Remember us for life,

 O King who delightest in life;

 Inscribe us in the book of life for thy sake,

 O living God.

 

FATEFUL HOURS ARE NOT FIT FOR SONG,

THEY ARE APPROPRIATE FOR INTROSPECTION

 

The Book of Life is the heavens, and there all future decrees are inscribed on the day of their creation.

(Ibn Ezra, Psalms, 69:29)

 

"The court sat, and books were opened" (Daniel 7:10). He does not need a book, for He knows thoughts yet unthought, but this [text] is according to our customary style of "The Torah spoke in the vernacular."

 (Sefer Chassidim 32, quoted in "Days of Awe" by S.Y. Agnon.)

 

What is the reason [for not reciting the Hallel on Rosh Hashana]? - Said Rabbi Abahu: Said the ministering angels before The Holy One, Blessed Be He: Master of the Universe, why does Israel not sing hymns before you on Rosh Hashana and Yom HaKippurim? He said to them: Is it possible that a king sits in judgement, and the Books of the Living and Books of the Dead are open before him - and Israel sings!?

 (Bavli, Rosh Hashana 32b)

 

 

We wish all our readers, all of the House of Yisrael, and all mankind - may the year with all its curses come to an end, Let there begin a year with its blessings,

A year of peace and tranquillity

 

 

THE TWO FACES OF ROSH HASHANA

Rabbi Benny Lau

 

"It is taught in the Tekiata of the Rav's academy: This is the day which is the beginning of Your creation, a memorial of the first day ... on Rosh Hashana the world was created" (Yerushalmi)

According to the Halakhic tradition, the first day of creation was the 25^th of Elul, and on Rosh Hashana man was born. Here begins the tradition which ties together the Day of Judgement, on which men are remembered for life and for death, with Rosh Hashana, which is - according to the Torah - "A day of blasts".

In the course of time, the festival took on a character which integrates fear and exaltation, as per the passage "and rejoice in trembling." The Talmud in Tractate Rosh Hashana (Bavli 32b) relates in the name of Rabbi Abahu: Said the ministering angels before The Holy One, Blessed Be He: Master of the Universe, why does Israel not recite hymns before you on Rosh Hashana and Yom HaKippurim? He said to them: Is it possible that a king sits in judgement, and the Books of the Living and Books of the Dead are open before him - and Israel sings!?

In contrast to this midrash, which presents a day filled with trepidation, Nehemiah tells the Israelite people: "Go, eat choice foods and drink sweet drinks and send portions to whoever has nothing prepared, for the day is sacred to the Lord. Do not be sad, for your rejoicing in the Lord is the source of your strength." (Nehemiah 8:10). Rosh Hashana is depicted as a day of joy.

In the literature of Chazal we find a midrash which describes the day of man's creation, a midrash which also sheds light on the meaning of Rosh Hashana.

The midrash has reached us in many versions, dating back to different periods, from the Talmudic period through the medieval compilations of anthologies. All the versions may be divided into two main families. We shall term one the Babylonian branch, the other, the Eretz Yisrael branch. It is understood that the later the midrash, the more it will have absorbed influences of the other branch. I do not intend, however, to do an academic analysis of the development of the versions; we want only to attempt to uncover the two points of view represented by these branches.

1)      The Babylonian Branch - Sanhedrin 38b

"Rabbi Yochanan bar Chanina said: The day of Adam's creation was twelve hours long. During the first hour, [Adam's] dust was gathered. During the second hour it was made into a shapeless mass. During the third hour his limbs were stretched out. During the fourth hour a soul was cast into him. During the fifth hour he stood on his feet. During the sixth hour he named all the animals. During the seventh hour, Eve was paired with him. During the eighth hours, the two went up on the bed and four came down. During the ninth hour he was commanded not to eat from the Tree of Knowledge. During the tenth hour he sinned by eating from it. During the eleventh hour he was judged. During the twelfth hour he was banished from Gan Eden and he went on his way. As it is said: Man does not remain overnight in a state of glory."

(This branch includes Avot d'Rabbi Nathan, Pirkei d'Rabbi Eliezer, and the Carmoli manuscript of Pesikta d'Rav Kahana, which is clearly influenced by the Bavli).

