Guide to this Blog

Welcome!

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On this blog, you will find...

• My personal Rosh Hashana greeting to you
• Some basic laws of Rosh Hashana
• Some philosophical insights into the New Year

Of course thousands of books have been written about this day, and this blog does not attempt to cover even the main issues, it is merely a superficial guide for myself and for whoever is interested in joining my learning experience.

For further information on Rosh Hashana, Yom Kippur and Sukkot, and this time of year in general, please refer to books like

• Pathway to Prayer, by Rabbi Meir Birnbaum (Publisher: Artscroll)
• The Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur Machzorim, also published by Artscroll. Next to the customary prayers they also provides loads of very useful information on the High Holy Days.

The information on this blog is based on different books I have read and classes I have listened to via the internet, though I must say that often the audio classes did not provide listeners with exact sources, or I didn't have time to write them down. I've done my best to add as many sources as I could, though you will find that many sources are missing. I am so used to being provided with sources at seminary that I found this quite disconcerting! Therefore, I appologise and am happy to find you specific sources if you ask me personally.

Introduction to Halacha series

This Halacha series comprises a few basic practical issues surrounding Rosh Hashana, specifically related to women. They are explained in a very rudimentary fashion. As with all Halacha, always ask your Local Orthodox Rabbi for proper personal guidance, as Halacha can be fluid and halachic judgement often depends on an individual's personal life situation. I am happy to try to answer any unresolved questions, or even better, point you towards people who are far more knowledgeable than me and could help you with your questions.

Important when reading these postings is that whilst the learning of Halacha is crucial if one wants to keep Rosh Hashana according to orthodox Jewish understanding, one should however never lose focus at these times that the whole point of Rosh Hashana is to do Teshuva (Repentance), before Hashem and before other people. Thus whilst we should learn the intricacies of Jewish Law we should also focus strongly on our behaviour towards Hashem ("bein adam lemakom") and towards other people ("bein adam lechavero").

Laws of Rosh Hashana: Selichot

Selichot (סליחות)

The Selichot service [1] begins on the first day of the week following up to Rosh Hashana [2]. This year, this is will be from Saturday night, 8th September 2007 onwards. Selichot are said during the following days every morning until Yom Kippur.

• Women often have the Minhag[3] to join Selichot in synagogue on the Saturday night[4], but don't say Selichot on the following days.

The Selichot contain Hashem’s Thirteen Attributes of Mercy (י״ג מידות הרחמים), found in the Torah in Exodus 34:6-7. This verse is only allowed to be said with a Minyan[5], as it is considered a davar sh'be kedusha, a holy rendition, and must therefore not be said by an individual without the appropriate Torah melody.

The Talmud therefore asks, should Selichot only be said with a Minyan? And if so, if women only go to synagogue on the first day of Selichot, what do they do if they really want to say Selichot for the rest of the week? Can they say Selichot at home?

• Saying Selichot at home is a Minhag and therefore not compulsory for women. If they do say Selichot at home, they would be careful to delete the 13 Attributes of Mercy out of they prayers and jump to the next bit. Some Poskim[6] say that one can read the verse with the correct melody with the intention of reading a Torah verse, but one should make sure not to mention Hashem’s Name (י–ה–ו–ה).

The central essence of Selichot of course is not to merely recite the words printed in the Siddur, but to act according to what one is saying and to refine one’s character traits by doing so. Thus in the same way as Hashem bestows kindness upon us, we should bestow kindness upon the people surrounding us. In the same way as Hashem is forgiving, we should forgive other people. In the same way as Hashem is patient, we should be patient[7].

Notes

[1] Selichot are the prayers of repentance (Selicha means I appologise) which are said from the Month of Ellul until Yom Kippur.

[2] Magen Avraham

[3] Custom, according to your family’s or community’s tradition

[4] Shulchan Aruch

[5] Shulchan Aruch

[6] Halachic authorities

[7] Shlah HaKadosh

Can Hashem forgive us anyway?

