As the sun sets on Yom Kippur, the judgment handed down on Rosh Hashanah is sealed. Known as the Ten Days of Repentance (Aseret Y'mei Teshuva), the first ten days of the Hebrew month of Tishrei (from the beginning of Rosh Hashanah until the end of Yom Kippur) are highlighted by an intensified desire for teshuva (repentance).
How to Change the Sentence in Ten Days: Teshuva, Tefila U’Tzedukah (Repentance, Prayer and Charity)
Teshuva, repentance, is the major focus both before and after Rosh Hashanah. During the Ten Days of Repentance, it is customary to scrutinize one’s actions and to review the process of teshuva that was begun during Elul, the month before Rosh Hashanah. Many people make extra efforts at self-improvement during the Ten Days. For instance:
* Someone just starting to get more involved with Judaism may determine that the perfect time to begin eating kosher food is during the Ten Days.
* Someone who is farther along in his/her involvement may decide to use the Ten Days to begin davening (praying) regularly.
* Some people choose to strengthen themselves during the Ten Days by designating one hour a day during which they are particularly careful not to speak Lashon Harah (evil or gossip)
Tefila
* The concluding words of the first blessing are changed to: Remember us for life, O King Who desires life, and inscribe us in the Book of Life — for Your sake, O Living G-d
* The conclusion of the second blessing is changed to: Who is like You, merciful Father, Who recalls His creatures mercifully for life.
* The third blessing is amended to end with the holy King instead of the holy G-d.
* The ending of the blessing for the restoration of justice is changed to: the King of Judgment.
* During the second to last blessing, we insert the line: And inscribe all the children of Your covenant for a good life.
* The ending of the final blessing is changed to: In the Book of Life, Blessing, and Peace, good livelihood, may we be remembered and inscribed before You – we and Your entire people, the Family of Israel, for a good life and for peace. Blessed are You, G-d, Who makes peace.
Avinu Malkenu, “Our Father, Our King,” a petitional prayer asking G-d to intervene for our benefit, is recited during the morning and afternoon services.
Tzedakah, charity, is an additional method one may seek to revise or avoid a negative verdict.
*Isn’t that bribing G-d? No. The life-long goal of the human being is to move closer to G-d. While Judaism has mandated laws about giving charity, these laws are meant to develop a person’s sensitivity to those in need. During the Ten Days, when we seek to show G-d that we have grown and are striving to be better, giving charity fortifies our fundamental giving instinct. Rather than bribing G-d, we are actively reminding ourselves of the direction in which we should be moving.
Copyright © 2010 National Jewish Outreach Program. All rights reserved.
Showing posts with label Rosh Hashana. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Rosh Hashana. Show all posts
Sunday, September 12, 2010
The Fast Of Gedaliah (Tzum Gedaliah)
The Fast of Gedaliah is observed to commemorate of the murder of Gedaliah the son of Achikam, which is described in the last chapter of the Second Book of Kings. This murder resulted in the final Babylonian exile and destruction:
After the first Holy Temple was destroyed and the Babylonians had driven the majority of the Jewish people into exile, a small minority of Jews were permitted to remain in the Land of Israel. Also, Jews who had fled during the war returned and began to work the land.
Nebuchadnetzar, the King of Babylon, appointed Gedaliah to be the governor over the remaining population.
The King of Ammon, a neighboring country, was vying for control over the Land of Israel against the Babylonians. He commissioned Yishmael the son of Netanyah to remove Gedaliah.
Murder! Yishmael, who was a descendant of King David, came to the town of Mitzpeh and murdered Gedaliah and all those that were with him.
In fear of retribution for the murder of the appointed governor, the remaining Jews fled the Land of Israel, thus completing the exile.
When
The Fast of Gedaliah is observed on the third day of Tishrei, the day after Rosh Hashanah. The fast begins at the break of dawn and ends at nightfall .
* Some people will get up before dawn and have an early morning breakfast (but this is only permitted if a decision to do so is verbally expressed the night before).
Do’s and Don’ts
1) During the duration of the fast, eating and drinking are prohibited.
