As we prepare for Rosh Hashanah, there is a lot to do. We may have to cook, buy, and shop, but the most important things on Rosh Hashanah, more-so than for any other holiday, are our mindsets.
Mindsets are important in everything. There is currently a very popular therapy called CBT: Cognitive Behavior Therapy, which is based on the concept that cognition (which is the process of thinking) impacts behavior, and thus having the right mindsets can fix our issues.
Our thoughts impact our behavior, so our thoughts on Rosh Hashanah are extremely important.
We will see this from a Mishnah and Gemara of Masechet Rosh Hashanah. The Gemara points out that on every holiday in which we are being judged, G-d gives us a certain item to bring, as a merit in the area of judgement. For example, the Gemara quotes Rabbi Akiva as asking why we bring an Omer (a barley korban) on Pesach. The answer is that because Pesach is at the beginning of the grain season, G-d says, “If you want blessing in your grain, give Me a grain offering (which is the korban Omer).”
The Gemara continues with: Why does G-d say we should bring two loaves of bread on Shavuot, which ushers in the bikkurim- the fruit gifts? G-d says, “Because I am now judging you on your fruit. It’s that season. Bring Me an offering that will bring blessings to your fruit.”
And finally, why do we have a water-libation korban on Succot, where the water is poured on the mizbeah?
The answer is, since it’s the beginning of the rainy season, and we want to bring blessing upon the water, we do a korban with water.
(It’s interesting to note, as an aside, that these three holidays all have an aspect of judgement to them.)
On Rosh Hashanah, human beings are being judged on life for the upcoming year. So what should we do? G-d says that we should read the pesukim of:
-Malchuyot, which are pesukim that discuss G-d’s kingdom,
-Zichronot, which are pesukim that discuss that G-d is remembering us and judging us,
- Shofarot, where the pesukim talk mainly about the shofar that was blown at Matan Torah on Har Sinai, and about the shofar that will be blown when Mashiach comes in the future.
The act of reading these pesukim is about our mindsets. We have to hear the shofar on Rosh Hashanah, but it’s connected to these pesukim. According to the customs of many, we stop three times mid-amidah of Musaf, while reading these pesukim, to blow the shofar. When the shofar blows, G-d judges us. While he’s judging us, He gives us advice on how to have a good judgement. How do we earn a good judgement?
While being judged, our minds are filled with the proper cognition and mindsets.
These three mindsets, which we will discuss further in upcoming classes, are the fundamentals of our faith:
First: Malchuyot: G-d is king. G-d created the world, something from nothing, on the 25th of Elul. He created man on Rosh Hashanah, the first day of Tishre. Everything exists because G-d willed it to be, and continues to will it to be.
Secondly, Zichronot: G-d remembers us. He sees what we do. He is involved in our personal lives on a day- to-day basis, and rewards and punishes us.
And finally, G-d gave us the Torah with the sound of the shofar; He revealed Himself to us with the shofar (and He will do so in the future), and told us how to live our lives.
In a nutshell, what is the Jewish mindset?
-G-d created the world.
-He gave us the Torah that tells us how to live.
-He rewards and punishes according to how we follow the rules.
That’s the whole story.
This is what G-d wants us to have on our mind.
Before we talk about the details such as: Did we do this, or how well are we doing that, we have to ask: Do we have our heads on straight? That’s the first thing.
Rosh means head. We need to have our heads on straight on Rosh Hashanah.
We do that with the mindsets of
Malchuyot- G-d is king,
Zichronot G-d remembers us,
Shofarot G-d appeared to us at Har Sinai.
Beh we will continue in upcoming days.