Rabbi's Massage

I would like to take this opportunity to express my gratitude towards the Ahavath Achim community for welcoming my family and myself into their kahal. We have had the pleasure to meet many members of the synagogue since our arrival and look forward to meeting those individuals and families that we have not yet met.
The Talmud teaches us that there are many “new years” scattered throughout the Jewish calendar. There is the new year for the trees, the new year for different tithes, and, of course, the new year for mankind. We are told that on this latter New Year the fate of the entire world hangs in the balance. If we are found to be worthy we will be written for a good year, and if, G-d forbid, we are found lacking we will be written likewise.

Rosh HaShanah is generally depicted as a time when G-d sits in Heaven with two books in front of Him -- the book of the living and the book of the dead. There, He meticulously ascribes each individual into either book based on his or her past year’s actions.

If this is the case, we would think that Rosh HaShana should be a grave day filled with fasting and supplication similar to Yom Kippur. Rather, it is a day of festive meals and the eating of sweet foods. In fact, there are those authorities that go as far to say that it is forbidden to cry on Rosh HaShanah, thus solidifying it as a day filled with joy. The question is, why? If we are being judged on Rosh HaShanah would it not be more appropriate to treat it with more solemnity and apprehensiveness?

The answer is, yes... and no. It is true that we are being judged on Rosh HaShanah, but our Judge is not there to condemn, but to exonerate. The special prayer of Aveinu Malkenu that we recite during the High Holidays expresses this theme aptly. When we call out “Our Father, our King...”, we are in a sense referring to two different relationships that we may have with G-d. On the one hand, He is our Father who loves and cares for us and is able to see past all of our misdeeds. On the other hand, He is our King who is distant from His subjects and strict in His judgement. The relationship that we have with G-d depends on us.

On Rosh HaShanah we don’t pray for forgiveness, we pray for closeness. We beseech G-d as a child would to a parent. There is no need to tell a parent about each and every transgression that was done. As long as we always return home, yearning for a deep and lasting relationship with our Father in Heaven we will always be welcomed with open arms. Once we make this initial step, all is forgiven and we are immediately written in the book reserved for family members. It is for this reason we are able to enjoy this day as a true festival, with our tables laden with delicacies as we dine over our renewed relationship with our Heavenly Father.

May this upcoming year be a year of blessing for all as we grow together in our relationship with the Almighty.

Ketiva v’Hatima Tovah,

Rabbi Michael Kaplan