06 Sep PUTTING ON THE PINSTRIPES

There is one sports

team in America

which is much more

than just a sports team.

Almost every player

who joins this team

says the same thing: it’s more than just a

team. When you’re part of this team,

you’re part of something great. You’re

part of something historic. You’re part

of something royal. I refer, of course, to

the New York Yankees. When a player

is drafted or acquired by the Yankees,

he becomes part of something special.

He joins the team of Babe Ruth, Joe

DiMaggio, Mickey Mantle, and Derek

Jeter. Everyone who becomes part of

the team talks about the feeling when

they “put on the pinstripes,” becoming

part of this legendary franchise.

Le’havdil (without intending to draw an

actual comparison), this is what Rosh

Hashanah is about. Day-to-day life, as

you all know very well, can be tough. It

can be grueling. We all have problems.

Some with finances. Some with

children. Some with shidduchim.

Some with health. Especially during

our current period. We all get

overwhelmed and pressured.

Throughout the year, we often see only

ourselves and our personal struggles.

Rosh Hashanah comes and reminds us

that we’re part of something so much

bigger than ourselves and our personal

struggles. We are part of something

grand, historic, and special. We are part

of the “team” of Avraham, Yitzhak and

Yaakov, Moshe Rabbenu, King David,

the prophets, the Rabbis of the Talmud,

and all the great righteous people our

nation has produced over the millennia.

The Rambam famously explains the

shofar blowing as intended to “wake us

up” from our “slumber.” During the

year, we can forget why we’re here. We

forget what this is all about. We see

only our problems and struggles. On

Rosh Hashanah, we are “awakened” and

reminded that we’re part of something

so much greater, so much more

important, and so much more valuable.

This solves one of the great mysteries of

Rosh Hashanah. Why can’t we write our

own prayer text for Rosh Hashanah?

Why don’t we each come to the

synagogue with our own list of things

that we need for the new year? Would

praying on Rosh Hashanah be so much

easier that way? Why did the Rabbis

institute a prayer text for us to recite –

one which speaks at length about G-d’s

being king over the world, and which

speaks of past events? The answer is

that this is precisely the point of Rosh

Hashanah – to remind us that life is so

much more significant than our little or

not-so-little problems. We wear the

“pinstripes”! We are part of something

great! We are part of a special nation,

with a glorious history, and we are here

to work together to serve Hashem. The

Gemara teaches that the sounding of the

shofar brings to mind the great merit of

עקידת†יצחק†, when Avraham Avinu was

prepared to make the ultimate sacrifice –

to sacrifice his son. When Hashem told

him not to sacrifice Yitzhak, Avraham

sacrificed a ram, instead. The shofar,

which comes from a ram, brings to mind

this great act. On Rosh Hashanah we

connect with Avraham Avinu, and with

all the great Jews who made incredible

sacrifices for Hashem. We connect

with our grandparents who came to this

country and made great sacrifices to

build Jewish schools and synagogues.

We connect with the immigrants who

risked their jobs to observe Shabbat.

We connect with all the families in our

community and throughout the Jewish

world today, who make great sacrifices

to fulfill the mitzvot and to provide their

children with a Torah education. This is

what Rosh Hashanah is – the time to rise

above ourselves and our problems, and

to remember that our purpose is so much

greater, that we are part of a special

nation that is here in this world to do

special things. As we prepare for Rosh

Hashanah during the coming weeks, let

us begin reflecting on the greater

purpose for which we are here, to think

not only of our personal wishes for the

coming year, but of the ambitious goals

that we should be setting for ourselves as

part of this glorious nation.