Yom ha’Kippurim 5783: Musings on Erev Yom ha’Kippurim Anxiety

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Artwork: Day of Judgment, by Anato Finnstark

Yom ha'Kippurim 5783: Musings on Erev Yom ha'Kippurim Anxiety

This morning I woke up, realized it was Erev Yom ha’Kippurim, and was filled with existential anxiety. I didn’t utilize these past eight days of the Aseres Ymei Teshuvah (Ten Days of Repentance) as much as I could have. I haven’t done my best to maximize my potential throughout the year. I have so many flaws and fall short in my avodas Hashem in so many ways. But then I had a very simple epiphany: the din (judgment) of Yom ha’Kippurim and the kaparah (atonement) of Yom ha’Kippurim are two separate phenomena, and one is not necessarily dependent on the other. 

By “the din of Yom ha’Kippurim” I am referring to the judgment on humanity which occurs on Rosh ha’Shanah and is finalized on Yom ha’Kippurim. This din pertains to “health and sickness, and death and life, and [other] human circumstances” (Rambam, Commentary on Rosh ha’Shanah Chapter 1 Mishnah 4). Rambam explains how this din works in Hilchos Teshuvah Chapter 3:

Each and every human being has zechuyos (merits) and avonos (iniquities). Someone whose zechuyos are more than their avonos is a tzadik (righteous in terms of this judgment). Someone whose avonos are more than their zechuyos is a rasha (wicked in terms of this judgment). Half and half is a beinoni (one who is in the middle) …

Just as the avonos of a person are weighed against his zechuyos at the time of his death, so too each and every year the avonos of each and every person are weighed against his zechuyos on the Yom Tov of Rosh ha’Shanah. One who is found to be a tzadik is sealed for life; and one who is found to be a rasha is sealed for death. But the beinoni hangs in the balance until Yom ha’Kippurim. If he did teshuvah – he is sealed for life; but if not – he is sealed for death.

Although it is natural to feel anxiety about how our din will turn out, I realized this morning that such anxiety is inevitable, since “this weighing can only take place in the mind of the God of Minds, and He is the [only] One Who knows how to weigh the zechuyos against the avonos” (ibid.). In other words, there is a fantasy at work here beneath the surface. The anxiety makes us feel “if only I had prepared adequately, then I would enter Yom ha’Kippurim with the assurance that I’ll receive a good din!” In truth, such security is impossible. To the contrary – the more perfected a person is, the more uncertain they will be about their din, since they’ll have a more accurate grasp of what perfection entails and how far they are from that ideal. While this state of mind can be productive insofar as it spurs a person to do more teshuvah and mitzvos, it is sheer folly to think that there’s a way to avoid feeling anxious about one’s din. At the end of the day, none of us knows how our din will turn out.

In contrast, the kaparah of Yom ha’Kippurim is available to the entire Jewish people irrespective of their din. The Rambam (Hilchos Teshuvah 1:3) writes:

At a time when we do not have a Beis ha'Mikdash nor a Mizbach Kaparah (Altar of Atonement), all we have is teshuvah. Teshuvah brings kaparah for all transgressions ... And the day of Yom ha'Kippurim, itself, brings kaparah for shavim (i.e. those who engaged in teshuvah), as it is stated, “for on this day he shall atone for you” (Vayikra 16:30).

The Torah does not say, “for on this day he shall atone for tzadikim” or “for those who were sealed for life” but rather “for you” – that is, for all of Klal Yisrael, provided they utilized the Aseres Ymei Teshuvah to be involved in teshuvah, as the Rambam clearly stated: “If [the beinoni] did teshuvah – he is sealed for life; but if not – he is sealed for death.” [1] The kaparah of Yom ha’Kippurim is not tied to the outcome of our din. Unlike our din, which is fraught with uncertainty, kaparah is guaranteed to those who engage in teshuvah. It is for this reason that we can declare as a praise – not as a request – in each of our tefilos: “Blessed are You, Hashem, the King Who pardons and forgives our iniquities and the iniquities of His people, the family of Israel, and removes our sins every single year, King over all the world, Who sanctifies Israel and Yom ha’Kippurim.” Kaparah is within our grasp.

[1] Contrary to what it may seem, the Rambam does not mean that Yom ha’Kippurim only provides kaparah for the specific sins you did teshuvah on; see my article entitled Yom ha’Kippurim 5780: Kaparah as a Means to an End for elaboration.

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Meditations on Rosh ha'Shanah 5781: The Meaning of "Shanah Tovah"

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Meditations on Rosh ha'Shanah 5781: The Meaning of "Shanah Tovah"

When I think back to the headspace I was in last Erev Rosh ha'Shanah, I am shocked by the level of unfounded certainty I had about how the year would play out. Obviously, I didn't think I'd be able to predict the particulars of the upcoming year, but I was so secure in my ability to predict its general parameters that I wasn't even aware of my own baseless assumptions. 

For example, I wondered, "How many new Shalhevet students will we be able to recruit in the upcoming year?" Never once did it occur to me that the school would close permanently. I wondered, "How successful will I be in preparing my AP English students for the exam in the spring?" Never once did I imagine that all of my students would be taking their drastically modified exam from home, after two months of stressful and disruptive preparation over Zoom. I wondered, "How will my personal and professional development this year improve my practices as a high school teacher next year?" Never in a million years would I have guessed that I would no longer be a high school teacher in 2020-2021.

The pandemic's telescoping effect on my ability to see into the future has been humbling, to say the least. The fact that we can't even see a week or two into the future has made me realize the folly of trying to predict what will happen later in the year. It has become increasingly real to me what ought to have been real all along: the fact that the future is unknowable.

Because of this fundamental shift in perspective, I find myself in a much better position to appreciate the reality of the Yom ha'Din (Judgment Day) we are about to experience. In the Zichronos part of the Mussaf of Rosh ha'Shanah we say: "and over countries [judgment] is pronounced, which of them is destined for the sword and which for peace, which for famine and which for abundance, and on it, creatures are recalled, to be remembered for life or for death." In past years statements like these seemed like hyperbolic abstractions, but this year they are more real than ever. The same is true of the mentality Chazal urged us to have, that our individual and collective fate is "hanging in the balance," awaiting the verdict of the Dayan ha'Emes (True Judge).

Speaking of Judgment Day, I find myself recalling the maxim that a certain single mother used to say to her son throughout his upbringing: "There is no fate but what we make." On its surface, this aphorism underscores the primacy of bechirah (free will) and its role in determining what happens in our lives. When I thought about this statement this morning, my reaction was, "That's not entirely true! Yes, our choices play a role in shaping our fate, but so much of our fate is determined by factors beyond our control! Our lives are a product of our own decisions and external factors!"

But then my thinking shifted back to the words of Shlomo ha'Melech, the Rambam, the Stoic thinkers, and others whose writings I've been pondering lately, and I was reminded that we live a dual life. One is life as a human being who lives in the world of ideas; the other is life as a physical creature living in a physical world. Regarding this physical life it would not be true to say, "There is no fate but what we make," but regarding our metaphysical existence as a tzelem Elokim (truth-seeking intellect), the statement is 100% true (regardless of whether this is what Ms. Connor had in mind when she said it).

Chazal teach: "Everything is in the hands of heaven except for the fear of heaven" (Berachos 33b). The Rambam (Responsa #436) explains that the phrase "fear of heaven" in this context refers to all of our free will decisions, insofar as all decisions culminate in either mitzvah or aveirah (transgression). Thus, while all of our other circumstances may be "in the hands of heaven," our "fear of Hashem" - that is, our life as a decision-making tzelem Elokim - is entirely in our own hands. No matter what unforeseen circumstances we find ourselves in, we always have the ability to choose between mitzvah and aveirah, wisdom and folly, good and evil, truth and falsehood.

