‘Parsha Growth Spurts’[1]
Rabbi Dani Staum
Rosh Hashanah 5774
“Hashem, our G-d, gave us this day of remembrance, a day of Shofar blowing… a remembrance of Yetzias Mitzrayim” (Kiddush – Lail Rosh Hashana)
What is the connection between Rosh Hashanah and Yetzias Mitzrayim?
Yismach Moshe related a mashal about a province that rebelled against their king. The king deployed his army to squash the rebellion. Before the army invaded however, the king mercifully announced that anyone who pledges allegiance and subjugates himself to the king, not only will his life be spared, but he will be given presents from the king. But anyone who persists in the rebellion will be executed.
Many of the rebels took advantage of the king’s benevolent offer. It was only those who would not humble themselves who were captured and sentenced to death.
Every year on Rosh Hashanah, we take stock of our actions, and find ourselves wanting. In His infinite compassion, Hashem grants us an opening of teshuva so that we can atone for our mishaps and be inscribed in the Book of Righteousness.
A similar situation occurred just prior to Yetzias Mitzrayim. Moshe Rabbeinu informed Klal Yisroel that the time of redemption was imminent, and they had to commit themselves to the command of Hashem in order to merit the redemption. The majority of the nation did not pay heed to that call, and died during makkas Chosech, just prior to the geulah. It was only those who subjugated themselves to Hashem and hearkened to Moshe’s call, merited geulah.
In Kiddush of Rosh Hashanah we state “Hashem gave us with love” – we are not deserving of this great gift – “this day of remembrance; a day of Shofar blowing”. It is an opportunity for us to recommit ourselves to Hashem and be welcomed back through the medium of tekias shofar. “In remembrance of Yetzias Mitzzraim” – just as then it was an opportunity only for those who took advantage of it, so can we merit the blessing of Rosh Hashanah only if we hearken to the shofar’s clarion call.
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“Hashem remembered Noach… and the waters subsided” (Bereishis 8:1; Musaf – Rosh Hashana)
At the beginning of Parshas Noach, Rashi (6:9) notes that there are those who opine that if Noach would have lived in the generation of Avrohom he would not have had any distinction. He was only righteous in contrast to the wicked people of his time.
Be’er Mayim Chayim noted that this Rashi provides merit for Jews in every generation. Even though we may not be as great as our forbearers and predecessors, we can still be titled tzaddikim based on the level of our generation.
Based on that, the Seh L’bayis explained that this is one of the reasons why we recite this pasuk among the pesukim of zichronos in Musaf of Rosh Hashana. We invoke Divine mercy by declaring that for all our shortcomings it should be remembered how great our challenges are in the generation we live in.
Rav Shimshon Pinkus zt’l exclaimed: “After I leave this world and come up to shamayim, I will surely meet the holy Chasam Sofer. I will exclaim, “Zaide, it’s me, Shimshon”! The holy tzaddik will take out his microscope to be able to view this small microbe (me) who is talking to him. He will ask me what connection I have with him. “How many times did you study Shas – Bavli? Yerushalmi? What do we really share in common; what’s the connection between us?
I will look up to him and say, “Holy Tzaddik, with all due respect; how many times did you have to walk through Times Square in New York City, and shield your eyes from viewing anything which would Chas V’shalom tear apart your Neshama?” As towering as he was in Torah, the holy Chasam Sofer never had to encounter the challenges we face in our time.”
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“May it be the will before You Hashem… that you renew for us, a good and sweet year” (Simanim of Leil Rosh Hashanah)
The Modaei Kodesh explains that the Mishna (Berachos 9:5) states, “One is obligated to bless Hashem for the bad just as he blesses for the good.” Whatever happens is for the best – gam zu l’tovah, even if it doesn’t appear to him that way.
On Rosh Hashanah eve we daven that not only should we blessed with a year full of goodness, but that we should be able to appreciate that goodness. The good we are granted should be sweet and enjoyable to us, so that we don’t need to exercise our emunah to believe it is all for the good though it doesn’t seem that way.
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[1] This series was originally written for and published in Hamodia.