do, and achieve things in the world. We don’t have to accept situations as they are; we can try to improve them. That is why on Rosh HaShana, when we ask Hashem for a new year to accomplish things on this earth and in the Heavens above, we say this is the day the earth was conceived. It was the beginning of a growth stage that would continue forward with each person adding what they could. Nothing is yet determined or set, and we can maximize the outcomes of our efforts. That is the type of year we can and should ask for: one that will give us opportunities to grow and achieve, and in which we commit to using it as such. At an engagement celebration, the Kallah’s father was asked to put into writing the financial commitment that he promised to the young couple. He did not want to do so, saying that they should take his word for it since he was a very dedicated father who always watched out for his children. R’ Elchonon Wasserman, who was present at the time, immediately answered the Mechutan's claim based on the Tefila we say in Shmoneh Esrei during Aseres Yimei Teshuva. “Zachreinu L'Chaim Melech Chafeitz BaChaim V'Chasveinu B'Sefer HaChaim.” We have already asked Hashem to remember us for life, why do we then say to inscribe us in the book of life? Hashem does not forget and is equally devoted to His dear children. Nevertheless, we ask to have it in writing. From here we see, said R’ Elchonon, that as honorable a person may be... always get it in writing! Now You Know! This year, because the first day of Rosh HaShana falls out on a Shabbos, we will not blow the Shofar. Chazal forbade it based on the off-chance that someone might mistakenly carry it out in a public domain on Shabbos, which is forbidden. Therefore, they suspended the mitzvah of blowing Shofar on a Rosh HaShana which coincides with Shabbos.

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From the fact that they did so, we can gain a deeper appreciation of Shabbos. The Shofar recalls the Akeida, when Avraham bound his beloved son on the altar as a sacrifice to Hashem because Hashem told him to. This is a great merit for us. The Shofar shakes us up and awakens us to do Teshuva. And yet, if someone might desecrate Shabbos by accident, even one Jew in millions – it is not worth it. How powerful and important the Shabbos must be! We should love and appreciate what it means to us. Then we will start the year off right and keep it going each week. Thought Of The Week: Another year?! What did you do with the one I gave you last time? – G-d This issue is dedicated in love and appreciation of (Babbie) Sarah Leah Landa who says little, does much, and always tries to be better each day. By her children and grandchildren. Get a jump start on the year by doing something good for the world! Print, e-mail, and share Migdal Ohr with others. You’ll be glad you did. E-mail ‘Subscribe’ to info@JewishSpeechWriter.com E-mail Subscribe to info@JewishSpeechWriter.com ©2020 – J. Gewirtz

Rabbi Dovid Gottlieb- Ohr Somayach

Strategic Teshuva Creative Ways to Make Yourself Do the "Right Thing" We all have some bad midot (character traits) and some bad habits. When we consider doing teshuva for them, we are apt to think as follows: "I am really out of control. Why do I do those terrible things? I should be stronger! How can I increase my self-control so that I can overcome those strains, temptations, etc.?" That sort of thinking can be useful. But it is not the only helpful approach. Another attack is this: "When do I fail like this? What is there in the environment? What else has happened that day? Under which specific circumstances do I fail? And, ...what can I do to change those circumstances?" The technique of changing the circumstances in which we generally fail is what I call "Strategic Teshuva." Midot and habits generally have "triggers." For example, certain people provoke an angry, aggressive response. Other people may not pose a problem. Or the "trigger" might be specific activities, such as driving in heavy traffic ("road rage"), caring for fighting siblings, waiting in lines at the bus terminal, filling out government forms, and so on. The same is true for other temptations. Laziness comes naturally when one is surrounded by computer games, bad literature, inviting beaches and - most important - other lazy people. (A boy from Los Angeles told me it took him six years to get his bachelor's degree because certain courses interfered with his beach schedule!) Illicit pleasures attract most strongly when they are readily available and when others in the neighborhood indulge. Our first responsibility is for our actions. When the "triggers" of the bad habits and midos occur, it is extremely difficult to stop the habits and midot from acting. One solution is to try to avoid the triggers. Change the environment. Move your residence if you can. If you can't, spend as much time in another environment which will provide respite from the temptation. (The most effective positive environment is doing mitzvot with other people: Learn in a beit midrash, visit the hospital with others, plan a chesed project with others, teach Torah in a school, etc.) Certain activities cause tension which triggers anger. If you cannot avoid those activities, alternate with relaxing activities. A second solution is to add something to the environment which will make it easier to do the right thing. If you have trouble getting up for davening in shul, make a study partner for ten minutes before davening. Then, when the alarm rings and you reach over to push the snooze button, you will think: "But what if my study partner comes and I'm not there?! How embarrassing!" - and you will get up! In many cases you can make a contract with yourself: If I succeed in overcoming the temptation (enough times) then I will allow myself something I very much enjoy. This is what psychologists call a "behavior contract." Thus I have a personal incentive to do the right thing. For example: "If I get through the meeting without getting angry, I will allow myself to buy that picture for the wall/go to that restaurant/etc." The key is to control the environment by avoiding some things and creatively adding others so that it will be easier to do the right thing. Now, some people think that this cannot be right. This means that we are only running away from our problems, not solving them! The problem is precisely this: I am not able to overcome those temptations. How do I solve that problem? By avoiding them, or by adding extra incentives? There are two answers. First, who says that the only problem is to overcome the desire? On the contrary: Our first responsibility is for our actions. Suppose someone cannot control a desire to steal from Macy's. If he shops

only in Bloomingdale's, or he rewards himself for not stealing from Macy's, he has not overcome the desire - but at least he is not stealing! Second, often we can only overcome the desire if we have a respite from the wrong actions. As long as the bad habits and midot are active it is very difficult to gain control. Therefore, avoiding the triggers and adding payoffs may be the only way to gain control. Yes, the ultimate goal is to become immune to the temptations. But this may require two stages: First avoiding the triggers and adding payoffs; and then developing the psychological strength to resist. Trying to do without the first stage may make the second stage impossible. Think of addictions. You cannot simply tell the addict: "Stop using that stuff!" He can't stop, and all the therapy in the world will not help while he is still on the drug. But if he enters a sanitarium where the drug is unavailable, then the therapy can help him become immune to the temptation to use drugs. Strategic teshuva may thus be the necessary first step to complete teshuva. But it is more than that. If that is all that you can manage at the moment, then strategic teshuva is enough to gain kappara (atonement). Hashem does not ask more of us than we can do. If you avoid the triggers, add incentives and start to work on immunity, then in the meantime you have kappara for all the past mistakes even before you achieve immunity. Isn't that worth it? Rabbi Gottlieb's website can be found at www.dovidgottlieb.com © 1995-2020 Ohr Somayach International - All rights reserved. Articles may be distributed to another person intact without prior permission. We also encourage you to include this material in other publications, such as synagogue or school newsletters. Hardcopy or electronic. However, we ask that you contact us beforehand for permission in advance at ohr@ohr.edu and credit for the source as Ohr Somayach Institutions www.ohr.edu

Rabbi Yechezkel Hartman

YomTov B'Iyun Erev Shabbos Rosh Hashanah 5781 Blowing Shofar on Rosh Hashanah that falls on Shabbos The Mishnah in Rosh Hashanah (29b) states that we do not blow Shofar on a Rosh Hashanah that falls on Shabbos. The Gemara goes on to explain that the reason for this prohibition is a Gzeira Rabbanan (Rabbinic decree) concerned about the possibility that a person will come to carry the Shofar in the public domain abd violate a biblical prohibition. Thus, despite blowing shofar being a Biblical commandment, we do not blow Shofar on Shabbos Rosh Hashanah because of a Rabbinic decree. This raises the following question: If one blew Shofar on Shabbos Rosh Hashanah, did he fulfill the Mitzvah of Shofar? Or does the Rabbinic prohibition mean that he can no longer fulfill that Mitzvah? This seemingly theoretical question has practical consequences: The Bais Yosef paskens that one should say Shehechiyanu on only one shofar blowing, which would normally be on the first day of Rosh Hashana. The Rama disagrees, which is why it is the Ashkenazi custom to say Shehechiyanu on both days. According to the Bais Yosef, if one blew Shofar on Shabbos Rosh Hashanah, should he say Shehechiyanu on the second day? If he fulfilled the Mitzvah on the first day, he should not. If he did not fulfil the Mitzvah on the first day, he should. The Mishnah (Ibid.) says that in the Bais Hamikdash they did blow shofar on Shabbos Rosh Hashanah. The Mikraei Kodesh tells of a Rav in Yerushalayim who held that the Kotel has the same status as the Bais Hamikdash so Shofar should be blown there even on Shabbos. All other Poskim disagreed with this, and therefore no one blows Shofar today at the Kotel on Shabbos. However, if this Rav blew shofar on Shabbos Rosh Hashanah, was there any purpose in listening to his Tekios? If there is a fulfilment of the Mitzvah then one can argue that the listeners should be fulfilling the Mitzvah, since one who listens is not violating a Rabbinic decree, and the Baal Tokea assumes he is doing the correct thing. Rabbi Akiva Eiger (Ma’aracha 8) and the Avnei Nezer (Yoreh Deah 141, 11) both say clearly that if one blows Shofar on Shabbos Rosh Hashanah he fulfils the Mitzvah of Shofar. They hold that the Rabbis did not uproot the Mitzvah completely, but rather layered on a prohibition against doing it. However, if one did it anyway, it is effective. The Chelkas Yoav (Kava DeKushiyasa 99) argues with Rabbi Akiva Eiger and brings a few proofs that when the Rabbis prohibit doing a Mitzvah, it uproots the Mitzvah completely. One of the main sources for this is a Tosfos in Sukkah (3a) that speaks about a Sukkah which is too small. Tosfos brings from the words of Bais Shamai that one who sat in such a sukkah on Sukkos never kept the Mitzvah of Sukkah in his life. Tosfos learns from here that even though the minimum size of a Sukkah is a Rabbinic rule, someone who violates it has not performed the biblical Mitzvah at all. This seems to be a clear proof that a Rabbinic stricture completely uproots the Mitzvah, and it is a very strong challenge to Rabbi Akiva Eiger. Many suggestions have been proposed to explain Rabbi Akiva Eiger’s opinion, including the following: a. When the Rabbi disqualified a small Sukkah, they disqualified the object itself. Ths someone using it cannot be fulfilling the Mitzvah since they are

!baaqtu!ioti!tbs!– trcdk trcd ihc 11 not sitting in a valid Sukkah. By Shofar, they merely prohibited a person to blow the Shofar. They said nothing about the resulting sounds not being effective for the Mitzvah. b. The Rabbi’s clearly didn’t uproot the whole Mitzvah of shofar blowing, since it was still allowed in the Bais Hamikdash. Obviously, the Mitzvah of Shofar is intact, whereas the Sukkah prohibition uprooted the whole Mitzvah. c. When the Rabbis prohibited one from doing a Mitzvah to avoid a related transgression, they view the situation as if the person did transgress. By Sukkah they were concerned that the person will not be able to stay in the Sukkah and not fulfill the Mitzvah, so the Rabbis treat him as if that actually occurred and prohibit it. However, by Shofar their concern was that the person may carry the Shofar in the public domain. However, even if one actually did transgress the carrying prohibition that would not adversely affect the efficacy of his Shofar blowing. Therefore when one blows on Shabbos Rosh Hashanah, the Mitzvah is still valid. To conclude, according to Rabbi Akiva Eiger and the Avnei Nezer, when the Rabbis prohibited a Mitzvah they did not necessarily uproot the Mitzvah. Therefore one who blows Shifar on Shabbos Rosh Hashanah does fulfil the Mitzvah. According to the Bais Yosef, if he blew that first Shabbos day he should not say Shehechiyanu (see Minchas Yitzchak vol. 2, 50), and if one is blowing in the Kotel one who listens is fulfilling a Mitzvah (see Mikraei Kodesh). It is important to emphasis that this works only according to the Bavli which says that the Shabbos prohibition is a Rabbinic one. The Yerushalmi however, says that blowing Shofar on Shabbos is a biblical prohibition, learned from the fact the one Pasuk says “Yom Teruah” and the other says “Zichron Teruah”. According to the Yerushalmi it would seem clear that blowing Shofar on Shabbos Rosh Hashanah would not accomplish any fulfilment of a Mitzvah. It is very fitting to note the Bnei Yissachar, who says that when Rosh Hashanah falls on Shabbos we do not need to blow because the effects of the Shofar, elevating Hashem from the chair of judgement to the chair of mercy, happens automatically on Shabbos. We should be Zoche to see much mercy and Rachamim this coming year, and we should all merit a Kesiva V’chasima Tova!

Rabbi Avraham Kahn

Torah Attitude Rosh Hashanah: Don’t Blow It On Shabbos September 17, 2020 Summary The Torah obligates us to blow shofar on Rosh Hashanah everywhere, even when it falls on Shabbos. The Sages of the Talmud made a decree not to blow shofar on Shabbos to prevent that someone would transgress the prohibition of carrying on Shabbos, where there is no eruv, and would carry the shofar in a public domain to go and learn how to blow. It is highly unlikely that someone would need to learn how to blow on Shabbos of Rosh Hashanah. The shofar is blown at the end of each of the three sections of the Mussaf service. Just as Abraham brought a ram as an offering in place of Isaac, we blow the horn of a ram on Rosh Hashanah, as if to remind G’d of that event. When we blow the shofar, the Heavenly Accuser, the Satan, gets confused and it detracts him from presenting his accusations. When the sound of the shofar rises from Jewish congregations worldwide, G’d, so to speak, rises from His seat of judgment and sits down on His seat of mercy. The “awe” of Shabbos, and the acceptance upon ourselves to fulfill the Shabbos laws to the smallest detail, has the same power as blowing the shofar on Rosh Hashanah. “Whoever observes the Shabbos with every halachic detail will be forgiven, even if he served idols like the generation of Enosh.” The Zohar explains how on Shabbos G’d sits on a special throne, where no accusations will be permitted to reach Him. “The Jewish nation will be redeemed in the merit of observing two consecutive Shabbosos.” No Shofar on Shabbos The Mishnah (Rosh Hashanah 29b) states: “When Rosh Hashanah falls on Shabbos, they would blow shofar in the Temple but not in the rest of the country.” The Mishnah continues that since the destruction of the Temple, we do not blow shofar on Shabbos with the exception of the Town of Yavneh, where the High Court of the Temple had relocated. The Talmud (ibid) explains that although the Torah obligates us to blow shofar on Rosh Hashanah everywhere, even when it occurs on Shabbos, the Sages made a decree not to blow shofar on Shabbos. They feared that someone would transgress the prohibition of carrying on Shabbos, where there is no eruv, and would carry the shofar in a public domain to go and learn how to blow. This, says the Talmud, is similar to the decrees prohibiting taking a lulav on Succos or reading the Megillah on Purim, when those days fall on Shabbos. Highly Unlikely

This seems very strange. Obviously, we find other instances where the Sages of the Talmud used their authority to make a decree to refrain from doing a mitzvah (a Torah obligation). However, this authority was only exercised in extreme cases, if the sages had a serious concern that otherwise the situation was likely to result in a negative consequence. This decree, prohibiting to blow the shofar on Shabbos, deprives us of fulfilling this mitzvah for all generations, just because a highly unlikely situation could occur, where someone would need to learn how to blow on Shabbos of Rosh Hashanah and would carry the shofar to go and learn how to blow. Mussaf and Shofar When we analyze our Sages’ explanations for the reasons for blowing shofar, it seems even more difficult to understand, why the Talmud would prohibit blowing shofar on Shabbos. It is well known that Rosh Hashanah is the Day of Judgment, when our deeds and accomplishments are being scrutinized in front of the Heavenly Court. The Talmud (ibid 16a) discusses the three special parts of the Rosh Hashanah Mussaf service: Malchiyos/Kingship, Zichronos/Remembrance and Shofaros/Shofar. We first say the portion of Kingship and accept G’d as our Sovereign Ruler. We continue with the portion of Remembrance, so that G’d will remember us for the good. Finally, we say the portion of Shofar to facilitate that our prayers will rise together with the sound of the Shofar (see Tosefta ibid 1:11). Continues the Talmud, “How do these three portions achieve this? They all need the blowing of Shofar.” This is why we blow the shofar at end of each of the three sections of the Mussaf service. Akeidah The Talmud further explains that we can only use a ram’s horn to blow shofar. Just as Abraham brought a ram as an offering in place of Isaac (see Bereishis 22:13), we blow the horn of a ram on Rosh Hashanah, as if to remind G’d of that event. When we blow this horn, the merit of the self-sacrifice of Abraham and Isaac at the Akeidah will help us in our judgment. Confuse the Satan The Talmud also states that when we blow the shofar, the Heavenly Accuser (the Satan) gets confused, and it detracts him from presenting his accusations. Rashi explains that as we repeat to blow several times on Rosh Hashanah, we show our eagerness to fulfill this mitzvah. This is in direct contradiction of Satan’s accusations. He accuses us of not being so eager and careful in our observance of the mitzvos. We simply prove the Satan wrong, when we blow the shofar several times, rather than just to blow the minimum obligation. Mercy and Teshuva In many Machzorim (special prayer books for Yom Tov), a portion of the Zohar is printed prior to the blowing of the shofar. The Zohar (Vayikra 98b) relates that when the sound of the shofar rises from Jewish congregations worldwide, G’d, so to speak, rises from His seat of judgment and sits down on His seat of mercy (see also Vayikra Rabba 29:3). The Rambam (Laws of Teshuva 3:4) teaches an additional reason for blowing the shofar on Rosh Hashanah. The Rambam writes that although the blowing of the shofar is a chok (Torah decree with no logical reason), at the same time it comes to awaken us and remind us to do teshuva (repentance) and rectify our wrongdoings. Awe of Shabbos All these reasons and explanations clearly show the significance of blowing shofar on Rosh Hashanah. If so, why does the Talmud prohibit blowing shofar on Shabbos? It is highly unlikely that someone will carry his shofar in a public domain on Shabbos to go and learn how to blow. The answer may be that our sages wanted to teach us a most important lesson how careful we have to be regarding the observance of the laws of Shabbos. The Kabbalists explain that in the very first word of the Torah, there is a hint to how cautious we have to be regarding the laws of Shabbos. The Hebrew letters of the word “Bereishis,” when rearranged form the two words “Shabbos Yereh”, which means “you shall be in awe of Shabbos.” Shabbos Forgiveness Someone, who is sincerely in “awe” of Shabbos, will no doubt accept to fulfill the Shabbos laws to the smallest detail. This has the same power as blowing the shofar on Rosh Hashanah. Our eagerness to blow shofar is an expression of our readiness to accept G’d as our King. As mentioned before, it also arouses us to repent and do teshuva for our wrongdoings. In the same way, the extreme caution we show by not blowing on Shabbos, for the fear that even one Jew may transgresses one prohibition on Shabbos, is no less an expression of our acceptance of the Heavenly Kingdom and our readiness to return to G’d and repent. When the Sages of the Talmud decreed not to blow shofar on Shabbos, they knew that just like the blowing of the shofar can facilitate that we are forgiven for our sins, Shabbos observance has the exact same power. As the Talmud (Shabbos 118b) says, “Whoever observes the Shabbos, with every halachic detail, will be forgiven, even if he has served idols like the generation of Enosh.” Shabbos Oneness

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In the congregations who pray Nusach Sefard, a portion of the Zohar is recited every Friday night before Borechu. The Zohar there describes the Kabbalistic concept of Shabbos that unifies everything into a “oneness”. This corresponds to the unique “oneness” of G’d Himself. By observing the laws of Shabbos, we acknowledge G’d as the Creator of the world, and accept upon ourselves His Kingship. The Zohar continues to explain how on Shabbos G’d sits on a special throne, where no accusations will be permitted to reach Him. This teaches us that all the achievements that we can accomplish when we blow the shofar on Rosh Hashanah, we can achieve when we observe Shabbos properly. Days of Awe Every year, as we approach the Days of Awe, it is a time for reflection, where we all try to rectify past flaws and look for ways and means how to improve. It seems natural, in a year when the first day of Rosh Hashanah falls on Shabbos, to give special significance to Shabbos, and strengthen our commitment to observe it according to Halacha. We are blessed with an abundance of literature that enables us to spend the day of Shabbos, not just as a day of physical rest, but as a day of spiritual elevation for the entire family. Obviously, we can only accomplish this if we refrain form doing the 39 prohibited activities on Shabbos. If we all make a serious effort to increase our Shabbos observance, we no doubt will contribute to the fulfillment of the prophetic words of the Talmud (Shabbos 118b): “The Jewish nation will be redeemed in the merit of observing two consecutive Shabbosos.” May we all, together with the entire Jewish people, be inscribed for a good, healthy and peaceful year. And, in the merit of enhanced Shabbos observance, may we this year see the Coming of Mashiach, who will bring peace to the land of Israel and to the whole world. Wishing you and your loved ones L’shanah Tova Tikatevu V’techatemu. These words were based on notes of Rabbi Avraham Kahn, the Rosh Yeshiva and Founder of Yeshivas Keser Torah in Toronto. P.S. If you have any questions or enjoyed reading this e-mail, we would appreciate hearing from you. If you know of others who may be interested in receiving e-mails similar to this please let us know at michael@deverettlaw.com. For previous issues please see http://www.shemayisrael.com/parsha/kahn/archives/archives.htm. Michael S. Deverett Deverett Law Offices a division of Deverett Professional Corporation 163 Willowdale Ave. Toronto, Ontario M2N 4Y7 Tel: (416) 222-6789 ext. 101 Fax:(416) 222-7605 michael@deverettlaw.com This document may contain information that is privileged and confidential. If you are not the intended recipient, or the employee, agent or otherwise responsible for delivering this document to the intended recipient, any dissemination, distribution, copy or use of this document is prohibited. If you have received this document in error, please destroy it and notify us immediately by email or telephone at 416-222-6789.

