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Walk, Don't Fly |
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From the teachings of Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai; translation & commentary by Shmuel Simcha Treister |
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Rabbi Yossi taught that three groups are judged on the Day of Judgment: the completely righteous, the completely wicked, and those in between [known as "beinonim"]. Corresponding to these, there are three powers in a person: the power of the holy Neshama [relating to the righteous], the power of lust and desires [relating to the wicked], and the power to prevent wrongdoing [relating to the beinonim].
Rabbi Yossi ben Pazzi said: Come and see the mercy shown by G‑d. Even though the heavenly court comes to judge the Creation, those who give evidence before Him of a person's merits also appear, as Rabbi Yossi ben Pazzi taught: three groups of heavenly angels stand in the judgment on Rosh Hashanahh; those that give evidence on the side of a person's merits, those that show his bad deeds and the third group to execute the judgment.
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Shofar Meditation |
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Translated and edited from the Writings of the Ari as recorded by Rabbi Chaim Vital by Moshe Yakov Wisnefsky. |
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On Rosh Hashanahh, the nature of the created universe is being re-determined. The energy that powered the previous year is withdrawn and a new energy is drawn down. Since the creative energy that powers the world is being withdrawn to its source, there are no "rules", and everything is, in a sense, up for grabs. The inner dimension of the lights of chesed-gevura-tiferet-malchut ascend into bina, withdrawing back into the womb where they originated, so to speak.
Evil can assert that it deserves to receive the new life force of the coming year, especially in view of the record of its so-called rightful recipients during the previous year. Therefore, in order that the life force of the new year be drawn down as it should, that is, channeled mainly into holiness (and its champions in this world, the Jewish people), it is necessary to ensure that G‑d is "reminded," so to speak, of His original vision of Creation, in which the Jewish people are His emissaries to make this world into His home.
The renewed inner light returns when the shofar [ram's horn] is blown. The first blast is the straight tekia, the sweetening light of Abba/chochma, the original insight. The middle blasts (shevarim and terua) also indicate various aspects of severe judgement, the overall idea is to sweeten the judgments of the middle blasts by the simple straightforward blast of the tekia.
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The Ramban on the Shofar |
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From Rabbi Moshe ben Nachman's commentary on the Torah |
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Terua, the quavering sound which usually alludes to the attribute of judgment, can denote the alarm of war, as in Jeremiah. (4:19) If so, "…it shall be a day of terua unto you" (Lev. 23:24) in reference to Rosh Hashanahh would mean that the world is judged according to the attribute of judgment but, "a memorial of terua, a holy convocation" means that there will be a remembrance of mercy in the terua and therefore it is a "holy convocation", a day of judgment in mercy.
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What is a Soul? |
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Adapted by Yosef Marcus from a discourse of the Lubavitcher Rebbe |
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The world was created on the 25th of Elul. The Hebrew equivalent of 25 is chaf hei , which spells koh, connoting vagueness. The world was created in a state of koh; Divinity was not apparent in its purest form. This state existed until the sixth day when man was created, whose mission it was to bring about the revelation of zeh, connoting clarity.
Rosh Hashanahh, which celebrates the creation of the world, is celebrated on the first of Tishrei, which corresponds to the sixth day of creation, the day man was created. The ultimate purpose of creation is that man, through his divine service, reveal G‑dliness in the world—an endeavor that began on the day man was created, Rosh Hashanahh.
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Joy and Judgment |
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Translated and adapted by David Rothschild from a discourse by the Lubavitcher Rebbe |
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The goal of our divine service of Rosh Hashanahh, the Ten Days of Awe and Yom Kippur is to draw down from Above the innermost aspect of our souls so that their essence shine in open revelation here in the physical world.
Preparation for Rosh Hashanahh begins the first day of Elul. During the month of Elul, we seek to reveal the deepest recesses of our hearts - the soul's core. These hidden attributes must shine outward. And they are present in a comprehensive manner in virtually every Jew.
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Seven Days of Return |
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By Shaul Yosef Leiter |
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The Haftorah of the second day of Rosh Hashanahh focuses on Hannah, a childless woman. She vowed that if G‑d would give her a son, she would dedicate his life to Divine service. Hannah was not asking for a child just to fulfill her maternal needs, but rather to show her commitment to G‑d's kingship.
This is the model for our holiday prayers. We ask for our physical needs, and even if we are primarily concerned with them for selfish reasons, the essence of our prayer is an outpouring of the soul, longing to connect to and serve G‑d. Just as Hannah was answered on Rosh Hashanahh, so should G‑d fulfill all of our requests for a good and sweet year.
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Passover on Rosh Hashanahh |
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An evil decree is averted by the mysterious words of the Rebbe.
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A Sincere Prayer |
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By Yerachmiel Tilles |
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Sincere prayer is the best possible "head" for a good year. Say the Evening Prayer of the first night of Rosh Hashanahh, the first prayer of the new year, with extra care.
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