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).