And that, I believe, sheds a new light on the uncertainty of the upcoming year. The circumstances which will determine the trajectory of our physical lives this coming year are unknowable and unpredictable, but the factors which will determine our true lives are fully within our control. I find that thought to be both tremendously reassuring and terribly frightening. It means that no matter what happens to us this year, our fate as human beings is still in our own hands. "There is no fate but what we make."

The Rambam, in his commentary on Rosh ha'Shanah Perek 1 Mishnah 2, explains that the judgment of Rosh ha'Shanah and Yom ha'Kippurim determines things like health, sickness, life, death, and the other circumstances of our physical lives. In light of the foregoing observations, I believe we can reframe what we mean when we daven for, yearn for, and wish each other a "shanah tovah." We can't be asking for a year characterized by the true good - a year of choosing the good - since that good is dependent entirely on each of our own choices. Rather, I believe we are asking Hashem to bless us with external circumstances which are conducive to choosing the good, for it is far easier to make good choices when we enjoy health, security, livelihood, and the other physical blessings. What we do with these blessings is up to us, but we are entirely dependent on Hashem for furnishing the circumstances which facilitate our good choices.

And so, with that meaning in mind, I would like to wish all of us - you, me, the Jewish people, and all of mankind - a "shanah tovah."

Parashas Behaalosecha: Trumpets, Shofar, and Rosh ha'Shanah

This post stands on its own, but can also be viewed as a sequel to Parashas Behaalosecha: The Non-Symbolic Trumpets.

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Parashas Behaalosecha: The Trumpets and the Shofar

This week's parashah introduces the mitzvah of the chatzotzros (trumpets). These chatzotzros served a number of functions: some of which were limited to Bnei Yisrael's sojourn in the Wilderness, and others which are part of Taryag (the 613 mitzvos) and are in effect for all generations. In this blog post we will focus on the role of the chatzotzros during an eis tzarah (time of trouble).

The pesukim state: 

Hashem spoke to Moshe, saying: "Make for yourself two silver trumpets - make them hammered out ... The sons of Aharon, the Kohanim, shall sound the trumpets, and it shall be for you an eternal decree for your generations. When you go to wage war in your Land against an enemy who oppresses you, you shall sound short blasts of the trumpets, and you shall be remembered before Hashem, your God, and you shall be saved from your enemies. On a day of your gladness, and on your festivals, and on your new moons, you shall sound the trumpets over your burnt-offerings, and over your feast peace-offerings; and they shall be a remembrance for you before your God; I am Hashem, your God. (Bamidbar 10:1-10)

The Rambam [1] codifies this use of the chatzotros at the beginning of Hilchos Taaniyos (the Laws of Fasts) as a component part of the mitzvah of zaakah b'eis tzarah (crying out to Hashem during a time of trouble). He writes:

1:1 - It is a positive mitzvah of the Torah to cry out and to sound the trumpets on every tzarah that befalls the community, as it is stated, “[When you go to wage war in your Land] against an enemy who oppresses you, you shall sound short blasts of the trumpets, [and you shall be remembered before Hashem, your God, and you shall be saved from your enemies]" (Bamidbar 10:9), meaning to say: anything that afflicts you - such as drought, epidemic, locusts, and the like - cry out on them and sound [the trumpets]. 

1:2 - This principle is one of the darchei teshuvah (ways of repentance), that at a time of the onset of an affliction, and [people] cry out and sound the trumpets, everyone will know that it was because of their evil conduct that this bad occurrence befell them, as it is written, “Your iniquities have turned away these things [to you], and your sins have withheld good from you” (Yirmiyahu 5:25), and this will cause them to remove the affliction from upon them. 

1:3 - But if they do not cry out and do not sound the trumpets, but instead say, “This is a natural event which befell us, and this affliction is a chance occurrence” - behold, this is a derech achzarius (way of cruelty), and will cause them to cling to their evil conduct, and [this] affliction and others will increase. This is what is written in the Torah, “[And if, with this, you do not listen to Me,] and you walk with me with chance, then I will walk with you in the fury of chance, [and I will also chastise you, seven times for your sins]” (Vayikra 26:26-28), meaning to say, when I bring an affliction upon you to cause you to do teshuvah, if you say that it is chance, then I will increase upon you the fury of that “chance.”

It is clear from the Rambam's presentation that the mitzvah of chatzotzros and the mitzvah of zaakah b'eis tzarah are intertwined. The question is: What is the relationship between these two mitzvos? Why does the Torah command us to sound the trumpets and cry out in prayer at a time of affliction? 

The Ralbag [2] answers this question:

Whenever a catastrophe befalls the Jewish people, the Kohanim should sound a teruah ("crying" blast) on the trumpets ... and through this action, they will be remembered before Hashem ... for this action causes their hearts to be broken and crushed, that they may return to Hashem, so that He will have mercy on them when they pray to Him, for tefilah together with this teruah will cause them to be "remembered" for the reason we mentioned, because the frightening sound will cause people's hearts to tremble, as it is stated, "If a shofar is sounded in the city, will the people not tremble?" (Amos 3:6). Through this, their tefilah and their teshuvah will be complete. [3]

Like the Sefer ha'Chinuch, the Ralbag understands that the Torah chose chatzotzros for their impact on the human psyche. The clarion call of the chatzotzros may be compared to a tornado siren - a loud sound designed to trigger the emotional response of: "DANGER! DANGER! TAKE PRECAUTION NOW!" - but instead of propelling us to take physical precaution, the alarm sound of the chatzotzros prompts us to take spiritual precaution, through tefilah and teshuvah. 

It is interesting to note that the particular blasts that were sounded on the chatzotzros during an eis tzarah - namely, a teruah ("crying" sound) bracketed by a tekiah ("simple" blast) on each side - are the same blasts that are sounded with the shofar on Rosh ha'Shanah. This is not a coincidence. In fact, in each case, when the full mitzvah is performed in the Beis ha'Mikdash (the Holy Temple), the Kohanim sound both instruments simultaneously, in a manner that highlights which of the two mitzvos is being performed.

With regards to the teruah of the chatzotzros at an eis tzarah (time of trouble) the Rambam [4] writes:

During these days of fasting [over a tzarah that befalls the community] we cry out with tefilah and supplications and we sound the chatzotros alone. But in the Mikdash we sound the chatzotzros and the shofar: the shofar [blast] is cut short, and the [blast of] the chatzotros is prolonged, since the mitzvah of the day is with the chatzotzros. 

And with regards to the teruah of the shofar on Rosh ha'Shanah the Rambam [5] writes:

In the Mikdash one shofar would sound with the two chatzotzros on the sides: the shofar [blasts] would be prolonged, and the [blast of the] chatzotzros would be cut short, since the mitzvah of the day is with the shofar. 

This raises the question: What is the relationship between the teruah of chatzotzros at an eis tzarah and the teruah of the shofar on Rosh ha'Shanah?

The Ralbag offers a straightforward answer, based on his explanation of chatzotzros:

We have seen that according to the Torah, complete teshuvah and kaparah (atonement) follows after inui ("affliction" i.e. fasting) and teruah. It is for this reason that Hashem desired that the kaparah on the 10th of the Seventh Month (i.e. Yom ha'Kippurim) should be preceded by a teruah on Rosh Chodesh [of that month] (i.e. Rosh ha'Shanah), in order to subdue the hearts [of Bnei Yisrael] from [the recognition] of their sins so that they will do complete teshuvah to Hashem. Then, at the end of this process, they will afflict their souls (i.e. fast) on the 10th day. Thus, this is another instance of the pairing of teruah with fasting.

The answer given by the Ralbag is astounding in its elegance: the teruah of the shofar on Rosh ha'Shanah is a special case of teruah b'eis tzarah.

