Tzipiyah.com

Shalom!  Reb Itzchak Broide of Kelm, Lithuania, proclaimed “You say that time passes- time stands still- you pass!”  To understand this baffling statement, picture a round room with 365 doors.  Each door is a different day, and we pass through these rooms over and over as the years “go by.”  You see, we often think of holidays as commemorations of events of the past.  That’s not at all what they are, though.  In Judaism, a holiday (”chag”, circle) is a recurring opportunity to evoke the spiritual powers of the day, which manifested themselves on the great events that we commemorate.

So what exactly is the spiritual power contained behind Door Number One, Rosh HaShana?

While our sages named the first of Tishrei “Rosh HaShana” (The head of the year) and “Yom HaDin” (The day of judgment), the Torah calls it “Yom Trua,” The day of blowing.

You see, the first day of Tishrei, Rosh HaShana, corresponds to the sixth day of creation, the day that man was created.  On that day, the Almighty went from being the absolute, unquestioned creator and ruler of all, to One who could be accepted or not accepted.  Man, with free will, can choose to accept or not accept the Almighty.  It is no longer a sure assumption that He will be recognized.  As said the Rebbe of Kotzk, “Where is G-d?  Wherever man lets Him in!”

When a king is annointed, trumpets are blown to show that he is accepted as ruler.  So on Yom Trua, the Day of Blowing, we blow the Shofar to signify that we, as men with free will, are letting Him in, accepting Him as our King and the creator of the Universe.  The word for king in Hebrew, “Melech” contains the root of the word “Connection,” according to the Rambam.  So when we accept the Almighty as our king, our Melech, we are, in a sense, reconnecting all the parts of ourselves and the universe to be in harmony and wholeness.

So, Yom Trua is the day that man freely chooses to accept G-d as King.  And the man who does not do so, who rebels against the King, will not be happy in court on Judgment Day (Yom HaDin), while he who accepts G-d will be in good standing.  And just as what happens in one’s head (Rosh) effects his entire body, so too G-d’s decisions in His court on this day effect the entire year, hence the name Rosh HaShana.

We can now understand the two main feelings of this day:  The ultimate joy of man as he accepts his ruler over him, on Yom Trua, and the fear of the rebellious man, who is being judged on what is for him, Yom HaDin.

**********

And now, a question.  On Rosh HaShana we customarily wish each other “Shana Tova U’Metuka,” A good and sweet year.  But isn’t saying “Good” enough?  Why do we add “Sweet?”  Sometimes, we are sick and given medicine.  While the medicine is good for us, it tasted horrible.  So too, G-d knows exactly what is good for man, yet man may not always percieve it as being good.  So, we add a prayer that not only should our year be good, but it should also be good in our eyes, sweet to our taste.

May this year prove to be not only good, but also sweet, for all of Am Yisrael.