In order for us to be able to believe that Hashem can forgive a human being, we need to understand how He acts towards us. Of course we can never fully understand how this works, but by providing us with His 13 Attributes, which He told Moses on Mount Sinai, we can come to a slightly closer understanding. Jewish thinking believes, that since we were created in the image of Hashem, we should also behave like that and emulate His ways. So, what are His ways? When Moses is standing on Mount Sinai, Hashem gives him the following description [1]:

ה׳ ה׳ א–ל רחום וחנון ארך אפים ורב חסד ואמת נצר חסד לאלפים נושא עון ופשע וחטאה ונקה

Hashem, Hashem, Kel Rachum Ve'Chanun, Erech Apayim, Ve'Rav Chesed Ve'Emet. Notzer Chesed La'Alafim, Noseh Avon, Va'Pesha, Ve'Chataah, Ve'Nakeh

Here is a Table that will help you understand this important verse we repeat many times during the high holiday prayers

Hashem,	Hashem has mercy upon us before we sin. Although He knows that a person will sin because He can predict the future, He shows mercy upon the individual. Do I have positive expectations of the people around me, even though I know they may make mistakes?
Hashem,	Hashem has mercy upon us after we have sinned. After a person has sinned, He accepts repentance. Do I forgive other people’s mistakes?
G-d [who is]	Hashem's mercy is powerful. Do I go beyond forgiveness and help the person to overcome their bad behaviour?
compassionate,	Hashem shows compassion for us and eases the suffering we feel through punishment. Do I feel heart-felt compassion towards other people?
gracious,	Hashem is gracious even to those who don’t request His kindness. Do I help people even if they are too insecure to ask for it?
slow to anger,	Hashem is patient, in order to give us time to repent. Am I patient with other people, and with myself?
and abundant in kindness	Through our repentance, Hashem tips the scales of justice in favour of merit rather than punishment. Am I a Giver, rather than a Taker, and do I bestow kindness on other people, without expecting anything in return?
and truth.	Hashem does not take revenge. Do I help people even if they weren’t particularly nice to me, or even if I don’t like them?
Preserver of kindness for thousands of generations,	The deeds of the righteous bring benefits to their offspring far into the future. Am I making an effort to do good deeds which will benefit (future) children, and our society as a whole?
Forgiver of iniquity,	Through repentance Hashem forgives intentional sins, Which intentional sins that I have done in the past year, will I make an effort not to do anymore?
and willful sin	and sins who were done to purposely anger Hashem, Which sins I did specifically to desecrate Hashem’s Name do I need to repent for?
and error	and sins that were done because of carelessness or apathy. How will I stop doing sins that happen simply because I’m too lazy to prevent them?
and [Who] cleanses.	Hashem wipes away our sins if we repent sincerely, as if they never existed. Am I not only forgiving but also try to forget what the person did wrong in the past?

[1] Exodus 34:6-7

Shofar and Teshuva (Repentance)

Rabbi Dovid Gottlieb gave a shiur last year at Yeshiva University, and discussed the following problem:

On Rosh Hashana, when we are thinking about all the bad things we did in the past year and how we could improve ourselves, we often notice that we are actually still thinking about the same bad thing we did last year, and the year before that, and before that too. Although we sincerely regret our bad behaviour and really don’t want to repeat it, this somehow doesn’t happen, and we don’t learn from our mistakes after all and we end up making the exact same mistakes again and again in the next year, like we did during all the years beforehand. Why is that?

Rabbi Gottlieb tried to provide some understanding of this problem:

The Midrash discusses a verse in Psalms that says “Ashrei ha'am she’yodea truah", Praiseworthy is the [Jewish] Nation which knows Teruah. The Midrash asks, why does it make us praiseworthy, just because we know the Teruah-sound of the Shofar, surely all nations of the world could know it too, just by listening to it or even blowing a Shofar themselves?
The Midrash answers, that we are praiseworthy because we understand the deeper secret and meaning behind it, rather than just knowing how the physical sound is produced and what it sounds like.

What is this deep secret about Teruah that we should know about? And also, why does the verse say Teruah rather than Tekiah? Isn’t Tekiah the main sound of the Shofar we tend to remember, the Tekiah Gedolah which sends shivers down our spine and causes us to think about Teshuva (Repentance)?

In Teruah lies the essence of Rosh Hashana. Teruah is the broken sound, the one that sounds like many bleeps in a row, it is like one long sound broken into many segments.

