Welcome to 5786!

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We spent the last two days reconnecting to Hashem, reaching into the depths of our soul and finding the essence of who we are - His people.  We crowned Him as King, and He once again found pleasure in us mortals making the choice to accept our role in the world.  Rosh Hashanah is the time of renewing the bond, reaffirming that Hashem created us and gave us a mission.  In fact, the entire universe and all the spiritual worlds that preceded it were created by Hashem in order for us humans to choose to serve Hashem.  


Specifically because we naturally tend to just follow our own needs, when we choose to rise above that and do what Hashem wants us to do, that brings Him real pleasure. This is the annual work of Rosh Hashanah, for us to show our commitment and for Hashem to “renew the lease” on the world. Now it’s time to start examining how we have been doing on that commitment.  The next eight days are called “Days of Teshuva.”  Everything has a season, and this is the season of teshuvah.  But wait, isn’t teshuvah something we can do any time?  I was thinking about that question today and maybe the “season” metaphor works.  As fruits start to grow, you can pluck them off the tree with a little effort.  They might ripen with a little time or you can eat them unripe.


When the harvest season comes, you can pluck the fruit right off the tree, it is ripe and delicious and easy to eat.  While teshuvah - return or repentance - always works, during this time it is much more accessible.  Our Sages explain the verse (Yeshayahu 55:6): Seek the L-rd when He is found, call Him when He is near” to be referring to the “ten days between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur.” (Talmud Rosh Hashanah 78a.)  This is the time when our souls are more open to teshuvah, when “teshuvah is in the air.”  And Hashem is quicker to accept our teshuvah.


These days are known as “Days of Judgment."  On Rosh Hashanah all the blessings we will receive the coming year are determined and on Tom Kippur it is “sealed.”  This means that we have an opportunity to improve our position and increase the blessings until Yom Kippur.  Rambam writes (Mishneh Torah Laws of Teshuvah 3:4): “it is customary for all of Israel to give profusely to charity, perform many good deeds, and be occupied with mitzvot from Rosh HaShanah until Yom Kippur to a greater extent than during the remainder of the year.”


This is the time to mend relationships, to ask for forgiveness from those we have wronged, and to forgive others.  It is a time to think about ways we can improve and strengthen our relationship with Hashem and our observance of Torah.  


I started out talking about the commitment that we make to Hashem on Rosh Hashanah, recognizing our role and our mission.  Rosh Hashanah is not about details, it is about the essential bond.  But now it’s time to go through the details.  Like a child who has distanced himself from his parents, and after some time returns home to rejoin the family.  The immediate emotion of the parents is great joy and acceptance.  But it is a very good idea for them to sit down and think about what went wrong with the relationship and what made the child run away in the first place.  An honest assessment of the issues that led the child to turn against his family will help him avoid the same issues going forward.


On Yom Kippur we will stand before Hashem and ask for forgiveness for all the sins of the past year.  We shouldn’t wait for Yom Kippur to start the process.  Hashem has given us the gift of a week for us to take the time to try to to assess how each day of the year passed.  How were my Thursdays (that is today’s assessment, today being Thursday), and tomorrow we assess our Fridays, etc.


By the time Yom Kippur comes we have a whole week of prayer, Mitzvot and Teshuvah behind us and are ready to accept the incredible gift of that day, when Hashem annually cleans our slate so that we can start the new year fresh.


May we all use this time to step up and improve our Mitzvot, and may we be sealed for a good, sweet, peaceful year, with the ultimate blessing of the final redemption. 

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