Rosh Hashanah: Renegotiating the Lease and the Power of the Tzibbur

This Torah class is brought to you by torahanytime.com. The period of the Yamim Selichot we understand that in a little bit over a week we're all going to be standing before the Borei Olam. Who will be deciding our fate for the upcoming year. Mi yichyeh chas v'shalom the opposite. In the days of old during the Yamim Selichot there was an atmosphere of fear and awe in the air. It was palpable in the air, you could feel it. Rav Pam zechuto yagen aleinu v'yanchimenu would recount his early childhood memories about what the Yamim Selichot were like in a small town in a small village in Lithuania. Rav Pam would say how well before the crack of dawn the shammash would come around banging on the shutters, "Yidden kumt tzu Selichot." Says Rav Pam during those days in the small villages and the small towns in Lithuania there was nothing that could distract them from the Yamim Noraim for Yamim Tovim. Even the children felt it in the air. Even their childhood games took on a more somber tone. For us, however, living in the United States of America it's very difficult for us to experience these types of feelings. Our minds and our hearts are dulled by the tumult of the world around us. We have so many responsibilities vying for our attention. We're so distracted. We're so preoccupied making it very difficult to adequately prepare ourselves and to understand the seriousness of the days. Most importantly though it is very hard for us to comprehend what exactly is at stake during the Yamim Noraim because we feel very secure. We feel very complacent. We all keep feel complacent with our lives, with our health, with our parnassah with our success and we tend to think that the way things have been and the way things are, that's the way they'll always be. Comes Rav Yisrael Salanter in the sefer Imrei Yehoshua and he offers an idea that shakes up a little bit this complacency. We're all aware what is Rosh Hashanah. Rosh Hashanah is the annual Yom HaDin. As Rav Yisrael Salanter, what's the big deal? What are we so scared of? What are we so afraid of? Doesn't the Gemara tell us in Maseches Rosh Hashanah daf zayin, "Rebbi Yossi Omer, Adam nidon b'chol yom." Rebbi Yossi says a person is judged every single day. So if a person is judged every single day, what then is so unique? What is special? What is so awesome about the Rosh Hashanah, about the Yom HaDin, the annual Yom HaDin? If there's a daily Yom HaDin, what is special about the yearly Yom HaDin? Says Rav Yisrael Salanter a very frightening thing. Says Rav Yisrael Salanter that during the course of the year there is a daily judgment. But there's also a chazakah. There's also a certain status quo regarding the talents, regarding the blessings, regarding the health, regarding the parnassah. There's a certain status quo. There's a certain chazakah. There's a certain influence that the way things have been it will probably continue that way unless an adjustment needs to be made. So every day the Ribono shel Olam looks at a person's account and determines whether an adjustment needs to be made to the status quo. But there is a status quo. There is a chazakah. Says Rav Yisrael Salanter, when Rosh Hashanah comes all bets are off. The lease is over. The contract is ended. All the blessings, all the health, all the parnassah, all the gezunt, all the nachas is over. The lease is over and a new contract has to be negotiated. A new lease has to be negotiated. Past performance is no reflection of future outcome. The way things have been in no way has any influence on the way things will be. The lease is ended. And that is why says Rav Yisrael Salanter, needs to evoke a great degree of yirah in our hearts because we have nothing in the bank. We have nothing in our pockets. Rav Heiman, one of the early Roshei Yeshiva of Yeshivas Chofetz Chaim he used to say over with great emotion what his rebbe, the great Gaon Rav Naftali Trop once said over Lail Selichot. Rav Naftali Trop one year before Selichot he got up to speak and he spoke about one of the emotion-laden stanzas of the Selichot. We say "Ribono shel Olam lo b'chesed v'lo b'maasim banu l'fanecha. K'dalim u'ch'rashim dafaknu l'faschecha." We say "Ribono shel Olam, we don't have any kindness. We don't have any maasim tovim. We have no mitzvahs. We stand before you k'ani v'evyon." The simple meaning of this line is that when the Yamim Noraim come, when Rosh Hashanah comes, when Yom Kippur comes we don't have the chutzpah. We don't have the audacity to come before the Ribono shel Olam and say, "Look, look at my record. Look how many mitzvahs I did this year. Look how much Torah I learned this year. Look how wonderful my tefillah was. Ribono shel Olam I deserve a good year. I've earned a good year. I'm entitled to