In other words, the beginning of Tishrei is the Yom ha'Din (Day of Judgment) - the period during which all human beings are judged for their deeds. This is an eis tzarah, in that our fate hangs in the balance. At the onset this eis tzarah, we sound a teruah as a alarm, calling us to take action. Unlike the standard eis tzarah of an imminent physical threat, in which Beis Din declares Ymei Taanis (Days of Fasting) and we engage in tefilah, teshuvah, and taanis until the affliction ends, the eis tzarah of Yom ha'Din has a predefined terminus: Yom ha'Kippurim, when our verdict is sealed. Accordingly, we engage in tefilah and teshuvah throughout the Aseres Ymei Teshuvah (Ten Days of Repentance), but we postpone the taanis until Yom ha'Kippurim - the final day of teshuvah on which we beseech Hashem for kaparah.

Here is a chart to illustrate the parallels:

Parallels between eis tzarah and Tishrei according to the Ralbag.

The Ralbag [6] is so committed to this theory of the month of Tishrei that in his commentary of Rosh ha'Shanah in Parashas Emor, he doesn't even make explicit reference to the fact that Rosh ha'Shanah is a Yom Tov; he merely frames it as a day of shofar-sounding on the Rosh Chodesh preceding Yom ha'Kippurim:

"In the seventh month, on the first of the month, there shall be a rest day for you, a remembrance with shofar blasts" (Vayikra 23:24). From this it is clear that the teruah on "an enemy who oppresses you" (Bamidbar 10:9) should be followed by inui nefesh ("affliction of the soul" i.e. fasting), for this is its purpose. Since Yom ha'Kippurim is on the 10th of this month ... [the Torah] prepares people by arousing them to do teshuvah and breaking and subduing their hearts starting with Rosh Chodesh of this month (i.e. Rosh ha'Shanah). It is clear that the shofar blast instills trepidation in the heart, as it is stated, "If a shofar is sounded in the city, will the people not tremble?" (Amos 3:6). In general, loud sounds are very terrifying, and serve as an means of subduing the nefesh ha'bahamis (animalistic psyche). It is as if [through shofar] we are being awakened to subdue our hearts and analyze our deeds to correct what is crooked therein, in order that we should be ready for the kaparah on Yom ha'Kippurim. 

On a more personal note, I have found this explanation of the Ralbag to be extremely helpful my own experience of the Yomim Noraim (Days of Awe). According to the Ralbag, shofar isn't a phenomenon of Rosh ha'Shanah. Rather, it is a phenomenon of eis tzarah which has a special expression during the Aseres Ymei Teshuvah.

By framing the Aseres Ymei Teshuvah as an eis tzarah, modeled after the eis tzarah of a physical danger, the teruah of the shofar on Rosh ha'Shanah carries a more powerful meaning for me than it did when I viewed it as its own isolated institution. 

[1] Rabbeinu Moshe ben Maimon (Rambam / Maimonides), Mishneh Torah: Sefer Zmanim, Hilchos Taaniyos 1:1-3

[2] Rabbeinu Levi ben Gershom (Ralbag / Gersonides), Commentary on Sefer Bamidbar 10:9

[3] Ralbag also addresses the question of why the Torah doesn't explicitly mention the tefilah and teshuvah which accompany the chatzotzros. He writes: 

The Torah was silent here regarding the teshuvah and tefilah because it already stated as a condition, "and you shall be remembered [before Hashem]" which means to say: "do this in a way that will cause you to be remembered" - and this is through teshuvah and tefilah, which cause the divine hashgachah (providence) to extend to them.  

[4] Rabbeinu Moshe ben Maimon (Rambam / Maimonides), Mishneh Torah: Sefer Zmanim, Hilchos Taaniyos 1:4
[5] ibid. Mishneh Torah: Sefer Zmanim, Hilchos Shofar v'Sukkah v'Lulav 1:2
[6] Rabbeinu Levi ben Gershom (Ralbag / Gersonides), Commentary on Sefer Vayikra 23:24

How to Learn Selichos

Artwork: Plains (Avacyn Restored), by Adam Paquette

How to Learn Selichos

The aim of this post is not to take up the topic of selichos in general. If you are interested in gaining a basic understanding of what selichos are, I suggest you learn Rabbi Zucker's shiur on selichos in The Kuntress and/or Rabbi Maroof's blog post entitled The Mysterious Power of Selichot. Rather, the objective of this post is to set forth a simple methodology for analyzing and understanding each of the selichos in particular, in a manner that will enhance our personal selichos experience and help make the selichos accessible as a tool for teshuvah.

First and foremost, I must give credit where credit is due. Once upon a time, in my second or third year of yeshiva, Aron S. gave a series of shiurim on selichos. Those shiurim forever changed the way I relate to selichos, and I owe Aron a debt of gratitude for making selichos come alive for me. I only wish that I had recorded those shiurim, or at least taken notes on them. Instead, I'll have to work based on memory. As always, please correct me if I am wrong.

If my memory serves me correctly, Aron explained that selichos is one of the oldest minhagim, predating even the Mishnah. Although the centerpiece of selichos is the recitation of the Yud Gimmel Middos ha'Rachamim, the original minhag also included the recitation of pesukim on themes of selichah and teshuvah. These pesukim were carefully selected, arranged, and - in some cases - modified in order to form a flowing series of supplications. The only remnants of these pesukim we have today are the lengthy introduction to each day's selichos (beginning with לך יי הצדקה, ולנו בושת הפנים) and conclusion of the selichos service (beginning with זכור רחמיך יי וחסדיך, כי מעולם המה), as well as the smaller clusters of prefatory pesukim which we recite before each of the particular selichos which were composed by R' Shlomo ha'Bavli and the other paytanim.

What people might not realize is that these piyutim are based on those clusters of pesukim - those pesukim which constituted the original selichos of ancient times, before any piyutim were composed to accompany them. And that, right there, is the basis of the methodology for learning selichos: if we can define the theme of that cluster of pesukim, then we will understand the theme of the selichah that follows.

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Let's try applying this to the first selichah of Day 2 and see if it works. Here is the cluster of prefatory pesukim as they appear in the sidur:

אִם עֲוֹנֵינוּ עָנוּ בָנוּ יְיָ עֲשֵׂה לְמַעַן שְׁמֶךָ: (ירמיהו יד:ז) אֲדֹנָי יְיִ סְלַח נָא לַעֲוֹן יַעֲקֹב כִּי קָטֹן הוּא: (עמוס ז:ב) כִּי שָׁחָה לֶעָפָר נַפְשֵׁנוּ דָּבְקָה לָאָרֶץ בִּטְנֵנוּ: (תהלים מד:כו) עוּרָה לָמָּה תִישַׁן אֲדֹנָי הָקִיצָה אַל תִּזְנַח לָנֶצַח: (שם מד:כד) וְעַתָּה יִגְדַּל נָא כֹּחַ אֲדֹנָי כַּאֲשֶׁר דִּבַּרְתָּ לֵאמֹר: (במדבר יד:יז)

Though our iniquities testify against us, Hashem, act for Your Name's sake (Yirmiyahu 14:7). Hashem/Elokim, please forgive Yaakov's sin, for he is small (Amos 7:2). For prostrated to the dust is our soul, stuck to the earth is our belly (Tehilim 44:26). Awaken! Why do You sleep, O my Lord? Arouse Yourself! Do not forsake us forever! (ibid. 44:24). And now, please let my Lord's strength grow great, as You have spoken, saying (Bamidbar 14:17).

First we will examine each of these pesukim on its own, in its context. Next, we will see if we can discern the overall theme of the cluster. Finally, we will read the selichah in light of this theme.

