Welcome to Daily Bitachon. We are now in Aseret Yemei Teshuvah. Everyone looks at Aseret Yemei Teshuvah just as it sounds: ten days of teshuvah, which means "to return." But the Rambam explains the pasuk that serves as the source for the power of Aseret Yemei Teshuvah: "Dirshu Hashem behimtzo"—seek God when He is to be found; "Kera'uhu bihyoto karov"—call out to Him when He is close.
There are two phrases used here to describe Aseret Yemei Teshuvah: He is to be found, and He is close. Since He is to be found, return to Him and find Him. And since He is close, call out to Him.
This means that not only is Aseret Yemei Teshuvah an auspicious time for returning, but it is also an especially auspicious time for prayer. We must take advantage of this period to pray.
There is a beautiful tefilah from the Pele Yoetz in his sefer Beit Tefilah. In his introduction, he cites a famous Gemara: anyone who is able to pray for mercy on behalf of their fellow and fails to do so is called a sinner. We learn this from the Gemara in Makkot (11b), which notes that the Kohen Gadol bore a unique responsibility regarding those exiled to an ir miklat (city of refuge). The accidental killer had to remain there until the death of the Kohen Gadol—which effectively placed the Kohen Gadol on a "most-wanted" list.
People wanted the Kohen Gadol to die so that their exiled relatives could go free. In fact, the Gemara says that the mothers of the Kohanim Gedolim would bring treats and clothing to the refugees to make them comfortable, hoping they would not pray with intense fervor for the Kohen Gadol to pass away. The Gemara asks: Why should the Kohen Gadol bear this consequence? The Gemara answers that he should have prayed for mercy for his entire generation so that such a tragedy would never occur in the first place, and because he did not, he was held accountable.
There are two profound lessons here regarding prayer:
The power of the Kohen Gadol: His prayers could have prevented tragedies across the entire nation.
The power of someone who committed manslaughter: Even someone sitting in a city of refuge due to fatal negligence possesses prayer powerful enough to impact the Kohen Gadol's life.
The mothers went out of their way to appease them to prevent those prayers from being answered. Connecting to this idea, the Pele Yoetz composed a tefilah specifically for Aseret Yemei Teshuvah, placing each of us into the role of someone who has the power and duty to pray for others.
You might wonder: What changed? Do we suddenly become Kohanim Gedolim during these ten days? In a sense, yes. This is an eit ratzon (a time of divine favor), and we are granted extraordinary spiritual leverage during Aseret Yemei Teshuvah. We have a responsibility to use that power properly.
There is another area where we step into the role of the Kohen Gadol. The shofar cannot come from a cow or ox; it must be from a kosher animal like a ram. (A ram is ideal because it evokes the Akeidat Yitzchak, but an ox is strictly forbidden because it recalls the sin of the Golden Calf.) The general principle is that gold or reminders of the Golden Calf are excluded lifnai velifnim—inside the Holy of Holies—so as not to act as a prosecutor before God. Outside the Holy of Holies, it is permitted. Yet when we blow the shofar, we are not in the Beit HaMikdash; there is no physical Holy of Holies standing, and we might be blowing it right on Ocean Parkway! Why should the ox horn be disqualified there?
The Gemara answers that because the shofar serves to bring our remembrance directly before God, the act itself is considered as though we are standing inside the Holy of Holies. On Rosh Hashanah, we take on the status of the Kohen Gadol entering the innermost sanctuary. And based on the Pele Yoetz, that elevated status and closeness to God extend through the entire ten days. We are near to God just like the Kohen Gadol, which means we must seize this unique window to pray for other people.
The Pele Yoetz's prayer is thorough, covering every conceivable detail a person could need in life—down to praying that in old age, our teeth remain healthy. Every single detail matters.
People often say, "I have no time; I'm too busy." But make time during Aseret Yemei Teshuvah. Consider everyday frustrations: recently, my flight was diverted due to bad weather, circled for thirty minutes, landed at the wrong airport, required an Uber transfer, the return leg got canceled, and my carry-on bag was forcibly checked. When I vented to someone, they simply said, "Well, at least the plane landed safely." That is true, but all of these details—both the major outcomes and the minor disruptions—are determined on Rosh Hashanah and sealed during Aseret Yemei Teshuvah.
Let's use this time wisely. Rabbeinu Yonah wrote that if we truly appreciated the gravity of these days, we would take off from work entirely. Even if we cannot do that, we must dedicate real, focused time. Rav Wolbe taught that teshuvah takes time—and prayer takes time, too. Let's take full advantage of these fleeting, powerful days for both teshuvah (returning) and tefilah (prayer).