a good year. Look at my record." We don't have such chutzpah. We say "Ribono shel Olam, we stand before you k'dalim u'ch'rashim like somebody who knocks on the door of a wealthy man asking for charity, asking for tzedakah. We don't feel entitled. We don't feel we earned it. K'dalim u'ch'rashim dafaknu l'faschecha." The Gemara says in Maseches Rosh Hashanah that what type of attitude do we need to have to have a successful Yom HaDin? Says the Gemara "Kol shanah she'rosha b'techilasa m'sashres b'seifa." That if at the beginning of the year a person comes with feelings of humility, with feelings of hachna'ah, with a lev nishbar, with a lev nidke then says the Gemara, at the end of the year you'll look back and you'll see it was a good year. The attitude of the Yamim Noraim is k'ani v'evyon. We don't deserve it. We haven't earned it. We don't feel entitled to it. But said Rav Naftali Trop this verse, this stanza has a different meaning as well. Says Rav Naftali Trop you know what it means k'dalim u'ch'rashim dafaknu l'faschecha? Even the wealthiest man even the most successful man, even the person who has the most nachas from their children when they stand before the Ribono shel Olam on Rosh Hashanah, they have nothing. The lease is over. The contract is over. All bets are off. No success, no blessing, nothing we had last year has any influence whatsoever what the upcoming year will be like. This is what it means k'dalim u'ch'rashim dafaknu l'faschecha. Literally, whatever we had is no longer. It has to be renegotiated. It has to be dealt again. And when we understand what the Yom HaDin means what Rosh Hashanah means, what an Aseres Yemei Teshuvah means, what Yom Kippur means that literally everything we want, everything we hope for, everything we daven for, it's all being revisited. It's all being determined. It's all being scrutinized. This will give us the added motivation, the added impetus to dig a little deeper and make all the changes that we all need, we all know that we need to make. But as Rosh Hashanah approaches very often it's a overwhelming task. We want to change. We want to improve. It's not easy to change. There was once a woman. She lived in the city of Shunem. And this woman would host the navi Elisha whenever Elisha had the need to be in the city. In fact, the woman built a special aliyas kodesh. She built a special appendage to her home so that whenever Elisha would need to come to the city he would stay in this attic that she built specially for the navi. And the pasuk tells us, if you look in Melachim Beis perek dalet, pasuk yud alef the pasuk says like this. "Vayehi hayom." The day came. "Vayavo shamah." He came to her house. "Vayosar el ha'aliyah vayishkav shamah." Elisha spent the night in the attic of this Isha Hashunamis. And Elisha wakes up in the morning and he's so grateful to the woman that he tells his attendant Gechazi he calls Gechazi. He says, "Gechazi, what can we do to this woman? How can we repay this woman? How can we show hakaras hatov?" So they get the woman and Gechazi says to the woman in pasuk gimmel "Hinei charadti eileinu kol hacharadah hazos." You went through so much trouble to provide for me in this way. Is there anything I could do for you? So the navi says that Elisha asks her, "Mah la'asos lach?" What could we do for you? "Hayish l'daber lach el hamelech?" Could we speak to the king for you? Maybe you have a parking ticket you need to get off. What could we do for you? "O el sar hatzava?" Can we speak to the general? Is there anything that we could do to repay you? And the woman says "Bat timer." No, thanks. "Basoich ami anochi yosheves." Don't daven for me. Don't give me anything. Don't repay me. I don't want a thing. Basoich ami anochi yoshavs. I'm good. Here you have a woman the Godol Hador asks her, is there anything that I could do for you? So, the Godol has the entire heavens at his disposal. He could tell the Ribono Shel Olam order anything. And the woman says, "No, thank you. I don't need anything." What's the pshat? And it's even more difficult in light of the fact that in the upcoming the Novi says that this woman was an Isha Akara. She was a barren woman. She was childless. She was unsuccessful in having children. And the Godol Hador says, "I'll give you anything. Whatever you want, I will give to you." But she says, "No. I don't need anything. No, thank you. Basoich ami anochi yoshavs." And this is even more puzzling because Chazal say that it says Vayehi Hayom, it says it was that day. Says the Zohar Hakadosh, and remember this, in Tanach, whenever it says the word Hayom, Hayom means Rosh Hashanah. Atem nitzavim hayom. Rosh Hashanah. Eiyov. Vayehi Hayom, Zohar says, Rosh Hashanah. Hayom in Tanach means Rosh Hashanah. Says the Zohar, that day was Rosh Hashanah. And the Godol Hador is saying