BS"D
ASSESSMENT AND Accountability
Shira Smiles shiur Rosh Hashanah 5778/2017
Summary by Channie Koplowitz Stein
One of the most striking images in the Rosh Hashanah liturgy is a line in the Nesaneh
Tokef borrowed from Mesechet Rosh Hashanah: "And all mankind
will pass before You kivnei maron, like a shepherd pasturing his flock,
making sheep pass under his staff..." What does kivnei maron mean?
The simplest and most obvious translation is, as ArtScroll translates,
"Like members of the flock." Rabbi Leff in Festivals of Life
explains this phrase as each sheep being counted separately. But he continues
to cite two additional metaphors the Gemarrah uses for this phrase. There was a
narrow pass up to Beis Maron through which people could ascend only in single
file. Perhaps this was what the phrase refers to. Finally, perhaps the phrase refers
to the soldiers in King David's army who would pass before him for inspection
individually. How does each of these metaphors add understanding to kivnei
maron? While the metaphors strongly suggest individual assessment, they
also allude to communal responsibility. How can these metaphors together help
us in our search for teshuvah, for return to our root purpose, the theme of the
Day of Rosh Hashanah?
The purpose of mankind and of all the mitzvoth is to create a connection with
Hakodosh Boruch Hu. That is the goal of Rosh Hashanah every year as it was the
goal of our nation at Sinai, to return to the state of purity and connectedness
to Hashem that was Adam before the sin. Indeed, writes Rabbi Pincus z”l in
Mo'adei Hashanah, the word Adam itself carries this
meaning. We are striving for the Aleph, the Alufo shel olam, the
Master of the universe to be the Master of our dam, our blood, our life
force. As Hashem breathed the breath of life into Adam, so we should envision
the breath, symbolizing Hashem's breath, leaving the shofar as it sounds and
entering our bodies, animating our lives.
Let us now return to our first image of the shepherd examining his flock. The
shepherd is looking for three things, continues Rabbi Leff. First, are all the
sheep accounted for or have any strayed away from the flock. Second, are they
healthy or sick. Finally, does each sheep bear his brand and can be identifies
as his.
It is easy to recognize the parallels between these sheep being inspected by
the shepherd and Bnei Yisroel being inspected by Hakodosh Boruch Hu. First, are
we all accounted for, or have some strayed off the path and are missing.
Second, have we nurtured our positive midos so they are healthy and
strong. Finally, how do we represent God in our lives and bring glory to His
Name, both in public and in private? In essence, how do we represent Hashem's
sovereignty over the world; how are we coronating Hashem on this day and in our
lives?
Rosh Hashanah is the birthday of the world, of all creation. Each creature is
being judged. Are they living up to the purpose for which they were created,
asks the Netivot Shalom? Are we? Do we project kiddush Hashem, a
sanctification of God's Name in our lives? If we are being recreated on this
day as was Adam on that first day, we must reexamine how we are living our
lives, how we are interacting with others. As Rabbi Rothberg writes, the
mitzvah of the day is to choose life. How do we do that? By choosing a
lifestyle that will be a reflection of God's will, that will return the primal
light of creation that existed for the first 36 hours of Adam's life. We have
to choose the path of teshuvah, of return to the spiritual even within the
physical. It's easy to get caught up in the physical aspects of the holiday,
thinking about our wardrobe, anticipating wonderful meals, and perhaps getting
upset at the necessity of cooking for a three day yom tov. Perhaps these
mundane (albeit necessary) concerns are leading us off the path. Perhaps it was
another desire that led us away from Hashem and took our focus off the goal and
onto the fringes. Our work of teshuvah is to find that first point of departure
so we can go back to that point and recalculate our true path.
The teshuvah of Rosh Hashanah is to consciously remember Hashem and to seek the
path pf return, writes Rabbi Schlesinger in Eleh Hem Mo'adai, to
understand that He is the Ruler of all and that nothing exists save Him. This
is the umbrella under which teshuvah for all transgressions falls. It also
explains why we do not recite al chet, the confession of individual
sins.
While we are being judged individually, we are also being judged against the
model of ourselves of the past year, writes Rabbi Leff. Have we been ascending
the path to Beit Maron, or have we stagnated in our spiritual growth? The Torah
calls us bonim/children of Hashem. But we can also read it as bohnim/builders
for Hashem. If we have not grown, we will be found wanting.
Rabbi Frand echos this idea. Inertia is anathema to a Torah way of life, for
inaction, as on the escalator of life, always results in descent. After all,
the Medrash sees great wisdom in the name Adam called himself, a name derived
from adamah/earth.
How are Man and earth similar? Rabbi Frand cites the
Alter of Slabodka who posits that Man is indeed like the earth,
requiring
constant work and effort to achieve
growth.
Rabbi Pincus ztz'l brings a different Biblical metaphor to our discussion. The
Prophet Yechezkel sees Hashem's glorious chariot in his vision. He describes it
as being surrounded by four chayot hakodesh/holy animals. They resemble adam,
but each has four faces and four wings, and face different directions. They
rush back and forth, like the appearance of a flash of lightening. Rabbi Pincus
zt”l points out that these chayot hakodesh move back and forth, but they
go nowhere. Sometimes they face one direction and sometimes another, but their
interconnected legs carry them nowhere.