Rabbi Yosef Kalatzky

Beyond Pshat L’Zeicher nishmas avi mori Reb Moshe Ben Yosef Kalatsky z’l u l’zeicher nishmas emee morasi Shaindel Bas Reb Chaim Tzvi z’l L’Zeicher nishmas ishtee Yehudis Chanah Kalatsky Bas Reb Kehas Z’l Weekly Torah Commentary Series: Rosh Hashanah The Ten Days of Repentance Rambam in Laws of Repentance: “Although repentance and supplicating G-d is valuable and beneficial throughout the year, during the ten day period from Rosh Hashanah to Yom Kippur it is exceptionally beneficial. During this special time, one’s repentance and supplications are accepted immediately by G-d. “Yeshaya to the Jewish people, ‘You should seek out G-d when He is found. Call to Him when He is close.’” Although one can repent and call out to G-d throughout the year, the repentance and supplications may be rejected because of lack of worthiness. However, during the ten day period between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, because it is a time of intense Mercy, one’s repentance and supplications will be accepted by G-d. He is more receptive to the prayers of the Jewish people at this time than any other time during the year. Where do we see G-d’s immediate receptivity from the words of Yeshaya? Rambam: Before one repents, “He is despised, putrid and an abomination before G-d. As it states, ‘Your sins create a barrier between you and G-d.’ If one is tarnished by sin, when he performs a mitzvah G-d rejects it and it is thrown back at the individual…. However, after one repents, one is regarded by G-d as beloved, precious, and special. Through repentance, the individual becomes close to G-d.” When one repents, his supplications are immediately received by G-d because he is close to Him. Thus, it is a time “when G-d is found.” It is through repentance that one removes all obstacles and obstructions between himself and G-d. He is endeared to his Creator. Therefore, Yeshaya writes, “You should seek out G-d when He is found.” Meaning, one should supplicate G-d after repenting because it is then that He will be close, thus allowing one’s repentance and supplications to be received. Gemara: During the ten-day period between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, G-d is closest to the Jewish people. G-d has an exceptional level of love and intimacy with His people during this time. Rosh Hashanah, which

is the first day of the ten days of repentance, is the Day of Judgment, when even the angels in heaven tremble with fear because of G-d’s Judgment. If there is such a level of exacting judgment at this time, how could the repentance and supplication of the Jew be accepted immediately by G-d? Seemingly, if one’s repentance and supplications were not at the most perfect level they would be rejected. It implies that although Rosh Hashanah is a day of intense judgment, it is also a time of exceptional mercy. How do we reconcile these two realities? Rosh Hashanah is a time of the most intense level of judgment. It is a time when satan is permitted to prosecute the Jewish people. Nevertheless, they have a mechanism that can silence that prosecution. Judgment can only be invoked and implemented if the prosecutor is allowed to deliver his prosecution before G-d. Midrash: When the shofar is blown, “G-d stands from His Thrown of Judgment and sits on His Thrown of Mercy.” Once prosecution is silenced, the Mercy of G-d comes into effect on a most profound level. This comes about when G-d sits on His Thrown of Mercy as the King of all existence. Because G-d becomes close to the Jewish people it is a time when “He is found.” Consequently, G-d accepts one’s repentance and supplications immediately. The sound of the ram’s horn reminds G-d of Avraham’s exceptional sacrifice at the time of the Akeidah (the binding of Yitzchak). It is in this merit that the sound of the shofar has the ability to silence the prosecution against the Jewish people until the end of time. Yesod v’Shoresh ha Avodah: Although one does not verbalize one’s repentance on Rosh Hashanah, one should undergo its process by thinking about all of one’s failings and repenting in one’s heart, while the shofar is being blown. One should have a sense of remorse for the wrong that he had done and commit himself never to repeat it in the future. When G-d sees that His children are engage in repentance, He is attentive to their prayers. One must therefore take advantage of this opportunity that is at hand. The Innate Power of Torah Torah in Haazinu: “May my teaching (Torah) pierce you like the rain, may my utterance flow like the dew…” Midrash: “Why is Torah compared to rain? Just as the rain has the ability to penetrate and dissolve stone so too can the Torah penetrate the heart that is made of stone.” Gemara: Rebbe Akiva was inspired to pursue a lifetime of Torah study because he noticed that over time a small stream of water had dissolved a stone. He drew from this and concluded, ‘If water has the ability to penetrate stone, then the Torah can penetrate my heart that is no harder than stone.’ Our Rabbis of blessed memory teach us that if the evil inclination is like stone the Torah will melt it, if it is like iron it will cause it to burst. Therefore, it is in the best interest of the individual to dedicate himself to Torah study day and night. As it is stated in the Book of Joshua, ‘You should mediate (in Torah) day and night.’ G-d created the evil inclination in order to create a context for man to be able to have free choice. One is continuously challenged by his evil inclination. The only way one can contend with and destroy this inclination is through the study of Torah. As the Gemara in Tractate Kiddushin states, “I have created the evil inclination, I have created the Torah as its antidote.” If one engages in Torah study it will dissolve the evil inclination as water dissolves stone. Midrash: “This is the reason that if one says, ‘I have toiled (in Torah) and did not find it,’ he should not be believed.” What is the relevance of coming upon the truth of Torah to the destruction of the evil inclination through its study? Gemara in Tractate Berachos: G-d is not receptive to one’s prayers because one’s sins act as an iron partition that prevent them from ascending. The study of Torah allows one to perceive and understand truth. Without the study of Torah, one’s perception of truth is occluded by the conflicts of interest of one’s desires. However, by engaging in Torah study, that conflict (evil inclination) will be removed because one had come upon the truth of Torah. Therefore, if one claims to have toiled in Torah sufficiently he should have come upon its truth. If he did not come upon its truth, it is an indication that he did not toil in it sufficiently. There is something innate in the intense Torah study process that dissolves and obliterates the evil inclination that exists within man. Therefore, if one engages in it sufficiently, he will definitely find it. Rav Baruch Baer Leibowitz z’tl was one of the primary disciples of Reb Chaim of Brisk z’tl and was the Rosh HaYeshivah of Kaminetz. During

!baaqtu!ioti!tbs!– trcdk trcd ihc 13 one of his Talmudic discourses one of his students had asked him a difficult question on the subject matter at hand. Rav Baruch Baer answered the student without any hesitation. All of the students who were present at the discourse were astounded at the Rosh Yeshiva’s immediate response, which revealed his extraordinary intellect and genius. The following day, the Rosh Yeshiva approached the student who had asked the question, and answered him again as he had done on the previous day. The student could not understand the intent of his Rosh Yeshiva sharing with him the same identical answer as the previous day. Rav Baruch Baer had already shared with the identical answer verbatim the day before. The student had asked him, “Why are you repeating to me today what you had said yesterday?” Rav Baruch Baer answered, “Yesterday my answer was rooted and emanated from my intellect without any degree of effort or toil. However, what I am telling you today, although it is the same answer, it came about through a process of self-application and toil. This is because the knowledge and truth of Torah that comes as a result of toiling has a more profound effect then one that only stems from one’s intellect.” It is the toiling process in Torah that removes the barriers and occlusions, thus allowing one to see truth in a compelling context. The process of toiling in itself affects the individual. Two people may arrive at the same answer to a Torah query, one through his superior intellect and the other through toiling endless hours. It is the one who had toiled in Torah who will be come upon truth that is irrefutable because of the process in which he had engaged. The other individual, although he had come upon the same truth, because it did not come through toiling, it will not be established as irrefutable truth. Gemara in Tractate Kiddushin: If one is overcome by “the despicable character (evil inclination), one should immediately go to the study hall and engaged in Torah study. It is because through the study of Torah it will be obliterated and dissolved. Something that is Simple But Yet Very Difficult Torah: “For this commandment that I command you today– it is not hidden from you and it is not distant. It is not in heaven, (for you) to say, ‘Who can ascend to heaven for us… it is in your mouth and your heart to perform it.” There is an argument among the commentators as to which mitzvah this verse is referring. Rashi: “This commandment that I command you today” is referring to the mitzvah of Torah study. One need not traverse the sea or ascend to heaven to attain its wisdom, but rather, one only needs to engage in its study. This mitzvah can be readily fulfilled because it is available and close to every Jew. Sforno: The mitzvah to which the verse is referring is the mitzvah of repentance (teshuvah). Every Jew has relevance to repentance and it is not beyond his capacity. One must first sense and recognize that he has failed. It is only after this recognition of the wrong can one repent. However, it is not simple matter to be able to introspect and assess one’s own failings. One needs to have the clarity to be able to go beyond his own conflicts of interest and justifications. There are issues that one needs to have the benefit of prophets and advanced Torah sages in order to come upon them. However, the process of repentance is not something that requires these special individuals. The solution to one’s spiritual issues lies within the individual. All one needs to do is to go beyond his ego and reflect upon his actions in order to address his failings. One does not need the assistance of a prophet or Torah sage to do this. Rambam: Repentance is first to have remorse for the wrong that one has done followed by a commitment to not to transgress again in the future. Sforno explains that the recognition of the wrong is not limited to only understand that one has done wrong, but rather one should appreciate that he has transgressed against G-d, the King of the Universe Who is the One who provides him with everything. This is a more profound appreciation of one’s failing. Rambam: Part of the repentance process is to confess one’s sins “Before G-d.” If one already is aware of his transgressions and G’s is aware of everything, what is the value of expressing one’s sins aloud? By enunciating one’s transgressions, with the understanding that he is doing so before the Master of the Universe, one will appreciate the profundity of his sin. He will come to realize that he not only did not fulfill his own potential, but rather, he diminished all existence by violating the Word of G-d.

In addition, if one reflects upon all of the good that G-d has given him he will realize that he has transgressed against the One who provides him with every aspect of his existence. However, this degree of understanding is not readily available to everyone. One must supplicate G-d to allow him to be able to see the truth. As we say in the blessing that precedes the blessing of repentance, “You graciously endow man with wisdom and teach insight to a frail mortal…” Without G-d’s endowment of understanding and discretion to see something in its proper light one cannot advance to the level of recognizing one’s failing to begin the repentance process. G-d Demonstrates His Dominion Through Judgment Torah: “You shall be holy…” Midrash citing a verse from Yeshaya: “‘G-d was exalted through judgment…’ How was G-d exalted through judgment? G-d becomes exalted in existence when He judges the nations of the world. As the verse states, ‘G-d establishes Himself for battle and He stands to judge the nations….’ The verse continues, ‘…The Holy G-d will be sanctified through His righteousness/charity…’What is the charity that G-d will do? At the end of time when G-d will judge the Jewish people, He will do so favorably despite their shortcomings. “This is the meaning of ‘G-d will be sanctified through His charity.’ G-d will be the advocate of the Jewish people and He will speak abundantly on their behalf to bring about their salvation. G-d said to the Jewish people, ‘At the end of time I will be sanctified through you.’ By demonstrating His Attribute of Kindness, as being the advocate of the Jewish people, G-d will be sanctified…G-d said to them, ‘And therefore you must be sanctified through Me.’” It is interesting to note that on Rosh Hashanah, the Day of Judgment, when we conclude the blessing of the holiness of G-d’s Name we insert the verse from Yeshaya “G-d, Master of Legions will be exalted in judgment, and the holy G-d will be sanctified in righteousness/charity.” The blessing concludes, “G-d, the holy King.” Gemara in Tractate Rosh Hashanah: On Rosh Hashanah, the entire world stands in judgment before G-d. Not only are the Jewish people judged on that day, but also the nations of the world. When G-d institutes judgment on the world, He is exalted. In addition, G-d is sanctified through His righteousness because He acts as the advocate of the Jewish people. Despite the intensity of the prosecution, G-d demonstrates His Mastership by deflecting the prosecution, as the advocate of the Jewish people. Thus, G-d is sanctified through bringing about a favorable judgment on behalf of the Jewish people. Chofetz Chaim in Loving Kindness (Ahavas Chesed): Most times, judgment is adjudicated through the Heavenly Court, with G-d presiding over it. However, there are times when G-d Himself adjudicates the case of an individual without the participation of the Heavenly Court. On Rosh Hashanah the day of judgment, regarding the predicament of the Jewish people, G-d Himself intervenes on their behalf as the Holy King. Despite the level of prosecution against the Jewish people, He acts as their advocate. At the end of time, G-d will be acknowledged by all humanity as the Supreme King. It is at that time that He will judge all the nations of the world and they will be condemned. However, He will demonstrate His righteousness/charity to the Jewish people by judging them favorably. By acting as their advocate at the end of time, despite their failings, G-d will be sanctified and recognized as the Master of all existence. Shofar, Entering into the Inner Sanctum of G-d Mishna in Tractate Rosh Hashanah: A Shofar cannot be made from the horn of a cow. The Mishna gives two reasons for this. The first reason is that the horn of a cow is referred to as “keren” and not “Shofar.” Secondly, there is a principle “Ein kateigor naaseh sanheigor – a prosecutor cannot be an advocate.” The horn of the cow represents the Golden Calf (Chet Ha’Eigel) with which the Jews sinned at Sinai. Anything which has relevance to the Golden Calf must be avoided at a time when we are in need of an advocate. Any derivative of the cow or gold arouses the most serious level of prosecution against the Jewish people. On Yom Kippur, the Kohen Gadol (the High Priest) officiated with two sets of vestments. He would wear the golden vestments when he performed the service in the outer sanctuary of the Temple. However, when he performed the service that was particular to Yom Kippur, which required him to enter the Holy of Holies, he wore white vestments. He was not permitted to wear the golden vestments for the Yom Kippur service because he had to enter the Holy of Holies (the location of the Shechina – the Divine Presence) to

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atone for the Jewish People. If he had worn gold, he could not have functioned in the capacity of an advocate because gold arouses prosecution. Gemara: Since the principle “a prosecutor cannot be an advocate” only has relevance within the context of the Holy of Holies, the location of the Divine Presence, then why is it that one cannot utilize the horn of a cow to fulfill the mitzvah of Shofar since the mitzvah is fulfilled outside of the Holy of Holies? Since the purpose of the blowing of the Shofar it to cause G-d to “remember” (zikaron) the merits of the Jewish people, when one blows the Shofar it is considered as if he is standing inside the Holy of Holies. The blowing of the Shofar brings about an intimacy between the Jew and G-d that is the equivalent of standing in the Holy of Holies. Thus, at this moment, the prosecutor cannot be an advocate (the cow horn cannot be used). What aspect of the Jewish people do we want G-d to “remember” on Rosh Hashanah? Gemara: Should the shape of the Shofar should be bent or straight? It should be bent “kafif” (in Hebrew). Since the blowing of the Shofar is intended to “remind” G-d of the merits of the Jewish people, it should also reflect their posture- which is being humble and bent before Him. Shulchan Aruch: Although during the year we recite the Amidah in an erect position, it is advisable to recite the Amidah of Rosh Hashanah in a slightly bent position. This is to indicate one’s humility and submission. The Jew has the unique quality of submitting to G-d. No other people have submitted themselves as the Jewish people have done. When G-d gave the Torah to the Jewish people, they accepted it unequivocally by declaring “Naaseh V’nishma – we will do and we will listen.” All of the nations of the world when offered the Torah had asked G-d, “What is written in it?” in order to determine if they wanted to accept it. The Jewish people had negated themselves to G-d to such a degree that He had asked, “Who revealed this secret (known only to the angels) to My children?” The only separation between the Jew and G-d is his own conflicts of interest and agenda. However, when the Jew blows the Shofar it recalls the level of negation demonstrated by Avraham our Patriarch. He was willing to sacrifice his only son because G-d had commanded him to do so. Although G-d had promised Avraham that he would his offspring would be as numerous as the stars in heaven, he did not question the word of G-d. This level of submission is a prerequisite to being able to enter the Holy of Holies. The Shofar causes G-d to “remember” that the Jew possesses the characteristic of submission of Avraham. If Avraham was able to perform the Akeidah, every Jew as his spiritual heir, has the ability to do the same. Reb Chaim of Volozhin z’tl in his commentary on Pirkei Avos (Ethics of Our Fathers): The reason Jews throughout history have given their lives not to submit to idolatry is because Avraham had inculcated this characteristic into his spirituality. Rambam in Laws of Repentance, “Although the obligation of blowing of the Shofar is a Divine Decree in the Torah, simultaneously the blowing of the Shofar is also an allusion (remez).” The message that the Shofar conveys is – all those who are asleep or in a deep slumber should awaken. They should introspect and reflect on their past behavior and do teshuvah (repent). Part of the teshuvah process is to remember one’s Creator. Those who are in a slumber have forgotten the truth because they are consumed with the vanities of time. They occupy themselves completely with pursuits of vanity and emptiness, which have no value. Gaze upon your souls and better yourselves and abandon your evil ways and improper thoughts. The Shofar awakens that which is dormant within the Jew because he has the inherent ability to submit to G-d. G-d’s Love for the Jewish People Torah: At the end of time the Jewish people will eventually do teshuvah and return to G-d. As a result of this, G-d will bring forth great blessing to the Jews and He will, “…return to rejoice (l’sus) over you (the Jewish People) for good, as He rejoiced (sos) over your forefathers, when you listen to the voice of Hashem, your G-d…” The Torah uses the term “sos” to refer to the joy that G-d will feel at this time. Why does the Torah use the term “sos” rather than “simcha” or many other expressions of rejoicing? King David in Psalms: “I rejoice (sos) over your words (the Torah) as if I found a large amount of spoils.” King David could have expressed his joy over the Torah and mitzvos with other terms, however, he specifically chose this term. Vilna Gaon z’tl: The word “simcha” indicates joy that is complete, while the term “sos” denotes a happiness that is incomplete. He explains this through the following parable: In order for the king to reward his loyal

subject for his service, he allows him to enter into his royal treasury and take whatever his heart desires but only for a period of five minutes. The subject is joyful and thankful that he will be allowed to take whatever he wants from the royal treasury. However, he is also anguished by the time constraint he is given because he understands the opportunity at hand. Similarly, King David rejoiced over the Torah that he was given because he understood its infinite value. However, at the same time he was distressed by the fact that he was restricted to seventy years and would not be able to partake of this treasure beyond that point. With this explanation we can understand why the Torah uses the term “sos” to express G-d’s joy and not the term “simcha.” G-d loves the Jewish people to such a degree that even though so much blessing is bestowed upon us, He is pained that He could not give us more. Since G-d is infinite with no restrictions, He wants to provide us with boundless blessing as well but because of our own limitations, He is unable to do so. If G-d loves the Jews to such a degree that it gives him pain not to be able to do more for us, then we should understand that when He denies us His Goodness, it is clearly in our best interest. Now we can somewhat appreciate the idea that because of G-d’s unending love for us that even when we experience a set back in life we can understand that it emanates from His Goodness and not from vindictiveness. If He could give us more, He would. Mishna: “Just as one blesses G-d for good fortune, he must bless Him for misfortune.” Because of his unlimited love for the Jewish people, He does only what is good and necessary for us. Reb Chaim of Volozhin z’tl: If punishment and suffering are necessary as part of the rehabilitative spiritual process (which is only in our best interest), then why should one pray to G-d to heal him when he becomes ill? Does one ask the doctor to withhold a life-saving procedure when the only road to recovery is through that procedure? If so, then how do we understand the blessing of the Amidah which says, “Heal us Hashem and allow us to recover”? Reb Chaim: Although G-d brings illness upon a person as part of the rehabilitation of his spirituality (which is a positive thing), G-d is nevertheless affected by the fact that the Jew is in a state of suffering. It is similar to a parent who needs to assist the doctor when he performs a painful procedure to his child. The parent is joyful that the child will recover through this procedure; however, the parent feels the hurt of his child. Reb Chaim: If one prays for healing because he feels G-d’s pain (as a father to a child – and even to a greater degree) then that feeling itself becomes the rehabilitative process that causes the person to be deserving of recovery. One can only relate to G-d’s pain (when a Jew is in a state of suffering) if one understands to what degree G-d loves the Jewish people. Accept Upon Yourself My Kingship Rosh Hashanah is the day of Judgment when G-d’s exacting justice comes upon all existence. Every living being is judged for life or death for the coming year. G-d’s judgment is so intense at this time that even the angels in heaven tremble from it. One would think that at such a time, when standing in judgment, one should repent and supplicate G-d for forgiveness. Nevertheless, in the prayer service of Rosh Hashanah there is no mention of confession or repentance. In fact, one does not discuss anything relating to himself, but rather, one only prays for the glory of G-d and His Kingship in existence. Why is this so? Chazal: On the day of Judgment, satan is permitted to come before G-d and prosecute the Jewish people. The only way his prosecution can be silenced is with the blowing of the shofar. The sounding of the shofar has the ability to silence satan because it reminds G-d of the Akeidah (binding of Yitzchak). Although Avraham was willing to slaughter his only beloved son, Yitzchak for G-d, at the last moment an angel called to him from heaven and told him to withdraw his hand from the lad. Soon after, Avraham saw a ram caught in the thicket near by, and he immediately understood that it there for him to actualize the service of the Akeidah. He was to slaughter the ram in the stead of Yitzchak. Because of Avraham’s level of dedication and self-negation for the sake of G-d even the most intense prosecution against the Jewish people will be silenced in the merit of the Akeidah, through the blowing of the shofar. This year, however, the first day of Rosh Hashanah coincides with the Shabbos. The Rabbis legislated that the Jewish people are not permitted to blow the shofar when Rosh Hashanah falls on the Shabbos, because there may be an individual who is not proficient in its blowing and may transport the shofar

!baaqtu!ioti!tbs!– trcdk trcd ihc 15 four cubits in public domain in order to find someone who will instruct him how to blow it. At this particular time, how could satan be silenced if there is no shofar to counter his prosecution? In addition, why did the Rabbis suspend the blowing of the shofar, which is the mechanism to silence the prosecution of satan against the entire Jewish people, over a concern that an insignificantly small number of people may actually transport the shofar in public domain? Reb Meir Simcha of Dvinsk: What silences satan is the Jew’s dedication to G-d’s glory. It was Avraham’s negation of himself for the sake of carrying out the Will of G-d that silences satan. Avraham did not for a moment take into consideration his personal loss or the future of the Jewish people, who were destined to be led by his son Yitzchak the future Patriarch. The blowing of the ram’s horn, reminds G-d of the sacrifice that was made on His behalf. Identically, on the day of judgment, when the prosecution against the Jewish people is at an overwhelming level, it is fitting for them to negate their own needs for the sake of G-d’s Honor and Glory. Our only concern on this day is the desecration of G-d’s Name in the world because of the evil that exists. We supplicate Him to bring that to an end so that all humanity should recognize Him as The Master. By not addressing one’s needs and focusing only on G-d, the King, this causes the Jew to be seen as a dedicated subject and servant of G-d, thus evoking the ultimate level of Mercy from Him. Although the concern for an individual who may transport the shofar four cubits in public domain is seemingly inconsequential as compared to the whole picture; however, because the desecration of the Shabbos is a desecration of G-d we are willing to forfeit the opportunity to silence satan through the shofar and be seen in a positive light. Therefore, when satan comes before G-d on Rosh Hashanah and begins auditing the spiritual record of the Jewish people in the most incriminating manner, and there is no shofar to silence him, G-d will respond by telling him that the absence of the shofar is greater than the actual blowing because it demonstrates the ultimate sacrifice, that the Jewish people are willing to make on behalf of His Glory and Honor. If one focuses on G-d’s Glory and Kingship on Rosh Hashanah it will allow one to be the greatest beneficiary of the day. If G-d wants the Jewish people to acknowledge Him as their King and accept His Kingship, in fact He wants them to dedicate their lives to Him as His subjects. One must feel that he is no more than a chattel of G-d. This perspective and mindset is a basis for having a positive judgment on Rosh Hashanah. One’s Ascent Through Torah Torah: “Moshe went (vayeilech) and spoke these words to all of Israel.” Midrash: “The term ‘vayeilech (went)’ is an expression of rebuke. As it states, ‘Go and see the wonders of G-d.’” What relevance does seeing the wonders of G-d have with to rebuke? How will gazing upon the majesty and awesomeness of existence, which is G-d’s handiwork, cause rebuke? It is only after one witnesses and internalizes G-d’s Omnipotence through creation, is one negated. This will cause one to recognize and appreciate his failings. Midrash: “King Solomon writes, ‘The words of the sages are similar to a cattle prodder.’ The one who ploughs with the ox must insure that the ox does not veer to the right or to the left. If the ox should not walk the straight path it will break the blade of the plough in the ground. Identically, the words of the sages and the Torah direct the hearts of those who study it. By engaging in Torah, one will be led along the proper path of goodness.” Ramchal in Path of the Just: The desires and lusts of one’s heart are the cause of the conflicts of interest that direct one away from the proper path. However based on this Midrash, if one studies Torah sufficiently, it will allow one to gain clarity and a perspective that will cause the heart to have an interest and appreciation for spirituality. Midrash: Just as a nail is secure in the location in which it was implanted, so too do the words of Torah cause one to become secure and set in his position. The words of the sages are like plantings. Just as when one plants it blossoms and produces fruits, so too when one engages in the words of Torah do they blossom within the individual and cause him to come upon new understandings… King Solomon: ‘The nails (masmeros) are planted…’ The word ‘masmeros’ (nails) is usually written with the letter ‘samoch’ however King Solomon writes it with the letter ‘sin’. This is to teach us that there are twenty-four books in the Torah that correspond to the twenty-four watches

