The Talmud, Rosh HaShana 18a asks:

When are the times that God is available for an individual?

The Gemara answers:

Rabbah bar Ahuva said: The ten days between Rosh HaShana and Yom Kippur.

Why is Rosh HaShana considered the first day of the Aseret Yemei Tshuva (Ten Days of Repentance) when the holiday itself is not a day of repentance as opposed to Yom Kippur where we recite the Vidui (confession) prayers?

One reason why we don’t say the Vidui on Rosh HaShana is that if we overuse the confessional prayer, it won’t have the same impact by the time that we get to Yom Kippur. Rosh HaShana is more of a time of introspection which is also part of the Tshuva process.

Listening to the sound of the shofar helps reach this goal.

Rav Avigdor HaLevi Nebenzahl explains:

The shofar reminds us that the Jewish nation began with the sound of the shofar at Mount Sinai and will reach the climax of their historical cycle when the shofar is once again sounded at the time of Kibbutz Galuyot, the Ingathering of the Exiles and Techiat HaMetim, the Resurrection of the Dead. One who can clearly visualize this broader picture of history will not agree to trade the opportunity to participate in the final and eternal redemption for momentary satisfaction of a doubtful nature. One who knows that he holds a small pouch which contains genuine precious gems will not even be tempted to exchange them for a large pile of sparkling but worthless glass.

Rav Nebenzahl emphasizes the importance of seeing the full picture:

In order to undermine the structure of sin, we must succeed not only in hearing the sounds of Rosh HaShana but also in being amongst those who can see the sounds with the eyes of spirituality. We must be able to see the entire world, from start to finish, spread out before us like a woven tapestry. And finally we must understand our unique place in this world.

Although we do not say the Vidui on Rosh HaShana, the holiday is included in the Aseret Yemei Tshuva as it marks a time of spiritual introspection which sets the stage for Yom Kippur.

We learn about the Torah and Haftara
readings for Rosh HaShana in the Talmud, Megilla 31a:

On the first day we read “And God
remembered Sarah” and conclude with the Haftara of Chana. The next day we read
“And God tested Avraham” and conclude with the Haftara which contains the verse
“Is Efraim not a precious son to me (Yirmiyahu 31:19).”

Rashi explains that we read the
Haftara from Yirmiyahu on Rosh HaShana since the last verse includes the words
“remember” and “compassion”:

Is Efraim not a precious son to me,
a delightful child? Whenever I speak of him I remember him all the more.
Therefore I long for him inwardly. I will show him great compassion, declares
the Lord.

The Ran, Rabbeinu Nissim comments
that this section is chosen as it says “zachor ezkerenu”, “I will remember him
all the more” and one of the obligations of Rosh HaShana is to mention
zichronot, remembrances.

This verse is also read as part of
the Zichronot section of the Musaf service.

The Talmud, Rosh HaShana 32a
explains that the Zichronot section is based on the verse from Bamidbar 10:10:

And on your days of rejoicing, your
festivals and New Moons, you shall sound the trumpets over your elevation
offerings and over your peace offerings. They will be a reminder of you before
your God. I am the Lord your God.

The sound of the shofar does not
only remind us to repent, it also reminds us of what it says in Yishayahu 27:13
which we read in the Shofarot section of Musaf:

It will be, on that day: a great
ram’s horn will sound, and they will come, all those lost in the land of Ashur
and those who are exiled in the land of Egypt, and they shall prostrate
themselves to the Lord on the holy mount in Jerusalem.

Radak comments that in the final
redemption, the shofar will be blown and the exiles will return from all over
the world. This includes the ten tribes (known as Efraim) that were exiled to
the other side of the river (Assyria) by the king of Ashur. They were exiled,
lost, and never came back. In contrast, the tribes of Yehuda and Binyamin were
exiled to Babylonia and returned after 70 years of exile. When they were exiled
a second time, they were spread out all over the world.

Rav Yisachar Yakovson quotes Rav M.
Hirsch who explains that the Haftara from Yirmiyahu about Efraim returning was
chosen to remind us of the tribes who were exiled first and were subsequently
lost. Most of the Jews today are from the tribe of Yehuda. We must not forget
the other  tribes who have not yet
returned.

The ultimate Ingathering of the Exiles
will include the entire nation- Efraim and Yehuda. Yirmiyahu describes what
will happen (Yirmiyahu 31:6-8):

For this is what the Lord said: Sing
joyously for Yaakov and shout publicly for the nations. Give voice, give
praise, and say, “Lord, deliver Your people, the remnant of Israel.” I am about
to bring them from the northern land and gather them from the ends of the
earth…A great assembly will return here. They will come weeping, and with
compassion I will lead them. I will guide them along streams of water on a
level path upon which they will not stumble, for I have become a father to
Israel, and Efraim is my firstborn.