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"Though our iniquities testify against us, Hashem, act for Your Name's sake" (Yirmiyahu 14:7)

This pasuk appears in Sefer Yirmiyahu immediately after a prophecy about a drought which (according to most commentators) took place during the reign of Tzidkiah. Here is the pasuk in context:

The word of Hashem that came to Yirmiyahu concerning the droughts: Yehudah mourns; her cities are devastated, they are blackened like the ground; and the cry of Yerushalayim has gone up. Their officers send out their youngsters for water. They go to cisterns, but do not find water; they bring back their containers empty; they are embarrassed and ashamed and cover their head. Because the ground is parched, for there has been no rain in the land, plowmen are embarrassed; they cover their head. Even the hind in the field gives birth and then abandons [her young], for there is no vegetation. The wild donkeys stand on the hilltops; they suck in the air like serpents; their eyes pine away because there is no herbage. Though our iniquities testify against us, Hashem, act for Your Name's sake, for our waywardness is great; we have sinned against You. O Hope of Israel, its Redeemer in time of trouble, why should You be like a stranger in the land, like a wayfarer who turns off [the road] to sleep over for the night? Why should You be like a man in shock, like a hero who cannot save? But You are in our midst, O Hashem, and Your Name is proclaimed upon us; do not abandon us.

When read in isolation, one might interpret the phrase "though our iniquities testify against us" in a metaphysical-metaphorical sense - namely, that our "record" of iniquity stands as a testimony against us in the Beis Din shel Maalah (The Heavenly Court). In context, however, it appears that the Navi is speaking quite literally: the drought that befell Yehudah and Yerushalayim bears witness to the severity of our iniquities. Radak explains:

“If our iniquities testify against us” – [our iniquities] bear witness against us, for when we see that the rain is withheld from our land, but not the lands of the goyim, this bears witness to the fact that we are being stricken on account [of our iniquities]; nevertheless, act for the sake of Your Name, which is proclaimed upon us.

Main Idea of the Yirmiyahu 14:7: We are cognizant of our iniquities and the severity of our waywardness, for we cannot deny the hashgachic evidence that surrounds us. Nevertheless, do not abandon us, Hashem! Save us - not because we are worthy, but because we are the bearers of Your Name!

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"Hashem/Elokim, please forgive Yaakov's sin, for he is small" (Amos 7:2)

Interestingly enough, this pasuk also appears in the context of an agricultural calamity:

Thus did Hashem/Elokim show me: Behold! He was forming [a swarm] of locusts as the later growth was beginning to sprout; and behold the later growth appeared after the king's reaping. It was when [the swarm] was finished devouring the grass of the earth, that I said, "Hashem/Elokim, please forgive! How will Yaakov survive, for he is small?" So Hashem relented concerning this: "It shall not be," said Hashem.

Thus did Hashem/Elokim show me: Behold, Hashem/Elokim was summoning [His legions] to contend [with Israel] by fire; and it consumed the great depths and devoured the portion of land. And I said, "Hashem/Elokim, please refrain! How will Yaakov survive, for he is small?" So Hashem relented concerning this: "It too shall not be," said Hashem/Elokim. 

Thus did He show me: Behold, the Lord standing on a plumbed wall with a plumb line in His hand. And Hashem said to me, "What do you see, Amos?" I said, "A plumb line." The Lord then said, "Behold, I am placing a plumb line in the midst of My nation Israel; I will no longer continue to forbear them. The high places of Yitzchak will be made desolate and the sanctuaries of Yisrael destroyed; and I will rise up against the house of Yeravam with the sword."  

The first thing we notice is that the baal ha'selichos (the person or persons who selected and arranged these pesukim for the purposes of selichos) changed the language of the pasuk. The pasuk appears in the selichos as a request accompanied by a reason: "Hashem/Elokim, please forgive Yaakov's sin, for he is small" In contrast, the Navi himself poses the request accompanied by a rhetorical question: "Hashem/Elokim, please forgive! How will Yaakov survive, for he is small?" Radak explains the Navi's request/argument:

How will Yaakov survive these decrees [of punishment], for he is small, and he will remain [but] a few out of many?

I'm not sure why the baal selichos decided to "edit" the pasuk. Perhaps he didn't want to explicitly mention the possibility of our nation not surviving.

Apparently, the Navi's argument worked, and Hashem relented. Soon thereafter, the nation's sinfulness caused it to incur retribution by fire. The Navi used the same request/argument, and it worked again. But the third time, Hashem said, "I will no longer continue to forbear them." According to the Radak, the plumb line - a device used to precisely measure depth - symbolizes strict justice. By showing the Navi the vision of the plumb line, Hashem made it clear that He would no longer show mercy, and the nation would receive strict justice in the form of (near) utter destruction.

Main Idea of Amos 7:2: We realize that we are deserving of harsh decrees, Hashem/Elokim, but have mercy on us, for we fear that we will not be able to survive the destructiveness of Your retribution!

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"For prostrated to the dust is our soul, stuck to the earth is our belly" (Tehilim 44:26) "Awaken! Why do You sleep, O my Lord? Arouse Yourself! Do not forsake us forever!" (ibid. 44:24)

These two pesukim are taken out of order from a single chapter of Tehilim. Here is the entire chapter:

For the conductor, by the sons of Korach, a maskil. God, with our ears we have heard, our fathers have recounted to us, the work that You wrought in their days, in days of old. You, with Your own hand, drove out nations, and You implanted them; You afflicted regimes and banished them. For not by their sword did they possess the land, nor did their own arm help them; but by Your right hand, Your arm, and the light of Your Countenance - for You favored them. It is You Who are my King, O God; command the salvations of Yaakov. Through You we shall gore our foes; by Your Name we will trample our opponents. For I do not trust in my bow, nor does my sword save me. For You have saved us from our oppressors, and You shamed those who hate us. In God we glory all the day, and Your Name we forever thank, Selah! - Even though You abandon and disgrace us, and You do not go forth with our armies; You cause us to retreat from the oppressor, and our haters plunder for themselves; You deliver us like sheep to be eaten, and have scattered us among the nations; You sell Your nation for no fortune, and You did not inflate their price; You make us a disgrace to our neighbors, the mockery and scorn of those around us; You make us a byword among the nations, a cause for the regimes to shake their heads. All day long my humiliation is before me and my shamefacedness covers me - at the voice of the reviler and blasphemer, because of the enemy and avenger. All this came upon us yet we have not forgotten You, and we have not been false to Your covenant. Our heart has not turned back, nor have our footsteps strayed from Your path, even when You crushed us in the place of serpents and shrouded us in the shadow of death. Have we forgotten the Name of our God and extended our hands to a strange god? Is it not so that God can examine this, for He knows the secrets of the heart? Because for Your sake we are killed all the time, we are considered as sheep for slaughter. Awaken, why do You sleep, O Lord? Arouse Yourself! Do not forsake us forever! Why do You conceal Your face? do You forget our affliction and oppression? For prostrated to the dust is our soul, stuck to the earth is our belly. Arise! Assist us! And redeem us for the sake of Your kindness!

The flow of this perek is quite interesting. The author begins by recounting Hashem's hashgachah over our ancestors. He expresses his own trust in that hasghachah, and his recognition that Hashem is the cause of his victory and salvation. But without warning, he transitions into a depiction of Hashem as the cause of our defeat and our oppression at the hands of our enemies. He emphasizes that in spite of all these afflictions, we have not forgotten Hashem, nor have we breached His covenant. The author then raises a question against Hashem's conduct: Considering our unwavering devotion to Hashem's Name, why does He conceal His countenance and abandon us to be destroyed by our enemies? The author concludes with a request for redemption, for the sake of Hashem's kindness.

The first of our two pesukim highlights the low state we are in. Radak explains that "prostrated to the dust is our soul" means we are close to death and our soul is on the brink of departing from our body, whereas "stuck to the earth is our belly" depicts a person who has fallen, but can no longer support his weight with his own hands, and therefore falls with his belly to the ground.