of the Priests (Kohanim) established by King David (and Shmuel the prophet). Gemara: Regarding officiating in the Temple, there were twenty-four families of Kohanim that would officiate for one week on a rotation basis. Thus, the word ‘masmeros’ (nails) can be read as ‘mishmaros’ (watches). We find that there is a commonality between the Torah and the twenty-four week rotation service of the Kohanim. It was only the Kohen who was qualified to officiate in the Temple. The Tribe of Levy was the only tribe that did not participate in the sin of the Golden Calf and were thus not tainted with the impurity of idolatry.Because they were the most spiritually advanced of all the tribes, they were qualified to have a closer relationship with G-d. Torah: The tribe of Levy did not receive a portion in the Land of Israel as the other tribes of Israel did, because “Hashem is their portion.” Although the Levite was not as qualified as the Kohen to serve in the Temple, they nevertheless qualified for certain duties. Both the Kohen and the Levy were fully responsible to officiate in each of their own capacities. Rambam at the end of the Laws of Shmitta and Yovel: Every person has the ability to ascend to the level of the tribe of Levy (although he will not be qualified to officiate in any capacity in the Temple). If one is motivated to pursue the understanding of G-d and be dedicated to officiate on His behalf and serve Him and to adhere to His Will and not to allow material concerns to distract him, as all mankind seeks out, this individual is sanctified to the ultimate level and G-d will be his portion forever. He will merit all that he needs in this world to maintain him as the Kohen and the Levy. We see from Rambam, that one whose dedication to G-d is without compromise is valued by Him no less than the tribe of Levy. The Midrash, which refers to the Torah as ‘masmeros’ (nails) that secure, and can be read as ‘mishmaros’ (watches) implies that if one dedicates himself to study all of the (twenty-four) books of Torah, he will ascend to a level of spirituality that he will be valued by G-d as the Kohen, the one who is most qualified to officiate and serve, Him. The commonality that exists between the spiritual profile of the Torah and the profile of the twenty-four families who had officiated in the Temple gives us an insight and understanding that through one’s own initiative, despite one’s natural limitation, one can achieve a level of relationship with G-d that is no less than a Kohen. The Path to Repentance Nitzavim: Regarding repentance, “…and you will return unto Hashem, your G-d, and listen to His voice, according to everything that I command you today, you and your children, with all your heart and all your soul… Hashem will circumcise your heart…” Ohr HaChaim HaKadosh: “When one repents he must make corrections in three areas. The first area that must be addressed is regarding one’s study of Torah. How does one return to G-d and heed His voice? One must engage in Torah study. It is only through one’s study of Torah that one can appreciate and internalize His Word. Thus, the first initiative that one must take in order to return to G-d is commit oneself to the study of Torah (to begin the spiritualization process). What will be the result of being committed to Torah study? “Zohar: ‘In the merit of Torah study, the Jewish people will be redeemed.’ We find that the destruction of the First Temple was directly caused by the absence of Torah study. As it states in the verse, ‘They abandoned My Torah…’ Therefore when the Jewish people commit to Torah study, they will be returned to the Land that was promised to them as their inheritance by G-d.” Ohr HaChaim HaKadosh: “How does one repent for the transgression of a negative commandment? The verse states, ‘Hashem will circumcise your heart….’ It is known that one only violates a negative commandment because of the covering on one’s heart (orlas halev) is the source of desire and lust and thus the cause of all evil. Therefore, G-d will circumcise one’s heart and remove its covering. This will occur when one has sufficient love for G-d…How does one repent for transgressing a positive commandment? If one will perform all of the commandments….” Rabbeinu Yonah in Gates of Repentance: The initial step in repentance is the recognition of the wrong that one had done. It is only after one senses his deficiency can one repent. This sensitivity to be able to introspect and reflect upon one’s failings comes only through the study of Torah, without distraction. This does not mean that one must study continuously throughout the day in order to gain spiritual sensitivity. But rather, one must dedicate time to study without interruption.

16 baaqtu!ioti!tbs!– trcdk trcd ihc!

Blessing of repentance in the Amidah (silent prayer): “Bring us back, our Father, to Your Torah, and bring us near, our King to Your service, and influence us to return in perfect repentance…” We see that the process of repentance first begins with the return to Torah study. This will allow the next stage of ascent to come about which is to be drawn near to the King in service. We supplicate G-d every day in our prayers (u’vah l’tzion), “Open our hearts with Your Torah…” The key to open the Jewish heart to spirituality is only through Torah study. If the heart is sealed there is no receptivity or sensitivity for spirituality. The heart needs to be penetrated. As the verse states, “Hashem will circumcise your heart…” Meaning, G-d will remove the blockage, which causes the heart to pursue lust and desire and prevents it from sensing the value of spirituality and absorbing it. Intellectual understanding of Torah concepts is not sufficient, but rather one’s objective in its study must be to give one a greater understanding of G-d’s Will. Only then will he merit Divine Assistance which will allow the Torah to penetrate his heart and make him receptive to His Word. Gemara in Tractate Shabbos: “One who attempts to purify himself will be assisted.” If one beseeches G-d to allow his heart to be penetrated by Torah and is committed to its study, then he will become the greatest beneficiary of that pursuit. Thus he will become sensitive to his spiritual deficiencies to be able to make corrections and advancements. The Jew’s Personalized Relationship with G-d Haazinu: “For Hashem’s portion is His people; Yaakov is the rope (measure) of His inheritance….” Rashi citing Chazal: “Yaakov is a third of the Patriarchs. He possesses within him three generations of merit: his father Yitzchak, his grandfather Avraham and his own. He is similar to a three-ply thread. Thus he is the measure of His inheritance.” Sforno: “Yaakov is the rope (measure) of His inheritance” to mean, “He and his children are all subjects of G-d. If there is among the nations of the world one who is devoutly righteous, his righteousness is something which is isolated and limited to himself and will not be passed on to his progeny.” It is only among the Jewish people that one’s own status of purity will affect his lineage for future generations. The Jewish people possess a spiritual gene-pool which emanates from the Patriarchs which gives them greater relevance to spiritual opportunity and growth. In addition, because of this linkage we are able to draw upon their merits. First blessing of the Amidah (silent prayer): “Blessed are You Hashem, our G-d and the G-d of out forefathers, G-d of Avraham, G-d of Yitzchak, and G-d of Yaakov….” The only reason the Jew can refer to G-d as “His G-d” on a personal level is because of the linkages that exists between himself and the holy Patriarchs. It was through their service that they merited to establish a personal relationship with Him. As we see, G-d identifies Himself with each of them. Therefore, we being their descendants are linked to the Holy Patriarchs are able to have that same personal relationship with G-d. Although one may be unworthy on a personal level, he still has relevance to the merits of the Patriarchs. The Mishna in Tractate Shabbos refers to the Jewish people as “princes, the children of kings.” They are seen as G-d’s children. Despite the fact that the Jew may fail, he remains the son of the King and thus can always be reinstated if he chooses to repent and return to the righteous path. Reward is Unending Gemara in Tractate Sanhedrin: “A child brings merit to his father (and forefathers).” All of the good deeds that are performed by a person accrue to the spiritual account of his parents. Because had it not been for them, he would not have come into existence to be able to perform the good deeds that he had. Although the parents may not have had any relevance to their child’s spiritual interest or development, the fact that they brought the child into existence is sufficient to allow them to be the beneficiaries, to some degree, of their child’s good deeds. If the parent is the inspiration for the child to pursue a life of service to G-d then he will be an even greater beneficiary of merit. The Gemara continues, “However, a father, regardless of his dimension of righteousness will not bring merit to his child (after the child had passed away because the righteousness of the father is unrelated to the child.” Although one has the benefit of the merit of his antecedents to assist him in his spiritual assent in Judaism, his share in the world to come is determined only by his own accomplishments.

Chofetz Chaim in his writings: If one provides what is needed to give a child a proper Jewish education and subsequently that child develops to be a true Torah observant person who establishes a family in conformance with the Torah, the one who contributed initially to the child’s education will be the beneficiary of all the generations that will descend from this individual until the end of time. It is through that one act of providing for the child’s Torah education that all that follows comes about. Had it not been for the benefactor’s initiative there would not have been generations of Torah observant families. Midrash in Haazinu: “The verse in Devarim states, ‘Atone for your people Israel, that you have redeemed…’ Toras Kohanim explains, ‘That you have redeemed’ is referring to those who have passed on. From here we learn that the living could bring redemption to those who passed away.” When one performs a mitzvah, because of someone who is no longer alive, the merit generated by that mitzvah will accrue to the individual who passed away. Midrash: “Therefore there is a tradition that those who are departed are remembered on Yom Kippur and one commits himself to give charity on their behalf. As the Toras Kohanim states, one may think that when one passes away charity will have no effect, the Torah teaches us that although one may have passed away, he may still receive merit from those who are alive. These acts of goodness extricate those who passed away from their predicament and elevates him as an arrow that is shot from a bow. He immediately becomes supple and cleansed like a young kid. He will be purified as the moment that he was born…He will eat from the Tree of Life continuously that is planted in the area of the devoutly righteous and he will live eternally.” Mishna in Ethics of our Fathers: “At the end of time there will be a judgment and a computation.” Seemingly, the sequence of the procedure is difficult. One may think that the computation needs to precede the judgment because the judgment is based on one’s record. Why is this not the order? Rabbi Y. I. Rudderman z’tl (Baltimore Rosh HaYeshivah): The judgment that is mentioned in the Mishna is definitely preceded by a computation to determine the individual’s fate. However, after that judgment is established there is an ongoing computation until the end of time regarding the individual who had passed away. It is the ongoing effect (positive and negative) that his actions and decisions had on other people’s lives that effects existence until the end of time. This is the computation that follows one’s death. 810 Seventh Avenue, New York, NY 10019 ravkalatsky@gmail.com (212) 259-0300 YadAvNow.com Yad Avraham Institute

Rabbi Mordechai Kamenetzky-Torah.Org

Parsha Parables Dedicated to the speedy recovery of Mordechai ben Chaya Parshas Haazinu - Knock, Knock! The repetitive nature of everything associated with Rosh Hashanah is noteworthy. During the entire month of Elul, we blow the shofar at the end of shacharis (morning prayer). Unlike Matzo, where many have a custom to abstain during the month of Nissan – 15 days before the festival of Passover – and others will not eat Matzo for a month in joyous anticipation of the spiritual crunch, anticipating Rosh Hashanah seems different. Instead of creating excitement by not blowing the shofar, we diminish the level by becoming accustomed to it. Of course, we must prepare ourselves. There is a lot at stake on Judgement Day, but wouldn’t an extemporaneous and unrehearsed blast of the shofar send more of a shiver down the spine and more forcefully a call for repentance, rather than a shofar-sounding ritual performed for 30 days prior that may by now feel quite rote? The Selichos services are also a lead-up to the great day. Sefardic Jews have the custom to recite the pre-dawn prayers for the entire month of Elul. Moreover, Ashkenazic Jews can recite the selichos for more than a week before Rosh Hashanah. Would there not be a consideration that many Jews would get prayed-out from the pre-holiday supplications? Isn’t there a chance that they would get blown-away by the repetitive nature of the month-long shofar exercise? In the Selichos service, we beseech the Almighty as if we were destitute. “Like beggars and paupers we knock on Your door. On Your door, we knock, Merciful and Compassionate One” (from the first Selichos prayer L’cha Hashem hatzedaka). Again, we knock – not once, but twice! Isn’t once enough? Surely G-d is not in the kitchen. He can hear us the first time! My brother-in-law, Rabbi Simcha Lefkowitz, Rabbi of Congregation Toras Chaim in Hewlett tells the following story:

!baaqtu!ioti!tbs!– trcdk trcd ihc 17 A meshulach (a man who raises funds for charity) came one sunny Sunday morning to a large home in the Five Towns of Long Island. Eagerly he rang the bell, and simultaneously knocked on the door. A woman, quite displeased, swung open the ornate portal to her home and, knowing the man’s intent, she began to shout. “What do you want? I never met you in my life! How do you expect me to give charity to someone I have never seen? I’m sorry, but this is my policy and I just can’t give you!” The meshulach was not perturbed. Slowly, he walked around the block and fifteen minutes later he was back at the same door. Again he rang the bell, and again the woman came out shouting. “I told you I never met you in my life! How do you expect me to give charity to someone I have never seen! Didn’t I clearly explain my policy to you?” The meshulach just smiled as he replied. “You are absolutely correct. However, you forgot one small thing. You know me already! After all, we met ten minutes ago!” The weeks before Rosh Hashanah we must be wary that we may have to knock a few times to get into the big door. Of course, Hashem knows who and what we are, but we may be a little foreign to him. The daily shofar blasts, the recital of chapter 27 of Tehillim, L’Dovid Hashem Ori, twice daily in our prayers and the recital of daily selichos are all summarized in the words we recite, “like beggars we knock…we knock on Your door, Merciful One.” We realize that we must reacquaint ourselves with the commitments and the great resolutions that we accepted upon ourselves one year ago. But if we knock once and knock again, ultimately we, too, can smile at the One standing at the door and ask for all our desires. After all, we were just there. And He knows us already! Shana Tova U’Msukah Happy and Healthy Sweet New Year Good Shabbos! Mordechai Kamenetzky – Yeshiva of South Shore Ateres@pppmail.nyser.net 516-328-2490 Fax 516-328-2553 for drasha http://www.torah.org/learning/drasha Copyright © 1997 by Rabbi M. Kamenetzky and Project Genesis, Inc. If you enjoy the weekly Drasha, now you can receive the best of Drasha in book form! Purchase Parsha Parables – from the Project Genesis bookstore – Genesis Judaica – at a very special price! The author is the Dean of the Yeshiva of South Shore. Drasha is the e-mail edition of FaxHomily, a weekly torah facsimile on the weekly portion which is sponsored by The Henry and Myrtle Hirsch Foundation Books by Rabbi Mordechai Kamenetzky: Drasha © 2020 by Torah.org. support Do you have a question or comment? Feel free to contact us on our website. Join the Jewish Learning Revolution! Torah.org: The Judaism Site brings this and a host of other classes to you every week. Visit http://torah.org to get your own free copy of this mailing or subscribe to the series of your choice. Need to change or stop your subscription? Please visit our subscription center, http://torah.org/subscribe/ -- see the links on that page. Permission is granted to redistribute, but please give proper attribution and copyright to the author and Torah.org. Both the author and Torah.org reserve certain rights. Email copyrights@torah.org for full information. Torah.org: The Judaism Site Project Genesis, Inc. 2833 Smith Ave., Suite 225 Baltimore, MD 21209 http://www.torah.org/ learn@torah.org (410) 602-1350

Rabbi Chaim Yosef Kofman Zt”l

Machsheves Halev ראש השנה תשפ"אThe Rema in siman 581-3 cites the famous minhag to refrain from blowing the shofar on Erev Rosh Hashana. The poskim offer two reasons. We hope to confuse the satan: and secondly, to make a separation between the tekiyos of Elul, a minhag; and the tekiyos of Rosh Hashana, which are a D’Oraysa. The Mishna Berura writes, that even when the first day Rosh Hashana is Shabbos, like this year, and there is a break anyhow, we nevertheless refrain from blowing on Friday. In the Shaar Hatzion he further elaborates; “since we say zichron teruah during the davening it’s like a tekiah.’ Thus although we don’t actually physically blow, it’s considered that we do by saying the words zichron teruah. Now, how can we understand this and apply it to our lives, to our Rosh Hashana? My machshava here is that in reality we are all baalei tokeah not only this year, but really every year. Each and every one of us blows his/her shofar. And I’ll explain. The power of the shofar lies in its sincerity. What more powerful tool of sincerity is there than the “krechtz’ of a Yid? A Yid who went through a year of ups and downs; triumphs and pitfalls; was healthy or r”l sick; financially successful or poverty-stricken; who cries out to Hashem with his heart, soul and mind, is the most beautiful and effective shofar that exists. That ‘krechtz’ is the “zichron teruah” of our Shabbos Rosh Hashana. Interestingly enough the Torah in parshas Emor refers to Rosh Hashana as zichron teruah. This description is interesting because normally we blow the shofar on Rosh Hashanah. It’s only when it coincides with Shabbos that it’s called a zichron. So why would the Torah coin the day every year as zichron teruah? The p’shat is that every year the blast that succeeds in piercing the heavens is accompanied with a lev nishbar, a broken heart, a sigh that escapes our mouths. That is our secret. So every year it’s a zichron teruah just like this year. This past year- OY! - how many “lev nishbars” are there? We each sigh and krechtz, so many losses, so much havoc. Let us all send our sighs and zichron teruahs up on high and be mispallel for an end to past tzaros and for a new beginning … with the accompaniment of the Shofar shel Moshiach! וה' פקד את שרה ...

The first day of Rosh Hashana we read the portion that describes how Hashem “remembered” Sarah on Rosh Hashana allowing her to bear a child. As was the case years later with Chana. Thus it reminds us to pray at this time, as they did, for children or for any other needed yeshuos. However, why must we continue with the story of Yishmael and his mother, being banished from Avraham Avinu’s home? At first glance we would think that it may be in order to have adequate p’sukim for the requisite five aliyos. But upon further examination we see that G-d judged and answered Yishmael’s supplications באשר הוא שם – as he was at that moment. Hashem in his infinite compassion judges us based on “who we are today”; and not according to what we were yesterday. The commandment to send Hagar and Yishmael away was a nisayon for Avraham Avinu. Nevertheless, he obeyed the request of Sarah, for he knew that for the sake of chinuch habonim one must make sacrifices. In so many areas of child rearing we can be faced with challenges. Avraham Avinu instilled in us the power to make the right choice and not sway or waver from that correct choice, for the sake of our precious children; our future. Additionally, Chazal derive from the words ותלך ותתע , she went and got lost, that Hagar returned to her father’s avodah zara. Where exactly is that indicated? I once heard a p’shat. A Yid never ever gets ‘lost’. So if she strayed and stumbled and got lost it must be she wasn’t acting like a Yid. My machshava is, that sometimes in our lives, we feel lost, and are lacking direction. We must remember that Hashem’s love and embrace are our spiritual GPS, and we need not feel lost. Let us utilize His GPS to find our way back home. May Hakadosh Boruch Hu help all His children find their way back home this year. And may He bring us all back home to . ירושלים .יה''ר שתהא שנת גאולה וישועה לכל עמו בית ישראל בכל מקום ומצב שהם

Rabbi Moshe Krieger

Bircas HaTorah Parsha Sheet Rosh Hashana 5781 Being a Part of the Purpose of the World In Maseches Rosh Hashana (16a), the sages teach us that Rosh Hashana is the day that we make Hashem king over us. The Ritva (ibid.) adds that the shofar is blown for this purpose, to demark the “coronation” of Hashem, as is done in worldly kingdoms when coronating the king. The prayers of Rosh Hashana focus on Hashem’s kingship, to the exclusion of all other subjects. The question is, why? This is the day that will determine our fate for the upcoming year (Ritva 16b). Wouldn’t it be more appropriate to say the requests included in our daily prayers, such as health, livelihood, peace, etc.? Why aren’t these said on Rosh Hashana? Moreover, since we are being judged by Hashem on this day, wouldn’t it be logical to do teshuva and say vidui for our sins? Why is there no mention of teshuva or vidui in the Rosh Hashana prayers? The Zohar states that vidui said on Rosh Hashana is as if we are helping our own prosecution! Why is this? We say vidui during the Ten Days of Repentance, so why not on Rosh Hashana, too? The Slonimer Rebbe answers that every Rosh Hashana is like a new creation of the entire universe. Last year is over, and just as on the first Rosh Hashana Hashem created the word, so too on this Rosh Hashana, Hashem is creating everything again from scratch. Therefore, on this day Hashem sits on His throne and decides who among us will have a place in His new world, and how great a place or role he will receive, depending on what he has done with his life until now. The Rebbe would say that if we understand the essence of Rosh Hashanah, we can then understand why the avoda of this day focuses solely on making Hashem king over us. He would explain this with an analogy: A king founded a new city. Each year, on the day of this city’s founding, the king would visit the city. In the presence of all the citizens, he would review the city’s accomplishments, to assess whether he should continue his leadership over the city, and if so, how much time and resources to invest in it. What should be the role of the king’s subjects on that day? Of course, they should join together to show honor to the king, greeting him with banners, declaring: Long live the king! For us as well, Hashem is renewing His kingship over the world and is deciding what, if any, role there will be for us in it. Now is the time to declare our loyalty to Hashem, and how much we want His kingship to be upon us and upon the entire world. The purpose of the world is to reveal Hashem’s glory (Yishaya 43:7). The more we are a part of this purpose, the greater our chances of having a part

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in this for the coming year. This is why the entire tefilla of Rosh Hashana revolves around Hashem’s kingship — we are davening that Hashem should be king over us and the whole world. Doing this brings out His glory. Of course we can’t ask Hashem for our petty needs on this day. This has nothing to do with Hashem’s glory. All the more so we cannot mention our sins on this day. How would this bring out Hashem’s glory, to admit that we rebelled against Him? We can’t mention such a thing on this day! Even though we want to do teshuva, still, mentioning our sins on Rosh Hashana undermines His glory, especially if we are not 100 percent penitent. A big part of making Hashem king over us is showing Him how happy we are that He is our king and we are His servants. Of course, we cannot show too much happiness on this day. When the books of life and death are open before Him, we cannot say Hallel (Rosh Hashana 32b). However, we should feel happy and express our appreciation that we are coronating the king and that we are part of his kingship. The Chasam Sofer would say that the sound of a shofar is like a cry, but with two parts to it: There is a cry over the judgment of Rosh Hashana, but also a cry of joy, as the coronation of a king is a joyful event (the Vilna Gaon was especially happy at the time of the shofar blowing). This is the time to express joy that until now, Hashem has given us a place within His kingdom in fulfilling His mitzvos, and that He wants to bless us with the ability to go on and serve Him for another year. Showing that we are happy with the yoke of the mitzvos is a significant part of accepting Hashem’s kingship over us. The sages say that “the Satan is confused by the blowing of the shofar” (Rosh Hashana 16a-b). What confuses the Satan is that we blow the shofar repeatedly — before, during and after Mussaf, repeating various combinations of tekiya, teruah and shevarim until we reach 100 shofar blasts. The Satan cannot understand — if blowing the shofar is a mitzvah, do it once and then you’re finished! Why do it again and again? We, however, blow the shofar again and again, demonstrating that we are happy with Hashem’s mitzvos (ibid., Rashi 16b). This is what silences the Satan from prosecuting against us. We see from this that our demonstration of joy over mitzvos actually has the power to gain us a new year of life! Rav Steinman would note that another part of making Hashem king over us is to feel humble and act this way on Rosh Hashana. A person can say the entire text of the Rosh Hashana Machzor, Rav Steinman would say, and yet inside, he is thinking to himself: “Of course, I want Hashem to be king over the world, but I myself am doing just fine. I’m healthy, I have a good job, I live in a good neighborhood, my children learn in good schools — I’m not worried for myself.” This is gaava (vanity), and it takes away from making Hashem king over us! The Ramban (Igeres Haramban) states that whoever feels vanity before Hashem is rebelling against Him! Rav Friedlander was very ill, and Rosh Hashanah was approaching. In his weakened state he could not stand up before the yeshiva and speak, so he wrote a letter to the bachurim, stating: We should feel on Rosh Hashanah as if we have no merits whatsoever, no credit to our name. No one knows what will be, no matter how much a person may see himself as ‘set up.’ However well things may be going for us, no one can know what will be. The truth is, Hashem made it easier for me this year, because my situation is really at this level, but we should all try to feel that we are at this stage, that we have nothing at all, and through this may we merit all to be together this coming year.” May we make Hashem king over us on Rosh Hashana! We're excited to announce that Rabbi Krieger is currently working on his second book on the weekly Parsha! (Click here to order his first book: Gedolei Yisrael on the Parsha.) Phone: +972-2-627-1647 | e-mail: inquiries@bircas.org Copyright © 2020 Yeshivas Bircas HaTorah. All rights reserved.

