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by Rabbi E. Tauger
Tishrei
A Month
of Renewal
Modeh Ani Lifanecha…. When we arise
from sleep, we say: "I offer thankful acknowledgment before
You for returning my soul. Great is Your faithfulness." As
soon as we get up, we thank G-d for giving us the gift of life.
Implied is perhaps the most fundamental realization in our Divine
service: We do not exist by virtue of our own selves. We exist because
G-d grants us life.
Our natural tendency is otherwise. We don't ask why we exist. We
take that for granted and once we do, we feel that certain things
should be given to us. Some of us are more demanding than others,
but there is a basic conception that we all share. Since we exist,
we deserve the wherewithal to continue that existence in a pleasant
manner.
Saying Modeh Ani means swimming against this current and acknowledging
that waking up in the morning is the greatest gift man can think
of receiving. Because of His faithful kindness, G-d returns our
souls. It is due to His beneficence, not to our innate right, that
we breathe anew each morning.
This realization carries with it a responsibility. For if our lives
are granted to us only due to G-d's kindness, it follows logically
that we should repay that kindness by serving Him with complete
dedication and loyalty.
In the Macrocosm
Similar concepts apply with regard to the
renewal of the world each year on Rosh HaShanah. Rosh HaShanah is
not merely a day of judgment when our conduct is reviewed and scrutinized.
It is "the beginning of Your deeds, a remembrance of the first
day." On the first day of existence, G-d created the world
out of complete nothingness and void. He did not merely form primeval
matter into a structure that we can recognize. He made existence
from non-being.
We cannot understand that statement, for as part of the set of creation,
we can have no conception of what non-being is. But one thing is
certain: Non-being means simply that who we are and the world we
live in does not have to be. It exists only because He wants it
to be and brings it into existence.
And this isn't only a story of the beginning of creation. It's the
truth about the nature of existence now as well. Since the world
was created from absolute nothingness, it follows that even now
it is only G-d's creative power that is preventing it from reverting
to nothingness. A stone propelled upward will continue its ascent
only as long as the force pushing it upward continues. When that
force ceases, the stone begins to descend. Similarly, the existence
of the world is maintained only by virtue of G-d's creative power.
It is on Rosh HaShanah that the creation is renewed. Although these
concepts apply every day and every moment, according to Jewish mysticism,
time follows a cyclic pattern and spiritual motifs have set times
when they are highlighted. Rosh HaShanah is the time when the concept
of creation is given emphasis. Everything reverts to its very source
and the world's existence is renewed.
Giving G-d His Due
The awareness of this concept should provoke
an awesome sense of thanksgiving and devotion to G-d. As mentioned
above when speaking about the microcosm, man as an individual, once
we feel that we exist, we feel we deserve to receive. When, however,
we realize that we - and all existence - are essentially nothing,
we are overwhelmed with gratitude for our very existence and show
willingness to devote that existence to G-d and His service.
For that reason, our Sages associate Rosh HaShanah with the acceptance
of G-d's Kingship. For just as a subject forgoes his individual
identity and devotes himself to his king in an act of homage, so
too, on Rosh HaShanah, we transcend our personal concerns and identify
with G-d. Since our existence is totally dependent on Him, we devote
ourselves to Him with every aspect of our being.
From Rosh HaShanah To Yom Kippur:
Turning to G-d in Teshuvah
Once a person makes such a realization, he
or she immediately reacts: "Well, where have I been till now?"
On Rosh HaShanah, we are submerged in the acceptance of G-d as King,
but afterwards, we start to think about translating that into day-to-day
reality. We begin to review our conduct and we realize that we come
up short. Sometimes, we made mistakes. We were carried away by our
feelings and failed to do what we should have done. Other times,
there may have been nothing wrong with our conduct, but still it
is mortal and when measured up against G-d's infinity, there is
obviously a lack.