on the Yom Hadin Hagadol Hanora, the day that Soroh was nifkad, the day Soroh was remembered with children, the Godol Hador says, "Would you like me to daven for you?" And she says, "No, thank you. I don't need anything. Basoich ami anochi yoshavs." What's the pshat? We stand here a little bit over a week before Rosh Hashanah. And we're trying our best to do teshuvah. Everybody knows what they need to change. Lev yodea maras nafsho. And it's very hard to do teshuvah. You know, Rabbeinu Yonah writes and during the Yomim Noraim recommended besides regular siddurim to learn a little mussar, Rabbeinu Yonah, Mesilas Yesharim, Chovos Halvavos, something. Rabbeinu Yonah says, you want to do a teshuvah shleima, you want to do a complete teshuvah. There are a lot of ingredients that go into doing teshuvah. The Rambam says there are four ingredients of teshuvah. Rabbeinu Yonah says, "Well, teshuvah is like laundry. There are 20 ingredients necessary to do teshuvah." And you look at Rabbeinu Yonah and you say to yourself, "How am I going to do it? It's a big avodah to do teshuvah." We need a trick. We need a shortcut. Is it possible in a short amount of time? Is there a shortcut? Is there a bypass? Is there a way? Is there some kind of eitzah that we can do in a short amount of time, maybe without doing a full teshuvah to get a good Yom Hadin? And there is a trick. And the trick is basoich ami anochi yoshavs. There's a Zohar Hakadosh. The Zohar says on Parshas Noach, says the Zohar, Hahi yoma Yom Tov shel Rosh Hashanah hava. That day was the Yom Tov of Rosh Hashanah. Vekudsha Berichu dayan alma, and the Ribono Shel Olam was judging the world. And when the Elisha asks her, "Hayesh lechol ledaber el hamelech? Can I speak to the king?" You know who the king was? The Ribono Shel Olam. Who else is the king during the Yomim Noraim other than the Ribono Shel Olam? The Melech, Hamelech Hakadosh, Hamelech Hamishpat. And Elisha tells her, "You want me to go straight to the king? Whatever you want." And what's her answer? No, thank you. Don't daven for me. Don't mention me. Don't give me anything. Why not? Says the Zohar, Vatomer basoich ami anochi yoshavs. Vayvo Einan de ikrun bi veashkichun bi el bes Yisrael ami. Don't say my name. Don't mention me. Don't look at me. I want, so to speak, to get lost among the crowd. I don't want Hashem to pay attention to me. Says the Zohar, Manda ayil reisha bein ama lo yashkichun alei lemeidan alei levish. If you throw your head, if you throw yourself among the tzibbur, they will not judge you bad on the Yom Hadin. In other words, what the woman was saying is that as an individual, as a yachid, I'm afraid of the din. I don't think I could stand up to the din. I'm going to throw my mazal with the tzibbur. And if the Ribono Shel Olam judges me as another member of the tzibbur, nothing will happen. I'm protected. I feel I'm protected. But to stand up to the scrutiny of the judgment as an individual, she didn't think she could do that. But what's the problem? Wouldn't she be protected by the tefillos of the Godol Hador Elisha? Elisha is saying, "I will mention your name to Hashem. I will say, 'Hashem, give the woman children.'" And Hashem will do that. What's the problem? Says Rav Chaim Shmulevitz, Taf Shin Lamed Gimel, Maymar Yochas. Said Rav Chaim Shmulevitz, any yachid, no matter how big of a tzaddik, no matter how great, even if the Godol Hador is davening for you, cannot stand up to the scrutiny of the din. The Gemara tells us, one of the four things that we have no comprehension of is the eimek hadin, how strict the judgment is. Every individual has faults. Every individual has chata'im. Every individual has flaws. Ein tzaddik ba'aretz asher ya'aseh tov velo yecheta. But the tzibbur is much greater than the collective sum of its parts. The tzibbur rises above the flaws of the individual. The tzibbur becomes a unique entity. If I have a flaw, if my friend has a flaw, it's only problematic when the Ribono Shel Olam puts the spotlight on him. But if a person is able to connect and to be mechaber themselves and to feel part of a congregation, part of a tzibbur, part of a community, part of Klal Yisrael, then Klal Yisrael is protected on a level that transcends the limitation of the yachid. The Ran, the Ran in the Drashos HaRan, Drash Alef, page hey, the Ran asks like this. Ran asks a very strong kasha. The Ran asks, we know Moshe Rabbeinu was criticized for saying to Klal Yisrael, "Shim'u na hamorim." He says, "Guys, so listen up, you rebels." And because of that, there was an opinion he couldn't go into Eretz Yisrael. So, the kasha is, what's wrong with what Moshe Rabbeinu said? Every last Jew was a rebel. Yankel was a rebel. Berel was a rebel. Feivel was a rebel. Every last Jew, there was not one Yid who was not a rebel. So, Moshe