Rabbi Ahron Lopiansky

TorahWeb Rosh Hashana and Sinai Klal Yisroel's existence crystalized with the revelation at Sinai, and indeed two yomim tovim speak of Sinai. Shavuos, the holiday that focuses on the giving of the Torah, places the events at Sinai as its focal point. But Rosh Hashana also carries an extraordinary focus on Sinai, and that is rather puzzling. In the Mussaf shemoneh esrei of Rosh Hashana we introduce the Shofros - undoubtedly the central feature of Rosh Hashana - via the shofar of Sinai. This is quite surprising. For although there was the sound of a shofar at Sinai, the shofar seemed to play but a minor role in the Sinai revelation. [The Kaf Hachaim also says that that is the reason we blow at the bimah -

to mirror Sinai.] If one were looking for an event to elaborate on in Shofros, one could have chosen the akeidah, where the ram and its horn, as well as the zechus of the akeidah, seem to play a major role. The phrasing of that section of Shofros is that Hashem, "revealed Himself at Sinai to teach us Torah and mitzvos, and You let them hear the majesty of Your 'kol', and Your sacred words". There seem to be two communications here: the dibbur - sacred words - and the kol. One would venture to guess that these are two aspects of the revelation which express themselves in these two yomim tovim. But what are these aspects? Let us first examine closely the concept of Malchiyos. At first glance Hashem's malchus is but a mere conceptual prerequisite, i.e. it is only because Hashem is boss that we are obligated to fulfill His dictates. Therefore, we first establish that Hashem is king, and as king He commands and judges us as to how well we have obeyed. But if we look at the bulk of the Malchiyos prayer, malchus is not a mere prerequisite; rather the prayer is all about establishing Hashem's malchus and realizing its fulfillment entirely. One is therefore led to understand a much bigger picture of Hashem's malchus and His expectations of us. While there are detailed commands of what to do and what not to do, there is, more significantly, the sweeping vision of what it is that Hashem wants of the world. All the details of the various mitzvos come together to form a picture that integrates every element in creation. And that is malchus. Malchus is not so much the mere acknowledgement that Hashem is king; but more so that the world is His kingdom and it's meant to reflect in its entirety that vision that Hashem had for it when He created it. We, therefore, on the day of creation, start by expressing our yearning for the day that malchus will become totally revealed. This grand vision was revealed to us at Sinai; for alongside the revelation of the particulars of Torah, Hashem revealed to us the big picture as well. When a person speaks, his dibbur-words define the specifics, but his voice-kol gives me the general sense of his emotions, etc. Hashem revealed to us at Sinai both the dibbur and the kol. The dibbur is the subject of Shavuos, and the kol is the focus of Rosh Hashana. This adds another dimension to our cheshbon hanefesh on Rosh Hashana. It is not enough to merely ponder which details of the Torah am I following, and in which is my observance lacking. Perhaps, this is the point of Yom-Kippur, with its meticulously detailed vidui, based on the aleph-beis. And indeed, the passuk urges us, "k'chu imachem devarim v'shuvu el Hashem- bring your words with you and come back to Hashem." But on Rosh Hashana we ask ourselves, is our vision of our life in consonance with Hashem's vision? Is our life's yearning to be btzelem Elokim; Adam as he was meant to be? Is our vision of the world, a world of "l'saken olam b'malchus Shakkai"? Let us first make sure that our "kol" is the "kol of Yaakov", and only then can we pay attention to each and every dibbur. Copyright © 2020 by TorahWeb.org. All rights reserved.

Rabbi Eli Mansour Weekly Perasha Insights Rosh Hashana- Our Annual Resurrection Rav Naftali Trop (1871-1928), one of the most illustrious disciples of the Hafetz Haim, once observed a common mistake that many people make as they go into Rosh Hashanah. Many people enter Rosh Hashanah with the mindset that they rightfully deserve everything in their lives – their families, their health, their homes, their bank accounts, and all their other assets – and G-d needs a reason to take it away from them. Rav Trop compared this mindset to the situation of two litigants coming to court. The defendant is the "Muhzak" – the presumed owner of the property or money in question, and the burden of proof rests upon the plaintiff to show that the plaintiff owes him something. Similarly, people see themselves as the "Muhzak," as the presumed rightful owners of everything they have, and some "proof" needs to be brought that there is something they have which they do not deserve and should be taken away from them. But this mindset, Rav Trop explained, is incorrect. As we recite in our Selihot prayers, "Ke’dalim U’ch’rashim Dafaknu Delatecha" – "We have knocked on Your doors like paupers and mendicants." When we begin Rosh Hashanah, we have nothing. We have no assets. We do not even have our very life.

!baaqtu!ioti!tbs!– trcdk trcd ihc 19 Each Rosh Hashanah, if we earn a favorable outcome, we are given a one-year lease on everything, including our very lives. That lease expires as Rosh Hashanah begins each year. And so when we begin Rosh Hashanah, we are, in a sense, dead. We do not even have our lives. We need to earn everything anew. This explains a remarkable Halacha in the Shulhan Aruch (Orah Haim 225). The Shulhan Aruch writes that when a person sees a close friend or family member for the first time in thirty days, he recites the Beracha of "She’hehiyanu" to express his joy over the reunion. But if he has not seen the close friend or family member for the first time in a year, then he recites the Beracha of "Mehayeh Ha’metim," thanking Hashem for "resurrecting the dead." (We do not discuss here the question of whether or not this requirement applies nowadays, when, even if two friends or family members do not see each other for an extended period, they are, in most cases, in contact.) The Mishna Berura cites those who explain that this Beracha is recited because the two friends or family members had not seen each other since Rosh Hashanah, and thus they did not know whether or not they earned the right to continue living. When we go into Rosh Hashanah, we are "dead," in that we no longer have a right to anything, including our lives. And thus when we see somebody after Rosh Hashanah, we can recite "Mehayeh Ha’metim" – because that person has been "resurrected." This understanding of life should not cause us anxiety or depression. To the contrary, it should invigorate us. If we recognize that each day is a precious blessing from Hashem, then we will take full advantage of it. If we understand that nothing is guaranteed, not even our right to life, then we will cherish every moment and utilize it properly. This is the purpose of our "annual resurrection" on Rosh Hashanah. When we reinforce our awareness that life is a gift granted to us by Hashem in His boundless grace and compassion, then we will commit ourselves to use our lives the way they are meant to be used – productively, meaningfully, and for the purpose of serving our Creator. We must enter this day with a keen awareness that everything we have is a great blessing which we need to earn – and which, once we have earned it, must be used the right way and for the right purpose.

Rabbi Eliezer Parkoff

Weekly Chizuk Rosh Hashanah – Nothing's Guaranteed Adapted from a lecture by Rav Benzion Shafier of the Shmuz. The gemara in Rosh Hashanah (32b) tells us, on Rosh Hashanah all Klal Yisroel are gathered in their shuls and places of worship. They are reciting all the Rosh Hashanah prayers, but they are not reciting Hallel. The Malachei Hashareis ask, why is Hallel not part of davening. Hakadosh Baruch answered them, the Books of Life and Death are open before me and you expect Klal Yisroel to sing. It's inappropriate. A life or death trial is taking place and that is not the time to sing. We can ask a very simple question on this gemara. We are discussing the Ministering Angels, beings of pure intellect who see everything. We are mere puny mortals who cannot see more than about 2 inches in front of our noses. But the Malachei Hashareis are the highest level of angels. They understand what is being decided upon this day. They understand that the future of Mankind, the future of every nation, the future of every community, the future of every individual is being decided. They see the Book of Life and the Book of Death open before the Ribono Shel Olam. Don't they understand that this is not the time to sing praises to Hashem? Isn't it obvious? In order to understand how the malachim could ask such a question, we must examine what is happening on Rosh Hashanah. Chazal tell us that every issue of Mankind is decided today: which countries will go to war, which countries will enjoy peace, which nations will suffer famine, which nations will enjoy prosperity, which nations will suffer floods and natural calamities, which new technologies will be developed, which new diseases will suddenly surface. And if you'll think about everything that is being decided on Rosh Hashanah, you'll realize that it is a multi-tiered chess board. Hashem, the master player and organizer, is busy placing every piece in its proper place managing and changing Mankind's future. To understand this more profoundly one must realize that the headlines of all the newspapers are being written on Rosh Hashanah; not just the front page, but the international section, the national section, the local

section, the financial section, the obituaries, etc. Every single issue of the coming year is weighed, measured, and decided. And if you want to understand what that means, the New York Times recently bragged that it had 450 news correspondents, 11 news boroughs, 40 full time photographers, etc. Because on this globe occupied by 7½ billion people there are a lot of things going on. And if you contemplate on the fact that Hashem weighs, measures, and decides the future of each individual, each detail, each event of the coming year, each community, and each nation, you begin to get an inkling of the import of this day. On Rosh Hashanah we recite Unesaneh Tokef: All mankind will pass before You like a flock of sheep. Like a shepherd pasturing his flock, making sheep pass under his staff, so shall You cause to pass, count, calculate, and consider the soul of all the living; and You shall apportion the destinies of all Your creatures and inscribe their verdict. On Rosh Hashanah it will be inscribed and on Yom Kippur it will be sealed, how many will pass from the earth and how many will be created; who will live and who will die; who will die at his predestined time and who before his time; who by water and who by fire, who by sword, who by beast, who by famine, who by thirst, who by storm, who by plague, who by strangulation, and who by stoning. Who will rest and who will wander, who will live in harmony and who will be harried, who will enjoy tranquility and who will suffer, who will be impoverished and who will be enriched, who will be degraded and who will be exalted. Listen to the order. First it is decided how many people will pass, and how many will be born. Close to 3 million people die every year in the United States. After the numbers are set, then it is decided who: who will live and who will die. This person goes to this group, this person to that group. But first the global issues of Mankind and the world are decided, and only afterwards is each individual put into the slot where he fits. If you think about the issues being decided they are very grave and very important. During the year it's very difficult for us to appreciate Hashem's presence. But during these Days of Awe between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur it's very different. We change the nusach of tefilla, we say Hamelech Hakadosh. During the year we say HaKel Hakadosh, the Holy G-d. Even though Hashem is king even then, however we aren't so aware of it. It is very hard to see Hashem. He is hiding behind the scenes, orchestrating every event in every one of Mankind's life, but hidden behind the curtain. But now, during these Days of Awe we become extremely aware of Him. Hashem comes out of hiding and shows that He is the King. Therefore, it is inappropriate to say Hakel Hakadosh. When we mention Hashem in davening, we express it the way He manifests Himself to the world. During the year He is Hakel Hakadosh, G‑d hiding behind the scenes. But now he is Hamelech Hakadosh, Hashem is showing his rulership and dominion. We can experience it, we can feel it. Elul feels different than the rest of the year. But Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, those 10 days are remarkably different. Hashem is accessible. You can experience Him, you can speak to Him. You can understand His involvement in the world. We, the Jewish Nation, have a special relationship with Hashem. On one hand we are His servants, serving him with our Torah and mitzvos. On the other hand, we are His children. בנים אתם לה' אלקיכם. The Chillul Hashem that is rampant in the world should bother us tremendously. The fact that so many people deny that there is a Creator, not only deny, but wage war. They are no longer called atheists. Instead they call themselves anti‑theists. The way the State of Israel is considered a pariah state; the amount of audacity that the world is expressing should cause your hair to bristle, your blood to boil. Now during these 10 Days of Awe, Hashem's presence as King is finally tangible. We can finally experience Hashem personally; we can experience Hashem acting as the Melech. There should be a tremendous sense of joy. Why? Because we are His children, and He is our Creator, and He is finally demonstrating His authority, sitting on the throne of Judgment and deciding the fate of Mankind. There should be a certain joy in our hearts that finally Hashem is acting like the King and decreeing every human being's future. We should be happy; it is a time to sing Hallel. That is what the Angels were asking.

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So, Hashem answers, that is true. In a global sense you should experience joy and happiness because of the beauty of the thought that Hashem is manifest and demonstrating His control of the world. However, for each of us in Klal Yisroel, there are some very serious issues being decided. Myself, my family, my community, what's going to be? In such a serious time, it is inappropriate to sing Hallel. But both feelings should be there, simultaneously. You should walk into shul with a tremendous joy in your heart recognizing that Hashem is running the world. But that joy must be tempered with the understanding that the Books of Life and Death are open and our future is being determined. With that understanding we must ask ourselves why isn't our davening on Rosh Hashanah different. True, we feel a difference from the rest of the year. But if we really comprehended the gravity of the day, we would be crying, beseeching Hashem, pleading, begging. Everything in my future is being decided. And I know that Hashem listens to our tefillos. So why are the tears not running down my face? Perhaps we can offer a reason for this absence of feeling. We live in a time of unprecedented abundance. Never before in the course of history has mankind been blessed with such prosperity. I don't know if any of us has actually experienced really lacking something essential. I don't think there is anyone of us, older or younger, who ever went to sleep hungry at night. There was a Rav in NYC around the time of the Great Depression. He retold that during the blessing of the New Month you would hear sobbing coming from the women's section. Women would break down crying. Why. Because they got to the part about parnossah. In those days people were suffering a terrible lack of parnossah. And if you didn't pay your rent, the landlord would come and remove all your belongings and throw you and your family, your children, and babies, into the street. And you would be forced to sleep outside until you got some money for rent. But we don't know that, we don't experience that. We live with tremendous abundance. Our struggles are about which car, which house, how fancy. And as much as we have and as much that it's a bracha, there's a cost. If you can't pay your bills, and you're out of a job, and you know you can't get another job, and you feel really stuck, then out of desperation your turn to your Creator and say, I can't do it. Please help! Abundance dulls that feeling. We have tremendous wealth; we have tremendous community support which helps us when things get tough. We don't feel the hopelessness. Therefore, it's hard to daven. The answer to this problem is to utilize our imagination and realize the truth. A man once approached the Rosh Yeshiva of Radin Rav Naftoli Tropp, the גרנ"ט, and asked him, how can I daven on Rosh Hashanah? In the selichos we say דלתיך דפקנו וכרשים Like paupers and" כדלים indigents we knock on your door." How can I say these words? I'm a wealthy industrialist. I have 700 men in my employ. How can I lie? How can I say to Hashem that I'm poor when I'm very wealthy? Rav Tropp answered that he was making a mistake. You are assuming that just like last Rosh Hashanah when you got a decree that you could keep your wealth, you are assuming that you will get the same decree this year. But if you realize that it is an open question, whether you will retain your wealth or lose it is an open question, then nothing is taken for granted, nothing is guaranteed. If you understood that you'd understand that you are a pauper and an indigent. That answer should shake us to our core. Just look around and you'll quickly realize that things can quickly change. Look around you at everyone who was affected by the Corona virus and you see that things can change drastically. Many successful businesses are shuttered tight and previously comfortable businessmen are struggling without a parnossah. A fellow commented last year that in his entire marriage he had never suffered a marital problem. Then came Corona. He lost his job, he changed, she changed, and 6 months later they were divorced. This year especially. It is such a bizarre time that we're living in. I have never in my lifetime seen anything like this. The social change, the pandemic, the worldwide economic turmoil, the social upheavals in the United States and Israel. The American democracy is being eroded and Antifa and other violent groups are running rampant. They are threatening social revolution. It almost feels like a civil war.

If you would realize that all these issues are being weighed, measured, and decided, and nothing is certain, you'd quickly realize there are a lot of things going on. All these issues are being decided now, and there are no guarantees. The fact that it was good last year doesn't affect this year one iota. That should make us daven very differently. Hopefully, we can internalize all these thoughts and enter Rosh Hashanah with joy that Hashem is King, and with trepidation for the coming year. I wish you a good year with health and success. !לשנה טובה תכתבו ותחתמו© Rabbi Eliezer Parkoff Rechov Panim Meirot 4 Jerusalem 9442346 Israel Tel: 732-858-1257 Rabbi Parkoff is author of “Chizuk!” and “Trust Me!” (Feldheim Publishers), and “Mission Possible!” (Israel Book Shop ‑ Lakewood). You can access Rav Parkoff's Chizuk Sheets online: https://parshasheets.com/?s=parkoff If you would like to correspond with Rabbi Parkoff please contact: rabbi.e.parkoff@gmail.com

Rabbi Moshe Pogrow - Ani Maamin Foundation Gem Of The Week From Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch Spiritual Summons This Week Sponsored לעילוי נשמת ר' יחזקל שרגא בן ר' יהודה ז"ל- The Yamim Tovim in Nissan and Sivan remind us of the Divine source of all we have: freedom, Land, Law—as well as what these elements produce: the prosperity of the community. Pesach with its Omer and Shavuos with its two loaves are the constitution festivals of the Jewish nation. Tishrei, however, is a month of contemplation and introspection. In Tishrei, we examine our relationship with these elements of our prosperity, and we ascend to the heights of purity and truth, for only through them can the blessings of life be realized. Rosh Hashanah does not commemorate gifts received from Hashem. Rather, it calls us to work on ourselves. Its special mitzvos are shabbason, refraining from activity that alters the world and shapes our future; and zichron teruah. Teruah is familiar to us from yovel: a signal for people and property to be freed from outside ownership and returned to the mission assigned to them by Hashem. It is a call for far-reaching change in existing social relationships of men, a call to restore what was ordained by Hashem. It is in the Name of Hashem, the sole Master of men and property, that the teruah calls for freedom. Hence, what produces the teruah is not the man-made trumpet, but the shofar, created by Hashem. The teruah of Rosh Hashanah is also described as bashofar, sounded in the name of Hashem. And it has a similar message. Whereas the teruah shel yovel affects the relationship of property and owners, teruah shel Rosh Hashanah affects the moral relationship of man and G-d. It summons us to a moral yovel. It calls upon us to return to Hashem and to spiritual freedom, to recover all the spiritual assets that were once ours but which we have since lost through our sins. Thus, it is also a signal for spiritual escape, to journey forth and give up the old ways that we have grown fond of but are unacceptable to Hashem. It calls us to a moral struggle against the enemy of our spiritual welfare, and assures us that Hashem will support us in our fight: venizkartem lifnei Hashem Elokeichem, v’noshatem mei’oyveichem. Moshe Pogrow, Director, Ani Maamin Foundation Gem of the Week, is based on excerpts from Rav Shamshon Raphael Hirsch zt”l’s commentary on Chumash, with publishers permission.

Rabbi Ben-Zion Rand

Likutei Peshatim ioti!tbs!Volume 34 Number 45 September 19, 2020 b“n!OzcwsB!;znwzi!Qe!b“qtu!zstu!‘b!Sirens And Alarms In Parashas Nitzavim, which is read in the Torah before Rosh Hashanah every year, we are told (Devarim 30:14): “wuwtBm!Lccmcw!Lzqc!ebn!scei!Lzmb!cwsr!zl” – this matter is very near to you, It can be attained merely by saying something and thinking deeply about it. Ramban explains that this pasuk is referring to the mitzvah of teshuvah. We are also told (ibid. v.11-12) that teshuvah is not in some distant place nor in heaven or overseas. It is right here for us to take it. In the great and holy sefer, the Mesilas Yesharim, Rabbi Moshe Chaim Luzatto notes that most of what he writes in describing the purpose of our very existence as Jews is well-known. Yet, since these ideas are so familiar to everyone, people do not think at all about them. I think that the mitzvah of teshuvah is also in this category. We all know of its importance. But, as Mark Twain said about the weather, we all talk about it, but what does anyone do about it?

