We win the debate before Rosh Hashana
by being prepared, focused and staying on message!
By Rabbi Shimon Raichik
This last week was the presidential debate. It was all about who will become the most influential leader of the modern world. An estimated 85 million people anticipated and then watched the debate. What can be the possible connection between the debate and the fact that it fell out on the week of Selichos and the week leading into Rosh Hashana, a time when we coronate Hashem as our King?
There is a debate that goes on in different communities as well as in the life of each individual about the central purpose and focus of Rosh Hashanah. On one hand many focus and reflect upon it strictly as the Day of Judgment spending the day asking Hashem for forgiveness and for a good sweet year. Others are primarily involved with the fact that Rosh Hashanah is the day that we crown Hashem as King. So the debate is all about which perspective will gain center stage in our service of Hashem. Is it the "chatanu,we sinned against (you Hashem) or the "simloch, we crown (you Hashem)".
The sound of the shofar is the inner cry of the soul and its desire to return to Hashem. The shofar represents a deep teshuva from within which touches our living connection with Hashem. The Baal Shem Tov brings a parable of a prince who gets lost and tries to return to his home in the castle to once again be united with his father the king. When he arrives at the gates of the castle no one recognizes him. In the midst of his pain and anguish of not being recognized he lets out a cry from the depths of his soul full of yearning and longing to return home. The only one who recognizes the cry is his father the king who instructs his servants to let his son return. This is the sound of the shofar. This parable reflects our desire to return to our close relations with our Father our King.
Nevertheless we see throughout Chassidus in too many places to count the primary emphasis being placed on Rosh Hashanah as the coronation of Hashem as King. This is the thematic focus throughout all of the tefillos on Rosh Hashanah and it is why we emphasize this with special versus with the three themes of Malchios, Zichronos and Shofros which accompany the blowing of the shofar. They all describe different aspects of coronation with the sounding of the shofar which expresses the main focus, to crown Hashem as King.
In the final analysis the theme of coronation is the true emphasis of the day. The process of teshuva is to enable us to be able to say with our entire being, body and soul, that "we are your servants and you are our King" . When we do this Hashem provides all that we need and grants us a Shana Tovah u'mesukah.
Once this is clarified the debate continues on with a fundamental quandary as to our ability to be able to coronate Hashem as king. All too often we ask ourselves with amazement; how can a person of flesh and blood possibly crown Hashem, the King of all kings, the Infinite One Blessed be He? What possible contribution can our acknowledgment and coronation bring to Hashem? We need Chassidus to help us realize that we are certainly able because we have within ourselves, within our mind and within our hearts a portion of Hashem, a chelek Elokai Mima'al Mamash. True, we have a soul that is confined within the physicality of a body, nevertheless the body itself is also holy because it's part of a holy nation.
Rosh Hashanah falls on the sixth day of creation. It is the day that Adam, the first man was created as a soul within a body. The name Adam (which means 'similar to above and aleph-dam) similar to above means a soul while aleph-dam with refers to the body in Hebrew. Adam was the first one to crown Hashem as King on Rosh Hashanah. As his offspring we are neither a soul alone nor a body alone rather a body and the soul together as one. We have power of teshuva, the cry of the prince. The cry of the shofar comes from being part of Hashem, a son of the King. Because our neshama is one with Hashem we are able to reveal our connection and our ability to coronate Hashem. By assuming our truest identity, that we are part of Adam and of the Jewish nation we utilize that power to unanimously elect Hashem as soverign King over the world in a revealed way. We can do this once we have won the debate.
In the midst of this debate we may get tripped up with side arguments; get lost in a litany of our many faults. We may fall prey to the bait of accusations that come from the other side. We may forget for a while the purpose of the day and begin to think it's only about achieving personal forgiveness and to achieve personal benefit. We may also feel swayed to believe that we are unfit to fulfill our purpose, to coronate Hashem. By learning Chassidus we are able to pivot, and not get caught up in our personal lackings rather re-focusing, staying on message on our truest ability and thereby provide real new and lasting change (shana, year also means shinui, change) by focusing on the central purpose of the day, Hashem's coronation.
By focusing on our truest identity and by focusing on coronating Hashem as King may we merit the true and lasting change the shofar of Moshiach immediately!
Ksiva vChasima Tovah l'Shana Tovah uMesukah. May we all be inscribed and sealed for good sweet year both physically and spiritually.