The second of our two pesukim is a plea for hashgachah. On the one hand wee know that "the Guardian of Israel neither slumbers nor sleeps" (ibid. 121:4). Still - the Radak explains - when Hashem doesn't intervene to save us from our enemies, we can't help but feel that He is asleep and doesn't see our plight. Moreover, it feels that He has been asleep for many years. David ha'Melech therefore requests, "Do not forsake us forever!"

Summary of Tehilim 44:26 and 24: Hashem, the concealment of Your countenance (i.e. Your hashgachah) has left us in a state of distress. We are close to death and lack the strength to support ourselves - and yet, You seem to be unaware of our suffering! Please do not abandon us!

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And now, please let my Lord's strength grow great, as You have spoken, saying (Bamidbar 14:17)

The last pasuk in the series is from Moshe Rabbeinu's tefilah after the incident of the meraglim. Hashem is angry and declares, "How long will this people provoke Me, and how long will they not have conviction in Me, despite all the signs that I have performed in their midst? I will smite them with the plague and annihilate them, and I shall make you a greater and more powerful nation than they" (ibid. 11-12). Moshe responds: 

"Then Egypt - from whose midst You brought up this nation with Your power - will hear, and they will say about the inhabitants of this Land, 'They have heard that You, Hashem, are in the midst of this people - that You, Hashem, appeared eye to eye and Your cloud stands over them, and that in a pillar of cloud You go before them by day and in a pillar of fire by night - yet You killed this people like a single man!' Then the nations that heard of Your fame will say, 'Because Hashem lacked the ability to bring this people to the Land that He has sworn to give them, He slaughtered them in the Wilderness.' And now - may the power of my Lord be magnified as You have spoken saying, 'Hashem, slow to anger, abundant in kindness, forgiver of iniquity and willful sin, and Who cleanses - but does not cleanse completely, recalling the iniquity of parents upon [rebellious] children to the third and fourth generations' - forgive now the iniquity of this people according to the greatness of Your kindness and as You have forgiven this people from Egypt until now."

Main Idea of Bamidbar 14:7: It is true, Hashem, that Your people deserves utter destruction. Nevertheless, if You destroy them, You will cause a desecration of Your Name among the nations. Therefore, have mercy and forgive these people for the sake of Your kindness. By doing so, this will magnify Your power in the eyes of the nation.

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Let's summarize the ideas that emerged from each pasuk:

• Yirmiyahu 14:7: We deserve punishment, but we request that Hashem save us for His Name's sake.
• Amos 7:2: We deserve harsh decrees, but we fear that we will be unable to survive.
• Tehilim 44:26: We are close to death, and have no strength.
• Tehilim 44:24: Hashem has concealed Himself for too long. 
• Bamidbar 17:4: For the sake of His Name, He should show us mercy.

Now I think the theme of this cluster of pesukim is clear. As has become my custom, I will summarize it in four sentences, in supplicatory form:

We recognize that we have sinned before You and are unworthy of Your salvation, Hashem, as is evident from the afflictions which befall us and which testify to the withdrawal of Your hashgachah. But we are still Your nation, the bearers of Your Name! Therefore, show us kindness for the sake of Your Name, and do not abandon Your people forever. For we are weak and we are on the brink of destruction, and if you continue to conceal Your countenance from us, we will surely perish, and Your Name and the manifestation of Your power will be diminished in the eyes of the nations. 

In short, the theme of this selichah may be summed up as follows: We beseech Hashem to save His weakened and diminished nation from utter destruction, not for our sake - for we are unworthy - but for the sake of His Great Name, which is the basis of Hashem's kindness towards His people.

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Now we can read the selichah in its entirety to see if our definition of the theme is reflected in the words:

Our God, and the God of our forefathers: 

If our iniquities have increased greatly, 

and thickly plaited ropes bear witness against us, 

[if our sins] have caused us to create a rift between the two [of us, God and Israel], 

You will not withhold Your merciful ways. 

You have promised to act with the Midas ha'Chesed,

and it was You Who was from the beginning.

Remember Your flock that You have acquired for Yourself,

and be gracious to the remnants of the ones You called, '[My] first-born.'

You carried us and placed us on the [Holy] City's height,

You settled us on the Patriarchs' rocky peak.

Suddenly You crushed us in the place of serpents.

How long have we waited to go forth [from it] to liberty?

Due to the many [evil] occurrences, and the trembling panic,

my soul is in turmoil, [it is bent] to the dust it abhors.

Prop up the one whose belly sags to the ground!

Awake! Why do You [seem to] sleep, [our] Hope?

May it be Your will to cry, 'Undo your fetters!' to Your prisoners,

[and to] cut short the reckoning for their time of suffering.

Gather up Your dispersed ones, the scattered flock;

when wickedness sees [this], it will clamp its mouth shut.

Keep the vow of kindness and the compact

of the wholesome one, the heaped one, and the builder, my mighty [Patriarchs].

May He command His peace [to us], not to [be] shamed,

turning and changing the times to good.

Although Yaakov is small and poor, 

sickly, despised, and [thought] worthless,

[yet he shall have] life and kindness, a fortress and tower [from God],

as now Your strength is [revealed in its] greatness.

In my opinion, it appears we were correct! The theme we derived from the pesukim is amplified in poetic form by the words of the paytan. Every element from each of the five pesukim can clearly be seen in the selichah, and the stanzas bear out all of the ideas we identified.

This was my first attempt at applying this method, and I am very satisfied with the results. Although it took a lot of time and effort to go through the pesukim, I see that it was worthwhile. When I read this selichah tomorrow morning, I will actually understand and connect to what I am saying. I hope that you have also found this exercise useful, and that you will be granted the time, energy, and insight to apply this method on your own, and that you will be able to unleash the tremendous power of selichos.

Yom ha'Din and Yom ha'Teruah

This is my attempt to write up a burgeoning insight about Rosh ha'Shanah - one which I feel is quite big, but which I haven't yet gone over with all of my chavrusas yet. I thought it would be best to write it up now, so that I can gain some clarity before Rosh ha'Shanah, and so that those who read it can think about it over the Yom Tov, and maybe provide feedback during the Aseres Ymei Teshuvah. Enjoy!

Click here for a printer-friendly version of this blog post. 

Artwork: Time Sieve, by Franz Vohwinkel

Yom ha'Din and Yom ha'Teruah

Rosh ha'Shanah in the Written Torah

One cannot read through the Torah's presentation of the moadim (holidays) in Parashas Emor without noticing the sparseness of the Torah's treatment of Rosh ha'Shanah. When discussing the other moadim the pesukim (verses) go into detail about the laws and themes of the day, but when it comes to Rosh ha'Shanah, the pesukim have barely anything to say about the nature of the day:

In the seventh month, on the first of the month, there shall be a rest day for you, a zichron teruah (remembrance of a shofar-cry), a holy convocation. You shall not do any laborious work, and you shall offer a fire-offering to Hashem.

The holiday is not given a name, nor is its character mentioned, nor are any laws explicitly spelled out. Even the central mitzvah - hearing the sound of the shofar - is barely alluded to. All we have to work with are two words: zichron teruah.

Perhaps the most shocking omission is the fact that nowhere does the Written Torah identify Rosh ha'Shanah as the Yom ha'Din (Judgment Day). In fact, there is no reference anywhere in the Written Torah to a "judgment day" of any kind. This fact is mentioned only in the Oral Torah, but one would not even be aware of it by reading the pesukim. 

What are we to make of all this? How are we meant to view Rosh ha'Shanah based on its presentation in the Written Torah, and how should we go about reconciling this view with the additional - and seemingly essential - information provided by the Oral Torah? 

We will leave these questions aside for the time being and focus on a more important question: What is the Yom ha'Din? Every Jew who grows up going to Rosh ha'Shanah services has some notion of judgment day. The liturgy is rife with imagery: the True Judge sitting on His throne of judgment, the Book of Life and the Book of Death open before Him, a judgment being pronounced which determines the course of events for the rest of the year, the final verdict being sealed on Yom ha'Kippurim, and so on. To what extent do these images reflect the reality of what happens on Rosh ha'Shanah, and to what extent are they merely byproducts of our own imagination? 

