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Torah Thought for this Week

Prepared by Rabbi Asher Zeilingold

The Jewish New Year is called Rosh HaShanah, which means ‘Head of the Year.’ This means something more than ‘New Year's Day,’ and gives us an understanding of the great importance of these days. In the human body it is the head that gives direction and guidance to the entire body, and from the head, the thoughts and ideas flow into and throughout the body where they take the form of speech or deed.  So too, the days of Rosh HaShanah are a microcosm of the entire year, and so each day of this new year has its inception somewhere in the days of Rosh HaShanah. This tells that we should treat each and every minute of the two Rosh HaShanah days with great reverence and not waste any of this precious time.

Every Rosh HaShanah has its own particular theme, depending on the days of the week on which the Holiday is celebrated.  This theme has a message, which adds to our appreciation of this sacred time period, and the direction we take from these days of awe.

This year, we celebrate Rosh HaShanah on Thursday and Friday, which is Erev Shabbat, and Rosh HaShanah leads us into the Holy Shabbat. The days of Rosh HaShanah are days that are permeated with holiness. As mentioned, throughout the entire Rosh HaShanah, we are aware of the tremendous significance of every instant, and so at all times, even when we are enjoying the YomTov feast – and indeed it is a Mitzva to eat specially prepared good food on every Yom Tov – we are under the influence of the holiness of the day. So too, the Shabbat is a holy day, as scriptures tells us many times over, to “Guard the Shabbat, for it is Holy.” The Holiness of the Shabbat  fills us with a distinct feeling which permeates everything we speak or do on the Shabbat.

There is a principle in the Talmud that when something occurs three times it has a Chazakah, meaning, an additional strength and binding effectiveness.  With three times, a level of permanence and immutability is reached.

This tells us that with the three Holy days in sequence, we have a Chazakah to assist us, that everything we do throughout this year will be filled with an additional measure of holiness and awareness of our Divine mission. Of course, we cannot expect to have the same feeling of holiness on an ordinary Thursday or Friday as we do on Rosh HaShanah, but certainly we can always direct all our actions toward serving G-d with everything and anything that we do.

G-d sees the good resolutions that we each make at this time of the year, and together with His blessings for all matters of holiness, He gives us the wherewithal to be able to serve Him with peace of mind and with complete mind and heart.  May He bless every one of us, with all our people together, with an abundance of material prosperity, and bring true peace to the entire world.

I take this opportunity to wish you all a Shana Tova, a happy and blessed new year.