by Rabbi E. Tauger
TISHREI: Dates To Remember
Tishrei 3 - The Fast of Gedaliah. The last of the four commemorative fasts associated with the destruction of the Temple, recalling the murder of Gedaliah ben Achikam, the governor appointed by the Babylonians after their conquest of Eretz Yisrael. The tragic assassination of Gedaliah extinguished the last embers of Jewish sovereignty in Eretz Yisrael after the destruction of the First Beis HaMikdash.
According to many commentaries, this actually took place on Rosh HaShanah. The commemoration of the tragedy was postponed, however, so as not to conflict with the festive celebration of Rosh HaShanah. The postponing of this fast that this day is uniquely empowered to hasten the coming of the Era of the Redemption, when all the commemorative fasts will be nullified and transformed into "days of rejoicing and celebration."
This date is also the yarhzeit of Rebbetzin Devorah Leah, the doughter of the Alter Rebbe. The self-sacrifice of this noble woman made possible the spreading of Chassidus outward.
Tishrei 6 - The Yahrzeit of the Rebbe's Mother, Rebbitzen Chanah, a woman who with self-sacrifice accompanied her husband into exile and preserved his teachings for the entire Jewish people. After his passing, she came to Crown Heights, thus giving the chassidim an opportunity to behold the unique qualities possessed by this "mother of royalty."
Tishrei 8 - The anniversary of the dedication of the Temple by King Solomon. This was the first time the Divine presence made a permanent home for itself in our mortal world. When King Solomon dedicated the Temple, he sanctified it for that time and forever. Until - and including - the time of Mashiach, there will be no other resting place for the Divine presence. Indeed, even today, the site of the Temple is holy because G-d's presence is manifest there.
Tishrei 13 - The Yahrzeit
of the Rebbe Maharash. The Rebbe Maharash is identified with the renowned
Chassidic adage: "The world at large says: `Try to crawl under, and
if you can't crawl under, climb over.' And I say: `At the outset, try to
climb over.'" This thrust to active optimism characterized his own
life and serves as a directive to us all
Tishrei - The Apex of our Bond with G-d
Teenagers thrive on highs. They desire to be challenged. They want an experience that gets their adrenaline moving, and puts spice and action in life.
The truth is that adults feel the same way. The last thing any of us want is to confine ourselves to a drab and dreary routine that does not provide any excitement. The only differences between teenagers and adults are that: a) Adults are realistic enough to appreciate that you can't live with highs 24 hours a day, 365 days a year;
b) Adults understand that work and effort are necessary to prepare the ground for those peak experiences;
c) What gives an adult a sense of high may be more cultured and
developed than what produces that feeling for a teenager. A teenager may find a Beethoven symphony slow and tedious, while a more mature person will be able to appreciate the tremendous outpouring of emotion it evokes.
The crux of the matter, however, remains the same. None of us want our lives to be plain and ordinary. We are all searching for energy and vitality.
This is one of the challenges which religion in general and Judaism in particular face in the present age. There are few who question the values and principles on which Judaism is based. Why then aren't people at large more observant? Because religion isn't exciting for them.
It isn't that they see anything wrong with Judaism. It's just that they haven't been exposed to anything within Judaism that's exciting and challenging. To speak in analogy: They haven't found kosher adrenaline, and so the natural tendency is to search for the non-kosher.
In truth, however, Judaism has "highs," moments which enable us to tap our inner spiritual core and release its energy. In this, the month of Tishrei stands out as unique. For each of the four holidays of Tishrei gives us an opportunity to tap resources of heart and soul that we often ignore. They are peak experiences that endow us with a breath of life that is rich and vibrant.
Rosh HaShanah - When It All Begins Again
We have all seen people fighting for their lives. Some of us may have experienced such a challenge ourselves. On one hand, it is an experience that no one desires. On the other hand, it's an experience that no one will forget, and, to a certain extent, no one would want to give up.
In a spiritual sense, that's what Rosh HaShanah is all about.
According to the Kabbalah, the Divine life energy which maintains the existence of the world recedes before Rosh HaShanah and must be drawn down again. That is the heart of our Divine service on Rosh HaShanah. Our prayers, the sounding of the shofar, our heartfelt recitation of Psalms all have this goal in mind: to draw down the vitality for the coming year's existence. An overwhelming sense of urgency permeates every moment of the holiday as we strive toward this purpose.
Yom Kippur - Alone With G-d
At the time of the Temple, Yom Kippur was a day of unique distinction. It was on this day - and on this day alone - that a person, the High Priest, entered the Holy of Holies. What was in that sacred chamber? The Divine Presence. At that time, a man was alone with G-d. No human or spiritual being was permitted to intrude upon his connection with Him.
This same degree of connection can be achieved by each of us on Yom Kippur. In particular, this applies during the concluding Neilah service. Neilah means "locking". At this time, every individual Jew is locked in, alone with G-d. During these prayers, the essence of his soul, the level that is one with the essence of G-d, comes to the surface.
For this reason, Yom Kippur is the culmination of "the Days of Awe,"
for each of us has the opportunity to sense - and connect with - a dimension of G-dliness that is totally above our ordinary experience and leaves us truly awestruck.
Sukkos - Joy that Knows No Bounds
Just as Rosh HaShanah and Yom Kippur tap our spiritual core in earnest Divine service, Sukkos and Simchas Torah uncover these same energies through joy and happiness. Sukkos is "the time of our rejoicing," a week-long celebration that includes an entire cycle of time and influences all the weeks that follow, infusing joy and pleasure into every aspect of our service of G-d.
At the time of the Temple, this happiness found expression in Simchas Beis HaShoevah, the celebration which accompanied the offering of water. During this unique celebration, the Sages "would dance...with lighted torches, singing songs and praises, and the Levites would play harps and lyres, cymbals and trumpets, and countless other musical instruments." Our Sages state that "he who has not witnessed the celebration of Simchas Beis HaShoevah has never seen happiness in his life."