2) Unlike Yom Kippur and Tisha B’Av (The Day of Atonement and the Ninth of Av), bathing, anointing, marital relations and wearing leather are permitted.
3) Pregnant and nursing women, and others with health considerations may be exempt from fasting (please consult your rabbi). Children under the age of bar/bat mitzvah (13 for boys, 12 for girls) are not required to fast.
4) Special prayers are added to the synagogue services:
a) Selichot (Penitential Prayers) and Avinu Malkeinu (Our Father, Our King) are recited.
b) At the morning service, Exodus 32:11-14 and 34: 1-10 are read from the Torah.
**5) If the third of Tishrei falls out on Shabbat, the fast is postponed until Sunday, as it is forbidden to fast on Shabbat (with the exception of Yom Kippur).
Copyright © 2010 National Jewish Outreach Program. All rights reserved.
After the first Holy Temple was destroyed and the Babylonians had driven the majority of the Jewish people into exile, a small minority of Jews were permitted to remain in the Land of Israel. Also, Jews who had fled during the war returned and began to work the land.
Nebuchadnetzar, the King of Babylon, appointed Gedaliah to be the governor over the remaining population.
The King of Ammon, a neighboring country, was vying for control over the Land of Israel against the Babylonians. He commissioned Yishmael the son of Netanyah to remove Gedaliah.
Murder! Yishmael, who was a descendant of King David, came to the town of Mitzpeh and murdered Gedaliah and all those that were with him.
In fear of retribution for the murder of the appointed governor, the remaining Jews fled the Land of Israel, thus completing the exile.
When
The Fast of Gedaliah is observed on the third day of Tishrei, the day after Rosh Hashanah. The fast begins at the break of dawn and ends at nightfall .
* Some people will get up before dawn and have an early morning breakfast (but this is only permitted if a decision to do so is verbally expressed the night before).
Do’s and Don’ts
1) During the duration of the fast, eating and drinking are prohibited.
2) Unlike Yom Kippur and Tisha B’Av (The Day of Atonement and the Ninth of Av), bathing, anointing, marital relations and wearing leather are permitted.
3) Pregnant and nursing women, and others with health considerations may be exempt from fasting (please consult your rabbi). Children under the age of bar/bat mitzvah (13 for boys, 12 for girls) are not required to fast.
4) Special prayers are added to the synagogue services:
a) Selichot (Penitential Prayers) and Avinu Malkeinu (Our Father, Our King) are recited.
b) At the morning service, Exodus 32:11-14 and 34: 1-10 are read from the Torah.
**5) If the third of Tishrei falls out on Shabbat, the fast is postponed until Sunday, as it is forbidden to fast on Shabbat (with the exception of Yom Kippur).
Copyright © 2010 National Jewish Outreach Program. All rights reserved.
Friday, September 3, 2010
Rosh Hashana
Rosh Hashana, which literally means the Head of the Year, is the Jewish New Year. Rosh Hashana is Yom Harat Olam, The Birthday of the World.
According to the Biblical narrative, it took six days to create the world, and on the sixth day God created Adam. During the first six days, animate and inanimate objects were formed, but the world was inactive until after the creation of the first human, who could appreciate and use God’s creations. Rosh Hashana is actually the day that Adam was created, but, even though there was prior creativity, it is nevertheless considered the birthday of the world because on this day the world came to life. With the creation of Adam, time was sectioned into hours, days, years, etc., and, therefore, we begin counting the years from this day.
Rosh Hashana is celebrated on the first and second days of Tishrei.
In the Torah, Rosh Hashana is given several names, each of which characterizes the day:
Yom Hazikaron – The Day of Rememberance – It is the day on which God recalls all of humankind’s deeds of the past year.
Yom Hadin – The Day of Judgement – It is the day on which God judges the actions of humankind.
According to the Biblical narrative, it took six days to create the world, and on the sixth day God created Adam. During the first six days, animate and inanimate objects were formed, but the world was inactive until after the creation of the first human, who could appreciate and use God’s creations. Rosh Hashana is actually the day that Adam was created, but, even though there was prior creativity, it is nevertheless considered the birthday of the world because on this day the world came to life. With the creation of Adam, time was sectioned into hours, days, years, etc., and, therefore, we begin counting the years from this day.