We are living in miraculous times
where we see the Ingathering of the Exiles on a daily basis with Jews returning
to Israel from all over the world. On Rosh HaShana, we should keep in mind all
of the Jews who would like to make aliya but can’t do so at this time due to
their own personal reasons and hope that whatever impediments are in their way
can be resolved.

The famous story of Chana, which is
read in the Haftara of the first day of Rosh HaShana takes place in Shilo as we
read in Shmuel I 1:3:

This man (Elkana) would ascend from
his city (Ramatayim-Zofim in Mt. Ephraim) year by year to worship and to
sacrifice to God, Master of Legions in Shilo.

In Shmuel I 1:9-10, we see that this
is the spot where Chana prayed for a child:

Chana rose after they had eaten in
Shilo and after they had drunk. Eli the Kohen was sitting on the chair, near
the doorpost of the Sanctuary of the Lord. And she was feeling bitter, and she
prayed to the Lord, weeping continuously…

The Mishkan (Tabernacle) stood in
Shilo for almost 370 years, from the days of Yehoshua (around the year 1258
BCE), 14 years after B’nai Yisrael arrived in the Land of Israel. As we see in
Yehoshua 18:1:

The entire assembly of the Children
of Israel gathered at Shilo, and set up the Tent of Meeting (Ohel Moed) there.
The Land was now under their control.

The first person in relatively
modern times to recognize the city of ancient Shilo in 1838 was Edward
Robinson, an American Bible critic.

For the past 100 years (1922, 1970s,
1981 and 2010 until the present), there have been archeological excavations in
ancient Shilo.

Recently, archeologists found five
jugs which were fully intact that date back 2000 years. In addition, they found
coins, a key and wooden dice.

Five years ago, archeologists found jugs
that still contained grape seeds. The jugs were covered with debris that fell
from the ceiling. The archeologists date these jugs back to when the Mishkan
was destroyed, around 3000 years ago.

The archeologists are still hoping
to find remnants from the Mishkan itself, not just the approximate place where
it stood. For now they have found a large stone that may have been part of the
Mizbeach (altar), a lot of vessels which seemed to have been smashed due to
their status of impurity as well as animal bones which could have been part of
the many sacrifices that were brought there. Since the Mishkan itself was a
temporary structure, parts of it may have decomposed making it harder to find
the remains.

Even after 100 years of excavations,
archeologists have only covered about 5% of the area so there is still plenty
more work to do.

Shilo generally gets 150,000
visitors per year who want to connect with the Biblical city, the site of the
Mishkan, the holiest site until the Beit HaMikdash (Temple) was built, to see
where Chana prayed and to be inspired.

Dedicated in memory of the pure neshama of Natan Hersh z”l,

by his loving sister Alvera Vayzer

In the Talmud, Rosh HaShana 8a, Rav
Nachman bar Yitzchak said: The first of Tishrei is the New Year for judgment as
it says in Dvarim 11:12 “The eyes of God are on it (the Land of Israel) from
the beginning of the year until the end of the year.” This means that from the
beginning of the year judgment is issued regarding what will occur at its end.

The Gemara explains how we know that
the “beginning of the year” mentioned here refers to Tishrei. The answer is in
Tehilim 81:4 “Blow a shofar at the moon’s renewal, when the moon is covered on
our festive day.” Rosh HaShana is the festival when the moon is covered, since
it falls at the beginning of the lunar month when the moon is hidden from view.
The following verse (Tehillim 81:5) adds “Because it is a statute for Israel, a
judgment day unto the God of Yaakov.” Therefore we see that Rosh HaShana (the
first of Tishrei) is the day of judgment.

Why are we even questioning when the
beginning of the year is? Isn’t it obvious that the New Year begins in Tishrei?

Actually, the first mishna in Rosh
HaShana teaches us that there are four New Years: The first of Nisan is the New
Year for the kings and the festivals. The first of Elul is the New Year for ma’aser
(tithing) of animals (Rabbi Elazar and Rabbi Shimon say that the New Year for
ma’aser for the animals is on the first of Tishrei). On the first of Tishrei is
the New Year for reckoning the years and for Shmita (Sabbatical produce) and
Yovel (Jubilee), for the sapling and for the vegetables. On the first of Shvat
is the New Year for the tree, according to Beit Shammai. According to Beit
Hillel it is on the fifteenth of Shvat.

We see from here that each New Year
served a different purpose. Aside from the New Year in Tishrei being the day of
judgment, it is also the date where we change the calendar year (5780- here we
come!) as well as an important day for agriculture. In the Land of Israel, in a
Shmita year, when one is forbidden to plant and work the land, that one day
really makes a difference. The concept of Orla teaches us that we may not eat
the fruits of the sapling for the first three years. If a sapling was planted
in Elul, by Tishrei it would count as if the tree already existed for one year,
even though it only technically existed for one month.