!baaqtu!ioti!tbs!– trcdk trcd ihc 21 This year, 2020, to me is a hint that we are to use our 20:20 perfect vision to see what our purpose is in this world. We have had plenty of time to think about what the power of the Almighty is and that it is He who is really controlling the whole show. The most powerful nations of the world cannot do anything in this situation and we who are Nzoznbn!zocw!Nzoznbn realize that it is Hashem who is calling the shots. Rambam (Hilchos Teshuvah 3:4) writes that although it is a cwuli!usz{h, an explicit mitzvah, to blow the shofar on Rosh HaShanah, there is a hint that it is a wake-up call for each of us: Nlunesun!Nznesow!Nluotn!Nzotz!wswB – wake-up sleepy ones from your slumber. Oftentimes we set our alarms but then fall back to sleep. So, too, with the shofar. It arouses us for a moment or perhaps throughout the icwtu!znz!ustB, but as we all know so well, we go back to our pleasant sleep until the next Elul. In the early 1940s, the great gaon and tzaddik, the Chazon Ish, was once seen crying and screaming with great trepidation. The Chazon Ish was known to be a very calm person. It wasn’t his derech to be so emotional. His chavrusa was shocked. What is the problem Rebbe? The Chazon Ish answered, “The hoont (the mad dog) Hitler has been screaming for years that he is going to kill all of the dirty Jews in the world. I was never afraid as long as the great roshei yeshiva, Rav Shimon Shkop and Rav Boruch Ber Leibovitz, were still teaching in their great yeshivos. Now, however, I have learned that they have both passed away, and I am afraid of the hoont.” This year we all heard so many sirens that were our wake-up call of Who is controlling the situation. In the last several months Klal Yisrael has lost some great lions of Torah, two of them my own rabbeim, the great Novominsker Rebbe, who taught for many years in our yeshiva, and HaRav Zalman Nechemia Goldberg, who was also my rebbe in kollel and certainly one of the gedolei hador. Both passed away in the past few months. We have lost the protection of their enormous Torah. Let us do what we are capable of doing, return to Hashem with all our hearts, and through this may we be zoche to the geulah shleimah. Wishing you all a gut gezunt yohr.NzcwU!NzzIm!sumbm! wnuIuw! wculu!icwU!iotm HaRav Avraham Friedman, Rosh HaYeshiva With Kindness And Acts Of Charity The Days of Awe are upon us. We have arrived at the moment of judgement before Hashem. Our lives and the lives of our families, our community, and in fact the fate of the entire world is being decided. We desperately seek guidance, counsel, and advice regarding how to best prepare ourselves and present our case to be meritorious. In his sefer Sichos Avodas Levi, Rabbi Yaakov Yitzchok Ruderman directs us to the Gemara (Rosh HaShanah 18a) where this issue is addressed. The Gemara reveals that it is the performance of kindness to others that is a critical key to earning a successful judgement. Where is the source that a judgement that is accompanied with an oath cannot be overruled? We find (I Shmuel, 3:14), “I have sworn regarding the family of Eli that the iniquity of Eli’s house will not be purged with sacrifices nor with offerings.” Rava remarks that the house of Eli will not be forgiven with sacrifices or offerings, but it can be atoned for with the merit of Torah. Abaye taught that they may achieve forgiveness with Torah and gemillus chassadim. The Gemara concludes with the following amazing information. Rabbah and Abaye were both descendants of the family of Eli, which was cursed that their men would not live to beyond twenty years old. Yet, Rabbah, due to his dedication to Torah study, lived until age forty. Abaye, who was involved with Torah and gemillus chassadim, lived until age sixty. We see clearly that in the merit of Torah and the performing of deeds of kindness to others, one can earn a verdict of life even if a negative judgment was otherwise appropriate. The Gemara (Shabbos 156b) relates an incident with Rabbi Akiva. Rabbi Akiva had a daughter. A person who was expert at interpreting the messages contained within the stars told Rabbi Akiva that on the day his daughter would marry, she would be bitten by a snake and she would die. Rabbi Akiva was very concerned about this foreboding news, and he did all he could in order to forestall it. On the day of her marriage, as she prepared for her chuppah, his daughter took her brooch and pinned in on the wall. She did not notice it, but she had inserted the pin precisely where a snake was climbing up to bite her. Instead, the pin killed the snake. The next morning, when she took her pin out of the wall, the dead snake was dragged behind her. Rabbi Akiva noticed this bizarre scene and asked her to relate about anything unusual that had happened. She told her father that just before the wedding, a poor man was knocking at the door. Everyone was very busy with the wedding preparations and no one was paying any attention to the poor man. She, the bride herself, took her own food portion and gave it to the poor man. Rabbi Akiva exclaimed, “You did a wonderful mitzvah!” He then proclaimed, (Mishlei 10:2): “Tzedakah saves from

death!” And, he added, not only does tzedakah save one from a strange and unusual death, but it literally saves one from death to life itself! There are many examples in Tanach (as elaborated upon in the various Midrashim) which teach and illustrate this principle. The yetzer hara knows the value of chessed, and it tries to undermine our resolve to fulfill this mitzvah. The Chofetz Chaim relates that he was in Vilna and he met a tzedakah collector who was collecting funds for the poor in Brisk. He then goes on to say that when he was in Brisk he met a different collector who was representing the poor of Vilna. The Chofetz Chaim commented that the yetzer hara knows that the greater mitzvah is to support the local poor. Although people will inevitably give tzedakah, this act of chessed is so great that the yetzer hara wants to at least diminish the complete mitzvah, so he works to have people supporting the poor of other cities rather than their own. Rabbeinu Yonah writes (Shaarei Teshuvah, 3:54): One should always be considering methods and manners of how to benefit others. This is the way by which one succeeds to perform chessed, as we find (Mishlei 27:9): “Ointment and perfume rejoice the heart, so does the sweetness of a man’s friend by hearty counsel.” Chessed begins with a mindset to be on the alert to help others. If we sincerely possess a love for Klal Yisrael, it will translate to our doing something about it. And as we are dedicated to the welfare of Hashem’s people, He will, in turn, grant us a degree of favor in our judgement during these ominous Days of Awe. …And The Ram That Was Tied To The Altar In Ateres Mordechai on the Torah, Rabbi Mordechai Rogow notes that when we highlight the merit of akeidas Yitzchak, we often mention the ram which was later brought instead of Yitzchak at the end of the episode. This is quite curious, as the entire test for Avraham was to take his one son and for him to be prepared to bring him as an offering on the altar. The later bringing of the ram which he found tangled in the bush does not seem to be deserving of too much fanfare. In comparison to the test to bring his son, the offering of the ram seems to be trivial. What is the meaning of the emphasis which is placed upon this concluding aspect of the event? The offering of the ram demonstrates an element of the greatness of Avraham Avinu. After the momentous test of the akeidah with Yitzchak was completed, Avraham was immediately prepared to follow through and offer the ram which availed itself. The Midrash (Yalkut Shimoni, Vayera 98) notes that we find the same word (Brczw / wBrczw ) in the context of the akeidah as well as in reference to the splitting of the waters of the Yam Suf. This teaches us that there is an association between these events. The Midrash states that it was in the merit of the splitting of these logs by Avraham that the Jewish people merited to have the waters split at the sea as they were being pursued by the Egyptians. What is the connection between these events, and what can we learn from it and from the bringing of the ram on the altar instead of Yitzchak? In preparation for the akeidah, Avraham raised his hand and split two logs. Obviously, every event detailed in association with the akeidah was essential. Yet, the altar. As much as this presented itself as a great challenge, as this was, it was clear to Avraham what he had to do. Hashem decreed that Yitzchak was to be offered on the altar, and Avraham knew that His will had to be fulfilled. It is amazing, nevertheless, to consider the actions of Avraham as he was able to follow through to function with clarity and conviction and overcome any personal conflicts that he faced and any reluctance he might have had. Yet, he was able to raise the axe when necessary to chop logs for the offering. We might have expected him to lose his strength and to feel physically weak or to faint. We see, though, that Avraham functioned with impressive willpower, and with a controlled hand. He was obviously accepting and confident in performing Hashem’s command, with no reluctance at all. This in and of itself was a success in demonstrating his trust in Hashem’s word. At the moment of his passing the test, we find that Avraham should have been satisfied and confident in his performance. Yet, the Midrash tells us that he felt that his efforts might have been rejected in some fashion, as he was denied the act of offering his son. He wondered whether this was a sign of having failed to some degree. When Hashem showed him the ram, and Avraham offered it up, he declared about each procedure (Bereshis Rabba 56:9), “Please, God, let its blood be considered as the blood of Yitzchak. Let its limbs be considered as the limbs of Yitzchak.” This, then, is the hallmark of a Jew. Even as we successfully perform our mitzvos, we proceed with caution, reviewing our deeds and analyzing whether we indeed fulfilled the mitzvah properly and with the proper intent and in an appropriate manner. When we highlight the bringing of the ram, this places a focus not only upon our successful performing of mitzvos, but it shows that we are occupied with the ultimate goal of fulfilling the will of God in all we do.

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Submitting Before The King Rabbi Yitzchok said: Any year which is “poor” in its beginning will become prosperous at its end, as it states (Devarim 11:12): “ioti!uztsn – From the beginning of the year…” (The word uztbs is spelled “uzts”, without the letter “b”; thus it can be read to mean ts, “from the poverty”). The verse “concludes “ioti! uzsIb! eBw – to the end of the year”. This indicates that the year will have a future. Rashi explains that “poverty” of the year refers to the prayers of the Jewish people being offered in a manner of supplication, where the people ask as if they each are as a poor person standing at a door at the mercy of the home owner. Tosafos explains that this refers to the Jewish people as they daven on Rosh HaShanah. They come with broken hearts. Because of this lowly spirit, they will be treated with great mercy. -- Rosh HaShanah 16b The Gemara (Rosh HaShanah 26b) describes the various opinions regarding the shape of the shofar. The Gemara concludes that it is best if the shofar is bent, as its shape demonstrates that our stature should be bent, as a sign of our submission to Hashem in our judgement. In his explanation of this ruling, Mishnah Berurah (O.C. 581 #25, 586 #3) writes that although we are confident that if we do what we are supposed to do, nevertheless, a person must be fearful and nervous about the judgement, and due to this trepidation, he will prevail. Even if a person does not feel fearful, he should still bend his body and express his prayers as if he is crying and weeping. We find that outward physical actions do have the effect of influencing one’s inner emotions (see Messilas Yesharim, Chapter 7, and Sefer HaChinuch, Mitzvah 16). One of the reasons given by the Tur (O.C. 581) for the sounding of the shofar is in order to frighten a person and shake his spirit to arrive at a sense of teshuvah. “Will a shofar (alarm) be sounded in a city, and the people not be shaken?” (Amos 3:6). The reason that many people do not respond with fear when they hear the shofar is that they are in a deep psychological slumber and a spiritual daze. In his sefer Or Yisrael (Letter #7), Rabbi Yisrael Salanter writes that a person who cares about himself, about his wife and about his children, cannot let the moments of Elul, Rosh HaShanah and the period of judgement pass without facing his responsibility and improving his actions. He must, at least, approach the ordeal of judgement with a broken spirit and a broken heart. Having this mindset will already help save him from the imminent danger which is hovering above him. The lesson we see is that after all, we are totally dependent upon Hashem and His mercy. There is no merit which can justify our existence, as the judgement process is serious. This, however, is precisely the key to our success. A lowly spirit serves two purposes. First, it indicates a sincere attempt on a personal level to begin the teshuvah process, where we cry out and say that we will try to do our best to improve. Secondly, when one approaches Hashem with a broken heart, it shows that we accept Him as our King, and we submit to Him and His will. We are assured, as we approach the days ahead with humility and with our heads bowed, that our verdict will be one of a year of only good. We look forward to a year of Hashem’s mercy, where He will certainly grant us heath, prosperity, consolation and salvation. Dear Readers: The outlook of a Jew is unlike that of the world at large. People throughout the world have no system with which to deal with the multiple and complicated problems which the world faces. No one has to explain the havoc of pandemic, economic shut-down, domestic and international political chaos, and natural disasters of epic proportions. Yet, these are all happening at the same time! As Jews, however, we know where to turn to seek solace and direction, in times of calm, and even during times of distress. We know that there is not only an address to which to turn, but more importantly, we also know that it is the only address to which we turn. Nzntct!wozcb!mB!bmb!OBtim!wom!Ozb This is not merely a consolation as a last resort. It has always been our first destination for everything from routine times to times of catastrophe. The only thing that has changed this year is that it has become perfectly clear that there is nowhere else to turn. The human resources of medical knowledge, economic structure, and government’s ability to control and solve natural events, such as hurricanes and wildfires – all have been shown to be futile and woefully incapable of being our reliable saviors. We are taught how to respond when faced with the unknown. King David had counted the people, and he was informed by the prophet Gad that he would be faced with the tragic decision of which of three punishments he would choose to endure. The choices for King David were seven years of hunger, three months of defeat in battle, or a three-day death plague. King David chose the last, because that would be inflicted directly by God, Whose mercy is ever-present. This choice proved to be a wise one, as Hashem mercifully halted the plague after only half a day.

Let us make an observation. A plague is deadly. It is unpredictable and beyond comprehension. The medical experts seem to be scrambling in the guidelines they issue, and the victims seem to be of all ages, as it is indiscriminate and seemingly without any perceivable logic. In a word, it is inflicted directly by Hashem. Yet, as King David noted, this is the consolation. We are not at the mercy of an external villain, who could be ruthless. We are rather subject to a moment of wrath from the heavens. This, however, is by no means hopeless. Rather, it is up to us to daven with supplications, to earn His mercy and have the situation alleviated, and with Hashem’s mercy, it could even be solved within half a day. We are still struggling to return to our shuls and batei midrash. We have to earn our way back in. Let us join together in submission to Hashem’s reign, and seek to improve how we treat these holy halls of prayer and Torah study. We can each resolve to cease all our rude behavior while visiting and using these hallowed chambers. It is obvious that once we earn a renewed invitation to enter our shuls, God would not want us coming in while injured or maimed in any way. His invitation will unquestionably include with it a license to health and vigor. Let us daven to soon merit to declare (Tehillim 27:4): “Would that I dwell in the house of God all the days of my life, to behold the delight of God and to visit His sanctuary all the days of my life.” Rabbi Ben-Zion Rand, Editor Halachic Corner On the first day of Rosh HaShanah (or on the second day if the first day is Shabbos), after Minchah, the prayer of Tashlich is said near an ocean or river. If one does not have access to an ocean or a river, one may recite Tashlich near a spring or well, or even an ingathering of rain water. One recites verses from Michah (7:18-19) as well as other verses of compassion from Tehillim, all of which can be found in the Rosh HaShanah Machzor. Some add a prayer composed by Rabbi Chaim David Azulai. One should then shake out his pockets three times to symbolize his heart's intention to cast away sin, and to achieve total purification. Since the pursuit of a livelihood without a strong moral code can lead one to sin – dishonesty or theft, it is appropriate to pray for an honest source of livelihood during Tashlich. This is fitting on Rosh HaShanah, since Judaism teaches that a person does not actually make a living, but rather he merely takes that portion of sustenance which was divinely ordained for him. Halachic Corner is dedicated by Benyomin Freeman in memory of his father Gedalia Freeman, k"mz 'kgyun arhv ic chk vhksd lurc/ May his memory be for a blessing. Questions for Thought and Study 1. Why in Selichos do we say a full Kaddish at the end, which we normally only say at the end of a prayer with Shemone Esrei? See Ta’amei Minhagim h”su 2. Why is Rosh HaShanah called “Yom Teruah” and not “Yom Tekiah”? See Menoras HaMaor 293 3. Which Tanna do we emulate by eating the pomegranate on Rosh HaShanah? What is unique about the pomegranate? See Chagigah 15b 4. What is the “garment” that we wear on Rosh HaShanah that reminds Hashem of our purity on the day we received the Torah? See Kedushas Levi 5. How do we “confuse the Satan” on the first day of Rosh HaShanah when it is Shabbos and we don’t blow the Shofar (as it is this year)? See Ta’amei Minhagim {”osu Answers: 1. The structure of Selichos represents a full prayer service. The introductory verses before Selichos represent Pesukei D’Zimra. The uwen!h”z (13 attributes) represent Shemoneh Esrei, and we say Tachanun afterwards like a prayer service as well. 2. The Tekiah blast is one long straight sound. The Teruah sound is a “broken” blast. This represents us as we consider ourselves “broken” and looking to be repaired on Rosh HaShanah through teshuvah. 3. Rabbi Meir wanted to continue to learn from “Acher” (Elisha ben Avuyah) even after he became an apostate. Rabbi Meir derived that he could do this using a pomegranate, which has a worthless peel and a delicious fruit inside, as an example. We ask Hashem to ignore our “peel” (our sins) and look deep inside us to find our mitzvos and good deeds. 4. The sound of the shofar that continually grew stronger at the time of the giving of the Torah (see Shemos 19:19) represents the “garments” that we wore at the giving of the Torah. 5. Since the two days of Rosh HaShanah are considered a “Yoma Arichta” (“an extended day”), we are not judged until the second day. When the shofar is blown on the second day (Sunday) the Satan is confused and loses the ability to accuse Bnei Yisrael. Likutei Peshatim is endowed by Les & Ethel Sutker in loving memory of Max and Mary Sutker and Louis and Lillian Klein, d"r. May their memory be for a blessing. Prepared by Rabbi Ben-Zion Rand, Editor; Mrs. Naomi Samber, Managing Editor To sponsor Likutei Peshatim for a future Shabbos, call Naomi Samber, 847-982-2500, Fax 847-982-2507, email samber@htc.edu Details listed in the Sponsorship Section are the responsibility of the

!baaqtu!ioti!tbs!– trcdk trcd ihc 23 sponsors and not of Hebrew Theological College Please do not read Likutei Peshatim during the Torah reading or during the repetition of the Shmoneh Esrei Likutei Peshatim Has Torah Content - Please Treat It Respectfully A partner with the Jewish United Fund in serving our community

Rabbi Mordechai Rhine

Rabbi's Message To See a Smile September 18, 2020 The Torah reading for the second day of Rosh Hashana is the story of the Akeida, the “binding of Yitzchak,” as his father Avraham thought that he was expected to sacrifice his son. In reality, it was a test, a test to show that Avraham was willing to “bring up his son on the Altar.” Avraham’s test paved the way for us, his descendants, and how we pass tests in every generation. As Avraham neared the place that would one day be the Temple Mount, he saw a mountain with a remarkable cloud wrapped around its top. He recognized the Shechina, Hashem’s presence, and he turned to Yitzchak and asked him if he saw the cloud as well. Yitzchak did, and Avraham realized that Yitzchak was worthy of whatever great mission was expected of them. Then Avraham turned to his servants and asked if they saw the cloud. They said, “No.” I wonder: If the servants did not see the cloud “wrapped” at the top of the mountain, what did they see? Presumably, they saw the mountain. Since they did not see the cloud, none of the mountain was obscured, so to them it appeared that they were seeing the whole picture. As the saying goes, “What you see is what you get.” No more, and no less, than what we see. Avraham’s greatness demonstrated by this incident was in knowing that he did not see the whole picture. He knew that some of the mountain that he needed to climb to complete his test was obscured. Only trust in Hashem’s plan kept him on task. Avraham understood that his vision was obscured, and that a significant part of life and destiny is known to G-d alone, but is out of our view. One of the greatest personalities in Judaism is Rabbi Akiva, a man who was able to see beyond typical human vision. When his colleagues saw the destruction of the Beis Hamikdash and cried, Rabbi Akiva laughed because he was seeing the fuller plan, as described in the prophets, including the eventual redemption. Rabbi Akiva knew that the intense rebuke would be followed by benevolence. The Jewish people, as the entire world of today, are getting a good share of “masking up.” Masks cover much of the face, and in the midst of these uncertain times, we feel as if Hashem, too, is hiding His face. Yet, beneath the mask, and beneath the challenges, we have every reason to believe that Hashem is smiling benevolently. It is just too odd. For weeks we lived as if in a warzone. But it was the most benevolent warzone ever known to mankind. We had meat, chicken, tofu, pineapple, and even mandarin oranges. The only thing that we were notably short of was tissues, a soft and gentle way to remind us of our humanity. The losses to many were, and remain, very great. Yet, the fortitude of the Jew comes from the perspective that there is a holy cloud obscuring some of the picture at the top of the mountain. As we climb our own personal mountain in life, we are inspired by Avraham, who was able to say with confidence, “I do not see the whole picture. There is something holy at its top. Behind it is G-d’s smile.” We are living through wondrous times. The status of “untouchable” companies is being rearranged. The status of unending enmity between nations is being reassessed. We watch as Hashem rearranges the “chess pieces” as He sees fit. And through it all we live with a clarity that the top of our mountain is obscured, and only Hashem is privy to that. The climb of Moshe to the top of Mount Sinai was the climb of national greatness into a cloud of holiness. The climb of Avraham on a mountain “wrapped” at its top in a cloud, is the climb of personal greatness, the climb of life. Avraham had the clarity to see that his vision was obscured. He was able to live in confidence of G-d’s benevolent plan. Avraham was able to see the smile behind the mask, as Rabbi Akiva did. And, so can we. Rosh Hashana is a day of judgment and reassessment. It is a day of prayer and reconnection. May we be blessed with the opportunity to experience it well. May we be blessed with a wonderful, safe, happy, and healthy, new year. © Copyright 2020 by Rabbi Mordechai Rhine Rabbi Mordechai Rhine is the Rav of Southeast Hebrew Congregation- Knesset Yehoshua in White Oak, MD. He also is the Director of TEACH613, an organization which promotes Torah and mitzvah education through classes and virtual media. Rabbi Rhine's "Take Ten for Talmud" ten minute audio program based on Daf Hayomi is available by free e-mail subscription. His book, "The Magic of Shabbos," and the Perek Shirah Collection CD Series are available in Judaica stores, and through www.teach613.org. He can be contacted at RMRhine@teach613.org

Rabbi Shraga Simmons – Aish.Com

3 Steps to Preparing for This Rosh Hashanah Sep 14, 2020 How to achieve sanity and equilibrium in these times of upheaval and hit the reset button on all the chaos. This Rosh Hashanah is like no other. Societal structures are shaken from political polarization, racial tension, mental health crisis, extreme weather, and – on top of it all – global pandemic. Coronavirus has been a big wake-up call. With its baffling behavior, we are clearly not in control. Our state of inertia has been disrupted, urging us to reexamine what kind of world that we – both as individuals and as society – seek to build. Every year is fundamentally different from the past. The Maharal writes that shana (year) is related to shinui (change). Rosh Hashanah is a day of zero-based budgeting, when we request “another year of existence” and set our basic potential for that year. Here are 3 steps to achieve sanity and equilibrium in these times of upheaval; to find our inner voice and hit the reset button on all the chaos. Step #1 – Isolation: Welcome the Quiet The first step is to know your enemy. In today’s “attention economy,” the enemy is distraction. That’s a silver lining to coronavirus: the disruption of Western institutions of entertainment, sports, and travel. In domestic lockdown, there is no running here, no running there, no running anywhere. We spend more time at home with our loved ones, no longer relying on external stimulus or excessive consumption in the vain hope of filling an intangible void. Another key aspect of Coronavirus is the isolation, in Hebrew bidud. The reflexive form, l’hit’boded, means “introspection.” Isolation is our window of opportunity to look inside and hear that still, small voice. To reset, recalibrate, and rethink: Where have I been running to? What’s it all about? Rabbi Moshe Chaim Luzzatto (Mesilat Yesharim – ch. 3) writes that to achieve this state of clarity, all other voices are must be silenced. Schedule one hour and disconnect from the grid. Put aside the computer. Power off your phone and put it in another room. Take a pen and paper. Be totally honest with yourself, with none of the social posturing and spin-doctoring we may be used to on social media. Ask yourself: What would others say I need to improve? How would a trusted friend, family, neighbors or colleagues answer this question? Step #2 – Take Life Seriously At age 3, Mondo Duplantis started pole vaulting in his parents' backyard in Louisiana. Ever since, he’s been setting pole vault records, year after year, in his age category. This year, at age 20, Mondo achieved his lifelong dream, setting the world record at 6.18 meters (over 20 feet) – making it likely that he has leapt higher than any human ever. We all want to be the best we can be. Which raises the question: If Mondo Duplantis is “living the dream,” bounding out of bed every day to fulfill his all-encompassing passion, what about me? Ask yourself: How can I also use my unique set of skills and circumstances to soar higher toward my destiny? The Midrash (Tanchuma – Mishpatim 5:7) says: “When there is judgment from below, there is no need for judgment from Above.” This can be understood that the “judgment” of Rosh Hashanah is not about being put on trial by prosecutors wanting to see you fail. Rather, the goal of this self-judgment is accountability, to ensure that we are producing at – or beyond – our perceived capabilities. Nobody is perfect. We all make mistakes. The Hebrew word “cheit,” often translated as “sin,” actually refers to a slingshot that missed its target (Judges 20:16). We are expected to be human beings, not angels. The problem is when we deny responsibility, unwilling to admit the truth to ourselves. This triggers Plan-B: “judgment from Above.” As the prophet Jeremiah (2:35) says: “God will judge us when we say ‘I’ve done nothing wrong’.” On Rosh Hashanah we stand before God, the Knower of all thoughts, and take full responsibility for our life. On this day we all file by, like sheep through the pen, in single file. There is no bluffing and no “editing” of reality for some online avatar. There is no blaming and no excuses. Because the bottom line is that nobody will ever take more responsibility for your life than will you. Step #3 – One Big Thing Beyond good intentions, we’re expected to make an effort that is strategic. The way to do this is to commit to one small step that will make a big difference.

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The same way a pole-vaulter plants all the energy at one point in the ground, then uses that to spring upward, so too the key to a successful New Year is to articulate a single sentence that captures your personal mission for 5781: My destiny is X, and I commit to action Y. The laws of physics state that a single strategic effort can trigger an enormous chain reaction. For example, one domino can knock down another domino 50% larger than the first. By starting with one regular domino and making each subsequent domino 50% larger, the 11th domino will be the size of a person. With another 16 dominoes you could knock over a 100-story building. Commit to laser-focus on a single step, that "one big thing" that most strongly impacts progress. Then, break that first domino into small, incremental steps. Create a to-do list with one atomic action step every day. Like dripping water, one step after another, you can move progressively to your grand destination. This is the call of the hour. In Israel, our first Coronavirus nationwide lockdown was on Passover, an eerie reminder of that first Seder night in Egypt when we were commanded “not to leave the house until morning” (Exodus 12:22). Propitiously, on the eve of this Rosh Hashanah, Israel will begin its second nationwide lockdown. It is a time to reflect, both individually and collectively, and to secure our future. On Rosh Hashanah, we crown God as King, with the shofar blast heralding the sound of the King's coronation. The shofar, often referred to as “keren” (Joshua 6:5), is the source for the English word k(c)rown, and by extension coronavirus, so named for its resemblance to a crown. Just as last year’s “judgment” on Rosh Hashanah included the Coronavirus, we pray that year’s “judgment” will be for a safe and speedy end to Coronavirus. As Rabbi Moses Schreiber, the Chatam Sofer, wrote two centuries ago: 5780 (2020) will be a tumultuous year, followed by a year of great healing and redemption. And we pray for the day when the great shofar will once again blow, as Isaiah proclaims (27:13), heralding the ingathering of the exiles, and peace and clarity to all mankind. About the Author - Rabbi Shraga Simmons is the co-founder of Aish.com, and co-author of "48 Ways to Wisdom" (ArtScroll). He is Founder and Director of Aish.com's advanced learning site. He is co-founder of HonestReporting.com, and author of "David & Goliath", the definitive account of anti-Israel media bias. Originally from Buffalo, New York, he holds a degree in journalism from the University of Texas at Austin, and rabbinic ordination from the Chief Rabbi of Jerusalem. He lives with his wife and children in the Modi'in region of Israel.

