VOLUME 117 NUMBER 8
Elul 26, 5785
September 19, 2025
Parshas Nitzavim
Candlelighting Time 6:43
We will soon stand in judgment pleading with Hashem for yet another year of good health, a comfortable income, nachas from our children and each other. Truly, if one even superficially considers the possible negative outcome of this time it should send us into a frenzy. However, we unfortunately don’t have that cognizance of this special time and therefore we don’t shiver in our boots at this time of the year. Nonetheless, we do need to have a mindset that will register the significance of this auspicious time.
Nachmonides questions why the Torah does not state clearly that Rosh Hashanah is the Day of Judgment? Every Yom Tov is defined in the Torah based upon its unique message yet Rosh Hashanah doesn’t have that description. Furthermore, Rav Yitzchok Hutner, a famous Rosh Yeshiva cites a passage from the Gates of Repentance of Rabbeinu Yonah who writes that the mitzvos of Tefillin and Mezuzah embody acceptance of Hashem’s supreme Kingship through the characteristic of love for Hashem. Inserted in the Tefillin and written on the scroll placed in the Mezuzah is the paragraph of Shema that requires that we express our love for Hashem. And that relationship is predicated with the verse of Shema Yisroel itself which is the ultimate declaration of recognizing Hashem is the Ruler of the universe. Yet we know that on Rosh Hashanah we have an obligation to declare that Hashem is the supreme Ruler of the universe, his judgment is pending upon us, and we feel that trepidation of Hashem’s scrutiny of our lives. And that assessment has far-reaching ramifications. Seemingly the message of the Rabbeinu Yonah and our perception of Rosh Hashanah do not have a common denominator.
Additionally, we note in the Shemoneh Esreh on Rosh Hashanah that Hashem has given us this Yom Tov as an expression of his love for His nation. One might think otherwise since the judgment levied against us can have dire results. Is that truly a manifestation of His love for us. We also recite every day in our davening the verses in Tehillim that the entire creation is dancing with joy that Hashem is coming to judge the people of the world. Seemingly, Rosh Hashanah is a veritable time of simcha for the entire world and its environs, not your typical understanding of the gravity of a time of judgment.
Maimonides prescribes the manner in which we can attain both love of Hashem and fearing Him as well. As we observe the creation that surround us, its complexity and intricacy are amazing and really beyond our comprehension. Although we have advanced tremendously in our understanding of the world there are still thousands of minutiae that are hidden from our intellectual perception. Even the very physical body that we possess is so complicated and sophisticated that its wonders are beyond the scope of human intelligence. Hashem in His great love for us has given a tremendous gift, this planet and its ambiances. However, there is a process by which we climb the ladder to greatness in realizing the majesty of Hashem. And that process begins with an amazing respect for Hashem, which can be classified as a level of fear since we are attentive to the magnitude of Hashem. And that is the purpose of Rosh Hashanah to instill in us that incredible awareness of the prominence of Hashem. When we realize Hashem’s dominance over the world then we come to an outlook appreciating Hashem’s wonderful gifts to the world and understand that this time of judgment as powerful as it is, it is a tool to attain a complete recognition of Hashem’s benevolence to us.
A BYTE FOR SHABBOS
The Jewish nation overcome with foreboding after the curses of the previous parsha. Moshe explained that as difficult as they seem we are still here despite that we have sinned sometimes even extensively. Hashem’s love for His people is infinite and therefore we live on with His ongoing kindness
GOOD SHABB0S
KESIVA V’CHASIMA TOVA
WE SHOULD ALL MERIT A YEAR OF GOOD HEALTH
PROSPERITY AND NACHAS FROM ALL