Rabbeinu said the emes. What do you want him to say, "Listen up, tzaddikim?" They weren't tzaddikim. Says the Ran, every last Jew was a rebel. But Moshe Rabbeinu didn't refer to yechidim as morim. Moshe Rabbeinu referred to the tzibbur as morim. And as a tzibbur, the tzibbur transcends the the tzibbur rises above the limitations and the flaws of its individual members. Says the Gemara in Kerisos Daf Vov Amud Beis, that when Klal Yisrael gathers together on a taanis, if the avaryonim, if the poshim are not at the taanis, it's not a taanis. It doesn't work. They have to do it again. In effect. Kol taanis she'ein imah poshei Yisrael einah taanis. So, the Ran asks, "Well, wait a second. You have a shul that's full of a hundred tzaddikim, talmidei chachamim, yirei Shamayim perfect tzaddikim. And you're telling me that if you don't call a few murderers off the street, the taanis doesn't work. What's the problem? Wouldn't they be better off if the avaryonim stay home? If the poshim stay home? If the sinners stay home? Why do we need the sinner?" Says the Ran, "If you have a hundred tzaddikim in shul, as great as they are, they're a hundred individuals. They're a hundred yechidim. And no matter how great each yachid is, they're limited. And they're limited and they cannot pass the scrutiny of the Beis Din Shel Shamayim. But when the poshim come and the sinners walk in, and now everyone is represented, and now you have a tzibbur, which is rashei teivos, tzaddikim, beinonim, resha'im. Now you have a tzibbur. The tzibbur transcends the tzibbur rises above the limitations of each individual. So, if you're looking for a trick in the few days before the Yomim Noraim, this is the trick. The trick is basoich ami anochi yoshavs. We have to change our mindset. Everybody sits on the Yomim Noraim, sits in their table, sits at their chair, and thinks, "What am I going to do this year? How am I going to improve my learning? How am I going to improve my davening? How am I going to improve my tefillah? How am I going to improve my chesed, my bein adam lechavero, my shalom bayis?" And this is all critical. This is all important. Cheshbon Hanefesh. But the trick to have a successful Yom Hadin is to begin to view yourself as part of a greater entity. You don't want the Ribono Shel Olam to look at you by yourself. Because as great as a person is, even a tzaddik, even a Isha Hashunamis, even a woman who the Novi is going to say, "I'll give you whatever you want," cannot override the scrutiny of the din if she didn't belong to the collective tzibbur of Klal Yisrael. I was invited to speak here tonight to give the very historic speech before the last week like this. But I would be remiss if I didn't address the fact that this is my first opportunity to address the island after news of what they say in English of the upcoming installation has become official. And I want to say it's a very exciting time for me. Very exciting for my family and I'm sure it's a very exciting time for the whole community as well. We look forward to the sham of the shamaya to growing together for many years to come because of the hate to develop a community of the sham of the forest. The condition of the sham of the rabid the hag the rabid the sham but especially as the young approach it's very important for all of us to try to maximize the benefits that are available for people who feel part of a community. The more that we consider ourselves part of a greater entity, the more we consider ourselves part of the sham of the rabid part of the sham of the rabid the more we are offering ourselves a protection and a and a that is otherwise not available. Because no matter how high we climb during the no matter what how big a we are we're all limited as you can see there. And on Kippur the mindset should be I am a member of the community. I'm a member of my community. I'm a member of my community and this will offer us a level of protection, a level of a level of that may be otherwise not possible for us on our own merits. We all want to stand tall on the sham. Everyone's trying to come out with a good year. Everyone's hoping for good health, for good for us. How do we stand tall on the sham? Everybody wants to be Everybody wants to be standing tall. Says in this week's I can tell them you want to stand tall on what day? I am says the I am is the sham. I can tell them I am I am then the attitude needs to be I can tell them I am I am I can tell them have an attitude of that you're part of the you're part of the and with that attitude and with that focus and with that I can tell them you should be all of us. Please accept my sincere wishes to the whole community for a year of good health, good health, thank you for coming. Thank you. You've just experienced another Torah class brought to you by torahanytime.com.