Rabbi Yaakov Solomon

From the Writings of Ramchal Haazinu – 5781 Listen, Heavens, and I will speak, And may the Earth hear the words of my mouth. May my teachings drop as rain, May my words flow as dew. Like storm winds upon vegetation, Like raindrops on blades of grass (32:1-2). With these opening words, Moshe Rabbeinu calls on the Heaven and Earth to pair as witnesses to the disasters that will descend on the Israelites when they “do what is evil in the eyes of G-d to anger Him” (31:29). Rashi explains that it is the eternity of the Heavens and the Earth that make them witnesses for all time to Moshe’s warning Am Yisrael in memorable terms of what was waiting for them if they “strayed from the path” (31:29). Moshe made his words memorable and of greatest impact by expressing the messages of Haazinu as a poem and as a song. Moshe was instructed to write out that song, teach it to the Israelites and “put it their mouths” (31:19): make it part of their understanding and instant oral recall. They should know it by heart and readily access it at any moment. In addition, it may be suggested that as a song, it was originally set to music. As an eleven-year old schoolboy, I had to learn poetry and lyrical works off by heart. Amongst the items were Shakespeare’s poetical reconstructions of Richard II’s decanting on the splendors of England’s isolation from the rest of the world as an island, and of Henry V’s morale booster to his leading soldiers when about to face the French at the Battle of Agincourt. They sounded good, but meant little at the time. I recited them to my advantage in talent competitions, and they proved useful tools for convincing people that I was better educated than I really was. But nevertheless, those essentially poetical items stick in my own mind in a way that prose does not. A speech, however good, will be only remembered for its general impression and message, apart from perhaps one or two extremely memorable and powerful phrases. A good poem: especially if it is lyrical and even more if actually set to music presents ideas in a much more memorable and quotable package. And one

appreciates its meaning far more when reviewing the same words off by heart as a more educated and experienced adult. Thus, poetry is memorable. It is also a form of art, containing images and metaphors that may be appreciated at different levels. Its full impact seldom strikes when reading it for the first time, but tends to grow on the person with constant recall and review, and as he or she matures in intellect and experience. The Ramchal (Otzrot Ramchal 135-136) explains why Moshe Rabbeinu chose the Heaven and the Earth as his two witnesses. Moshe was making a final effort to effect a tikkun, a whole positive spiritual realignment of Am Yisrael with the Almighty. His ultimate desire was to leave Am Yisrael in harmony with Hakodosh Baruch Hu and His teachings at this crucial moment: when he was about to set foot on his last journey going up Har Nevo, and die. And at that time Am Yisrael was a nation spiritually reborn. The people were passing though the Covenant with G-d (29:11). The Ramchal explains that when a tzadik, a righteous person, is about to die, the spiritual elements of the Heavens descend. And as they rise, the soul of the tzadik goes up with them as he proceeds from this world to the next world. Thus at the time of his death, Moshe was in contact with both the eternal earthly and eternal heavenly spiritual forces. And he used that opportunity to call on them as eternal witnesses to his work, and that things were done to make sure that his work would march on after his death. But in making that tikkun, he wanted it to last. He wanted to leave Am Yisrael in a much better state than he found it, or had to deal with it in 40 years of leadership. It was not enough just to give a long address and pass them through an act of Covenant. It had to stick. As a song, it had lyrics and music, for easy recalling, meaningful re-experiencing, and the greater meaning and effect that comes with maturity and hindsight. Indeed, this emphasizes the importance of individuals directing their lives to leave the world in a better state than they found it, and in such a memorable and effective way that their good work can march on after their death. Vezot Haberacha – 5781 This is the beracha that Moshe… gave the Israelites before his death (33:1). Moshe's berachot to Am Yisrael as a maturing nation of twelve tribes parallel the earlier blessings of Ya’akov Avinu to his twelve sons, who descendants were to become those twelve tribes. Like Ya’akov, Moshe addressed each tribe individually, and then reached the climax with a final beracha for Am Yisrael all together: “Happy are you, O Israel. Who is like you? A people saved by G-d (33:29)…” Like Ya’akov Avinu, Moshe Rabbeinu waited until the moment was right to give his berachot: the time that his people would be in the best frame of mind to accept his words (Rashi to 1:3) and let his final message penetrate and become part of their operating systems. That was just before he died. Those moments followed his rebuking them for past behaviors, emphasizing the practices that were of particular importance when entering the Land (Ramban introducing Sefer Devarim), and enabling them to pass into the Covenant with G-d (29:11). The Ramchal (Otzrot Ramchal 139) links the berachot with the same procedures used by that Ya’akov Avinu in a powerful way. He compares both Ya’akov and Moshe to a trunk of a tree that sustains it as it is flourishing. Remove that trunk and there is just a mass of branches. There is no tree. It is finished, and the branches, rich fruits, and foliage will soon die. Both Ya’akov and Moshe gave their berachot to ensure that their trees would continue to flourish after their deaths. They both owned all the qualities that encompassed the berachot that they gave. Ya’akov, knowing his children, gave each one the part of himself that most fitted each one. Moshe, many generations later, did the same thing. It is as though he divided himself up, giving each tribe the part of himself that was most fitting. For example, Yehuda and Dan were blessed with military strength, and Naftali and Asher with material strength. Thus the tribes would specialize, each developing their individual strengths generation after generation, until those qualities became part of them, and they could fuse together as a people, with their individual specialties becoming greater than the component parts: “Happy is you, O Israel. Who is like you?” It is tragic when a great person dies. But perhaps the greatest kovod la-met, respect to the person who died, is for their children, their students, and the wider community to let a portion of that person live on in them and become part of them. The deceased is no longer with us, but his or her ways and merits march on from generation to generation. עולם לבורא שבח ונשלם תם

!baaqtu!ioti!tbs!– trcdk trcd ihc 25 Rabbi Doniel Staum

Stam Torah Parsha Growth Spurts

Rosh Hashana 5773 “Who sanctified us with His mitzvos and commanded us to hear the sound of the shofar” Why isn’t the vernacular of the beracha “to blow shofar” (as we say on Purim “about the reading of the megillah”, not “to hear the megillah”)? The Rogotchover Gaon zt’l quotes the Rambam (Teshuvah 3:4) who explains the significance of blowing shofar is to serve as a spiritual wake-up call. “Awaken all who sleep from their slumber… introspect your ways, repent, and remember your Creator…” Thus, the primary goal of blowing shofar is so that the listeners will hearken to its clarion call. Blowing the shofar without hearing its message does not accomplish anything, as the gemara states (R’H 3b) that one who blows shofar into a pit doesn’t fulfill his obligation, because he cannot hear it. There is no point in giving mussar if no one is listening to the message. Therefore, the beracha is that we “hear the sound of the shofar”. We hear its sound by hearing its message that we do not flitter our lives away with the nebulous passage of time. The shofar adjures us to take stock of our lives and rededicate ourselves to our aspirations and spiritual pursuits. “The great shofar is sounded…The angels… seized by fear and trembling, as they proclaim: Behold the Day of Judgment!” (Mussaf – Rosh Hashanah/Yom Kippur) Why don’t we feel the sense of dread and fear for the awesome judgment that we cognitively know is taking place during Rosh Hashanah? Rav Avrohom Schorr (Halekach V’halibuv) explains that our lack of fear is rooted in our lack of faith in our abilities to effect a genuine change in ourselves, and subsequently in our celestial judgment. When a criminal knows his fate is sealed for incrimination, he no longer fears the court case, because he knows the outcome. He may be angry and belligerent but he is not afraid. One fears the unknown, and to that criminal there is no unknown. As we approach the yimei hadin we lack faith in our abilities to accomplish real teshuvah. We view ourselves as failures and lost causes, and therefore we feel that we have no reason to fear the judgment because we are doomed anyway. If we appreciated the power of our tefillos, how much we can accomplish in our avodas hateshuvah, and that Hashem awaits our tefillos and teshiva with love, we would indeed be more concerned about the precision and meticulousness of the celestial judgment. “A day of shofar-sounding for you” (Vayikra 29:1) Chazal reveal to us that on Rosh Hashanah when we blow shofar, Satan becomes frightened that the shofar blowing may be the shofar of Moshiach, heralding the final redemption. When Moshiach comes the Satan will no longer have any purpose and will be destroyed. Rav Yitzchak Blazer zt’l wonders how the Satan could be fooled every year. Does he not know that there is a mitzvah to blow shofar on Rosh Hashanah every year? If Klal Yisroel blew shofar last year and Moshiach did not come, why should Satan think this year will be any different? Rav Blazer answers that each year Satan is afraid that perhaps this year Klal Yisroel will hearken to the call of the shofar and pay heed to its poignant message. Perhaps this year they will repent properly and will indeed be worthy of the ultimate redemption. Therefore, each year the Satan is still afraid that this year may be THE year. Rabbi Blazer continues that there is a tremendous lesson to be gleaned from the Satan’s apprehension. We ourselves have lived through many Rosh Hashanahs and Yom Kippurs. We have made numerous resolutions and may not have fulfilled many of them. Year in year out, we have made commitments to transform ourselves and live the lives we truly want to live. And yet we have squandered many of those hopes and aspirations. We have heard the cry of the shofar so many hundreds of times and yet we have allowed its call to go unheeded. And so we become despondent. We allow ourselves to live the life that happens instead of the life we truly desire. Yet the Satan still fears that this may just be the year when we pull ourselves together and actually live up to

our potential. Shouldn’t we have at least the same confidence as the Satan that perhaps this year will be the year!? Rabbi Staum can be reached at stamtorah@gmail.com.

Rabbi’s Musings (& Amusings) Erev Shabbos Kodesh - Rosh Hashanah 5781 29 Elul 5780/September 17, 2020 To be added to my “Striving Higher” WhatsApp chat with periodic chizuk clips, or my “Power Parenting” WhatsApp chat with weekly ideas about parenting, text me at 845-641-5094. Of Masks And Men Teaching is never easy. It requires time, patience, technique, and a lot of caring. Then there’s also preparation, marking, parental feedback and dealing with issues that arise. Teaching with a mask is that much harder. Aside for the discomfort of wearing a mask and the challenge of projecting your voice, it’s immeasurably harder to teach when students cannot see the teacher’s mouth and facial expressions. The same is true regarding the teacher’s inability to see their student’s facial expressions. It also makes it much harder to hear what They are saying. We don’t realize how much we read lips in daily conversations. (There’s also the added challenge of having to smell your own breath...) The truth is that we spend most of our days wearing masks. Every time we step outside of the privacy of our own home, we don masks which shields others from seeing the real us. Social media and on-line presence is even more masked. No one portrays their real lives on social media; they only portray what they would like everyone to see. As a result, social media breeds jealousy, anxiety, and depression. We look at other people’s posts and wonder why their lives seems so blissful and wonderful while we feel like we can barely keep our heads above water. Little do we realize that the other person may very well be thinking the same thing about us and our lives based on our social media posts. Rarely do we have the courage to remove our masks and present ourselves to the world as we really are. We are too afraid to be real and vulnerable. We wonder - what if people don’t like the real me? So, we maintain fake veneers, which only serve to make us feel worse about ourselves and our deficiencies. Part of the refreshing beauty of the weeks of Elul and the days leading up to Yom Kippur is that during this time we make a supreme effort to peel off our masks, in order to analyze the real essence of who we are. Halacha states that one must immerse in a mikvah before Yom Kippur. In a sense, the mikvah symbolizes the spiritual drama of death and rebirth. When one submerges himself in its natural water, he enters an environment in which he cannot breathe and live for more than a few moments. It symbolizes the death of all that has gone on before. As he emerges from the gagging waters into the clear air, he begins life anew. The mikvah also symbolizes a spiritual womb. A human fetus is surrounded by water. At the time of its birth, the water “breaks” and the child emerges into a new world. When one emerges from the mikvah, he should view himself as if beginning life anew. The question is what will he do now? Will he return to the prior life he was living? Will he again don the masks he had been wearing? Or, will he seek to maintain his newfound purity by being true and genuine to himself? The pandemic has also addressed the question of what is considered essential? Businesses that were deemed essential were allowed to reopen while those not essential had to remain shut. This led to justifiable aggravation and outrage as people watched their businesses be destroyed, feeling that their business was no less “essential” than others that had been allowed to open. The pandemic forced us to rethink what is essential in our lives. There were many things we didn’t think we could live without and we found out otherwise. (Is it really possible to make Pesach without a cleaning lady?) We must constantly remind ourselves that we are all essential! If we are here it’s because G-d wants us to be here to fulfill a specific mission and purpose. It’s been said that G-d has no grandchildren. We may disappoint Him but no matter what, we are always His children (Kiddushin 36a). We hope that 5781 will be a year of blessing and goodness. We hope it will be a year of health and well-being, of peace and prosperity, a year when suffering and pain, plague and struggle end. For us personally, we hope it will be a year when we are able to confidently remove our masks - literally and figuratively, a year when we learn to love

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ourselves for who we are, a year of rebirth, and one in which we recognize how essential we are in G-d’s world. Shabbat Shalom & Good Shabbos, Shana Tova & Gut g’bnetcht yahr Kesiva Vachasima Tova, R’ Dani and Chani Staum

Rabbi Dr. Tzvi Hersh Weinreb-OU

Person in the Parsha Willing to Change - Rosh Hashanah Sometimes even the corniest of old jokes has a profound lesson to teach us. “How many psychologists does it take to change a light bulb?” In case you haven't already heard the answer to this example of tired "light bulb" humor, it goes like this: “Just one. But it has to be willing to change!” This witticism, if it deserves that name, recognizes an important limitation of the profession of psychotherapy. It can only be effective to the extent that patients or clients are motivated to cooperate with the process. Only if they are committed to doing the hard work of personal change can psychotherapists look forward to success. Willingness to change is a rare trait among humans. People are frightened of anything new and adhere to the status quo even when it has brought them little benefit. Rabbi Abraham Isaac Kook, the first chief rabbi of the land of Israel, wrote a precious little book entitled The Lights of Return. In it he insists that the “human tendency to cling desperately to old ways and ancient habits is the sign of a spiritual malaise”. Rav Kook wrote this book early in his life. In his later years, he not only recommended it to others, but he studied it himself, especially at the time of year in which we now find ourselves. For we are now in the waning days of the month of Elul with the High Holidays imminent. The theme of this period of the Jewish calendar is teshuvah, which, although usually translated as “repentance”, is better translated as “return”, or still better as “change”. A fundamental teaching of Judaism is the following verse from Ecclesiastes: “For no man is perfect in this world, doing only good and never sinning.” We all need to improve, we all need to change. This is the central message of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur for the Jew. The fundamental difference between optimists and pessimists is that the former believe that change is possible, whereas the latter believe that attempts to change are futile. “You can't change human nature.” “The leopard cannot change his spots.” “Once a fool always a fool.” These are the mottos of the pessimists, and the assumptions they make are the very stuff of the entrenched resistance to genuine change in our behaviors and attitudes. Books have been written and countless sermons sounded with all sorts of advice as to how to go about change. Some believe that it is a slow, gradual, step-by-step process. Others insist that change requires a dramatic leap of faith, and can be done in a transformational moment. Some believe that change happens because of external circumstances, or social pressures imposed by other people. Others maintain that, on the contrary, change can be intentional and purposefully initiated by every person himself or herself. Jewish texts recognize that there are two types of change; one indeed, a slow, painstaking path, and the other, a rapid and sudden personality shift. Jewish tradition recognizes that others influence and mold our paths, but that the ultimate responsibility for spiritual change lies with each of us ourselves. I would like to share with you all one fascinating example of two individuals working together in a purposeful but deliberately incremental change process. It is to be found in the writings of a man known as the Rebbe of the Warsaw Ghetto. His name was Rabbi Kalonymus Kalman Shapiro, and his career as an outstanding pedagogue and teacher of adolescent boys was tragically cut off by the horrors of the Holocaust. Rabbi Shapiro wrote a book aimed at his young protégés, giving them the following piece of advice to be initiated at the beginning of the school semester. He asks the student to imagine, if his name, for example, is Reuven, what "Reuven" might look like a month from now, six months from now, a year from now. Once the young man has some sort of image of what his future self might be he can consciously begin to take steps to approximate this image. He can set specific goals and objectives to come closer to his self ideal, step by tentative step. And every so often, he can monitor his progress, accelerating the process, modifying it if necessary, or slowing it down if things are going too quickly. The Rebbe encourages the young man to collaborate with a friend or a

mentor as he goes through this process of self-change and self-development. At this time of the Jewish New Year, as many do around the time of the secular New Year, we all tend to make resolutions. Rabbi Shapiro's technique is but one of the numerous methods which can assist us in formulating such resolutions and in successfully executing them. The sanctity of this season inspires us, like the light bulb, to be willing to change. We must turn to the wise and the experienced among us, be they living friends, mentors, and spiritual guides, or past scholars, rabbis, and teachers, for suggestions of specific techniques as to how to really change. Judaism always insists upon the utility and the importance of textual study. At this time of year study is no less important than prayer. Especially if our study focuses upon finding ways to achieve desired change, and to maintain that change in the face of challenge and ever shifting circumstances. Every time we wish each other a Happy and Sweet New Year, we are really saying, "I hope that you are successful in your attempts to change yourself and improve yourself in the coming year." It is in that spirit that I wish each of you, dear readers, a Happy and Sweet New Year!

HaRav Shlomo Wolbe Zt”l

Bais Hamussar Dvar Torah # 736 Rosh Hashana ראש השנה This Dvar Torah is dedicated anonymously. Wishing all of Klal Yisroel a kesiva v'chasima tova, a shana tova u'mesuka! Rosh Hashana The Ramban in his introduction to the story of Akeidos Yitzchak (Bereishis 22, 1) explains the purpose of a nisoyon. A person is tested for his own benefit: so that he can be rewarded for a good deed and not merely a good heart. Although Avraham Avinu succeeded in purifying his heart to the nth degree, his greatness remained merely potential (b'ko'ach). The ten nisyonos with which Avraham was tested, were a means of turning his greatness from potential into concrete actions (b'po'el), because the ultimate objective is for a person to perfect his actions. With this in mind, writes Rav Wolbe (Ma'amerei Yemei Ratzon pg. 97), we can explain the Mishna in Pirkei Avos (2:11). When Rebbi Yochanan ben Zakkai asked his disciples to seek out the proper path to which a man should cling, they returned with various answers: A good eye, a good friend, a good neighbor, one who considers the outcome of his deeds and a good heart. Rebbi Yochanan ben Zakkai responded that he prefers the words of Rabbi Elazar (who chose a good heart), "for all your words are included in his words." The other four responses all focused on tangible actions and a practical way of life (b'po'el). A good eye rids one of much evil. He judges others favorably and he is cleansed from hatred and jealousy. A good friend will perform kindness, share in another's grief, forgive and forget, and act with many other positive middos. A good neighbor surpasses a good friend, for he contains all those qualities and, moreover, he acts benevolently even to those who are not his closest confidantes. Someone who considers the outcome of his actions fears Hashem, and every action is executed with an acute awareness of its ramifications. If so, in what aspect does a good heart, which represents potential (b'ko'ach), supersede all these other positive qualities? Having a good heart is the best preparation for life, because it encompasses all good actions. Actions are the most important aspect of one's avodah, and they accurately portray the goodness of the heart of one who is performing those actions. A lack of ability to perform reflects a flaw in the "goodness" of one's heart. He who truly possesses a good heart will ultimately become a person who possesses a good eye, is a good friend and neighbor, and one who considers the actions of his deeds. It was because Avraham possessed a good heart, that he had the ability to pass all ten nisyonos with which he was tested. Rav Wolbe continues that Rosh Hashana is the day on which we are supposed to accept upon ourselves the yoke of Heavenly Kingship. Accepting this yoke is akin to possessing the good heart mentioned in the Mishna: it is a general concept that encompasses all aspects of our lives. However, just like a good heart, accepting the yoke of Heaven cannot remain only b'ko'ach, rather, it must translate into actions. Indeed, we must make an effort to focus on Hashem's loftiness, His Kingship and the great advantage gained by accepting His yoke upon oneself. However, it can't end there. This knowledge must translate into actions, and the b'po'el of accepting the yoke of Heaven is fine tuning our middos to act solely in accordance with the will of Hashem. A practical application to help implement this idea: Take a few minutes to sit down with yourself and go through your daily schedule. Note any

!baaqtu!ioti!tbs!– trcdk trcd ihc 27 common pitfalls - e.g a lunch partner who tends to trigger lashon hara conversations. Think how you can practically do something to prevent this spiritual hazard. On Rosh Hashana make a mental resolution to try to implement the idea as an indication of the sincerity of your Kabbalas Ol Malchus Shamayim. Kesiva V'Chasima Tova! Bais Hamussar Schedule Sunday: 7:00 PM - 8:00 PM Eitzos and Hadracha by prominent, experienced Mashgichim There is no need to schedule an appointment. 972-2-500-1686 Monday: 10:30 PM - [Hebrew] Rabbi Shlomo Arielli Shlit"a 11:15 PM - [English] Rabbi Dovid Nussbaum Shlit"a Wednesday: 7:45 PM - [Hebrew] Rabbi Yosef Jacobs Shlit"a Thursday: 10:30 [Hebrew] Harav Ben Tzion Kook Shlit"a 11:15 [English] Rabbi Eliezer Wolbe Shlit"a Mussar Seder every day at 7:20pm. The Bais Hamussar is accessible to anyone interested in a quiet, secluded place to study Mussar during all hours of the day or night (except during the regular Vaadim). The Vaadim can be heard live or at any time via Kol Halashon - 972-3-617-1053 Bais Hamussar, Rechov Ohalei Yosef 17, Yerushalayim This Dvar Torah was written l'iluy nishmas the Mashgiach z"l Please Be Our Partner Please join us in spreading the teachings of the Mashgiach z"l to thousands across the globe and sponsor a weekly Dvar Torah for $150 as an honor, memory or in zechus of someone. For just $360 you can sponsor a week of shiurim at the Bais Hamussar including that week's Dvar Torah. To donate press here: https://secure.cardknox.com/BaisHamussar Do you think these Divrei Torah can make a difference in the life of your friend, neighbor or family member? Please add them to the mailing list. Forward this issue to a Friend Join Our Mailing List Vaad Chizuk L'bnei Hayeshivos Are you a Yeshiva Bochur learning in Eretz Yisroel, or a parent of one? We're here for you! Professional, Caring, and Confidential assistance. call: U.S. 732.444.7474 Israel 02.537.1005 9-11pm (Israel time) or email: vaadchizuk@gmail.com Vaad Chizuk, founded by the Mashgiach z"l, is a project of the Bais Hamussar. Bais Hamussar, 1845 52nd St. #9, Brooklyn, NY 11204