When we stand in Synagogue on Rosh Hashana, thinking that we are still making the exact same mistakes as last year, we should delve deeper: Are we really still making the exact same mistakes? Maybe we have changed just a tiny little bit for the good? Maybe we have taken that big bad behaviour and have broken it up into fragments, and have tried to improve at least one of these fragments of bad behaviour? Teruah, the broken segments of sound, shows that also little improvements are valuable. We often focus on big accomplishments or failures, when actually we should be focussing on small advances, and tiny mistakes, that happen so fast that we forget about them. Both require deep investigation - are we aware of the small accomplishments we do daily or do we lose sight of them? Do we ignore our small mistakes that might have major ramifications in the future? Teruah indicates the importance of little things, and of breaking things down into components. It's not all or nothing, even small progress counts.

So, why does the verse in Psalms say that we as the Jewish Nation are praiseworthy because we ‘know Teruah’? According to Rav Nebenzahl, the former Chief Rabbi of the Old City of Jerusalem, what makes us special is that we are aware that we are humans broken into pieces, i.e. with hang-ups and imperfections, and that we know that we must grow and work on ourselves, improve our behaviour towards other people, towards Hashem, and use the time around Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur to repent for past misdeeds. This is why we are praiseworthy as a People, because we acknowledge this essence of Teruah.

Laws of Rosh Hashana: Annulling Vows

Annulment of Vows (התרת נדרים)

Judaism frowns upon making vows. If one makes a vow (e.g. doing a self-imposed Minhag, meritorious act, or fasting on a certain day), one is bound by it, and can only be released by the restrictions of the vow if one annuls it in an official way. On Rosh Hashana, we have the opportunity to do this, it is called Hatarat Nedarim (Annulment of Vows) and is traditionally performed on the morning of Erev Rosh Hashana. One stands before 3 wise men and must verbally articulate the vow that one would like to annul [1].

The practice for men is that they convene in groups after the morning prayers on Erev Rosh Hashana and read out the Annulment of Vows prayer in the Siddur. A married woman can ask her husband to annul her vows at this opportunity. Unmarried women should do it themselves. Some opinions (sorry, I have no source for this) say that if you don’t have a specific vow in mind, then you can rely on the Kol Nidrei (literally, 'all the vows') service on Yom Kippur for annulling your vows. Most people are however stringent and annul their vows with Hatarat Nedarim before Rosh Hashana, even if they don’t have a specific vow they would like to annul.

Notes

[1] Shulchan Aruch

What does Teshuva mean?

A Definition of Teshuva

Teshuva ( תשובה), commonly known as Repentance, is literally derived from the verb שב (to return). Teshuva is the central theme that reflects the month of Ellul, with Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur being key dates in this process.

Rambam[1] writes in his work Hilchot Teshuva, that there are 4 steps to Teshuva, each of which are crucial for complete repentance.
1. Stop doing the sin
2. Regretting the sin
3. Vidui (confession)
4. Not doing the sin again

Step 2, regret, or guilt, should not be confused with shame. Whilst guilt causes negative thoughts and feelings about the sinful act in itself, shame reverts back to the person and can cause lack of self-worth, confidence and may ultimately result in depression. Rather than "I am ashamed and feel bad about myself because I did X", one should feel guilty and embarrassed about X itself.
Regret helps one's personal growth and spiritual development, shame does not.

Step 3, Vidui, is confessing directly to:

• Hashem; for sins that were "ben adam le makom" (sins against Hashem, e.g. chillul Shabbat[2], Kashrut, etc.)
• Other people; for sins that were "ben adam le chavero" (sins against people, e.g. lashon hara[3], treating individuals badly, etc.)

Vidui includes not only direct confession but also Mechila, asking for forgiveness. Asking someone for mechila is the hardest step in the Teshuva process.

Notes

[1] Rabbi Moses ben Maimon (Maimonides; 1135-1204), great Torah scholar, doctor, philosopher, or in the words of A.J. Heschel, "If one did not know that Maimonides was the name of a man, one would assume it was the name of a university. The writings and achievements of this twelfth century Jewish sage seem to cover an impossibly large number of activities". see here for more information.
[2] Desecration of Shabbat
[3] Evil speech or gossip