When we feel this lack, we turn to Him in teshuvah, searching to
renew our bond and heighten our connection. Moreover, Chassidus
explains that teshuvah means "return," reestablishing
contact with the G-dly spark that lies at the core of our beings.
After undergoing a fundamental redefinition of identity on Rosh
HaShanah and accepting G-d's sovereignty, the teshuvah process enables
us to align all of our different qualities and attributes with this
fundamental awareness.
This process comes to a peak on Yom Kippur in the Neilah service.
On Yom Kippur, the High Priest would enter the Holy of Holies where
He was alone with the Divine presence. No other being, not even
the lofty angels could intrude upon that bond of oneness. Similarly,
Neilah means "locking." During the Neilah service, each
one of us is "locked in," alone with G-d.
Sukkos: Celebrating Our
Redefinition of Identity
On Sukkos, we are commanded to leave our
homes and live in small huts. Our Sages explain the rationale for
this mitzvah, stating that the huts recall the Clouds of Glory that
protected the Jews during their journey through the desert after
their exodus from Egypt.
What is the point of the resemblance? The sukkah huts must be frail
structures, unable to provide real support against the elements.
In such a dwelling, a person is dependent on G-d. That is precisely
the message of the Clouds of Glory. They encompassed the Jews entirely
as they proceeded through the desert, protecting them and clearing
all the obstacles in their path. Similarly, in our own individual
journeys through life, no matter how strong our situation appears,
we are living in frail huts, dependent on G-d's protection and guidance.
Sukkos is "the season of our rejoicing." One might think
that knowing that he is dependent only on G-d would produce an attitude
of uncertainty and nervousness. After all, everyone likes to feel
that he is standing on firm ground and that he is in control of
his future. Nevertheless, in truth, the knowledge that we do not
control our future and that everything is in G-d's hands is the
most satisfying and joyful message we can have. For man is by definition
limited and there are limits to the good that he can fathom. G-d,
by definition, is unlimited and can provide man with a good far
greater than he could possibly conceive of on his own.
Rejoicing With the Torah
The climax of this entire experience of redefinition
comes on Simchas Torah when we celebrate in joyous dancing. The
Previous Rebbe would explain that the name Simchas Torah means "The
happiness of the Torah." The Torah is happy and wants to dance,
but since it has no feet of its own, it can't. A Jew takes the Torah
in hand and becomes its feet. This completes the process of reidentification
begun on Rosh HaShanah. On Rosh HaShanah, we dedicate ourselves
to G-d with homage to His sovereignty and on Simchas Torah, we rejoice
in the fact that we have merged our own identities with that of
the Torah.
In a personal sense that means we allow the Torah to define who
we are and what we want to do. This is the greatest happiness, knowing
that we have placed our personalities - not only our fate (as on
Sukkos) - in G-d's hands and that He will help us grow and develop
in the most complete way possible.
Foreshadowing the Future
The celebrations of Simchas Torah are a foretaste
of the ultimate celebrations that will accompany the coming of Mashiach
when "crowned with eternal joy," we will proceed to Eretz
Yisrael in the ultimate Redemption.
All of the stages of Divine service mentioned above will be experienced
at that time: Mashiach will be a king and he will lift us to a level
of spiritual awareness that will evoke complete devotion to G-d.
This in turn will inspire teshuvah, sincere regret over any misdeeds
that we performed and more importantly, a desire to identify with
the fundamental G-dly spark which lies at the core of our being.
And there will be the great joy and satisfaction of seeing this
all become manifest.
At present, our experience of spirituality is primarily intellectual.
And there are rare times, when we can also lift our feelings above
the material and sense these concepts, but in the era of Mashiach,
all of this will be actual. The concepts which today we accept on
faith and appreciate on the level of thought will then be experienced
as tangible reality.
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Telling
Tales
A chassid once asked the great
Rebbe, R. Elimelech of Lizensk, if he could be present when the
Rebbe performed the pre-Yom Kippur Kapporos custom. R. Elimelech
refused his request, saying that his Kapporos were not very inspiring.