May we be judged favorably on Rosh
HaShana in Tishrei, the day of judgment and may we merit to celebrate all four
New Years in good health.

Sponsored by Vicky Wu in loving memory of JJ Greenberg z”l on his
15^th yahrzeit, a loving teacher, a loving and courageous human being

Escape rooms- they are the rage and
can be found all over the world including Jerusalem. The way that it works is
that a group of people are locked in a room for an hour and in order to get
out, they need to solve different tasks within the room including finding keys
and clues which help to open combination locks until they ultimately find the
right key to unlock the door to the room. Some participants are successful and
are able to get out before the hour is up. Others are not able to get out in
time and the door has to be unlocked for them.

There is a story told in Or Yesharim
about the Baal Shem Tov who was preparing to blow the shofar on Rosh HaShana.
He asked Rav Zev Kitzes, who would be calling out the shofar notes, to study
the secret spiritual meanings of the shofar blasts. Rav Zev studied and wrote
everything down on a piece of paper so that he could refer to his notes when
necessary. However, when it was time to blow the shofar, Rav Zev noticed that
he lost the paper and couldn’t remember any of the hidden meanings. Crying and
broken hearted, Rav Zev called out the shofar blasts without any special
thoughts in mind. After the shofar blowing, the Baal Shem Tov said, “In a king’s
palace there are hundreds of rooms and on the door of each room is a different
lock that requires a special key to open it. But there is a master key, an axe,
which can open all of the locks.”

“So it is with the shofar. There are
many gates in Heaven and many rooms within each gate. The different sounds of
the shofar and their secret meanings are the keys to open each one of those
gates. But there is a master key that can open them all. That is a broken
heart. When a person sincerely breaks their heart before God, their prayers can
enter through all of the gates and into all of the rooms of the celestial
palace of God.”

According to Onkelos, if you listen
carefully, the shofar’s Truah note sounds like a cry and this teaches us that
it is good to express our feelings and cry the way that the shofar does, exposing
our broken hearts and showing that we are sincere in our prayers.

This year, may we be blessed to approach
our relationship with God as an escape room, whose keys will help us mend our broken
hearts. 

Sponsored by Vicky Wu In Memory of Jonathan Josef (JJ) Greenberg, z”l, For his love and strength left for
his people and the Land of Israel

Every day we say the T’ka B’Shofar prayer in the Shmoneh
Esrei about the Ingatheing of the Exiles:

Sound the great shofar for our freedom, raise the banner to
gather our exiles and gather us together from the four corners of the earth.
Blessed are you God who gathers in the dispersed of His people Israel.

During the Musaf service of Rosh HaShana, we read a section
called “Shofarot” which includes prayers and scriptural readings associated
with the shofar.

One of the quotes from the prophets comes from Yishayahu 27:13:
“And it will be on that day, that a great shofar will be sounded, and they will
come- those who were lost in the land of Ashur, and those who were outcasts in
the land of Mitzrayim, and they will prostrate themselves to God, on the holy
mountain in Jerusalem.”

Rabbi Eliezer Eliner (1904-1980, Latvia-Jerusalem) explains
that this pasuk teaches that God has to gather the Jewish people from two types
of exiles:

One type of exile is called “Mitzrayim”, where the Jews are
troubled (same root as the word tzarot) and outcasts.

The other type of exile is called “Ashur”, where the Jews
are happy (same root as osher) yet they are called lost since they are slowly
losing their Judaism .

Rabbi Eliner understood the impact of these two exiles as he
himself made aliya in 1927 from after studying at the University
of Riga and at the Beit Midrash for
Rabbis in Berlin.
He later worked at the Jewish Agency and among his many accomplishments worked
on putting together the Rinat Yisrael Siddur and Daat Mikra’s Shmuel.

Today, as well we see Jews returning to the State of Israel
from both types of exile. This past week we saw Jews making Aliya from the Ukraine, a
country where the Jews are in danger as well as from The United States, a
country where Jews are for the most part very happy.

As we listen to the shofar this Rosh HaShana let’s think of
how we can help the Jews who have just arrived in Israel, both those who are
fleeing as well as those who are making aliya by choice.

As we enter Rosh HaShana and the year 5775, a Shmita (Sabbatical)
year, we must keep in mind that the laws of Shmita remain Rabbinic as long as
less than half of the Jewish population is living in Israel. As we recite the words
about the ingathering of the exiles let us reflect on how we can increase the
amount of Jews who are making aliya and turn the Shmita year back into a
Biblical commandment.

Shana Tova and Shabbat Shalom from Yerushalayim!

In the Talmud, Rosh HaShana 16b Rabbi Yitzchak said: Four
things cause the unfavorable decree against a person to be torn up: Tzedaka
(charity), Tzeaka (crying out), Shinui Hashem (change of name) and Shinui
Maaseh (change of action).