Rosh Hashana is celebrated on the first and second days of Tishrei.
In the Torah, Rosh Hashana is given several names, each of which characterizes the day:
Yom Hazikaron – The Day of Rememberance – It is the day on which God recalls all of humankind’s deeds of the past year.
Yom Hadin – The Day of Judgement – It is the day on which God judges the actions of humankind.
Symbolic Foods
The symbolic foods: Since Rosh Hashana is the day of judgement, it is customary to eat foods with symbolic meanings to invoke God’s blessing. We therefore utter a prayer and then eat these items. (Except for apples and honey, which is universally practiced, the exact items eaten depend on family custom.)
Apples and Honey:
A slice of apple is dipped in honey, and the blessing for the fruit of the tree is recited:
Baruch atah Ado-nai, Ehlo-haynu melech Ha-olam, Borai p’ree ha’aitz.
Blessed are you Lord, our God ruler of the world, Creator of the fruit of the tree.
Take a bite and then recite the following brief prayer:
“May it be Your will, Hashem, our God and the God of our forefathers, that You renew for us a good and sweet year.”
Dates
(t’marim – from the word for “to consume”)
“May it be Your will, Hashem, our God and the God of our forefathers, that our enemies be consumed.”
Some people eat the date first because it is one of the fruits for which the Land of Israel is known.
Squash
(kara – from the word for “to tear”)
“May it be Your will, Hashem, our God and the God of our forefathers, that the decree of our sentence be torn asunder; and may our merits be proclaimed before You.”
Black-Eyed Peas
(rubia – from the word for “increase”) or
Carrots
(merrin, in Yiddish – from the word “more”)
“May it be Your will, Hashem, our God and the God of our forefathers, that our merits increase.”
Raisins and Celery
(this is a recent, somewhat humorous, English addition)
“May it be Your will to grant us a “raise in salary.”
Pomegranates
It is said that each pomegranate has 613 seeds, representing the 613 commandments of the Torah:
“May it be Your will, Hashem, our God and the God of our forefathers, that our merits be as plentiful as the seeds of a pomegranates.”
Fish
A fish is considered to be a symbol of fertility and blessing:
“May it be Your will, Hashem, our God and the God of our forefathers, that we be fruitful and multiply like fish.”
Head of a Sheep/Fish:
Some have a custom to have the head of a sheep or a fish on the table and to say:
“May it be Your will, Hashem, our God and the God of our forefathers, that we be as the head and not as the tail.”
Nuts
On Rosh Hashana, nuts are not eaten since the numeric value of the word for nut, egoz, is equivalent to the numeric value for the word for sin, chet.
Apples and Honey:
A slice of apple is dipped in honey, and the blessing for the fruit of the tree is recited:
Baruch atah Ado-nai, Ehlo-haynu melech Ha-olam, Borai p’ree ha’aitz.
Blessed are you Lord, our God ruler of the world, Creator of the fruit of the tree.
Take a bite and then recite the following brief prayer:
“May it be Your will, Hashem, our God and the God of our forefathers, that You renew for us a good and sweet year.”
Dates
(t’marim – from the word for “to consume”)
“May it be Your will, Hashem, our God and the God of our forefathers, that our enemies be consumed.”
Some people eat the date first because it is one of the fruits for which the Land of Israel is known.
Squash
(kara – from the word for “to tear”)
“May it be Your will, Hashem, our God and the God of our forefathers, that the decree of our sentence be torn asunder; and may our merits be proclaimed before You.”
Black-Eyed Peas
(rubia – from the word for “increase”) or
Carrots
(merrin, in Yiddish – from the word “more”)
“May it be Your will, Hashem, our God and the God of our forefathers, that our merits increase.”
Raisins and Celery
(this is a recent, somewhat humorous, English addition)
“May it be Your will to grant us a “raise in salary.”
Pomegranates
It is said that each pomegranate has 613 seeds, representing the 613 commandments of the Torah:
“May it be Your will, Hashem, our God and the God of our forefathers, that our merits be as plentiful as the seeds of a pomegranates.”