2)      The Eretz-Yisrael Branch - Vayikra Rabba, Parasha 29 (Margaliot ed. 5668)

For it was taught in the Tekiata d'vei Rab: "This day, the anniversary of the first day of creation, is indeed a statute for Israel, an ordinance of the God of Jacob... on this day mortals are recorded for life or death".

You see that the first man was created on the first day of Tishrei. In the first hour, the idea was born; in the second He consulted with the ministering angels; in the third, He made the clay into a shapeless mass; on in the fourth, the tissue; in the fifth He formed the golem; in the sixth, He blew in a soul; in the seventh He stood him on his feet; on the eighth He placed him in the Garden of Eden; on the ninth He commanded him; on the tenth, he transgressed His command; on the eleventh He judged him; in the twelfth, He granted him a pardon. The Holy One, Blessed Be He said to him, "Adam, you are a sign unto your descendents - just as you came before me in judgement, and I granted you a pardon, so will your children come before me in judgement, and I will grant them a pardon. When? On Rosh Hashana."

(This branch includes Pesikta Rabbati, Pesikta d'Rav Kahana, Devarim Rabba (Lieberman ed.)

It is obvious that a common source served as the conceptual basis for the two midrashim. But it is important to discern significant points of difference between the midrashim. These points will facilitate understanding the difference in the aims of the relative midrashim. The Babylonian midrash describes active man. The day begins with the unpremeditated making of man. The darshan leads us directly into man's day. Man receives limbs and soul, and immediately "stands on his feet", a phrase which sounds familiar to our Israeli ear - he takes responsibility for his fate. He then assigns names. This is an act which expresses man's sovereignty over his environment; the privilege of assigning names is given only to the master. The next stage depicts man's sex life, even before the sin in the Garden of Eden. (This point is interesting for it is found at the heart of Judeo-Christian controversy regarding the place of sex and its status in the consciousness of the Jewish person, a subject too lengthy to be dealt with here.) At the end of the day, man sins and is evicted from the Garden of Eden. This is a sad conclusion to a day overflowing with activity. This description is compatible in large part with the description of Man in Chapter 1 of Bereishit (with the addition of the expulsion from the Garden of Eden). This is man the creator, commanded to "Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the land the conquer her." (The division between man in Chapter 1 and man in Chapter 2 of Bereishit has been expanded upon by Rabbi Soloveitchik in his book "The Man of Faith", and in Rabbi Breuer's book "Pirkei Bereishit.)

All these are totally lacking from the Eretz-Yisrael midrash. There man is described as passive; his only act is to disobey the command. This is man as described in Chapter 2 of Bereishit, man placed in the garden "to work it and to watch over it", his primary function is to walk in the garden and not to ruin the Creator's world. When this man sins, he is not evicted from the Garden of Eden (as per the Biblical account) but he pleads for atonement, and his prayer is accepted.

In the routine of life, and throughout the year, modern man finds himself to be in the image of the man of the Babylonian midrash: autonomous as possible, standing on his legs, assigning names, creating life and attempting to conquer worlds. The man described in the Eretz-Yisrael midrash seems subdued and trampled upon. He is the image of the anti-hero.

But, when we reach the twelfth hour, everything goes haywire. Autonomous man from the Babylonian Bet Midrash is forced to pay for his actions. Authority was granted along with responsibility. Therefore man is expelled in shame. Man of the Eretz-Yisrael midrash, on the other hand, who, from the moment of conception, was dependent upon the Creator's goodness, received forgiveness, and is privileged to have God's face shine upon him.

It would seem that Rosh Hashana encompasses both possibilities simultaneously.

A variation on the midrash, of the Eretz Yisrael branch, appears in Devarim Rabba, Lieberman edition (p. 11): "On the eleventh he was judged. On the twelfth he was expelled. He came to deliver the verdict and saw that it was Rosh Hashana. He had mercy upon him and gave him a pardon. Said The Holy One, Blessed Be He: By your life, just as I granted you amnesty, so do I forgive your descendents on this day". (Prof. Liberian in his preface to Devarim Rabbi proves that this edition preserves the Eretz Yisrael midrashim without any Babylonian influence.)

