The
Gemara in Masechet Rosh Hashanah, on the pasuk וּמִי גוֹי
גָּדוֹל אֲשֶׁר לוֹ אֱלֹקִים קְרֹבִים אֵלָיו, describes how
fortunate the Jewish people are. Normally, when a person knows he's about to
stand trial, he dresses in black, leaves his beard untrimmed and anxiously
awaits the outcome. But the Jewish people are different. We prepare for Rosh
Hashanah by putting on niceclothing, eating and drinking, confident that Hashem
will give us a favorable judgment. What an incredible chesed. Hashem wants us
to enter the awesome Day of Judgment happy and confident that He is going to
give us the most wonderful year.
Yet
the Gemara elsewhere in Rosh Hashanah seems to say the opposite. The angels in
Shamayim asked Hashem why we don't say Hallel on Rosh Hashanah. Hashem
responded, "Is it possible that the King is sitting on the throne of judgment,
with the books of life and death open before Him, and Yisrael should sing
Hallel?" If we are so confident of a favorable judgment, why shouldn't we sing
Hallel?
There
are many answers to this question. The Taz explains that although we are
confident that Hashem will judge us favorably, there still has to be a feeling
of awe and seriousness. We don't say Hallel because we understand what's taking
place. Our lives are being judged. Our entire year is being determined. It's a
very serious time. And it is precisely because we take the judgment seriously
that we are able to be confident and celebrate.
Rosh
Hashanah itself is one of the greatest gifts that Hashem has given us. Imagine
if there were never a time when we were forced to stop and think about what
we're doing with our lives. We could continue year after year, allowing our
sins to pile up, never asking ourselves where we're going or whether we're
fulfilling the purpose for which Hashem put us here. Hashem gives us Rosh
Hashanah to make us stop and think: There's a purpose to my life. Am I
living the way Hashem wants me to live? Am I becoming the person I'm capable of
becoming?
Hashem
loves us so much. He placed this Day of Judgment in the midst of the most
favorable time of the entire year. Moshe Rabbeinu went up to Har Sinai for the
second time on Rosh Chodesh Elul, and forty days later, on Yom Kippur, Hashem
forgave the Jewish people for the Chet HaEgel. These are days filled with
Hashem's mercy and closeness. The Judge is telling us, so to speak, "I love
you. Come close to Me. I want to give you everything that is good."
Our
Judge is our loving Father. He wants to give us life. He wants to give us
berachah. He wants to give us opportunities to grow. But He also wants us to
understand what we're doing here. Life is not just about getting through
another year. We were given a holy neshamah from under the Kisei HaKavod with a
very specific mission. We were given tremendous potential, and Hashem wants us
to use it.
Imagine
a father who gives his son a business to run. He gives him the building, the
employees, the inventory and all the money he needs. His greatest desire is for
his son to succeed. At the end of every year, he schedules a meeting with his
son to go over the business. He examines what's going well, what's going wrong
and what needs to change for the upcoming year.
The
son may dread that meeting, but if he understands his father's point of view,
he will see it completely differently. My father isn't looking for a reason
to take away my business. He gave me the business because he wants me to
succeed. The meeting is what keeps me focused. It gives me the opportunity to
correct my mistakes and become the person my father knows I can be.
There's
just one thing the son has to do. He has to take that meeting seriously. If he
walks in laughing about his mistakes and shows no interest in improving, he has
missed the entire point. But if he comes in sincerely saying, "I understand
what you have given me. I know I can do better. Here's what I want to do to
improve," then the father says, "You got the message. Now I can give you
everything you need for another successful year."
This
is how we should view Rosh Hashanah. We recognize the enormous seriousness of
the day. We think about our lives, what needs improvement and what Hashem
expects from us. And we tell Him, "I want to do better. I know I can do better.
I want to fulfill the potential You gave me."
And
then we can celebrate.
We
put on beautiful clothing. We eat lavish meals. We come into the day with
confidence and joy because we know Who our Judge is. He's our loving Father. He
gave us this day because He wants us to succeed. Once we understand the
seriousness of life and show Hashem that we want to fulfill our purpose, we can
look forward with confidence that Hashem will inscribe us for a year filled
with life, berachah and all that is good. Amen.