This year I stumbled upon an explanation which radically changed my view of the Yom ha'Din. That explanation was provided by the Abravanel, in his commentary on the Torah. I will do my best to convey that view to you now, and I will do so in my usual style of translating the text and commenting on it step by step.

Rosh ha'Shanah as Yom ha'Din

The Abravanel begins by explaining the nature of the din (judgment) that happens on Rosh ha'Shanah. You will quickly notice that the Abravanel is working with certain premises that are rooted in Aristotelian physics, which we now know to be false. In my treatment of the Abravanel's explanation I will do my best to adapt his worldview to one which is consistent with our current scientific model: 

I have already explained in Parashas Bo, in the Parashas ha'Chodesh, that Rosh Chodesh Tishrei is the beginning of the year and its true starting-point, based on the nature of the physical universe, based on the motion of the sun, the moon, and the celestial sphere of the constellations. 

The starting-point of any phenomenon provides us with indications about the [future] occurrences which pertain to that phenomenon, based on the celestial circumstances at that initial time. For example, just as the celestial circumstances at the time of a person's birth will indicate all of the future occurrences of his life, so too, the celestial circumstances at the starting-point of Rosh ha'Shanah will indicate all of the occurrences of that year.

This is true with regards to the occurrences which pertain to the world as a whole, including satiety and famine, health and sickness, death and life, war and peace, and similarly for all other things which pertain to the world as a whole. This is also true with regards to each and every country within the inhabited world ... and with regards to the particulars of each and every person, in accordance with the circumstances of his birth, i.e. this one will die, this one will live, this one will profit, this one will lose, and likewise with all similar circumstances. 

Let's stop here for a second and examine the Abravanel's premises:

1. Premise #1: Rosh ha'Shanah (i.e. Rosh Chodesh Tishrei) is the "beginning" of the year in an objective, physical, astronomical sense. In other words, the Abravanel maintains that Rosh ha'Shanah isn't merely the beginning of the year from a "halachic perspective," or even a "Jewish perspective," but from a scientific perspective. According to his understanding, this "onset of the year," which happens at Rosh Chodesh Tishrei, is accompanied by actual physical effects, due to the earth's alignment with the "celestial forces" (read: laws of nature) and these physical causes affect the inhabitants of earth.
   
   To the best of my knowledge, there is no corollary in modern science for this concept of an "objective beginning" to astronomical cycles. Although this would seem to deal an early deathblow to the Abravanel's theory, I believe that we can salvage his view in spite of the fact that one of its major premises is false. I have decided to address this point in an addendum, which should be read after familiarizing yourself with the Abravanel's full theory. 
   
   
2. Premise #2: The beginning stage of any phenomenon indicates and determines all future occurrences associated with that phenomenon. This premise is based on a highly deterministic view of nature which still holds true today - at least, for all practical, everyday purposes (i.e. ignoring quantum). 
   
   
   I will illustrate this view with a mashal. Imagine an elaborate Rube Goldberg machine. If you have complete knowledge of how every part of the machine is initially set up, then you will be able to predict exactly what will happen when the chain-reaction is set in motion. The same is true for more complex reactions. For example, if you were to fill a room with mouse traps set with ping pong balls, and if you had a supercomputer that could measure the exact weight, position, and subtle variations among all the mouse traps and ping pong balls, then you would be able to determine exactly where each ping pong ball would end up once the chain reaction was set off. The only difference between the determinability of the Rube Goldberg outcome and that of the ping pong balls is in their relative quantitative complexity; from an objective standpoint, the outcome is determinable in both cases, even though the latter is too complex for us to be able to figure out.
   
   What is true of the Rube Goldberg device and the ping pong scenario is true of every physical thing: if you know the initial circumstances of something, and you know the laws which govern that thing, then you will be able to predict, from the outset, everything that will happen in the future.
   
   
3. Premise #3: The circumstances at the beginning of the year indicate and determine all future occurrences of that year - globally, regionally, and individualistically. In other words, the Abravanel views the entire terrestrial realm - with its multitude of complex systems and their countless moving parts - as one big Rube Goldberg device. If you were to take a snapshot at how things are at the onset of the year, on Rosh Chodesh Tishrei, that snapshot would indicate everything that will happen throughout the course of that year. Thus, Rosh Chodesh Tishrei is not only a Rosh ha'Shanah calendrically, but deterministically as well.

Got it? Even if you object to what the Abravanel is saying, or you don't buy my attempt to reframe the Abravanel's explanation in a manner that is palatable to the modern mind, then at least try to suspend your disbelief for long enough to hear his full explanation of the Yom ha'Din. This is where things get interesting:

Since Rosh Chodesh Tishrei is the [true] beginning of the year, which actually indicates and determines all of the occurrences of the [upcoming year], for this reason it is called Yom ha'Din and [Yom] ha'Mishpat, for it indicates what will be, and [indicates] the decree that is decreed from heaven for all occurrences of that year, good and bad - for the world as a whole, and for each and every country and people, and for each and every person. 

For this reason they established in the tefilah of the Yom Teruah these three types of mishpat (judgment). Regarding the mishpat of the world as a whole they established to say [in the berachah of Zichronos]: "You remember the deeds done in the universe and You recall all the creatures fashioned since the early times, etc." Regarding the mishpat of every country they established: "Regarding countries, it is said on this day which is destined for the sword and which for peace, which for hunger and which for abundance." Regarding the particular mishpat of every individual they established to say: "and creatures are recalled on it to remember them for life or death. Who is not recalled on this day? [For when the remembrance of everything fashioned comes before You: everyone's deed and appointment, the accomplishments of man's activity,] man's thoughts and schemes, and the motives behind man's deeds."

In other words, according to the Abravanel, the din on Rosh ha'Shanah is an entirely naturalistic phenomenon, having nothing to do with hashgachah pratis (individual providence). The terms "din" and "mishpat" of Rosh ha'Shanah refer to the natural outcomes which are determined by the laws of nature at the beginning of the new year. The "decrees" which are pronounced on Rosh ha'Shanah refer to the causes which are in place at the onset of the new year, and which are deterministically responsible for all effects and occurrences which happen that year.

Lest you suspect that I am reading some sort of Maimonidean view of hashgachah into the Abravanel's framework, the Abravanel goes on to state this point in the most explicit terms possible:

This din [of Rosh ha'Shanah] is NOT in accordance with the hashgachah pratis which comes specially from Him (blessed is He) to His loved ones and those who keep His commandments; rather, it is in accordance with hashgachah klalis (general providence) that is ordered by the celestial causes which relates to all creations in general manner.

Regarding this din and mishpat [Chazal] say in the mishnah: "all inhabitants of the world pass before Him like sheep, as it is stated, 'He fashions their hearts together'" (Rosh ha'Shanah 8a). In order to explain that this din is not in accordance with the hashgachah which relates to the entire nation [of Israel], the perfected one - R' Yochanan - said about this statement: "and all of them are examined [by God] in one glance." By "in one glance" he was referring to that celestial circumstance at the onset of Tishrei which determines all of the affairs of the inhabitants of the world ... This is the din of Rosh ha'Shanah, which pertains to every member of the human race. It is a natural phenomenon (davar tiv'i) in existence, in accordance with the effects of the celestial world on the terrestrial world.

There you have it: the din of Rosh ha'Shanah refers to the innumerable chains of cause-and-effect that are in place on Rosh Chodesh Tishrei and unfold throughout the year, and which determine all of the events that happen in the physical world. 

