Special Aseret Yeme Teshuva Edition
To give us the proper mindset for these days of Aseret Yeme Teshuva, yesterday we spoke about the mindset of looking forward to Yom Kippur, the great day.
There’s another aspect, that Rambam tells us, based on the Gemara that says that on Rosh Hashana we are judged.
As we know, if person is found a Sadik, they get life, and if a Rasha, the opposite.
וְהַבֵּינוֹנִי תּוֹלִין אוֹתוֹ עַד יוֹם הַכִּפּוּרִים
The Benoni (the fellow in the middle) is left hanging until Yom Kippur.
אִם עָשָׂה תְּשׁוּבָה נֶחְתָּם לְחַיִּים וְאִם לָאו
If he does Teshuva, he is sealed for life, and if not the opposite.
These days, we are all supposed to view ourselves like we’re half/half; the Gemara tells us most people are half/half because this does not refer to the quantity of our mitzvot. It’s more about the quality. What is our mindset? What are we focused on? Most of us are in a constant struggle between the two sides. During Aseret Yeme Teshuva, we have to tilt ourselves over a little bit.
Rambam continues with the following mindset:
צָרִיךְ כָּל אָדָם שֶׁיִּרְאֶה עַצְמוֹ כָּל הַשָּׁנָה כֻּלָּהּ כְּאִלּוּ חֶצְיוֹ זַכַּאי וְחֶצְיוֹ חַיָּב.
Every person must view himself as half sins and half mitzvot.
Furthermore,
וְכֵן כָּל הָעוֹלָם חֶצְיוֹ זַכַּאי וְחֶצְיוֹ חַיָּב
That the whole world’s scale is exactly balanced between sins and mitzvot.
Heaven forbid...
. חָטָא חֵטְא אֶחָד הֲרֵי הִכְרִיעַ אֶת עַצְמוֹ וְאֶת כָּל הָעוֹלָם כֻּלּוֹ לְכַף חוֹבָה.
You do one sin, and that tilts the scale the wrong way. It would cause destruction.
On the other hand,
עָשָׂה מִצְוָה אַחַת הֲרֵי הִכְרִיעַ אֶת עַצְמוֹ וְאֶת כָּל הָעוֹלָם כֻּלּוֹ לְכַף זְכוּת
Do one mitzvah, and it would tilt the whole world to the side of merit. You would cause salvation for the entire world.
as it says,
שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר (משלי י כה) "וְצַדִּיק יְסוֹד עוֹלָם"
“the Sadik can be the foundation of the whole world” .....when he does that one deed.
So we must have the mindset that the world is half/half and we are half/half.
I once asked the following question to my congregation, as I don’t have much sports knowledge:
What is the impact of a strike (a swing and a miss) during a baseball game?
The answer they gave is that it all depends. If it’s the first pitch, you have two more to go. If you’re first batter up, and it was your third strike, it’s not terrible, because the next guy goes up next.
But if it’s the final game of the World Series, bottom of the ninth, bases loaded, two strikes.... Now the whole season depend on this pitch.
So, the answer to the question, the impact of a strike, depends on the background.
During Aseret Yeme Teshuva, we have to imagine that we are put at the plate, we’re being pitched to, but we don’t know the whole background. We are just told we have to swing. We don’t know what the game is up to, how many outs, etc. We have to be careful, because we don’t have the context.
That’s Aseret Yeme Teshuva..
We have to take it very seriously.
So, during Aseret Yeme Teshuva, the Rambam continues...
וּמִפְּנֵי עִנְיָן זֶה נָהֲגוּ כָּל בֵּית יִשְׂרָאֵל לְהַרְבּוֹת בִּצְדָקָה וּבְמַעֲשִׂים טוֹבִים וְלַעֲסֹק בְּמִצְוֹת
The entire Jewish people give extra Sedaka, do extra good deeds and get involved in mitzvot. That’s why everyone is careful to say selichot, and to add extra prayers; we have to do something, because it’s an important time. It’s not one mitzva or two....We have to be of the mindset to take advantage of all opportunities available to us. That’s the feeling of Aseret Yeme Teshuva.
That being said, this is a good time to take advantage of the following:
At this time of year, we give out over $50,000 in new clothing cards to over 100 families.
We are short.
This is your opportunity to get involved.
Click on the attached link,
https://www.duvys.com/simple/levchana
or mail a check to:
Lev Chana
1059 East 10th Street
Brooklyn NY 11230
Tizku leMitzvot.
Hashem should bless everyone with a happy and healthy new year.
Tizku Leshanim Rabot