Fish
A fish is considered to be a symbol of fertility and blessing:
“May it be Your will, Hashem, our God and the God of our forefathers, that we be fruitful and multiply like fish.”
Head of a Sheep/Fish:
Some have a custom to have the head of a sheep or a fish on the table and to say:
“May it be Your will, Hashem, our God and the God of our forefathers, that we be as the head and not as the tail.”
Nuts
On Rosh Hashana, nuts are not eaten since the numeric value of the word for nut, egoz, is equivalent to the numeric value for the word for sin, chet.
Shofar Service
“…It shall be declared a holiday for you, a day of sounding a teruah for you”
(Numbers 29:1).
Teruah is the word for one of the sounds of the shofar.
* The shofar is made from the horn of a ram. A special person to serve as the Shofar blower is designated for the holiday. This person has studied the various laws of the shofar service and is trained to properly maintain strong consistent sounds.
* The shofar is not sounded on Shabbat.
* It is a Torah obligation to hear the shofar during the Rosh Hashana Mussaf service (the additional service). If one is unable to attend services, during the daytime one may:
Find out what time the shofar will be blown and go specifically to hear the shofar blown and then return home.
Check with the local synagogue if there will be a special shofar sounding for people who miss it in the morning.
Have someone blow the shofar for him/her privately.
There are three types of shofar blasts:
Tekiah – The Long, Solid Blast.
* The tekiah sound is like the blast of the trumpet at a king’s coronation, reminding us that God is the King of Kings.
* The tekiah is a strong note of joyous happiness, to remind us that we are standing before God, our Maker, who loves us and judges us with mercy.
Shevarim – The Three Medium-Length Blasts
* The shevarim is reminiscent of deep sighs or soft crying, (where one is gasping for breath).
* The shevarim is the beginning of the recognition of all that God does for us, and all that we could be doing, thus the sighing sound.
Teruah – The Nine Quick Blasts
* The teruah evokes the feeling of short piercing cries of wailing.
* The teruah is the recognition that the year is closing and that the time for teshuva will soon pass.
Tekiah Gedolah
The elongated, solid note that is blown as the last blast of the shofar service. The regular tekiah is a note of joy – the tekiah gedolah is a triumphant shout that reaches out to the hearts of all to assure them that their prayers have been heard.
(Numbers 29:1).
Teruah is the word for one of the sounds of the shofar.
* The shofar is made from the horn of a ram. A special person to serve as the Shofar blower is designated for the holiday. This person has studied the various laws of the shofar service and is trained to properly maintain strong consistent sounds.
* The shofar is not sounded on Shabbat.
* It is a Torah obligation to hear the shofar during the Rosh Hashana Mussaf service (the additional service). If one is unable to attend services, during the daytime one may:
Find out what time the shofar will be blown and go specifically to hear the shofar blown and then return home.
Check with the local synagogue if there will be a special shofar sounding for people who miss it in the morning.
Have someone blow the shofar for him/her privately.
There are three types of shofar blasts:
Tekiah – The Long, Solid Blast.
* The tekiah sound is like the blast of the trumpet at a king’s coronation, reminding us that God is the King of Kings.
* The tekiah is a strong note of joyous happiness, to remind us that we are standing before God, our Maker, who loves us and judges us with mercy.
Shevarim – The Three Medium-Length Blasts
* The shevarim is reminiscent of deep sighs or soft crying, (where one is gasping for breath).
* The shevarim is the beginning of the recognition of all that God does for us, and all that we could be doing, thus the sighing sound.
Teruah – The Nine Quick Blasts
* The teruah evokes the feeling of short piercing cries of wailing.
* The teruah is the recognition that the year is closing and that the time for teshuva will soon pass.
Tekiah Gedolah
The elongated, solid note that is blown as the last blast of the shofar service. The regular tekiah is a note of joy – the tekiah gedolah is a triumphant shout that reaches out to the hearts of all to assure them that their prayers have been heard.
Tashlich – The Casting Away of Sins
It is customary after the afternoon service on the first day of Rosh Hashana, to go to a body of water in which there are live fish (or to a place where one can see the water) and to symbolically cast away one’s sins. While standing by the water, several verses from the books of Micha and Psalms are recited expressing the desire for the sins to be carried away.