Now, you might be wondering, "If that's the din of Rosh ha'Shanah, what about the weighing of our zechuyos (merits) and avonos (iniquities), which Chazal discuss throughout their writings? What about the whole business of being inscribed in the Book of Life or the Book of Death? What about doing tefilah, teshuvah, and tzedakah to tear up the bad decree? If everything is set and determined from Rosh Chodesh Tishrei, then what are we doing during the Aseres Ymei Teshuvah (the Ten Days of Repentance)?" 

This brings us to the second part of this blog post ...

Rosh ha'Shanah as Yom Teruah

The Abravanel continues:

However, there is an additional dimension to this day, which is unique to the Jewish nation alone ... [In the case of the other nations and terrestrial entities,] everything which is determined by the celestial causes will necessarily come to be - no more and no less. But with the Jewish nation, this is not the case. Even though the celestial bodies create a potentiality and a predisposition for certain occurrences to befall them, these potentialities are not brought into actuality via the celestial causes ... but directly by Hashem (blessed is He), the Cause of causes ... The affairs and occurrences [of the Jewish people], both the good and the bad, are brought about jointly with hashgachah pratis, which negates the celestial causes on many occasions.

When the Jews do God's will, the celestial causes which indicate that harm [would befall them] are either completely negated by His hashgachah, or are transferred from one subject to another, as it is stated, "all of the bad maladies of Egypt that you know - He will not put them upon you, but will put them upon all your foes" (Devarim 7:15). But when the Jewish people are bad and sin, then even though the celestial causes may indicate that good [will befall them], they will not merit it, for He will negate it.

In other words, Klal Yisrael (the Jewish nation) is not exclusively under the governance of the natural law. Even though the din is set on Rosh ha'Shanah for the entire world - insofar as all natural chains of cause-and-effect are set into motion on that day - the fate of Klal Yisrael is not determined exclusively by that din. To the extent that we align ourselves with God's will, we will be saved via hashgachah pratis from the fate that would have naturally befallen us in accordance with hashgachah klalis. Conversely, even if we are predisposed to receive certain goods in accordance with hashgachah klalis, this good can be negated via hashgachah pratis if we fail to live in accordance with His will. 

And this is where shofar and the Yom Tov of Rosh ha'Shanah comes into the picture:

Since Rosh Chodesh Tishrei is the rosh ha'shanah, and the Yom ha'Din for the entire world - in which the celestial circumstances dictate everything that will happen for the entire year - for this reason, since Hashem desired to make Yisrael meritorious, He revealed to them that this is the day on which everything is determined, and on which the creatures are remembered for life or for death, and He commanded them to stand up for their lives and strive to save themselves and to escape from these celestial decrees, and that the only way to do this is to go out to greet God and to supplicate before Him and to cling to Him to ask Him not to abandon us to these celestial forces, but to take shelter in the concealment of His wings, since they are "the flock He pastures" (Tehilim 95:7) and "the measure of His inheritance" (Devarim 32:9).

This is the character of the mitzvah of yom teruah, He commanded us to sound tekiah and teruah on the shofar, which points to the idea of release and freedom - as if to say that [Bnei Yisrael] are free from the indications of the celestial causes, and in this sense He is our God, and there is none other, for He taught this to us as a reliable remedy to escape from the calamities which come about from the [celestial] arrangements. Therefore, He said, "It shall be a yom teruah for you" - in other words, this is a special chesed which He did for His nation; or [it means to say] that in spite of the fact that the din of Rosh ha'Shanah encompasses all human beings, nevertheless, the remedy of shofar and teshuvah which saves us from this celestial decree was uniquely given to Yisrael, as it is stated, "He relates His words to Yaakov, His statutes and His judgments to Yisrael. He did not do so for any other nation; such judgments - they know them not, halleluyah!" (Tehilim 147:19-20).

According to the Abravanel, Hashem - in His abundant kindness and mercy - revealed to His nation the nature of Rosh Chodesh Tishrei and gave Israel the tool of teruah b'shofar. The shofar, which signifies freedom and release (see Vayikra 25:8-10), is sounded on Rosh ha'Shanah to remind us that even though the fate of the world and its inhabitants may be determined by the celestial forces which are set into motion on the Yom ha'Din, we - the members of Klal Yisrael - can rise above these forces and forge our own destiny, by the decisions we make with our free will. By doing teshuvah and aligning ourselves with God's will, we can be saved from our predetermined natural fate through hashgachah pratis and avoid the harm that was set to befall us. By making the Rosh Chodesh Tishrei into a Yom Tov with mitzvos centered around the most fundamental ideas, Hashem has provided us with the best possible chances of circumventing the harm of the natural decrees. 

That is where the weighing of our zechuyos and avonos comes into the picture, as well as the Books of Life and Death, the Aseres Ymei Teshuvah, and all of the other Yomim Noraim elements which are expanded upon in Torah she'baal Peh. All of these things pertain not to the Yom ha'Din itself - which is entirely naturalistic - but to the hashgachic aids which Hashem gave us to escape from the harm that would befall us from that universal, naturalistic din. 

A Speculative Answer to Our Original Question

Before I encountered the Abravanel's explanation, I conceived of the Yom ha'Din and the weighing of zechuyos and avonos as the same thing. I was under the impression that Rosh ha'Shanah was a day of judgment, and that this judgment was a hashgachah pratis phenomenon which resulted in a "good" or a "bad" din depending on our zechuyos and avonos, as mitigated by our teshuvah, tefilah, and tzedakah during the Aseres Ymei Teshuvah. 

According to the Abravanel (or, at least, my understanding of the Abravanel), this picture is not accurate. According to him, there are two separate phenomena: on the one hand, there is the Yom ha'Din, which is a natural event that determines the course of natural cause-and-effect for the duration of the year; on the other hand, there is the Yom Tov of Rosh ha'Shanah, which was commanded by Hashem to provide us with an opportunity to rise above the aforementioned din (with the help of hashgachah pratis), thereby reshaping our own destiny. 

This, I believe, is why the Written Torah says nothing about the Yom ha'Din aspect of Rosh ha'Shanah. The Yom ha'Din is a reality, and although it is necessary to understand that reality - hence its inclusion in the Oral Torah - it is merely an astronomical phenomenon that happens, which is not directly tied to our observance of Torah and mitzvos. In contrast, what is tied to our observance of mitzvos is the Yom Teruah aspect of Rosh ha'Shanah - the means by which we can improve our ways, and the quality of life we experience. That is something worth mentioning. 

Perhaps a mashal will help. If you were to write a manual on How to Survive a Hurricane, you would not need to include a detailed meteorological explanation of how hurricanes form, how many types or hurricanes there are, what the natural conditions must be, etc. Why not? Because this is a practical handbook on How to Survive a Hurricane. The very premise of the book is that hurricanes can and will happen, and from a practical survival standpoint, it is irrelevant how, why, or even when hurricanes come about. These topics would only be touched upon insofar as they have a practical dimension, and can aid the reader in achieving the goal promised by the manual. The main focus of the manual would be the strategies and techniques which must be learned and implemented in order to survive. The meteorological background knowledge can be left for the students of science. In fact, when the hurricane sirens go off, and people find themselves needing to consult the manual, the inclusion of the meteorological information would distract the reader from focusing on the practical task at hand.  

The same is true here. The Yom ha'Din is something we have no control over, and will happen every year on Rosh Chodesh Tishrei, no matter what. If you want to understand the Yom ha'Din, consult your rebbi who teaches you the Oral Torah. The focus of the Written Torah is on what we can do to "survive" the Yom ha'Din, and all of that knowledge resides in the Yom Teruah aspect of the day, which is the only characteristic of the day that the Torah does mention. If the Written Torah explicitly raised the topic of the Yom ha'Din, that would pose a distraction from the practical task at hand. The mitzvah of the day demands that we involve ourselves in getting the most we can out of our teruah - not involving ourselves in the metaphysical or scientific study of the Yom ha'Din. That latter topic is certainly an important one, but is something that warrants its own investigation, separate from the objectives of the day itself. 