Amnesty, according to this midrash, was granted in the merit of Rosh Hashana, not like in the midrash presented above.

The piyyut for Rosh Hashana composed by Rabbi Elazar the Kalir, one of Eretz Yisrael's first liturgical poets, describes the sin of Adam and his deliverance thanks to Rosh Hashana:

"This day was of old planned for judgement, For the probing of all daily actions, For men's pleading before the Revered One, To make them this day clear of all guilt.

The first man was created on this day; When he did not keep the law given him, This one advocated and saved him from distress; This judgment-day He designed for all time."

Professor Goldshmidt (Machzor Yerushalayim for Rosh Hashana, Goldshmidt ed., p. 180.) understands the words "zeh melitz" [here translated "This one advocated"] as referring to The Holy One, Blessed Be He, explaining that God was advocate for man, saving the day for him. However, according to the midrash in Devarim Rabba, it can be argued that the word "zeh" - "this one" - refers to Rosh Hashana (perhaps because of appearance of the word "zeh" in the passage "This ["zeh"] is the day which is the beginning of Your creation"); the poet intends to tell us that it was Rosh Hashana which saved man from the sentence, and The Holy One, Blessed Be He, established it in law for future generations. This promise by the Creator, that for all generations man's sins will be forgiven on Rosh Hashana, provides the festive and lofty aspect of Rosh Hashana.

Just as Chapter 1 and Chapter 2 of Bereishit came down from heaven bound together, so are the two aspects of man bound together, and are to be found in every being.

We stand in Rosh Hashana prayer as free men, the king's troops who pronounce Him king over us with the sounding of the blasts which possesses the power of force along with responsibility for actions.

We also stand as abashed mortals, who plead that their father have mercy and forgive.

If as children, if as servants, our eyes beseech you to be gracious to us and pronounce our sentence clear as light.

The author is Rabbi of Ramban Synagogue and the Himmelfarb High School, both in Yerushalayim, and heads the Woman's Beth Midrash program in Beit Morasha.

 

 

NOW, LORD OUR GOD, PUT THY AWE UPON ALL WHOM THOU HAST MADE ... NOW, O LORD, GRANT HONOR TO THY PEOPLE"

One cannot ignore the fact that in the common perception of many generations, there sprouted the corrupted and misleading conception that His Name, Be It Extolled, has a special attitude to Israel and to dealing with their affairs.

True, there does exist a special relationship, but it receives expression not through greater privileges but in the obligations and missions with which Israel is charged, to be God's witnesses on earth, to work for the perfection ("tikkun") of the world under the reign of the Almighty. In the framework of this universal tikkun, and only following the yearning for "Now, Lord our God, put thy awe upon all whom thou hast made" will there come the tikkun of "Now, O Lord, grant honor to thy people, glory to those who revere thee, free speech to those who yearn for thee, joy to thy land and gladness to thy city."

The anticipation of the redemption of Israel is not a function of Israel's being Israel, but of Israel being a "a nation in awe of You". If Israel does not meet that qualification, it deserves no special relationship.

Rosh Hashana is intended for every man who - in honest consciousness - considers himself to be a believer, who is willing to examine whether he is capable of serving God out of love. Such a person is in no need of the "Unetaneh Tokef" prayer with its descriptions of the celestial Day of Judgement; such a person accepts Rosh Hashana as the day in which man meditates upon the lofty idea of perfecting the world under the reign of the Almighty. The redemption of Israel receives its meaning through the realization of this ideal; Israel has been appointed to be the ideal's messenger on earth.

(Y. Leibowitz: Discussions on Israel's Festivals and Appointed Times, pp. 169-170)

 

The Sound of Teruah - Sob or Sigh?

The Holy One, Blessed Be He, Does Not Differentiate Between One Cry And Another

Throughout the years and in most of the Diaspora, there have existed doubts regarding the nature of the teruah mentioned in the Torah. Is it the wail of wailing women? Or is it a sigh, such as that which a person sighs again and again when his heart is greatly troubled? Or is it the two together, the sigh and the sob which usually follows it, for this is the nature of one deeply worried, first he sighs and then he wails. Therefore we execute all three.

