12 Sep ROSH HASHANA: THE YOM TOB OF EMUNA

There is a tradition
that the Ten Days of
Repentance – the period
from Rosh Hashanah
through Yom Kippur
– correspond to the Ten Commandments.
Each day of this ten-day period is somehow
associated with the corresponding
commandments.
According to this system, Rosh Hashanah – the
first two days of the Aseret Yemeh Teshuba –
corresponds to the commands, “I am Hashem
your G-d” and “You shall not have any gods
besides Me.” In other words, Rosh Hashanah
is associated with the fundamental belief in
Hashem as the only being who controls the
world.
This concept dispels a common misconception
about the holiday of Rosh Hashanah. Many
people, unfortunately, view Rosh Hashanah
as a kind of “shopping spree.” They bring to
the synagogue a mental list of what they need
for the coming year, and they present this list
to G-d. Perhaps, they also think a bit about
how they can improve themselves, but their
primary focus is what they are asking from
G-d for the coming year.
It is easy to prove that this is not what Rosh
Hashanah is about. We need to look no
further than the text of the prayer service.
If Rosh Hashanah is a time to ask for our
needs, then we should recite the standard

weekday Amida prayer, in which we ask for
intelligence, forgiveness, health, livelihood,
and so on. But none of this appears in the
Amida of Rosh Hashanah. Instead, our Rosh
Hashanah prayers focus on the theme of
Malchut – divine kingship. This is the day
when we reaffirm our subservience to G-d
and our recognition of His rule. Monarchs
would hold a coronation ceremony every year
to reaffirm their rule. This is what we do on
Rosh Hashanah: we once again proclaim our
allegiance to G-d, and we recognize that as we
are His subjects, He will judge us on the basis
of our faithfulness. Rosh Hashanah is about
G-d, not about us. It is a time to renew our
acceptance of His unlimited rule. Of course,
we are entitled to also plead for what we need.
But this is not the essence of Rosh Hashanah.
This renewal of our acceptance of G-d’s
kingship includes reinforcing our belief in
Providence, that He exerts absolute control
over our lives and the world at large. Nothing
at all happens unless G-d wanted it to happen.
The Baal Shem Tob, the founder of the
Hassidic movement, taught that there is a
purpose for every leaf that falls from a tree,
and for why it fell at that precise time and at
that precise spot. On Rosh Hashanah, the Yom
Tob of Emuna, we reinforce our faith that G-d
controls everything that happens, and even
events that appear harmful are actually for our
benefit.

Thus, Rosh Hashanah is not a time for making
requests; it is a time to reaffirm our belief
that even when our requests are not granted,
everything is for the best, because Hashem
knows far better than we do what we need.
This perhaps answers a question that one might
have asked concerning the Torah reading on
Rosh Hashanah. On the second day of Rosh
Hashanah, we read the section of Akedat
Yishak, the story of how Abraham Abinu was
prepared to offer his beloved son as a sacrifice
in fulfillment of G-d’s command. However,
we conclude the reading with a series of
verses that tell of the birth of children and
grandchildren to Nahor, Abraham’s brother.
We might, at first glance, wonder how these
Pesukim are relevant to Rosh Hashanah. Why
is it important for us read of Nahor’s children
and grandchildren on this day?
The answer, perhaps, is that this section
essentially completes the test of the Akeda.
Abraham and Sara finally had a child after
decades of praying and waiting, and then
Abraham nearly had to kill him with his
own hands. Meanwhile, his brother begot
numerous children and grandchildren without
any delay or trouble. Abraham devoted his life
to kindness and to the serve of G-d, whereas
his brother was an idolater. What more difficult
test could there possibly be for Abraham than
seeing his brother succeed and prosper while
he struggles? The Akeda was certainly a very

difficult test, but no less difficult was the test
that came afterward, when, immediately after
demonstrating his unbridled devotion to G-d,
Abraham heard about his idolatrous brother’s
success.
And so this section, too, is vitally important to
our observance of Rosh Hashanah. It reminds
us of the need to remain faithfully devoted
to G-d even if we do not see how it brings
us blessing and success. Regardless of what
kind of hardship we are enduring, we must
continue observing the Torah, trusting that
Hashem is kind and gracious, and fulfilling
His will is always beneficial.
Of course, we hope to be blessed with a
good, sweet year. But on Rosh Hashanah we
proclaim that even when our lives are not
“sweet,” and we face difficult challenges,
we will nevertheless remain steadfastly
committed to G-d, knowing that everything
He does is for the best.