Emor 5786 - The Yom Tov of Rosh Hashana

Column B of Parshas Emor finishes with the uh Yom Tovim um the the Chagim and so on. And Chinuch gives explanations for each Chag and its observances and so on. One of the more perplexing ones is Rosh Hashanah. Rosh Hashanah is a Yom Hadin. That's our Mesorah. That's that and yet it is Yom Tov. Um the the the Rosh Hashanah of Rosh Hashanah Zichron Teruah Mikra Kodesh is part of the Moadim. And the question is um why would it be a day of Yom Tov? Why would it be a day of celebration? And the truth is in Halacha it does have a sort of mixed status. We on the one hand do many things to indicate the year of the Din to indicate the fact that we're you know it's Yom Hadin and yet we also have um Yom Tov to it. The um Halacha in Halacha it's brought as we're Batuach that Hakadosh Baruch Hu will help us and take us out the Tov and so on. You find in Nechemia that they they cried on Rosh Hashanah and he told them "Chadas Hashem Imכם Uschem" that you know be protected Hakadosh Baruch Hu and so on. Uh so [clears throat] in Halacha the general sense of the Simcha Rosh Hashanah is something that comes from the fact that we Botchu Hakadosh Baruch Hu that we might see the the already name of the Tov and so on. The Chinuch however gives an explanation that deals a lot more with the um with that with the Yom Hadin itself and why Yom Hadin itself should be celebrated. And the Chinuch says the alternative is that we would only with Aveiros would accumulate and at some point when it's small also when enough Aveiros have been done we would be Chos Veshalom gone. I guess we can compare it to a fallen type of scenario. A [clears throat] person goes for regular visits to the doctor and once the doctor finds something and does some procedure, removes it or fixes it or whatever it is and and and so on. Now someone who's not wise would say "Oh if I wouldn't have gone to the doctor I wouldn't have to go through the procedure and I wouldn't have to go through pain and whatever else." Uh anybody with a little bit Seichel says Baruch Hashem the fact that it was caught early and when it's manageable is the reason why I'm surviving. The same is true about the Yom Hadin. The nations of the world the Rashi uses the concept of the small also they've lived in this this country they have they they will stay there until they are until they don't deserve to stay there anymore and at that point they're gone. We Klal Yisrael are constantly reprimanded constantly reminded of what we're doing wrong in that way we can fix it and be able to um survive. >> [snorts] >> It is um the same reason why the Churban came early so that it wouldn't be um a hopeless situation. It would be a situation where through Golus and suffering we would have a Tikun and we'd be able to come back again at some point later. The um the reason behind it is in in in the the Middas Hadin of the Umos Haolam is a reality. You you stay in a place so long as you deserve to stay. If you don't deserve to stay then then you don't. There is no Hashgacha to do what it takes to make them um to give them the land or or whatever it is. Whereas Klal Yisrael Hakadosh Baruch Hu wants us wants us to stay. However we cannot stay if we don't deserve so there's a process that keeps on correcting us. You might give sort of a analogy imagine someone taking tests to a school and fails then he can't get in. Um [snorts] if it's a stranger from outside there well and the person's the the the student the potential student is fooling around they're not studying they're not doing what it takes it's their problem. If they pass the test they'll get in. If they fail they failed. But Klal Yisrael but your own son you you you sit him down a week into the process and tell him "Listen you're not studying if you don't study you won't do well." And you push and push and push. You give like a preliminary test and see if they're doing well or not. And you know you keep on reprimanding them and so on. That's the Chinuch's explanation. Possibly the Chinuch doesn't quite say it but I think in in that there's in in this sense there's an another a point about why it's a Yom Tov. Um if a person is um imagine a a a a um >> [clears throat] >> someone has a child who is not capable or very [clears throat] incompetent very incapable has challenges and you give them some of um irrelevant job in your company and you they the child gets a salary and is able to to live. Now you never review that. You never actually check test or judge the person's performance. Um the performance is irrelevant. They are you wouldn't have hired them in the first place and you just need to keep them going. It the it's nice that the person has income but it means that basically his work is um irrelevant and really there's very little to to to um to to mark the person as having value being distinguished and so on. Second child has capabilities he's hired in the firm to um do whatever it is and his performance is is reviewed periodically to see if he's living up to expectations what could be improved or is he failing and so on. Now uh for some for somebody very superficial and some outsider will say "Wow the first one has it better than everyone. The first one is never reviewed never reprimanded sits home basically and just picks up the check." And the second one is always being called out and pointed out and criticized. Someone with a little bit more um understanding says the first one is basically irrelevant. He's being kept alive on dole and him as a person the job does not define him is doesn't really have any value. The second one is someone who adds value and when we review his performance and it's favorable he he he stands on his own and [clears throat] he is who he is. So judging and holding people accountable are actually marks of meaningful existence. Someone who's not judged not held accountable his life is not really meaningful. It means okay I'm I you know I'm I'm I'm a I'm a person who's I'm a Baal Chesed and I'm giving you. The person who's held accountable for what they do stands on his own feet and the accountability together with with picking out the flaws and shortcomings are mark of the person's value and worth. So to review the um the Chinuch's the the point that we're trying to determine is why would Yom Hadin be considered one of the Yom Tovim? So one point that the Chinuch makes is that that every everyone is Omed Ladin all the nations but by them the Din is simply there to mark whether or not they still deserve to continue. And therefore inevitably as Aveiros build up shortcomings come up the the the the person the nations lose their right to exist and they're gone. Klal Yisrael Hakadosh Baruch Hu wants us to exist as Klal Yisrael. Therefore what Hakadosh Baruch Hu does is provide a periodic review where measures can be taken to correct what's wrong way before it becomes insolvable. So, the the day itself is a day of reckoning. As such, it is it's supposed to evoke fear and awe, rightly so. The way that the visit to the doctor and the testing leaves a person questioning, "Is everything okay?" But the idea that this periodic testing and periodic review and so that we catch something before it becomes bad and we're able to correct [clears throat] it, that's something that's a cause to rejoice. That's the gift of Shabbat. We added a possibly second point along these lines that people whose existence it comes without din, without accountability, are living an existence that's not theirs, but someone else's grace, someone else's chesed. They they they're they're they don't have any real value to their existence or their performance. Someone whose performance is reviewed and questioned and rated means that their their their performance is really of substance or value. Yom Hadin means that our existence, our our um it it performance is really important. So, yes, it's frightening cuz we're held up to account by Hakadosh Baruch Hu. But that means that Hakadosh Baruch Hu believes us to be accountable. It means that we are worthy and we are expected to hold our own, so to speak. And therefore, the severity of the Yom Hadin itself, the fact that the accountability is, means that we're capable of it. It's expected of us. And anything that we do right it is our doing and it's a mark of who Klal Yisrael is.