 (Rambam, Laws of Shofar 3:2)

 

"You shall observe a day of teruah" - and we interpret this: You shall observe a day of sobbing." It is written in connection with the mother of Sisera (Judges 5): "Through the window peered Sisera's mother, behind the lattice she whined." One [authority] says she sighed , and another says she wailed.

(Bavli, Rosh Hashana 33b)

 

Said Rabbi Elazar: From the day the Temple was destroyed, the gates of prayer have been shut, as is written (Eicha 3:8) "And when I cry and plead, He shuts out my prayer."

But even though the gates of prayer were shut, the gates of tears were not shut, as is written (Psalms 39:13) "Hear my prayer, O Lord; give ear to my cry; do not disregard my tears; for like all my forebears I am an alien, resident with You."

 (Bavli, Bava Metsia 59a)

 

 

 

 

Editorial Board: Pinchas Leiser (Editor), Miriam Fine (Coordinator), Itzhak Frankenthal and Dr. Menachem Klein

Translation: Kadish Goldberg

This weekly publication was made possible by:

The Moriah Fund, the Tisch Foundation and private donors

 

To our readers:

We will be happy to have you actively participate in "Shabbat Shalom" by:

·        Letters to the editor

·        Publication of Divrei Torah (in coordination with the editorial board)

For details, contact Miriam Fine (053-920206 or 02-6730196)

If you enjoy Shabbat Shalom, please consider contributing towards its publication and distribution.

• Hebrew edition distributed in Israel $1000
• English edition distributed via email $ 100

Issues may be dedicated in honor of an event, person, simcha, etc. Requests must be made 3-4 weeks in advance to appear in the Hebrew, 10 days in advance to appear in the English email.

US or British tax-exempt contributions to OzveShalom may be made through the New Israel Fund or through P.E.F. Israel Endowment Funds, Inc.

Contributions should be marked as donor-advised to OzveShalom/Netivot Shalom, the Shabbat Shalom project.

New Israel Fund, POB 53410, Jerusalem 91534 (Please include Israeli address and telephone number)

New Israel Fund, POB 91588, Washington, DC 20090-1588, USA

New Israel Fund of Great Britain, 26 Enford Street, London W1H 2DD, United Kingdom (British tax exemption)

P.E.F. Israel Endowment Funds, Inc., 317 Madison Ave., Suite 607, New York, New York 10017 USA

 

About us:

Oz Veshalom-Netivot Shalom is a movement dedicated to the advancement of a civil society in Israel. It is committed to promoting the ideals of tolerance, pluralism, and justice, concepts which have always been central to Jewish tradition and law.

Oz Veshalom-Netivot Shalom shares a deep attachment to the land of Israel and it no less views peace as a central religious value. It believes that Jews have both the religious and the national obligation to support the pursuit of peace. It maintains that Jewish law clearly requires us to create a fair and just society, and that co-existence between Jews and Arabs is not an option but an imperative.

Oz Veshalom-Netivot Shalom's programs include both educational and protest activities. Seminars, lectures, workshops, conferences and weekend programs are held for students, educators and families, as well as joint seminars for Jews, Israeli Arabs and Palestinians. Protest activities focus on issues of human rights, co-existence between Jews and Arabs, and responses to issues of particular religious relevance.

9,000 copies of a 4 page peace oriented commentary on the weekly Torah reading are written and published by Oz VeShalom/Netivot Shalom and they are distributed to over 350 synagogues in Israel and are sent overseas via email. Our web site is www.netivot-shalom.org.il.

Oz Veshalom-Netivot Shalom's educational forums draw people of different backgrounds, secular and religious, who are keen to deepen their Jewish knowledge and to hear an alternative religious standpoint on the subjects of peace and social issues.

Oz Veshalom-Netivot Shalom fills an ideological vacuum in Israel's society. Committed both to Jewish tradition and observance, and to the furthering of peace and coexistence, the movement is in a unique position to engage in dialogue with the secular left and the religious right, with Israeli Arabs and with Palestinians.

Our activities are funded by donations and one part time employee.

OzveShalom/Netivot Shalom                Tel./Fax 972-2-5664218

Pob 4433                                             Email: ozshalom@netvision.net.il

Jerusalem 94310, Israel                www. netivot-shalom.org.il