Though the Beis HaMikdash is destroyed, we can experience the happiness of Simchas Beis HaShoevah by commemorating the water offering with celebrations throughout the Sukkos holiday. Participating in these celebrations generates the potential for us to "see happiness" throughout the year to come.
Simchas Torah - When Constraints Dissolve
On Simchas Torah, we all reach out to G-d and attempt to connect with His infinite dimension. This requires stepping beyond the restrictions of our own rational mindset. And this is precisely what takes place when a Jew dances with a Torah scroll on Simchas Torah. All reserve disappears in exuberant dancing. Hidden resources of joy, energies which we did not know we possessed, surface at this time.
All Jews, learned and unsophisticated alike, share equally in the Simchas Torah celebrations, because these celebrations tap a point in the soul which, by nature of its infinity, defies the entire concept of rank and gradation. At this level of soul, no difference exists between one Jew and another. The basic commonality that links us all makes us join hands and dance together, oblivious to the personal differences that might otherwise create barriers between individuals.
Mashiach's Coming: The Ultimate Peak Experience
The peak experiences we have spoken about all have a limited dimension. In the present era, both our joy and awe are confined, because the fundamental gestalt of our world is governed by material perception. G-dliness is not openly apparent and therefore unbounded spiritual emotions are beyond our grasp.
In the Era of the Redemption, this will change. "They will enter the clefts of the rocks and the cracks of the crags, because of the fear of G-d." And "Those redeemed by G-d will come to Zion with songs of happiness, crowned with eternal joy." We will experience both awe and joy in a consummate sense.
May the coming year be a year of boundless blessing, including the ultimate blessing, the coming of Mashiach when the above will become actual reality.
The Mitzvos of the Holidays
The sounding of the shofar on Rosh HaShanah - The simple, artless call of the shofar reflects the inner outcry of a Jew's deepest spiritual
potential. As a child calls to his father with a simple, unarticulated cry, so too, we call out to G-d from the very depths of our being.
From a different perspective, our Sages compare the sounding of the shofar on Rosh HaShanah to the sounding of trumpets at a king's coronation. On Rosh HaShanah, we reaffirm our acceptance of G-d as King.
Fasting on Yom Kippur - The Maggid of Koznitz would say: Fasting on Yom Kippur is not a challenge. On a day of such profound spirituality, how can one think of food?!
Dwelling in the Sukkah - For the seven days of the holiday, all of the daily routines of our life must be carried out in the sukkah. When a person lives in a sukkah, his entire body and his ordinary routines are enveloped by the mitzvah: even the most mundane aspects of his life become means of connection to G-d. The mitzvah of sukkah thus teaches that G-dliness is present not merely in the synagogue or in the house of study, but in every dimension of our lives.
Taking the Lulav and the Esrog - The Midrash explains that the mitzvah of the lulav and esrog symbolizes the intrinsic unity of the Jewish people. The fulfillment of this mitzvah requires us to hold together either fruit or branches from four different species of trees - the date palm (lulav), the myrtle (hadas), the willow (aravos), and the citron (esrog).
These four species are noticeably different from one another. Each of the four species is interpreted as a symbol representing a different type of individual. The esrog represents a person who studies Torah and fulfills the mitzvos, the lulav represents one who studies Torah but does not emphasize the performance of mitzvos, the myrtle represents one who fulfills mitzvos but does not emphasize the study of Torah, and the willow represents a Jew who neither studies Torah nor observes mitzvos.
The mitzvah of the lulav and esrog demonstrates that no individual can
attain fulfillment unless he is willing to go beyond himself and join together
with his fellow man. Even the esrog, the species which symbolizes both the
virtues of Torah study and observance of the mitzvos, cannot be used for
the mitzvah on Sukkos unless it is taken in hand and held together with
the humble willow. No matter how much we develop ourselves as individuals,
we cannot reach our true potential without the help of others. The unity
of our people as a whole is an indispensable ingredient in the growth and
progress of every individual.
The Torah Portions of the Month
Parshas Vayeilech - The name of this week's Torah reading means "And he went." The Hebrew root for this term also means "proceed" or "advance." In that context, this Torah reading serves as a directive for every individual not to "rest on his laurels," but instead, to continually push forward in his Divine service.
More specifically, the reading states "And Moshe proceeded." On this day, Moshe was 120 years old; he knew this was to be his last day on our material world. And yet, he "went," proceeded and advanced. Now Moshe was the epitome of mortal perfection; he had achieved the heights of wisdom and he had shared his attainments with the people. Nevertheless, even on his last day in this world, he felt the need to proceed further and seek greater peaks.
Parshas Haazinu - This Torah reading begins "Give ear, O heavens; listen earth." Our Sages explain that this wording implies that one is "close to the heavens" and can therefore speak in their ear, as it were, "and far from the earth." This verse aptly describes the Jews' spiritual state between the holidays of Yom Kippur and Sukkos when we read this parshah.
The parshah is of general significance. The Nachmanides would teach that all the events of our people's history - past and future - are alluded to in this song.
Parshas Vezos Haberachah - The conclusion of the Torah, recounting the blessings which Moses gave to the Jewish people. These blessings reflect the positive dimensions of the month of Tishrei, reflecting how G-d grants us goodness and sweetness in the year to come.
Parshas Bereishis - The beginning
of the Torah and the narrative of creation. Chassidim would say: "A
person's spiritual stance on Shabbos Bereishis defines his stance in the
year to come." Since G-d "looked into the Torah and created the
world," it is through reliving the creation as related by the Torah,
that a person can give shape to his personal destiny.