Rosh Hashanah 5785
Rabbi Jablinowitz
We read in the first pasuk in this week’s parsha, אתם נצבים היום כולכם; you are all standing together today. The Zohar Hakadosh in parshat Bo teaches that when the pasuk says ויהי היום, it is a reference to Rosh Hashanah. And since parshat Nitzavim is always read on the Shabbos before Rosh Hashanah, it says in the Sefarim that the word היום in this first pasuk is also referencing Rosh Hashanah. On the Shabbos before Rosh Hashanah, we already feel the Hayom, theessence of the day of Rosh Hashanah. But what is actually the essence of Rosh Hashanah?
The Shulchan Aruch in Siman 597, se’if 1, paskens that we eat and drink and are joyous on Rosh Hashanah and we don’t fast. The Mishnah Berurah explains the reason for this is that the mitzvah of ושמחת בחגך also applies on Rosh Hashanah since it is referred to as a Chag. The pasuk says in Tehillim (Chapter 81, Pasuk 4), תקעו בחדש שופר בכסה ליום חגנו, and the Gemara in Rosh Hashanah darshens, איזהו חג שהחודש מתכסה בו הוי אומר זה ראש השנה. And, adds the Mishnah Berurah, there is a pasuk from sefer Nechemiah (Chapter 8, Pasuk 10), אכלו משמנים ושתו ממתקים וכו', which also describes Rosh Hashanah as a day of joy. For these reasons, concludes the Mishnah Berurah, the Shulchan Aruch paskens Rosh Hashanah as a day of eating and of joy.
Nonetheless, adds the Shulchan Aruch, one should not eat to the point of satiation as it is Yom Hadin. This is expressed primarily by a different Gemara in Rosh Hashanah 32B where the angels ask, why isn’t Bnei Yisrael saying Hallel on Rosh Hashanah? And Hashem answers, אפשר מלך יושב על כסא דין, וספרי חיים וספרי מתים פתוחין לפניו וישראל אומרים שירה? How could Clal Yisrael sing before Hashem with the book of life and the book of death open before Him? Therefore, the Shulchan Aruch in Siman 584 paskens we don’t say Hallel on Rosh Hashanah. And in Siman 582, sei’if 8, he also paskens that we don’t say מועדים לשמחה חגים וזמנים לששון; the nusach ha’Tefillah is not like Yom Tov. And the Vilna Gaon brings the same Gemara above as the source for this. But if Rosh Hashanah is also a Yom Tov with a mitzvah of joy, why does the fact that it’s a day of judgment prevent us from mentioning the joy?
Rav Hutner points out that regarding Rosh Hashanah, Chazal use an unusual term. The Mishnah in Rosh Hashanah 29B states, יום טוב של ראש השנה. We don’t see a reference to Pesach, for example, as Yom Tov shel Pesach; only on Rosh Hashanah. What is the meaning of Yom Tov shel Rosh Hashanah?
He explains, based on the words of the Maharal in Tiferet Yisrael, chapter 27, that the Yom Tov of Rosh Hashanah is different than all other Yamim Tovim. Rosh Hashanah is in essence Yom HaDin; a day of judgment. And on this day of judgment Hashem remembers us, and since we have the shofar to blow before Hashem and remind Him of our covenant, as we say in the bracha זוכר הברית, the remembrance is for the good. As a result, the day of Rosh Hashanah is a מקרא קודש, a Yom Tov.
He points out that this can be seen in the language of the Torah regarding the Chagim in parshat Emor. By the other festivals, it says first מקרא קודש, and then it mentions the specifics of the day. But by Rosh Hashanah, the pasuk says (Chapter 23, Pasuk 24), זכרון תרועה מקרא קודש. The pasuk first mentions that there is a remembrance through the shofar, זכרון תרועה. Only afterwards is the day of Rosh Hashanah referred to as מקרא קודש, as a Yom Tov and a day of eating and drinking. And this is why Chazal call Rosh Hashanah יום טוב של ראש השנה. It’s a Yom Tov which flows from the fact that Rosh Hashanah is a day of judgment and remembrance for good. But it’s not a Yom Tov like the other Yamim Tovim.
This is why, perhaps, the Vilna Gaon teaches that the source for not having the regular nusach ha’Tefillah for Yom Tov on Rosh Hashanah is because ספרי חיים וספיר מתים פתוחים לפניך. Rosh Hashanah is in essence a Yom Ha’Din, and not a day which is in essence חגים וזמנים לששון. The joy of Rosh Hashanah is something which extends from our connection and relationship with Hashem which enables us to feel positive about the Din. But certainly, the nusach ha’Tefillah differs from Pesach and Succos.
This approach is also expressed in the Medrash quoted by the Tur in Siman 581, which states איזו אומה כאומה זו; which nation is like Clal Yisrael. All the nations of the world, when they have judgment, they wear black and let their hair and fingernails grow long. But Clal Yisrael are not like this. לובשים לבנים ומתעטפים לבנים ומגלחין זקנם ומחתכים צפרניהם ואוכלים ושותים ושמחים בראש השנה לפי שיודעין שהקדוש ברוך הוא יעשה להם נס. This Medrash also expresses the eating and drinking and even joy on Rosh Hashanah not as a separate command, but as a reaction to the judgment. The nations of the world wear black in anticipation of their being judged. Clal Yisrael responds to the judgment with a hopeful and positive approach. And the miracle referred to could be the miracle of the shofar and Hashem’s covenant with us. Either way, the Yom Tov described here is uniquely related to Rosh Hashanah. Not a Yom Tov in essence, but a Yom Tov which stems from our ability to have a זכרון of תרועה.
I wish all of us a year in which we are all remembered for only good things, and may we be inscribed לחיים טובים ולשלום בספרן של צדיקים גמורים.
Good Shabbos and Kesiva V’Chasima Tova
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