08 Sep A GREAT IDEA FOR ROSH HASHANAH

Rosh HaShanah is upon
us. Our fate and the fate
of our loved ones is being
written up by Hashem to
be sealed on the upcoming
Yom Kippur. The smart
petitioner knows that the
best way to ask Hashem
for another good year is to give Him a good
reason why He should treat us well. Let me
share with you, my dear readers, a single
kabalah / commitment, that could alter our
entire way of living for the New Year. It is
sure to please Hashem and influence Him to
grant us a sweet New Year.
The great Ibn Ezra teaches us, “She’kol
hamitzvos ikram haleiv – The essence of all
the commandments is the heart that we put
into them.” This echoes the famous Gemara
in Sanhedrin [106b] and in the Zohar [3:281]
which strongly state, “Rachmana liba bo –
The Merciful One wants our hearts.” Shlomo
HaMelech teaches this emphatically in
Mishlei [23:26], “T’na beni libeich Li – Give
(to Hashem) my son, your heart to Me.”
The prophet Yirmiyahu rebukes us when we
do things without thinking of Hashem, as
it says in Yirmiya [2:8] with the powerful
words, “Tofsei haTorah lo yida’uni – Those
who hold on to the Torah (and they’re ‘frum’)
don’t know Me.” If we are not careful, we
can go through our lives practicing Torah and

mitzvos but neglect the essence, which is the
connection with Hashem. As the great Rav
Moshe Chaim Luzzato, zt”l, zy”a, proclaims,
“Hashleimus ha’amiti hu rak hadveikus bo
Yisborach – The true perfection of life is
when we achieve connection with Hashem.
And this is what Moshe Rabbeinu emphasizes
to us: Life boils down to, “Mah Hashem
Elokecha shoel mei’imach, ki im liyira –
What does Hashem ask from you but that you
should see Him and be aware of Him.”
This is the objective that we pray for in the
tefillah of U’va l’Tzion: V’yaseim b’libeinu
ahavso v’yiraso v’la’asos r’tzono ul’avdo
b’leivav shaleim, l’ma’an lo niga larik –
Please put in our heart the love and awareness
of Hashem, that we understand that we are
doing His will to serve Him with a whole
heart so that we should not toil in vain.” In
this prayer we also supplicate succinctly,
“V’hachein l’vavam Eilecha – Direct our
hearts to You.” Let our lot not be with those
that the Navi Yishaya chastises. Let not your
mitzvos be merely, “K’mitzvas anashim
m’limudo – Commandments done robotically
and just out of habit.”
Now, let’s get practical. Here’s my suggestion
to you. Ask yourself, “How often during the
day do I think about Hashem?” Remember,
we say at the end of Bentching, “V’dor’shei
Hashem lo yach’sru chol tov – Those who
seek out Hashem (by thinking about Him) will

not lack from any good.”
Don’t worry! I’m not going to leave you
without suggestions. Rather, I’m going to
take you on my own personal journey of
how I am working to think more often about
Hashem.
Let’s start first with the mezuzah. Here’s
my strategy. Try to do this drill five times a
day. We pass scores of mezuzos every day.
Here’s the discipline. Do this before you
kiss the mezuzah. Because once we kiss
the mezuzah, it’s just another reflexive act

done without thought. Let’s pick a mezuzah-
moment: You’re returning home from work,

from shopping, or from exercising and you
encounter the mezuzah at the entrance to your
home. Before kissing the mezuzah, reflect
upon the fact that the mezuzah represents the
true Title and Deed to your home for it really
belongs to G-d. Thank Hashem for allowing
you to live in this home. Then, give the
mezuzah a kiss. Now, that was an exciting
moment with Hashem.
At another time during the day, when you enter
your kitchen, before kissing the mezuzah,
ponder that Hashem will watch you while you
are eating, will protect you from choking, and
will help you with your digestion. Then, kiss
the mezuzah. Another time, before entering
the kitchen, you might focus on the fact that
you have a well-stocked refrigerator and
never lack for food. Rav Vichtig of Queens
told me that in his youth, poverty was so
great that there were times when he went
to bed without eating. He couldn’t sleep
because of hunger pains. Today, we don’t
know about such things. The only situation
we have is deciding what we should eat.
Perhaps a plum, an ice-cream sandwich,
yogurt, or some cold cuts. For this, we
should surely thank Hashem for, before
kissing the mezuzah. Likewise, when we
enter our master bedroom, if we’re married,
we can thank hashem for the blessing of
having a partner. If we are unmarried, we
can thank Hashem for a comfortable bed
and for the blessing of sleep. Then, kiss the
mezuzah. These are all glorious moments
with Hashem.
A man who ties the tefillin to his arm
and head has a wonderful opportunity to
meditate on connecting his mind and his
heart to his Creator. For when we put on
tefillin, we are putting Hashem upon us. As
the Gemara in Menachos says, “Hashem
aleihem yichyu – When Hashem is upon
them, (those who wear tefillin), they will
live.”
Shabbos is a wonderful time to think about
Hashem for it is the day that we reflect and
acknowledge that the world did not come
about from a big bang or evolve during
millions of years. The world was created
by Hashem in six days and He rested on
the Shabbos. It is the day that we desist
from any creative labor whatsoever, to
remember once a week that we have a Boss
in heaven Who can tell us what to do and
what not to do.

When we daven properly, we take three steps
forward to enter Hashem’s Palace and we
can connect directly with Hashem. Our daily
100 brachos are 100 wonderful opportunities
to meditate about Hashem as long as we
slow down and say meaningfully, “Baruch
Attah Adona-i,” thanking Hashem for all our
blessings. Every day, we open our eyes and
say hello to Hashem with the declaration,
“Modah ani L’fonecha, thanking Him for
another day of life and we end our day with
“Shema Yisroel, Hashem Elokeinu, Hashem
Echad,” declaring the Oneness of Hashem.
What a wonderful commitment for Rosh
HaShanah, when we once again coronate
Hashem as our King, to tell Hashem that we
plan to think about Him on a regular basis in
the coming year. In this merit, we are sure
to get the blessing of the verse, “B’chol
drachecha dei’eihu – In all your ways you
should acknowledge Him, “V’Hu siyasher
orchosecha – And He will make straight your
path.”
(My wife, Shoshy Weiss, LCSW-R, is
offering “IFS Inner Circle,” a small group
for women, limited to 7 participants, for
authentic sharing, connection, and growth
through the IFS method. Registration is
now open. Beginning after Sukkos (date
TBD), the group will meet once a week for
75 minutes. For more information and to see
the full ad, call/text 845-270-3699 or visit
ShoshyWeissIFSTherapist.com.)
As we conclude the year of 5786, I’d like to
thank the The Jewish Press for spreading my
words of Torah to Jews all over the globe,
and to wish my dear readers and families to
be inscribed in the Book of Good Health,
Happiness, Sweetness, and Everything
Wonderful.