Rabbi Pincus zt”l understands this vision as a sad metaphor for man. While,
like the animals, we appear to be human beings, we too are being pulled in
multiple directions according to our whims and animalistic desires, and we
cannot move forward. We may move forward for short periods of time, taking upon
ourselves defined hours of Torah learning, or dedication to a certain mitzvah.
But how do we act at other times? Do we then revert to animalistic behavior, or
do we continue to maintain our human/Godlike countenance? When Rosh Hashanah is
over, will we maintain our resolve to keep Hashem at the center of our lives,
or will we revert to past destructive behavior?
This is also a problem for practicing Jews we consider religious. Yes, they
observe the mitzvoth and go to shul regularly. But where is their life focus
asks Rabbi Eliyahu Roth zt”l. Does a new acquisition excite them more than a
new insight in Torah? Do his physical amenities and pleasures occupy more of
his thoughts than do spiritual pursuits? At the end of a tiring day, will she
run out to a huge clearance sale but claim exhaustion when asked to attend a
shiur? The purpose of teshuvah is more to refocus our energies rather than to
refrain from a particular sin. The lapse in focus will inevitably lead to the
lapse in behavior and to transgression.
Reuven son of Leah is recognized as the first person to do true teshuvah,
continues Rabbi Roth zt”l. Reuven's teshuvah was different from the teshuvah of
those who had preceded him. Adam and Cain, for example, did teshuvah for
particular acts. Reuven, on the other hand, did teshuvah for the impetuousness
that led to his sin. He understood that unless he trains himself to control
this negative trait, he would most likely stumble into sin again. It is because
of this insight that we read the prophecy of his descendent Hoshea on Shabbat
Shuvah, the Shabbat within the Ten Days of Repentance. We need to do
teshuvah for not living up to our potential, for not growing spiritually from
last Rosh Hashanah to this one. This is the aspect of Zichronot, of Memory
inherent in Rosh Hashanah.
Rabbi Leff now continues with the third theme of the Rosh Hashanah liturgy, the
theme of shofrot. Here, each of us is called upon individually, for we
are each unique. In addition to observing mitzvoth and learning Torah, we each
have unique talents and characteristics that give us the tools to fulfill our
unique mission in life. We must search ourselves to find an innate talent or
characteristic within ourselves that we can use toward glorifying and emulating
Hashem, writes Rabbi Eisenberger in Mesilot Bilvovom. If we are good
cooks, perhaps we can bring a dish over to a housebound neighbor while we cook
our own meal. When we shop, perhaps we can also buy a toy for a poor neighbor's
child. If we are knowledgeable, perhaps we can give helpful advice, or relate a
Torah thought or give a shiur. Just as our talents are not interchangeable, so
too are our major missions unique. (This does not mean that we cannot
contribute in an area which is not our expertise. We can and should contribute
where we can. But our energy and focus should be in the area of our greatest
ability.) These talents and these individual missions are manifestations of
Hashem's personal involvement in our lives, His hashgacha perotit. I
will be judged if I utilized opportunities to use these talents and gifts for
the common good this past year. As the Sifsei Chaim points out, if we
have squandered last year's gifts, Hashem will give us less this year. If we
have used our gifts purposefully in His service, He will bless us with more
this year.
This idea leads us easily into our third metaphor of the soldiers lined up
before their commanding officer, King David. King David's army was so
proficient, writes Rabbi Pincus zt”l, they they usually had individual
missions, seldom going out as a larger unit. If one soldier failed in his
personal assignment, the entire plan was at risk. Therefore, when we are
judged, we are judged both individually and collectively, writes Rabbi Leff. We
have our "assignments" as part of the group, whether it is in service
to our immediate community, to our city and to the world at large. How are we
enhancing the world Hashem has envisioned? By our behavior and contributions,
are we serving as an inspiration to others?
Each of us must therefore understand that Hashem judges us from two different
perspectives, writes Mesilot Bilvovom. Therefore, each of us must
recognize our own uniqueness as well as our purpose in the greater picture.
When we realize that "the whole world was created for me," we
appreciate our own importance both as individuals and as part of Klal Yisroel
and the world. A single action on our part can shift the balance of the world's
judgment in either direction, toward the positive or toward the negative
result. I am significant, and must do my part not just for myself, but also for
the benefit of the community and the world.
This is an important point to keep in mind. One should always strive to be a
contributing part of his community. Then, when Rosh Hashanah comes, he will be
judged not only on his personal merits, but also on how his actions positively
impacted the community, writes Rabbi Leff. The good of the entire community
that he impacted will also then be counted in his favor.
There are many ways one can help others, but not everyone is gifted with every
way to help. The one contribution everyone can make toward others is to pray on
their behalf, whether it's for the parnassah/sustenance/job for a
friend, a refuah shelaymah for a sick member of the community or for a
single to find his/her bashert. Our prayers make an impact not only for
those we pray for, but for ourselves as well.
This is the beginning of the new year. We are being judged on our aspirations
for the coming year rather than on our meriting reward and punishment for the
past year, explains the Sifsei Chaim. Our actions of the past year serve
as a litmus test for our new task and on what tools we will need to fulfill our
task for the coming year rather than as a means of passing down a sentence for
the previous year. May Hashem give us all good health and many other
blessings so that we may continue reflecting His presence and glorifying His
Name in the coming year.