When the chassid continued to press his request, R. Elimelech told
him to go to an inn in a not-so-distant village and he would see
Kapporos that were truly uplifting.
The chassid took the Rebbe's advice and journeyed to the inn. The
inn-keeper was busy pouring whiskey to his gentile customers. At
first, he refused to let the chassid stay the night, telling him
that there were many other Jews living not far away. But when the
chassid persevered in his entreaties, he consented.
A little after midnight, the owner began clearing the gentiles out
of the inn. He made a bed for the chassid in the corner of the room
and the chassid feigned sleep. He watched as the inn-keeper pulled
out a thick ledger. He began reading slowly, crying from time to
time. The chassid could not hear clearly, but it was apparent that
the ledger was a detailed account of the inn-keeper's transgression.
On this day, he had prayed later than required. On this day, he
had accidentally violated the Sabbath laws. On this date....
After reading the entire ledger, the inn-keeper began to sigh. "G-d,"
he cried out. "Last year, I promised to mend my ways. And yet,
look at what I have done!" And he cried bitter tears.
He then pulled out a second ledger and read aloud: "On this
day, my customers beat me and stole from me." "On this
day, my horse died." "On this day, my wife took ill,"
recounting all the woes that he had suffered during the year.
"G-d," he called out. "Last year, I pleaded for a
year of blessing. I trusted You and believed that my wish would
come true and look what happened!
"It's the day before Yom Kippur, everyone is supposed to forgive
their grievances against their colleagues. So let's do that. I will
forgive You for all the difficulties I suffered and You forgive
me for all the sins I performed. And next year, we'll both do better."
With that, he wrapped the two ledgers together, swung them over
his head, and recited the traditional Kapporos prayer.
May this be a year when all our wishes are answered, including the
inner wish of each one of us, that this be a year of Redemption,
highlighted by the coming of Mashiach.
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Torah
readings of the month
Parshas Haazinu
This Torah reading is considered
as "the song of the Torah," a recapitulation of the Torah
as a whole and a capsulized view of Jewish history in general. Our
Rabbis explain that there are nine songs that involved the entire
Jewish people of which Haazinu is the fourth. With regard to it
and the other eight, the Bible uses the word shirah, the feminine
form. For the positive factors these songs celebrate were not complete
and lasting
With regard to the tenth song to be sung by Mashiach, the Bible
uses a masculine form shir, for at that time, the celebration will
be complete. There will be no possibility of exile and suffering
afterwards.
Parshas Bereishis
This Torah reading recounts
the narrative of creation, placing great emphasis on the creation
of man. One of the stories it relates is how: "Adam gave names
to all the animals, the fowl of the heavens, and the beasts of the
earth." As the Midrash indicates, choosing these names was
not a casual matter. Before having Adam name the animals, G-d asked
the angels to do so, but they demurred, stating that it was not
within their capacity. G-d then proudly gave the task to Adam, telling
the angels: "His wisdom surpasses yours."
Now if naming the animals was merely a matter of finding catchy
terms and associating them with the animals, why couldn't the angels
do this? And what was so special about Adam that he could?
Indeed, giving names was not just an arbitrary choice. As the Alter
Rebbe writes in Tanya, the name of an entity reflects its inner
life-force. G-d creates the world through speech and through a series
of mystic permutations, the letters of the ten Divine utterances
of creation become altered until they can serve as the life-force
for each individual created being. Having the wisdom to name an
entity implies the ability to see within the entity's material form
and recognize the spiritual energy that maintains it.
Naming the animals was not intended merely to demonstrate Adam's
wisdom; instead, it was part of his Divine service. For by naming
the animals, he called forth this G-dly potential, bringing it to
the surface. Giving them names associated their inner spiritual
potential with their actual existence, empowering them to fill their
purpose in creation.
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