Where do we learn this from?

In Mishlei (Proverbs) 11:4 concerning Tzedaka it says “And
charity will rescue from death.”

In Tehilim (Psalms) 107:28 on the topic of Tzeaka we read:
“They cried out to God in their distress and He would take them out from their
straits.”

Breisheet 17:15 speaks about Shinui Hashem: “Sarai your
wife, you shall not call her name Sarai, for Sarah is her name.” After her name
was changed, Sarah was blessed with a son.

In Jonah 3:10 we see Shinui Maaseh: “God saw their deeds
that they repented from their evil way. God relented concerning the evil He had
said He would bring upon them and He did not do it.”

We too can attempt to overturn an unfavorable decree by
increasing our charitable contributions, crying out to God in prayer and
changing our ways.

Changing your name should not be taken lightly but in some
cases is necessary. For example, people who were not born Jewish or those
becoming more observant who were never given a Jewish name should take on a
Hebrew name when they commit to Judaism the way that Avraham and Sarah did.
Others may not be happy with their given name and may decide to choose a new
name and formally have their name changed in the synagogue with a Mishaberach
prayer during Torah reading. According to the Rambam some need to change their
names in order to break from the past and make a fresh start.

 There is also a
concept of adding a new first name to the name of a person who is very sick to
help bring about a speedy recovery. Names that are often used are Chayim, Chaya
(life) or Refael (healing).

As we prepare for Rosh HaShana we can’t just sit back and
wait for the new year. We must do everything that is in our power to overturn
any unfavorable decrees. As it says in the Unetane Tokef prayer: U’Tshuva, U’Tefila
U’Tzedaka Maavirin et Roah Hagzeirah, Repentance, Prayer and Charity annul the
evil decree.

Sponsored by Vicky Wu on the Yahrzeit of JJ
Greenberg

“May the memory of JJ continue to stay with us,
as strong as the influence of his love for life and for the Jewish People.”

In the Musaf (Additional) Service for Rosh HaShana we say
the words:

“Uteshuva, utefila, utzedaka maavirin et roa hagzera”,
“Repentance, prayer and charity remove the evil decree!”

In the Gemara in Rosh HaShana 16b we learn that teshuva,
tefillah and tzedaka can influence God to cast aside the harshness of the
decree.

In most Machzors (High 
Holiday Prayerbooks) on top of these three words there are smaller
words:

צום           קול     ממון

ותשובה ותפילה וצדקה

Tzom (fasting), Kol (voice) and Mamon (money).

These subscripts teach us the recipe for sincere repentance:
fasting, praying out loud and making donations to charity.

Rabbi Shimon Apisdorf comments that we have three interwoven
spheres of relationships in our lives: I and myself, I and God and I and other
human beings. Teshuva is a return to one’s true path, to a sense of harmony.
Prayer is returning to God. Charity is actively expressing our concern for
others.

Rabbi Apisdorf explains that life is often a juggling act.

W must take care of ourselves, we must build a relationship
with God and we must take care of other human beings.

As the new year approaches, let’s see how we can take better
care of ourselves weather it be through eating healthier or quitting smoking
(still a big problem in Israel), how we can build our relationship with God
through observing more mitzvoth or finding a shul (synagogue) that we find to
be more conducive to serious prayer and by giving charity to worthy
organizations or volunteering our time to work with the elderly or those with
special needs.

The challenge of Teshuva is the juggling act: how we will
follow through over the course of the year.

According to Rabbi Saadya Gaon, the Shofar is blown on Rosh Hashana for the following reasons:

Since Rosh Hashana was the day of creation, we coronate God as King by the blowing of the Shofar.

Rosh Hashana is the first day of the Aseret Ymei Tshuva, Ten Days of Repentance that culminate with Yom Kippur. The sound of the Shofar is the final warning that we must do Tshuva (repent).

The sound of the Shofar reminds us of Maamad Har Sinai, The Revelation at Sinai where there were blasts of the Shofar.

The sound of the Shofar can be compared to the sharp words of the prophets reminding the Jewish people to repent.

The sound of the Shofar reminds us of the destruction of the Beit HaMikdash, The Temple in Jerusalem which was destroyed while the enemies played their trumpets.

The Shofar reminds us of Akedat Yitzchak, The Binding of Isaac and the ram that saved the day.

When we hear the Shofar, we tremble and humble ourselves

The Shofar reminds us of the ultimate Day of Judgment.

The Shofar inspires us with hope for Kibbutz Galuyot, the ultimate ingathering of the Jewish people to the Land of Israel.

The Shofar reminds us of the ultimate resurrection of the dead which will be brought in with the sounding of the Shofar.

When the Shofar is blown, we must have Kavana, concentrate on the reason that we can most identify with.

May the sounds of the Shofar, our Kavana and our prayers reach the heavens and may our prayers be answered.