When the first day of Rosh Hashana is Shabbat, tashlich is postponed until the second day.
If one does not perform tashlich during Rosh Hashana, for instance if one is unable to get to a body of water, it may be performed until Hoshana Raba (the seventh day of Sukkot).
When the first day of Rosh Hashana is Shabbat, tashlich is postponed until the second day.
If one does not perform tashlich during Rosh Hashana, for instance if one is unable to get to a body of water, it may be performed until Hoshana Raba (the seventh day of Sukkot).
Rosh Hashana Recipes
Tammy Reid’s Sweet Challah:
6 cups flour
3 eggs
3 Tbsp honey
1/3 cup sugar
2 envelopes dry yeast
4 Tbsp oil
drop vanilla
½ cup raisins
Mix dry ingredients. Add wet ingredients. Knead in raisins. If it seems too wet, add flour. If seems too dry add juice or water.
Allow to rise for 1 hour.
Knead down.
Mold dough into thick strands and curl into circular loaves. Allow to rise for another hour. Bake at 350 for 20 minutes, or until golden brown.
Carrot and Sweet Potato Tzimmes
1 bunch carrots peeled and cut into 1″ pieces
6 sweet potatoes (large) peeled and quartered
½ cup pitted prunes
1 cup orange juice
½ cup honey
½ tsp salt
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 cup margarine
Cook carrots and sweet potatoes in boiling, salted water. Cover until firm yet tender. Line a 2-quart, shallow casserole dish with heavy foil. Drain carrots and potatoes and place in dish with prunes. Stir gently.
In a separate bowl, mix orange juice, honey, salt and cinnamon. Pour mixture evenly over potatoes- carrots-prunes. Dot with margarine. Bake covered (with foil) in preheated 350 oven for 30 minutes. Stir gently and bake for another 10 minutes uncovered.
Applesauce Kugel
1 lb noodles (wide is better)
4 eggs (beaten)
2 Tbsp sugar
½ tsp vanilla extract
½ cup melted margarine
½ cup raisins
2 cups applesauce
½ can pineapple pieces (Drained)
cinnamon and sugar mixture
Cook noodles until nearly tender and drain.
Mix all ingredients except cinnamon and sugar mixture.
Mix well.
Pour into a large greased baking dish.
Sprinkle cinnamon and sugar on top.
Bake at 350 for 1 hour or until brown on top.
Although Rosh Hashanah is a time for eating sweet foods (in the hope of having a sweet new year), this Carrot Cake is a delightful treat:
Dietetic Carrot Cake from Beryl Levenson
1 cup grated carrots
½ cup chopped walnuts
½ cup raisins
2/3 cup Sugar Twin
½ cup vegetable oil
2 eggs
1 cup flour
1 tsp baking soda
½ tsp cinnamon
½ tsp salt
Combine Sugar Twin, oil, and eggs in a bowl and beat until blended.
Add flour, baking soda, cinnamon, salt, carrots, nuts and raisins. Stir well.
Pour mixture into pan and bake at 350 for 35-40 minutes.
Allow cake to cool completely before frosting.
6 cups flour
3 eggs
3 Tbsp honey
1/3 cup sugar
2 envelopes dry yeast
4 Tbsp oil
drop vanilla
½ cup raisins
Mix dry ingredients. Add wet ingredients. Knead in raisins. If it seems too wet, add flour. If seems too dry add juice or water.
Allow to rise for 1 hour.
Knead down.
Mold dough into thick strands and curl into circular loaves. Allow to rise for another hour. Bake at 350 for 20 minutes, or until golden brown.
Carrot and Sweet Potato Tzimmes
1 bunch carrots peeled and cut into 1″ pieces
6 sweet potatoes (large) peeled and quartered
½ cup pitted prunes
1 cup orange juice
½ cup honey
½ tsp salt
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 cup margarine
Cook carrots and sweet potatoes in boiling, salted water. Cover until firm yet tender. Line a 2-quart, shallow casserole dish with heavy foil. Drain carrots and potatoes and place in dish with prunes. Stir gently.