Rabbi Yitzchak Zweig-Aish.Com

Shabbat Shalom Rosh Hashanah 5781: You live your life. Growth is optional. Sep 13, 2020 GOOD MORNING! Rosh Hashanah begins this upcoming Friday evening, September 18th. Rosh Hashanah is a two day holiday and begins on the first day of the Hebrew month of Tishrei, marking the Jewish New Year. Unlike the secular New Year that is celebrated in many parts of the "enlightened" world by partying, drinking to excess, and watching a little ball descend a tower in Times Square, the Jewish New Year is celebrated very differently. Rosh Hashanah marks the beginning of the Ten Days of Repentance, which culminate on Yom Kippur – The Day of Atonement. Typically, Rosh Hashanah is observed by Jews all over the world who attend synagogue to pray, hear the sound of the shofar (ram’s horn), listen to the rabbi’s sermon, reflect upon the past, commit to correct one's mistakes, and praying for a healthy and sweet year. This is followed by celebrating with festive holiday meals. Sadly, many if not most, only make an effort to attend synagogue on the High Holy Days of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. It is therefore only natural that most synagogues charge enormous amounts for “tickets” to attend – it is their one opportunity to raise the needed monies to fund the operations of the synagogue. (Reflecting on this I realize that if I only came to synagogue three times a year and had to spend most of the day there in prayer services and listening to the rabbi while paying an exorbitant sum for that privilege, I also wouldn’t want to attend more than three times a year.) Needless to say, the coronavirus will impact Rosh Hashanah as well. Many synagogues have either cancelled services or drastically changed how they are delivered. The need for social distancing has caused those that remain open to block off many seats and significantly shorten the liturgy to accommodate a second service. Still, many are either unable or unwilling to attend services this year and it is more important than ever that we understand the essence of Rosh Hashanah and how to observe it, whether we manage to make it to synagogue or not. Q & A: What Is The Essence Of Rosh Hashanah And How Do We Observe It? According to Jewish tradition, Rosh Hashanah is the Day of Judgment. The Talmud states that (Rosh Hashanah 8a) this is derived by the from a pair of verses in Psalms: “Sound the shofar at the new month, at the time when it is covered, for the day of our festival. For it is a statute for Israel, a (day of) judgment for the God of Jacob” (Psalms 81:4-5). Thus we pray that we are inscribed in the Book of Life for life, for health, and for sustenance. Many years ago, I attended a trial of a good friend who was wrongfully charged with some very serious crimes and, if convicted, would spend decades of his life behind bars. The feeling in the courtroom was one of dread and palpable apprehension. I remember being very afraid for him and I could barely eat or sleep. Indeed, for many this is what Rosh Hashanah is all about. But this perception is a mistake. According to Jewish tradition, Rosh Hashanah is a time when we celebrate with elegant clothes, festive meals with family and friends, and by sending gifts to others. This is based on the verse found in the Prophets: “He said to them, ‘Go eat fat foods and drink sweet beverages, and send gifts to anyone for whom nothing was prepared, for today is holy to our Master. Do not be sad, for the joy of Hashem is your strength’” (Nehemiah 8:10). How can we celebrate when our very lives hang in the balance? Ultimately, we must trust in the kindness and mercy of the Almighty – that He knows our hearts and our intentions and judges us with love and the knowledge of what is best for us. Therefore, we believe that He will accordingly grant us

a good decree for the new year. But there is really a much deeper lesson to understand here. In a typical court of law when a person is being judged, what is the best result he could possibly hope for? The best possible outcome is that he be restored to the life that he had prior to entering the courtroom. In other words, he can only lose, he has no possible upside. In fact, after paying his attorney and court costs he is already far poorer than when he began. Essentially, he already lost; it’s only a question of whether he also loses his freedom. That is a devastating situation in which to find oneself. But Rosh Hashanah, our “Day of Judgement,” is very different. According to Jewish tradition, the world was created on the 25th day of Elul and man was created on the first of Tishrei. Thus, man was actually created on Rosh Hashanah! Why is this important? The great medieval philosopher, Rabbi Moshe Chaim Luzzato, explains in his classic work The Way of God that God created the world in order to bestow kindness on mankind. The very purpose of creation was a gift so that man could experience the most amazing life. But God, in His infinite wisdom, understood that ultimately a gift is never fully appreciated. As we know, a person often feels ashamed to accept a gift, and in fact a person only feels fulfilled when he has acquired something that he has earned through his efforts. Thus, man was given the opportunity to earn an existence. Every Rosh Hashanah, the anniversary of mankind’s creation, we are given an opportunity to earn existence. This is the EXACT opposite of a typical courtroom judgment. We can absolutely hope for an improvement in every aspect of our lives and we have much to gain on our Day of Judgement, which is why Rosh Hashanah can be a day of amazing fulfillment and joy, one to be celebrated with friends and family. Now, everyone wants to have a more meaningful and fulfilling life. We want God to bless us with an amazing year filled with every blessing imaginable. How do we begin to achieve this? We start by actively accepting God as our king and ruler of everything in existence. If we look at the liturgy on Rosh Hashanah this theme of God as our king is clearly evident as the major focus of the day. Our job is to define ourselves as living in a theocentric world, a world in which we are committed to living by His laws and bringing Him into our daily lives and into the lives of others. Rosh Hashanah is much less about begging forgiveness from God than it is about establishing a relationship with Him and creating the rightful place for God in your life. The process of teshuvah (repentance) can only begin once a relationship is in place. (We will discuss the process of repentance further in next week’s column.) A key element to understanding Rosh Hashanah is that life is a gift from the Almighty and it is therefore quite precious. Consequently, we are charged with making it meaningful and making sure that we live up to our potential and earn our continued existence. I am going to end this week’s column by reprinting a list of questions that appeared in a previous column by our teacher and mentor, Rabbi Kalman Packouz, of blessed memory. Some Questions To Think About In Synagogue Or Discuss At Your Rosh Hashanah Meals 1. When do I most feel that my life is meaningful? 2. How often do I express my feelings to those who mean the most to me? 3. Are there any ideals I would be willing to die for? 4. What would bring me more happiness than anything else in the world? 5. What are my three most significant achievements since last Rosh Hashanah? 6. What are the three biggest mistakes I've made since last Rosh Hashanah? 7. What project or goal, if left undone, will I most regret next Rosh Hashanah? 8. What are my three major goals in life? What am I doing to achieve them? What practical steps can I take in the next two months toward these goals? 9. If I could give my children only three pieces of advice, what would they be? 10. What is the most important decision I need to make this year? 11. What important decision did I avoid making last year? 12. What did I do last year that gave me the strongest feeling of self-respect? 13. When do I feel closest to God? 14. What are the most important relationships in my life? What can I do to nurture those relationships this year?

28 baaqtu!ioti!tbs!– trcdk trcd ihc!

15. If I could change only one thing about myself, what would that be? 16. If I could change one thing about my spiritual life, what would it be? Wishing you and yours a sweet New Year, one filled only with blessings and the good health and peace of mind to enjoy it all! Torah Portion of the Week: Rosh Hashanah Because the first day of Rosh Hashanah occurs on Shabbat, the special Torah reading supersedes the usual weekly portion (which is thus pushed forward to next Shabbat). On the first day of Rosh Hashanah we read Genesis 21 regarding the Almighty remembering Sarah and Sarah giving birth to Isaac (the Almighty remembered Sarah on Rosh Hashanah). The second day of Rosh Hashanah we read Genesis 22 regarding "Aikedas Yitzchak," the test of Avraham to prepare his son, Isaac, as a sacrifice; this, too, took place on Rosh Hashanah. Quote of the Week Every ending is a beginning. We just don't know it at the time. – Mitch Albom Dedicated with Deep Appreciation to Jennifer Volz, Neal Goldberg, and Alice & Jack Gish In loving memory of Rabbi Kalman Packouz Kalman Moshe ben Reuven Avigdor 1950-2019 Shabbat Shalom, Rabbi Yitzchak Zweig Copyright © 2020 Rabbi Yitzchak Zweig

Rabbi Ken Spiro-Aish.Com

Jewish History Crash Course Crash Course in Jewish History Part 9: Moshe by Rabbi Ken Spiro The Exodus story is certainly one of the most significant events in Jewish history. It is a model -- in microcosm -- for what happens later. We see again and again the roller-coaster ride from high points to low. Generally, the higher the Jews manage to rise, the lower they fall. The story of Exodus recounts the Jews going from a good situation (as when they were welcomed into Egypt by the Pharaoh himself) to a very bad situation (when they were enslaved) to the highest heights, the pinnacles of spirituality (when they were freed from slavery by HaShem Himself and given the Torah at Mount Sinai). At the point in time when the Exodus story begins the family of 70 individuals that arrived in Egypt at the time of Yoseph has grown to a nation of about 3 million people. This is not as far-fetched as it may seem. All you have to do is assume that each family had 12 children (as did Yaakov and as is happening today in ultra-Orthodox families in Israel) and you can easily compute that in five generations there will be this many people if not more. This is far from the most supernatural thing to happen in Jewish history. The rapid multiplication of the Jews has made the Egyptians nervous -- "there are too many of them, what if they rise up against us" -- and the Pharaoh issues a genocidal decree: Kill all the Jewish boys. (This is a classic anti-Semitic pattern -- the Jew in Diaspora is always loyal to his host country, yet can never escape unfounded suspicion of treachery.) At this point, baby Moshe is born. His parents decide to hide him, but after a few months they realize that very shortly they will be found out. So his mother, in order to save him somehow, puts him in a waterproof basket and floats it down the Nile. As we all know, he is saved by none other than the daughter of Pharaoh. Irony of ironies? It's all part of the plan. As noted earlier, G-d puts the cure before the disease. This is another classic case. It does give one pause though -- that the savior of the Jewish people is going to be raised in the house of the ultimate enemy of the Jews. The only modern equivalent would be of some fellow who is meant to overthrow Nazi Germany being raised as Adolf Hitler's adopted grandson. That's what we have here. You realize what a wild story this is if you imagine it in a modern context. Egyptian History By the way, who is the Pharaoh in the story here? The events of Exodus happened circa 1314-1313 BCE if we translate Jewish chronology into the Christian dating system the world uses today. But that may be misleading. For one thing, the Egyptian chronologies we use in modern world history have only been calculated in the last century by scholars who tried to estimate the reigns of the kings of Egypt and Assyria, two of the oldest empires in the world. There's a huge amount of educated guesswork involved in these chronologies. If you open any books

on ancient Egypt you'll get lots of different opinions as to when different Pharaohs reigned. Generally, the Pharaohs associated with the Exodus are Seti and Rameses. Rameses II was certainly the great builder of this period of time. And it's interesting that the Torah says that the Jewish slaves built the cities of Pisom and Ramses. (See Shemos 1:11.) Of course, it took them 116 years to build these cities so that covers the reign of more than one Pharaoh. Now what's fascinating is that after Rameses there was a ten-year period of chaos in Egypt; this much we know from available records. This would fit if Egypt was, in fact, destroyed by ten supernatural plagues; they would be in bad state for a number of years afterwards. So there we have some evidence of it. The Pharaoh who reigned after Rameses is named Merenptah and he ruled from the late 13th to early 12th century BCE. Now what's most interesting is that there was found an inscription from his reign which is today called the "Israel Stele." On that stele is a record of Merenptah's campaigning in the area of Canaan, the Sinai/Israel area. And it's the first extra-Biblical mention of "Israel" anywhere in human history. We're talking about something that's around 3,200 years old. And this would correspond in Jewish chronology to some time after the Exodus story. What does the stele say? "Israel is a widow. Her seed is no more." That is, we've wiped out the Jewish people, they're gone. This means: 1) The Egyptians lie when they record things. Jews are here today 3,200 years later, they hardly wiped the Jews out; in fact, they're gone. (This is not surprising as the ancient people are notorious for lying in their official records to make their rulers look good.) 2) At this early time in history, corresponding to the time when the Jews just entered the Promised Land, we have concrete references to a people called Israel in the records of another country. This is very significant piece of archeology. Prince Of Egypt Moshe grows up as the grandson of Pharaoh, who is then (whoever he was) the most powerful human being on earth, being the ruler of the mightiest nation on earth. Moshe could easily have grown up to be a totally assimilated, totally spoilt Egyptian kid. But the Pharaoh's daughter has hired his own mother as his nanny and so he never loses the connection to the Jewish people. It is no surprise therefore that, when one day he sees an Egyptian taskmaster beating a Jew, he cannot stand it and he kills the taskmaster. Then, of course, some Jews inform on him, which is another classic case we're going to see in Jewish history -- Jews informing on other Jews. And Moshe has to flee for his life. He goes to the land of Midian, which is across the Sinai Peninsula. There he meets Yisro, an excommunicated priest who has several daughters, one of whom Moshe marries. His wife's name is Tziporah, and the Torah describes her as being black. Moshe has two sons, Gershon and Eliezer, (about whom we don't hear much) and he becomes a shepherd. In this regard he follows the example of the other great leaders of the Jewish people; Avraham, Yitzchak, Yaakov, and Yaakov's twelve sons were all shepherds. So, we have to ask: Why were so many Jewish leaders shepherds? Now if you've ever watched shepherds at work, you might have noticed that most of them sit around doing nothing except daydreaming. A shepherd has a lot of time to think, and this is an absolute prerequisite for being a prophet. To elevate oneself to the highest level, where one transcends the physical reality and enters a higher dimension of communicating with the Infinite, requires a huge amount of work, and a lot of time to think. Another reason why Jewish leaders were shepherds has to do with the fact that the work of a shepherd is practice for dealing with large groups of living creatures. Leading the Jews is the hardest job on the planet. One of the great lessons that we need to learn from Jewish history is the difficulty and the challenges of unifying and trying to lead the most individualistic nation on the earth. Being a shepherd is good practice for this daunting task. The Burning Bush While Moshe is tending the sheep, he has a vision of the burning bush. The story of Moshe’s encounter with HaShem at the burning bush is incredibly profound and laden with many deep meanings, but for our purposes in analyzing Jewish history we will consider the burning bush as synonymous with the Jewish people.

!baaqtu!ioti!tbs!– trcdk trcd ihc 29 The burning bush is burning, but it is never consumed by fire. So, too, the Jewish people seem to be forever on the verge of being destroyed yet we always survive. On another level, we could say that the Jewish people are burning with the fire of Torah, with an ideology that is going to change the world. When Moshe encounters HaShem at the burning bush, HaShem identifies Himself repeatedly (Shemos 3:6, 3:13, 3:15, 3:16, 4:5) as the G-d of his forefathers -- Avraham, Yitzchak and Yaakov with whom He had made an eternal covenant. This is an extremely important passage because later on in Jewish history a lot of different people are going to come -- the Christians, for example -- claiming that HaShem changed His mind, abandoned the Jews and made a new covenant (new "testament" to use the Greek term) with them. But HaShem made an "eternal" covenant with Avraham, Yitzchak and Yaakov and He renews the deal at several intervals. We learn that HaShem has a master plan for humanity and the Jews have an absolutely essential part in that plan. At this juncture, HaShem has decided to bring the Jews out of Egypt. And it's important to keep in mind that HaShem put the Jews in Egypt in the first place -- that HaShem is responsible for the bad things and good things that happen. It says in the Talmud, you have to bless the bad as well as the good. When a person dies, the observant Jew will say "blessed is the true Judge," because everything HaShem does is part of a plan, even though we don't always see what that is. Sometimes He puts people into a bad situation so they can accomplish their mission on earth. It's not just that the bad things are the product of "the devil" and the good things are from HaShem. So, in effect, we come to understand that Egypt served as a womb, where the Jews were formed as a nation in a very difficult situation, so that when they were ready, HaShem could bring them out and establish a special relationship with them.

HaShem tells this to Moshe in effect and then commands, "Go back and tell Pharaoh to let My people go." "Let My People Go" As commanded, Moshe goes back down to Egypt, confronts the Pharaoh with his brother Aharon, and he says, "The G-d of my forefathers told me to tell you: 'Let My people go.'" And in response, the Pharaoh is incredulous "What are you talking about? Who is this G-d? I don't know him." The ancient Egyptians had around 2,000 gods. They took their spirituality and knowledge of the spiritual world very seriously. Since they didn't have a laptop to do a "god-search," their priests starting furiously flipping through their lists of the different gods and couldn't find the G-d that Moshe was invoking. The notion of one, infinite, all-powerful G-d was an idea that was incomprehensible to the ancient polytheistic people -- it simply did not fit with their fragmented way of viewing the world. When the Pharaoh won't listen, what does Moshe do? He takes his staff and he throws it down and it turns into a snake. The Pharaoh is not impressed. His magicians can do the same thing. It is very important to stress that the ancient world understood spirituality in the way we cannot even fathom today. Today we talk about magic, but magic for us is illusion, not a manipulation of the forces of nature as they were able to do. It is a fundamental idea of Judaism that there's a spiritual reality, and that there's a physical reality. You can transcend the physical into the spiritual; you can use the spiritual to manipulate the physical. And you can do this by accessing the dark forces or the light forces. And the Egyptians were able to access the dark forces and they knew how to turn a stick into a snake, so they were not impressed by what Moshe did. But Moshe was just getting started. Next: The Ten Plagues

The following columns on last week’s parsha were received after publication

1. Rabbi Yaakov Bernstein Haaros page 29 2. Rabbi Yissocher Frand-Torah.Org RavFrand page 30 3. Rabbi Yaakov Neuburger Torahweb page 31 4. Rabbi Elyakim Rosenblatt Zt”l Yeshiva Kesser Torah page 31

Rabbi Yaakov Bernstein

Haaros Dedicated to the speedy recovery of Mordechai ben Chaya Elul, II -- Kingship, Love of Hashem, the Pandemic Malchiyos A primary aspect of the Rosh Hashana davening is the Malchiyos: accepting Hashem’s authority. In the Musaf tefila, ten verses mentioning Hashem’s rule are cited. The tenth is “Shema Yisrael.” This is the only one of the ten which does not mention the word “Melech.” Nonetheless, the Shema is known by the Rabbis as ‘Kabalas Ol Malchus’ — accepting authority. The Mitzva of the Shema Every day, the Shema is recited, morning and night. The Shema contains the foundations of Yiddishkeit, and a full realization of this mitzva takes some study. The basic mitzva is to ‘accept the yoke of the kingdom of heaven’ upon oneself. Unfortunately, it is very common to forget to think about this (Rav Yisrael Salanter, cited in Shem Olam by the Chofetz Chaim, 1:12)! Rav Moshe Feinstein says that ‘accepting the yoke of the kingdom of heaven’ is contained in the two words — “Hashem our G-d.” We accept upon ourselves that we are subservient to Him. (Igros Moshe 5:5) Properly, one should have in mind that 1. he is fulfilling the mitzva, 2. the meaning of the words and 3. that Hashem is the one and only power. Nonetheless, Rebbi Akiva Eiger writes that the most important aspect is ‘accepting the yoke of the kingdom of heaven.’ As mentioned, this is the one intention that is most forgotten! Love of Hashem The Shema discusses tefillin. Mentioning tefillin alone is not sufficient; if possible and permissible, one should wear the tefillin when he recites the Shema. Otherwise, his actions are contradicting his words. Similarly, when one says, “You shall love Hashem with all your heart, with all your soul and with all your might,” he should actually arouse this love in his heart. (Mishna Berura 24:14)

In Mishna Berura, the Chofetz Chaim writes that failure to fulfill what we are saying (not wearing the tefillin etc.) does not mean that we have not performed the mitzva of reciting the Shema. Nonetheless, he writes in Shem Olam that saying the words, “You shall love Hashem with all your heart, with all your soul and with all your might,” is certainly not fulfilling the mitzva of loving Hashem (without arousing this love). This is comparable to saying, “You shall bind the tefillin on your arm,” when he is not wearing the tefillin. Obviously, such a person has not performed the mitzva of laying tefillin just because he recited the verses! Here, too, just because he reminded himself of the mitzva to love Hashem doesn’t mean he has fulfilled the mitzva of loving Hashem! (Shem Olam, 1:12) To love Hashem with all one’s heart, soul and might, is a tall order. Complaining bitterly certainly doesn’t seem consistent with being in love… We have all suffered during the pandemic. Having had many things taken away from us, and, at the same time, seeing the pain of the many who have lost their lives or health — should give us pause. How many dear friends and Rabbonim died — alone and forlorn in a hospital bed! As we mourn for them and console their loved ones, let’s recognize the hundreds and hundreds of small things which we take for granted every day. Dayenu On Pesach night, the piyut of Dayenu is read. It’s bewildering. “If He brought us to Mount Sinai but didn’t give us the Torah, it would have been enough…” How could this have been enough? The Jews without Torah? It’s saying something extremely important. Even if we are missing the most important thing, the ‘tachlis’ — nonetheless, we must be grateful for the gifts we received! The proof of this is the end of the piyut: “If He gave us Eretz Yisrael, but didn’t build the Beis Hamikdash, it would have been enough.” The Beis Hamikdash is the conclusion. It is the most important thing, the tachlis. But we would still be grateful. And, in fact, we are grateful, even though He did, in fact, take it away. He took away the most important thing — but we thank Him and love Him and daven that it should be returned to us, soon, in our days. Haaros © 2020 by Torah.org. support Do you have a question or comment? Feel free to contact us on our website. Join the Jewish Learning Revolution! Torah.org: The Judaism Site brings this and a host of other classes to you every week. Visit http://torah.org to get your own free copy of this mailing or subscribe to the series of your choice. Need to change or stop your subscription? Please visit our subscription center, http://torah.org/subscribe/ -- see the links on that page. Permission is granted to redistribute, but please give proper attribution and copyright to the author and Torah.org. Both the author and Torah.org reserve certain rights. Email copyrights@torah.org

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Rabbi Yissocher Frand-Torah.Org

RavFrand Dedicated to the speedy recovery of Mordechai ben Chaya Parshas Vayeilech - Why Not Hire a Babysitter for Hakhel? These divrei Torah were adapted from the hashkafa portion of Rabbi Yissocher Frand’s Commuter Chavrusah Tapes on the weekly portion: CD # 1261 – Did I Say Hamelech Hakadosh? / Nuts on Rosh Hashana. Good Shabbos! Why Not Hire a Babysitter When Parents Go to Hakhel? The middle of Parshas Nitzavim contains the pasuk “The hidden things are for Hashem, our G-d, but the revealed things are for us and for our children forever, to carry out all the words of this Torah.” [Devorim 29:28] While this is not the simple interpretation of the pasuk, I saw an observation in the sefer Milchemes Yehudah as follows: “HaNistaros (the hidden things) L’Hashem Elokeinu” means that which a person does in private is between him and the Ribono shel Olam. “V’Haniglos (that which is revealed)” – but that which one does in front of his children – that is “Lanu u’levaneinu ad olam” — something which makes an impression on our children forever and ever. No one sees that which goes on in a person’s heart or in his private activities. That is between him and the Almighty. He will ultimately have to face his Maker on that score. But “haNiglos” – not only the “public person,” but even the person’s actions in the confines of his own home – how he talks, how he acts, how he reacts – these personality traits leave a profound and indelible effect on his children, and ultimately on their children, for all future generations! We are constantly “on stage.” This is especially true when we have young children or young grandchildren, but it applies even with our older children. Our actions, for better or for worse, are modeling behavior that will be understood as acceptable and even normal “for us, and for our children, forever.” The truth is that this idea is perhaps contained in the famous Gemara [Chagiga 3a] which discusses the mitzvah of Hakhel (in Parshas Vayelech). The pasuk says “Gather together the people – the men, the women, the small children, and your stranger who is in your cities – so that they will hear and so that they will learn, and they shall fear Hashem, your G-d, and be careful to perform all the words of this Torah” [Devorim 31:12] Everybody in the nation had to come to the Beis HaMikdash in Yerushalayim for the once-in-seven-year, Hakhel event. The Gemara asks: We understand that the men come to learn, and the women come to listen, however why do they need to bring the children? Rav Elazar ben Azaria answers “In order that those who bring them receive reward.” This is a troubling exposition. Is there no point in bringing the children other than the reward the parents receive for bringing them? The correct understanding of Rav Elazar ben Azaria’s statement is not that the parents get reward merely for following G-d’s command, no different than they would be rewarded if the command was to schlep a bag of potatoes to Yerushalayim and they did that. Rather, he means to say that when parents expose their children to such a powerful spiritual environment, this is something they will reap reward for in the future. The children will see what is important to their parents. They will see that their father and mother are inspired and uplifted by the ruchniyus (spirituality) that was characteristic of Yerushalayim and the Bais HaMikdash. They will learn to be inspired by such environments as well. This is the reward that the parents reap by bringing their children to Hakhel. The Mechilta ends off, “Happy are you, our Patriarch Avraham, that Elazar ben Azaria came from your loins.” What does Elazar ben Azaria have to do with Avraham Avinu? Why does having such a descendant make Avraham so happy? The Torah says why the Almighty chose Avraham Avinu: “For I have cherished him, because he commands his children and his household after him that they keep the way of Hashem, doing charity and justice…” [Bereshis 18:19] The Ribono shel Olam gave Avraham a mandate: I have chosen you so that you should pass on My Ways to your children after you and to their children after them. This is exactly the lesson Rav Elazar ben Azaria was stressing in teaching his lesson of “To bring reward to those who bring them.” Rav Nosson Adler makes an interesting observation. Let’s be honest: Will the parents have a more uplifting and spiritual experience hearing words of Torah and being in Yerushalayim and the Bais HaMikdash environment by themselves or with their children who are always saying they are hungry and asking when it’s time to go home? Certainly, the father and mother will have a more elevated experience if the children are not there nagging them! Then why bring them? The answer is a basic principle in Judaism: You give up some of your own ruchniyus (spirituality) for the benefit of somebody else. This is part of the mitzvah of chessed.