Concluding Thoughts

In my opinion, any insight into Torah which helps us develop from an immature view to a more mature understanding is worthy of celebration and gratitude to the Chonein l'adam daas. I am still working through this Abravanel and all of its implications, but already I feel that his view has enabled me to "level up" my understanding of the Yom ha'Din and its relationship to the Yom Teruah. 

I plan on spending this Rosh ha'Shanah thinking more into these ideas and furthering my understanding of the Abravanel, by myself and with my chavrusas (and rabbeim). For the time being, I hope this blog post has led you to new insights as well, which will result in "leveling up" from wherever you are currently holding.

May the insights we gain on this Rosh ha'Shanah indicate and determine the insights we will have in the year to come, God-willing. Shanah Tovah, and may you be inscribed in the Book of Life - whatever that means! 

Addendum: Resolving the Difficulty with the Abravanel's First Premise

Now, you might be wondering about the question we raised earlier when discussing the Abravanel's first premise: "How does this idea of a deterministic 'objective beginning of the yearly cycle' still valid in light of our current scientific model, in which is no 'objective beginning' of the year which occurs in Tishrei?" 

I don't know what the Abravanel would say, but I can tell you what I think. Whereas the Abravanel believed that a new "wave" of natural cause-and-effect is set into motion every Rosh Chodesh Tishrei, we maintain that this happened only once: during the Six Days of creation. We are still "riding that wave" of natural cause-and-effect, from the Big Bang until now. 

On Rosh ha'Shanah we reflect on the creation of the world (or the creation of man, if you prefer). We say, "Today is the birth[day] of the world. Today all creatures of the world stand in judgment." Perhaps we can modify the Abravanel's explanation like this: Rosh Chodesh Tishrei may not be a day on which new natural causes are set in motion, but it is certainly a day when we reflect on Maaseh Bereishis, which is when all natural causes were initially set in motion. 

With this small modification, the rest of the Abravanel's model of Yom ha'Din and Yom Teruah are rendered viable - the only difference being that the annual Rosh ha'Shanah in Tishrei is no longer an objective, physical, astronomical "starting point," but merely a halachically mandated time to reflect on the true "starting point." From a hashgachah pratis standpoint, nothing changes: we can still assume that there is some weighing of zechuyos and avonos which takes place on Rosh ha'Shanah, and that the effects of this weighing can save us from the din which was decreed from the true starting point of Maaseh Bereishis, for which our Rosh ha'Shanah is an annual reminder.

Of course, if we discover that there is a problem with positing that Rosh ha'Shanah does not correspond to an objective hashgachah klalis phenomenon in the physical universe, then we'll have to find some other solution. As of now, I don't see any way that the Abravanel's premise - as he understood it - can be accepted as true. Please feel free to try and change my mind.

Enjoy Yourself This Rosh ha'Shanah (an Aruch ha'Shulchan PSA)

Originally posted in September 2013. Click here for a printer-friendly version of this blog post.

Enjoy Yourself on Rosh ha'Shanah (an Aruch ha'Shulchan PSA)

It seems to me that there are many Jews who relate to Rosh ha'Shanah as a day of utter solemnity and gravity to the point where they forget that it's a Yom Tov with a mitzvah of simchah (rejoicing). The following is a translation of the Aruch ha'Shulchan, Orach Chayim 597:2, which addresses that mentality:

The Beis Yosef wrote: "[On Rosh ha'Shanah] we should eat, drink, and rejoice; and we shouldn't fast, neither on Rosh ha'Shanah nor on Shabbos Shuvah. However, we shouldn't eat to the point of complete satiation, nor should we behave frivolously; the fear of Hashem should be on our faces" (Shulchan Aruch, Orach Chayim 597:1). 

The Maharshal wouldn't eat fish on Rosh ha'Shanah because he really liked them, but he wanted to diminish his physical desires in a specific way. They also don't wear chashuv clothing on Rosh ha'Shanah like they do on every other Yom Tov; instead, they wear white (Bach and Magen Avraham). 

We, on the other hand, are not accustomed to wear white on Rosh ha'Shanah, but only on Yom ha'Kippurim. Furthermore, we eat and drink [on Rosh ha'Shanah] just like on every other Yom Tov, as it is written: "He said to them [on Rosh ha'Shanah], 'Go, eat rich foods and drink sweet beverages, and send portions to those who have nothing prepared, for today is sacred to our Lord. Do not be sad; the enjoyment of Hashem is your strength!'" (Nechemiah 8:10). 

Only in one regard is Rosh ha'Shanah different from other Yomim Tovim: we extend our tefilah until after midday. 

Also, there are those who are accustomed not to sleep on the first day of Rosh ha'Shanah, based on a Yerushalmi which says, "One who sleeps on Rosh ha'Shanah - his mazal will sleep." We don't know where this Yerushalmi is. The Arizal wasn't worried about this and said that after the shofar blasts and after midday, the judgments have already been settled.

The Aruch ha'Shulchan acknowledges the opinions of Rav Yosef Karo and the Maharshal, who maintain that our rejoicing on Rosh ha'Shanah ought to be tempered or diminished. He also acknowledges the Bach and Magen Avraham who advocate the custom of donning somber white garments on Rosh ha'Shanah, just like on Yom ha'Kippurim.

All of these opinions he rejects, citing only one source: a pasuk from Nechemiah. This pasuk serves as a beautiful reminder of a commonly overlooked aspect of Rosh ha'Shanah, namely, the fact that it is a happy day. It is easy to get so caught up in fear, shame, and guilt that we end up neglecting the mitzvah of simchas Yom Tov which applies to Rosh ha'Shanah, just like it does to every other Yom Tov. True, we are being judged and that is a cause for fear and seriousness, but not to the point where we lose sight of the nature of the day, and certainly not to the point where we neglect such an important mitzvah as simchas Yom Tov!

David ha'Melech wrote: "Serve Hashem with fear, and rejoice in trembling" (Tehilim 2:11). On the surface, it would seem that fear and trembling are antithetical to rejoicing - and yet, we are expected to experience both emotions in our avodas Hashem. One of the main reasons why we find this to be so difficult is because the yetzer ha'ra, by nature, is drawn to extremes. A person who is overcome by his or her yetzer ha'ra will either spend the entire day cowering in fear, or frolic the day away in carefree indulgence without any eimas ha'din (fear of judgment). How are we to fulfill the ideal expressed in David ha'Melech's words?

The answer can be found in the Zichronos berachah in the Mussaf of Rosh ha'Shanah, in which we say: "Let there appear before You the Akeidah when Avraham, our father, bound Yitzchak, his son, upon the altar and conquered his mercy to do Your will wholeheartedly." Avraham Avinu didn't conquer his mercy through repression, denial, or sheer willpower. He was a navi, and like every navi, "his inclination does not overpower him in any worldly matter; rather, he continually overpowers his emotions with his mind" (Hilchos Yesodei ha'Torah 7:1). In other words, Avraham Avinu didn't suppress his feelings by pitting one emotion against another. Rather, his chochmah enabled him to rise above his emotions to the point where they yielded and responded to the influence of his intellect. That is how he "conquered" his mercy: by through knowledge and comprehension.

This is the method by which we can achieve the equilibrium of fear and joy described by David ha'Melech. If we succeed in recognizing and understanding both aspects of the day of Rosh ha'Shanah - as a Yom Tov of joy and a Yom ha'Din of trembling - our emotions will respond accordingly, and will find the proper balance on their own.

Having said that, I wish you all a joyously awesome day of Rosh ha'Shanah! Go, eat rich foods and drink sweet beverages, and send portions to those who have nothing prepared, for today is sacred to our Lord. Do not be sad; the enjoyment of Hashem is your strength!