In a separate bowl, mix orange juice, honey, salt and cinnamon. Pour mixture evenly over potatoes- carrots-prunes. Dot with margarine. Bake covered (with foil) in preheated 350 oven for 30 minutes. Stir gently and bake for another 10 minutes uncovered.
Applesauce Kugel
1 lb noodles (wide is better)
4 eggs (beaten)
2 Tbsp sugar
½ tsp vanilla extract
½ cup melted margarine
½ cup raisins
2 cups applesauce
½ can pineapple pieces (Drained)
cinnamon and sugar mixture
Cook noodles until nearly tender and drain.
Mix all ingredients except cinnamon and sugar mixture.
Mix well.
Pour into a large greased baking dish.
Sprinkle cinnamon and sugar on top.
Bake at 350 for 1 hour or until brown on top.
Although Rosh Hashanah is a time for eating sweet foods (in the hope of having a sweet new year), this Carrot Cake is a delightful treat:
Dietetic Carrot Cake from Beryl Levenson
1 cup grated carrots
½ cup chopped walnuts
½ cup raisins
2/3 cup Sugar Twin
½ cup vegetable oil
2 eggs
1 cup flour
1 tsp baking soda
½ tsp cinnamon
½ tsp salt
Combine Sugar Twin, oil, and eggs in a bowl and beat until blended.
Add flour, baking soda, cinnamon, salt, carrots, nuts and raisins. Stir well.
Pour mixture into pan and bake at 350 for 35-40 minutes.
Allow cake to cool completely before frosting.
A Season of Repentance
Imagine that you receive a notice from the IRS that you are going to be audited in one month. You are frantic. After all, receipts and credit slips are scattered in drawers and piles throughout the house; and, now you have only one month to find them. The beginning of the month of Elul marks the one month notice until the “Divine audit” on Rosh Hashana. Throughout the month of Elul, Jews search for every receipt and credit slip left by their behavior. “Did I belittle the secretary who couldn’t remember my name?” “Did I borrow $20 and forget to return it?” “Did I…?”
Elul is the time to look back over the past year, sort out our strengths and weaknesses, and see what impact our deeds have had. Like sorting the receipts, we can put our actions into little piles: wrong to God, our fellow humans or even ourselves, and good to God, our fellow humans or ourselves. Sometimes an action may fall into several categories. Reviewing our behavior is, according to the Medieval scholar Rabbi Moses ben Maimon (Maimonides), the beginning of the first step in teshuva, repentance. The Jewish view of repentance goes much farther than mere regret. Teshuva is a pro-active process that recognizes our fallibility and our ability to change.
People err. The Bible is full of people “messing up.” What is important, however, is that one learns from his/her mistakes; and, the first step in setting it straight is recognizing the problem and stopping the behavior. For many, recognizing a negative behavior is painfully difficult. After all, it’s so easy to justify our actions -- “Well, he shouldn’t have cut me off, I had every right to yell at him!”"The government already gets enough money, I don’t have to declare this on my taxes!” “Hey, so what if I told them that I saw her out last night, everybody knows she’s a real partier!” But rationalizations don’t make the action right, they only make the rationalizer feel better about their behavior. Admitting that an action was wrong or that it may have hurt someone, takes courage and honesty. Stopping the behavior is an even greater challenge.
Humankind, however, was created to meet this challenge. As the only one of God’s creations with a soul, humans alone are capable of spiritual growth. Unlike physical development, spiritual growth must be a conscious effort, with both short and long term goals. For instance: long term, one may wish to be able to read from the Torah, but the short term goal may be to learn the Aleph-Bet. When setting the long term goal of becoming the best possible person, Rosh Hashana is the date by which one sets a short term goal of evaluating the direction in which one is heading.
On Rosh Hashana the world came to life. It was the sixth day of creation. The trees had been planted, the seeds for the grasses were sown, fish, birds, mammals and all other creatures were formed…and then God created the human being. How can Rosh Hashana be considered the birthday of the world if the world was already six days old? A baby is conceived and exists for nine months before the child is born, yet only the day of its first breath is considered its actual birthday. So too, only on the sixth day, when God “formed Adam of the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life,” did the world become actualized.