Part of the mitzvah of chessed is “I am going to get less out of this, but I am going to have an effect on someone else.” Avraham Avinu was in the business of chessed. He had a restaurant. Couldn’t Avraham have achieved a higher degree of spiritual accomplishment on his own, were he not distracted by having to serve meals to every Arab and idolater that came through? Yes! But he sacrificed his personal ruchniyus for the benefit of others. This is exactly the implication of Rav Elazar ben Azaria’s teaching. I am going to schlep my kids to Hakhel and let them drive me crazy on the trip, and I am not going to get as much out of the experience. But that is worth it, because “haNiglos lanu u’levaneinu ad olam.” Therefore, that which my children see me doing will impact them and their descendants forever. Therefore, happy are you Avraham Avinu that Elazar ben Azaria comes from your loins. The Difference Between the Choice in Re’eh And the Choice in Nitzavim I would like to explain a cryptic teaching of the Meshech Chochmah in this week’s parsha. The Torah says in Parshas Nitzavim: “For this mitzvah that I command you today is not hidden from you and is not distant. It is not in the heavens, for you to say, ‘Who can ascend to the heavens for us and take it for us, and let us hear it, so that we can perform it?’ Nor is it across the sea, for you to say ‘Who can cross to the other side of the sea for us and take it for us, and let us hear it, so that we can perform it?’ Rather, the matter is very near to you, in your mouth and in your heart, to perform it.” [Devorim 30:11-14]. It is always amazing to me that on the last Shabbos of the year we read this parsha and we read these words. What is “this mitzvah” referred to in the pasuk? There is a difference of opinion amongst the classic Torah commentaries as to which mitzvah is being referred to here as “a non-distant mitzvah.” Ramban and other meforshim say it is referring to the mitzvah of teshuva. Here we are, the Shabbos before Rosh Hashanah, and the Torah says that the mitzvah of teshuva is not wondrous and is not beyond our grasp. It is not in Heaven, but it is very close to us. It is within our mouths and our hearts to do it. What inspiring words to hear before the start of the Yomim Noraim: The mitzvah of teshuva is readily attainable! The Torah continues, “See I have placed before you today life and good, and death and evil” [Devorim 30:15]. The Torah lays out the matter before us in very stark terms. If we decide to do good, we will live, if we choose bad, we are going to die. It is a zero-sum game. The Meshech Chochma asks an interesting question about this pasuk: This pasuk is strikingly similar to a pasuk we read a few weeks ago at the beginning of Parshas Re’eh. “See, I present before you today a blessing and a curse” [Devorim 11:26]. But there the Torah is not as explicit. The pasuk is not as stark. We are merely told that we have a choice between blessing and curse. It is only in this week’s parsha that the Torah tells it like it is: It is not simply a question of foregoing blessing that is at stake. No. The “Good” means life; the “Bad” means death! “I have placed life and death before you, blessing and curse; and you shall choose life, so that you will live, you and your offspring” [Devorim 30 19]. This is literally, “putting it on the table.” The Meshech Chochma [Devorim 30:11] asks why in Parshas Re’eh the Torah merely alludes to a vague and generic choice, whereas in Parshas Netzavim it is stark and as explicit as can be. The Meshech Chochma gives a cryptic answer (as is his style) but I think this is what he means: We are familiar with the Rambam in the third chapter of Hilchos Teshuva where he writes, “Every person has merits and sins. One whose merits outweigh his sins is a tzadik (righteous). One whose sins outweigh his merits is a rasha (wicked). One whose merits and sins are equally balanced is a beinonee (intermediate category).” This is Perek 3 Halacha 1 in Hilchos Teshuva. Perek 3 Halacha 2 says the following: “The calculation of this balance is not based on the number of merits and sins, but based on their magnitude. There are some merits that outweigh many sins, and some sins that outweigh many merits.” This is not a simple matter of mathematics, counting up the debits and credits. There are some actions that tip the scales and outweigh many other actions that would weigh in the other direction. Perek 3 Halacha 3 says: “Just like this calculation is made on the day a person dies, so too each and every year a person’s sins are weighed for everyone in the world—on the New Year.” This is what is going to happen for everyone next Shabbos. We will all stand before the Master of the World and He will make the calculation: He who is found righteous will be inscribed for life. He who is found wicked will be inscribed for death. Those in the intermediate category will have their fate suspended until Yom Kippur. If they do teshuva, they will be sealed for life, if not they will be sealed for death. Everyone asks the question: If the definition of a beinoni is someone who is exactly balanced – 50/50 – then why is it necessary for the person to do

!baaqtu!ioti!tbs!– trcdk trcd ihc 31 teshuva? Let him merely do one mitzvah, which will tip the scale and put him into the tzadik category! Let him visit the sick, learn a little more, grab an extra mitzvah or two, and seal his fate in a positive fashion! Why is specifically teshuva essential to put him over the top? Many people ask this famous question on the Rambam. The answer is, as the Rambam writes: Sometimes a person does a sin that is a real whopper and can really tip the scales no matter how many merits are on the other side. What is an example of such a “whopper of an aveirah“? When the Ribono shel Olam comes and knocks on our door and says, “here I am, apologize” and the person does not do so. That is such an egregious sin that the person can lose all hope of emerging with a positive Judgement. In effect, this is a slap in the Face to the Ribono shel Olam. He is coming. He is waiting. He is the aggrieved party. You do not do anything about it. That is a terrible sin. This is actually a famous Gemara [Yoma 87a]. The Amoraim had a custom that if someone insulted them during the year, they would go to that person on Erev Yom Kippur and avail themselves to that person, to give them the opportunity to repent and ask forgiveness. From where did the Amoraim learn this? They learned it from the Ribono shel Olam. “Seek out Hashem when He is to be found; call out to Him when He is near” [Yeshaya 55:6]. This, Chazal say, refers to the ten days between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. Then the Gemara tells a scary story: Rav had an incident with a certain butcher. He had been insulted by the butcher during the course of the year. Rav came into the butcher shop on Erev Yom Kippur, not to buy meat for the Seudah HaMafsekes, but to make himself available to the butcher so that he could apologize to Rav. The butcher in effect told him “bug off.” The Gemara relates that the butcher was chopping a piece of meat with a bone, the bone flew up and hit him in the head and he died. The question is asked: What did the butcher do that was so bad that he was deserving of death? The answer is that when Rav comes to you and in effect says to you “Here I am. I am willing to forgive you, just say the words ‘I apologize'”—and you do not react—that is a horrible aveirah. That is what the Rambam means. If you do teshuva when you are “equally balanced” then you have rectified your past sins. However, if you do not do teshuva—you merely go around visiting the sick or seeking out other “mitzvah points”—that is still a slap in the Face of the Almighty! He is here, and you are not responding. That is the answer of the Meshech Chochmah. The difference between Parshas Re’eh and Parshas Nitzavim is that Parshas Re’eh is very bland, very vanilla. “Blessing and curse.” But in Parshas Nitzavim, where the Torah is blunt and spells it out – “For the mitzvah that I command you today is not beyond your grasp and it is not distant from you…” The Ribono shel Olam is saying, HERE I AM – DO TESHUVA! Then the Ribono shel Olam says. “Guess what? I have given you this opportunity. Understand, I have given you this day the choice between Life and Death. Once you have the mitzvah of teshuva and you fail to take advantage of it, it is no longer vanilla. It is no longer generic “blessing and curse.” It is now a zero-sum game. You either do teshuva and get kapparah (atonement) and you will live—or the opposite. That, the Meshech Chochma says, is the difference between Parshas Re’eh and Parshas Nitzavim. Transcribed by David Twersky; Jerusalem DavidATwersky@gmail.com Technical Assistance by Dovid Hoffman; Baltimore, MD dhoffman@torah.org This week’s write-up is adapted from the hashkafa portion of Rabbi Yissochar Frand’s Commuter Chavrusah Series on the weekly Torah portion. A complete catalogue can be ordered from the Yad Yechiel Institute, PO Box 511, Owings Mills MD 21117-0511. Call (410) 358-0416 or e-mail tapes@yadyechiel.org or visit http://www.yadyechiel.org/ for further information. Rav Frand © 2020 by Torah.org. support Do you have a question or comment? Feel free to contact us on our website. Join the Jewish Learning Revolution! Torah.org: The Judaism Site brings this and a host of other classes to you every week. Visit http://torah.org to get your own free copy of this mailing or subscribe to the series of your choice. Need to change or stop your subscription? Please visit our subscription center, http://torah.org/subscribe/ -- see the links on that page. Permission is granted to redistribute, but please give proper attribution and copyright to the author and Torah.org. Both the author and Torah.org reserve certain rights. Email copyrights@torah.org for full information. Torah.org: The Judaism Site Project Genesis, Inc. 2833 Smith Ave., Suite 225 Baltimore, MD 21209 http://www.torah.org/ learn@torah.org (410) 602-1350

Rabbi Yaakov Neuburger

TorahWeb A Special Perspective on Life Is it not strange that Hashem should give Moshe Rabbeinu the blessing of physical agelessness even as He brings him to publicly declare, in our parsha, "I can no longer take the lead in Torah matters, the traditions and the wellsprings of wisdom have been closed to me...Is there any value to my life?" (see Sotah 13b, Rashi and Sifsei Chahomim, 31:2). What possible purpose is served in imposing and recording that enormously painful one day chapter of his life? The inability to access one's own legacy and the loss of one's life-sustaining creativity all at once would crush someone of lesser measure, much the same as it drove Moshe, all the while busy with establishing his successor, to question the plan ahead. A different perspective is offered by HaRav Moshe Shternbuch, leader of Jerusalem's Edia Chareidis. The "wellsprings", he argues, are the apt description of deeply religious life, that ceaselessly aspires for greater spiritual awareness and enjoys refreshing energies with no end. The lock-downed wellsprings signaled to Moshe that he had indeed mastered all the trials and tests that were intended for him, and his soul was ready to move on to the next world. Thus this brief description guides us with a life lesson: a life continuously seeking new spiritual growth, that incessantly finds the

ever-present divine stroke in every encounter, is a life abundantly charged with presence and meaningfulness. As we make our final preparations for our Yom Hadin that will usher in 5781 with all its blessings, allow me to share some of the "wellsprings" of these upcoming days. Hopefully they will help us focus and articulate so much more of what is already inside our hearts. Our Shofaros are silent on the first day. This kind of a Rosh Hashana attracted the attention of Harav Yaakov Ettlinger, one of the leading rabbonim of nineteenth century Germany and author of the oft quoted Aruch La'ner. He suggested that on this kind of a yom tov when our concern to protect Shabbos silences our shofar, our judgement heavily depends on our observance of Shabbos. In fact, he traces many a decisive year for our people to have been years that began with Shabbos and not with the shofar. He submits that those years that brought blessing beyond belief were years where Shabbos was well and meaningfully practiced. Our Malchuyos will once again, as in every year past, ask Hashem to "reveal yourself in majestic grandeur...let all that has been made know that you are its maker". We are certainly closer this year to that humility than in many a recent year. Yet, how much would we give to have absorbed that humility from Hashem's majesty rather than His hiddenness and our precariousness. Our Zichronos ask every year that "your mercy suppress your anger from upon us" but this year the phrase captures our deepest prayers. And here is how our zochreinu lechayim sounds: "Ribbono Shel Olam, we mask with great discomfort, we sit apart from our friends, we may not have hugged our grandchildren in over half a year, we did not dance at so many smachos, we quarantined, we send our children to school in pods, capsules and masks...all because we want the health and the life to do Your bidding and bring goodness to Your world...zochreinu lechayim tovim..." May our prayers be accepted upon High and may our days and years be long and healthy, so that we can fill them growth and goodness. copyright © 2020 by The TorahWeb Foundation. All rights reserved.

Rabbi Elyakim Rosenblatt Zt”l

Yeshiva Kesser Torah A Commentary Published by Yeshiva Kesser Torah of Queens The Torah states (30:19) “I have placed life and death before you, blessing and curse; and you shall choose life, so that you will live, you and your offspring.” The Torah is telling us to choose life so that you will live. This is obvious – if you choose life, then you will live. Moreover, the verse itself says “I have placed life and death before you”, so it is clear that the choice is between life and death. If you choose life, then of course you will live and not die. Furthermore, why does the Torah add “you and your offspring?” What does your choice of life have to do with your offspring? Rav Moshe Feinstein answers both of these questions. When the Torah states that “you shall choose life”, it is not talking about the choice of living or dying, but the type of life that you should choose. The Torah is saying that you should choose the type of life where you and your offspring will live. What type of life is that? One can observe the Torah as a burden. As an old, unfortunate Yiddish expression goes, “es iz schwer tzu sein a yid”, It is hard to be a Jew. With such an attitude, one may totally believe in Hashem and fulfill all the mitzvos in the Torah. However, one does so only because one is commanded to do so and feels little personal benefit or joy in the daily routine of learning, davening and doing mitzvos. One who exhibits such an attitude appears to go through the motions of observance only because he is forced to do so, and shows to others that Judaism is a liability, Such an outlook will foster a negative attitude in his children and people close to him, with the end result that they will not have the moral strength to overcome their ethical and religious challenges. Instead, the Torah is telling us that we have a choice in our attitude toward Torah. It is an honor and privilege to be a Jew. We should observe mitzvos, daven and learn with an attitude of great joy. If we appreciate the tremendous opportunities that Hashem gives us to learn and observe His Torah, we will communicate to others how beautiful and joyful a Torah life is, and they will eventually understand how empty and meaningless life would be without it. The Torah adds “you and your offspring” to teach us that living with such an enthusiastic attitude will cause others to want to live a Torah life. They will see in the Torah a life of joy and happiness and will follow your example. As we approach Rosh Hashanah, let us choose life. Let us choose to observe Torah and mitzvos with joy and remember the honor and privilege we have as Hashem’s chosen people, and then Hashem will bless us with a sweet year filled with the joy of Torah. Good Shabbos! These weekly Parsha sheets are based on Shmuessin delivered at Yeshiva Kesser Torah by HaRav Elyakim G. Rosenblatt, Shlita, Rosh HaYeshiva. This Shmuess is adapted from a Shmuess of Maran HaGaon HaRav Henach Leibowitz, ZT”L. Yeshiva Kesser Torah, 72-11 Vleigh Place, Flushing, NY 11367. (718) 793-2890. YeshivaKesserTorah@gmail.com. For other Shiurim by Harav Rosenblatt Shlita, login to YeshivaKesserTorah.org For telephone shiurim call Kol Halashon at 718-395-2440. press 1 – 1 – 30 for Shiruim and 1 – 4 – 32 for Chassidic Gems

Vol 31 # 22 PLEASANT RIDGE NEWSLETTER s”xc t”pa, A Kehilas Prozdor Publication (c) 1990-2020 Rabbi Leibie Sternberg (Monsey/Spring Valley Z’manim) vbav atr http://www.prozdor.com Candles Mincha Daf Yomi Shachris a”ezx Friday 6:41 6:51 6:45 9:45 un,j,u uc,f, vcuy vbak Shabbos 7:48 2:30/6:30 7:00 8:30 9:45 Sunday 6:30 7:00 8:30 9:46

This issue is dedicated: hukv auchhk vsuvh r”c vfkn h,run hnt b”zku ktuna r”c ctz irvt crv hrun hct b”zk

Dedications ($18) and appreciations may be sent to: Kehilas Prozdor, 8 GreenHill Lane, Spring Valley, N.Y. 10977 (845) 354-7240 As this contains Divrei Torah and partial Pesukim, it should be treated with proper respect, both during and after use

ohhj cegh r”c ovrct rhtn ojbn r”c vecr ;xuh vhksd r”c ktuna hukv ejmh r”c krgp hukv cuy ouh ovrct r”c auchhk vsuvh b”gku

IMPORTANCE OF ....

The Chayei Adam (24:10) cites the opinion of R’ Abele Pasvaler who says that if one forgot to say ausev lknv in the Maariv Shemona Esrei on the first night of Rosh HaShanah, he need not repeat the Shemona Esrei, just as one need not repeat the Shemona Esrei if one forgot to say Yaaleh V’Yavo on any Rosh Chodesh evening Maariv, because Beis Din never declares a new month at night. The Mayim Chaim (j”ut 24) takes issue with this, pointing out that if one left out Yaaleh V’Yavo in that same Rosh HaShanah Maariv, he must repeat the Shemona Esrei because Yom Yov, unlike Rosh Chodesh, must be mentioned, as Melacha is prohibited. As such, leaving out ausev lknv should also require a repetition. The Binyan Shlomo (Hosafos 17) defends the ruling of R’ Abele, noting that we say ausev lknv and ypanv lknv during the Aseres Yemay Teshuvah and we stress Hashem’s Kingship on Rosh HaShanah because Hashem is judging the world at this time, as the Posuk says: cegh heuktk ypan tuv ktrahk ej hf. The Beraisa asks, if Hashem is judging the whole world, why is ktrah mentioned, and answers that the Heavenly Beis Din does not enter to begin judging until Beis Din on Earth has sanctified the new month [of Tishrei]. As such, the judgment does not begin until the day, since Beis Din can only sanctify the new month by day, which supports R’ Abele’s ruling. Perhaps for this reason, the Shulchan Aruch placed the Halacha concerning ypanv lknv in the Halachos of Shemona Esrei (j”ut 118) because it is just a Nusach change to remove 2 words from ypanu vesm cvut lkn to ypanv lknv. However, the Halachos dealing with ausev lknv are not just a Nusach change, but are rather part of Hilchos Rosh HaShanah and Aseres Yemay Teshuvah (j”ut 582) because recognizing Hashem’s Kingship at this time is the theme.

QUESTION OF THE WEEK: Under what conditions is it permitted to say Leshon HoRa about Baalei Machlokes ?

ANSWER TO LAST WEEK: (May one tell another what was said about him, so he can dispute it ?) If the one spoken of wishes to dispute what was said to defend his reputation, one may tell him what was said and who said it. If that is not the case, one may still disclose what was said to publicize the one who said it as a Baal Leshon HoRa, but only if the one spoken of is aware of what was said.

DIN'S CORNER: One is obligated to 1) appease sincerely and 2) ask for vkhjn from one he has wronged. He must try several times, each time bringing 3 people with him and using a different strategy, and must explain to the wronged party exactly what he had done to him, unless the wronged party would be embarrassed to hear it. The wronged party should be kjun – he is considered cruel if he doesn’t, unless he doubts the appeaser’s sincerity. MB(606:3,8)

DID YOU KNOW THAT ....

The Gemara (Kidushin 40b) states that one should view the world as half righteous and half guilty, and view himself the same way. If he does one mitzvah, he has tipped his own balance and that of the world onto the side of Zechus. The Gemara (Berachos 6a) states that if one intended to do a mitzvah but was prevented from actually performing it, the Torah considers it as if he had done it. Do such mitzvos count towards one’s balance ? The Yerushalmi (Kidushin 3:2) presents a Machlokes where R’ Yochanan says that one who was xbtb (prevented from doing a mitzvah) is deemed shcg tkf – as if he did not do the mitzvah, while Reish Lakish says he is shcgf because of the rule vhryp tbnjr xbut where the Torah “forgives” one for the consequences of a situation being beyond his control. R’ Yochanan holds that this does not rise to the level of shcgf since nothing was actually done, and the Halacha agrees with him. The Shulchan Aruch (j”ut 32:20) rules with regard to Tefillin that if one’s Tefillin are missing a letter or have an extra letter they are Posul, and one who wears them ends up every day with a vkyck vfrc and without the mitzvah of Tefillin. Is this not a clear case of someone who intended to do a mitzvah by putting on Tefillin everyday, and unbeknownst to him, they were Posul ? Should he not get credit anyway ? The consensus among most Poskim is that even if one who was xbtb is not viewed as if he had actually performed the mitzvah, he is still credited with the S’char for it, as if he had done it. The Gemara (Chulin 87a) states that if one grabs a mitzvah away from another, he must compensate him with 10 gold coins. The Chasam Sofer asks what has he lost ? He intended to do the mitzvah and was xbtb. Does he not earn the S’char anyway ? The Chasam Sofer answers that indeed he does. The 10 gold coins are compensation for the fact that he was prevented from serving Hashem with vumn ka vjna.

A Lesson Can Be Learned From: The Gerer Rebbe (author of Chidushei HaRim) noticed that during the last few weeks of summer, as the calendar approached Rosh HaShanah, people were still in “summer mode”, unable or unwilling to shake the lazy, carefree attitude that accompanies humidity and sunshine. When he walked into the Beis HaMidrash halfway through Elul and saw Bochurim and YungerLeit standing around “shmoozing”, he remarked: “How consistent are the works of our Poskim. I always wondered why the Rambam has a section called Hilchos Teshuvah , while the Shulchan Aruch does not. As we all know, the Rambam’s Mishneh Torah is comprehensive, covering all the Halachos of the Beis HaMikdash, Korbanos, Tum’ah and Taharah etc.., even though these are not practiced today, while the Shulchan Aruch only contains those Halachos that are practiced today. Apparently, the Mechaber must have realized that Teshuvah is one of those mitzvos that people no longer practice and as a result, he decided not to include it in the Shulchan Aruch !” P.S. vh,ukkeu vba vkf,