That first breath set the world in motion. It was also from that day forth that humankind has had to face the battle of free-will. While it may appear to be a burden, free-will, the ability to choose one’s actions, is actually the necessary ingredient for spiritual growth. After all, if one works solely upon natural instinct, one will always have the same reaction in similar situations. Without free-will there are no choices about behavior and there can be no reflection about right or wrong. With free-will, however, what we did yesterday is not necessarily what we do today or tomorrow. However, with free-will comes responsibility and accountability; and, on Rosh Hashana God holds each man and woman accountable for his or her actions over the last year
While people should strive to improve themselves throughout the year, as the month of Elul begins and the Shofar is sounded, we are reminded that there is just one month left. Thirty days remain to check one’s balance and settle old accounts. By using Elul to prepare, one is able to face the Divine audit on Rosh Hashana with clarity and confidence, knowing that one has moved towards his/her spiritual goal and has made a better connection with the power of the day, and with God.
Elul is the time to look back over the past year, sort out our strengths and weaknesses, and see what impact our deeds have had. Like sorting the receipts, we can put our actions into little piles: wrong to God, our fellow humans or even ourselves, and good to God, our fellow humans or ourselves. Sometimes an action may fall into several categories. Reviewing our behavior is, according to the Medieval scholar Rabbi Moses ben Maimon (Maimonides), the beginning of the first step in teshuva, repentance. The Jewish view of repentance goes much farther than mere regret. Teshuva is a pro-active process that recognizes our fallibility and our ability to change.
People err. The Bible is full of people “messing up.” What is important, however, is that one learns from his/her mistakes; and, the first step in setting it straight is recognizing the problem and stopping the behavior. For many, recognizing a negative behavior is painfully difficult. After all, it’s so easy to justify our actions -- “Well, he shouldn’t have cut me off, I had every right to yell at him!”"The government already gets enough money, I don’t have to declare this on my taxes!” “Hey, so what if I told them that I saw her out last night, everybody knows she’s a real partier!” But rationalizations don’t make the action right, they only make the rationalizer feel better about their behavior. Admitting that an action was wrong or that it may have hurt someone, takes courage and honesty. Stopping the behavior is an even greater challenge.
Humankind, however, was created to meet this challenge. As the only one of God’s creations with a soul, humans alone are capable of spiritual growth. Unlike physical development, spiritual growth must be a conscious effort, with both short and long term goals. For instance: long term, one may wish to be able to read from the Torah, but the short term goal may be to learn the Aleph-Bet. When setting the long term goal of becoming the best possible person, Rosh Hashana is the date by which one sets a short term goal of evaluating the direction in which one is heading.
On Rosh Hashana the world came to life. It was the sixth day of creation. The trees had been planted, the seeds for the grasses were sown, fish, birds, mammals and all other creatures were formed…and then God created the human being. How can Rosh Hashana be considered the birthday of the world if the world was already six days old? A baby is conceived and exists for nine months before the child is born, yet only the day of its first breath is considered its actual birthday. So too, only on the sixth day, when God “formed Adam of the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life,” did the world become actualized.
That first breath set the world in motion. It was also from that day forth that humankind has had to face the battle of free-will. While it may appear to be a burden, free-will, the ability to choose one’s actions, is actually the necessary ingredient for spiritual growth. After all, if one works solely upon natural instinct, one will always have the same reaction in similar situations. Without free-will there are no choices about behavior and there can be no reflection about right or wrong. With free-will, however, what we did yesterday is not necessarily what we do today or tomorrow. However, with free-will comes responsibility and accountability; and, on Rosh Hashana God holds each man and woman accountable for his or her actions over the last year
While people should strive to improve themselves throughout the year, as the month of Elul begins and the Shofar is sounded, we are reminded that there is just one month left. Thirty days remain to check one’s balance and settle old accounts. By using Elul to prepare, one is able to face the Divine audit on Rosh Hashana with clarity and confidence, knowing that one has moved towards his/her spiritual goal and has made a better connection with the power of the day, and with God.
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