Click Here to Sponsor Daily Halacha
"Delivered to Over 6000 Registered Recipients Each Day"

Download print

Rosh Hashana- Our Annual Resurrection

Rav Naftali Trop (1871-1928), one of the most illustrious disciples of the Hafetz Haim, once observed a common mistake that many people make as they go into Rosh Hashanah. Many people enter Rosh Hashanah with the mindset that they rightfully deserve everything in their lives – their families, their health, their homes, their bank accounts, and all their other assets – and G-d needs a reason to take it away from them. Rav Trop compared this mindset to the situation of two litigants coming to court. The defendant is the "Muhzak" – the presumed owner of the property or money in question, and the burden of proof rests upon the plaintiff to show that the plaintiff owes him something. Similarly, people see themselves as the "Muhzak," as the presumed rightful owners of everything they have, and some "proof" needs to be brought that there is something they have which they do not deserve and should be taken away from them.

But this mindset, Rav Trop explained, is incorrect. As we recite in our Selihot prayers, "Ke’dalim U’ch’rashim Dafaknu Delatecha" – "We have knocked on Your doors like paupers and mendicants." When we begin Rosh Hashanah, we have nothing. We have no assets. We do not even have our very life.

Each Rosh Hashanah, if we earn a favorable outcome, we are given a one-year lease on everything, including our very lives. That lease expires as Rosh Hashanah begins each year. And so when we begin Rosh Hashanah, we are, in a sense, dead. We do not even have our lives. We need to earn everything anew.

This explains a remarkable Halacha in the Shulhan Aruch (Orah Haim 225). The Shulhan Aruch writes that when a person sees a close friend or family member for the first time in thirty days, he recites the Beracha of "She’hehiyanu" to express his joy over the reunion. But if he has not seen the close friend or family member for the first time in a year, then he recites the Beracha of "Mehayeh Ha’metim," thanking Hashem for "resurrecting the dead." (We do not discuss here the question of whether or not this requirement applies nowadays, when, even if two friends or family members do not see each other for an extended period, they are, in most cases, in contact.) The Mishna Berura cites those who explain that this Beracha is recited because the two friends or family members had not seen each other since Rosh Hashanah, and thus they did not know whether or not they earned the right to continue living. When we go into Rosh Hashanah, we are "dead," in that we no longer have a right to anything, including our lives. And thus when we see somebody after Rosh Hashanah, we can recite "Mehayeh Ha’metim" – because that person has been "resurrected."

This understanding of life should not cause us anxiety or depression. To the contrary, it should invigorate us. If we recognize that each day is a precious blessing from Hashem, then we will take full advantage of it. If we understand that nothing is guaranteed, not even our right to life, then we will cherish every moment and utilize it properly.

This is the purpose of our "annual resurrection" on Rosh Hashanah. When we reinforce our awareness that life is a gift granted to us by Hashem in His boundless grace and compassion, then we will commit ourselves to use our lives the way they are meant to be used – productively, meaningfully, and for the purpose of serving our Creator. We must enter this day with a keen awareness that everything we have is a great blessing which we need to earn – and which, once we have earned it, must be used the right way and for the right purpose.


Related Parasha
Rosh Hashana- A Time to Stop Making Excuses - 2022 Year
Parashat Vayelech: Transforming the Curse Into a Blessing - 2022 Year
Shabbat Shuva- Teshuba & Torah Learning - 2021 Year
Rosh Hashana: Reaching the Heavenly Throne, One Step at a Time - 2021 Year
Parashat Nisavim: What “Life” Really Means - 2020 Year
Shabbat Shuba- The Most Urgent Teshuba That We Need Today - 2019 Year
Understanding the Shofar’s Call - 2019 Year
Kal Nidrei - 2018 Year
Partial Teshuva - 2018 Year
Parashat Nisavim: It Depends Only on Us - 2017 Year
Praying For Teshuba - 2016 Year
Praying For Teshuba - 2016 Year
Aseret Yemeh Teshuba- The Three Questions Posed to Hillel - 2015 Year
Rosh Hashana: The Yom Tob of Emuna - 2015 Year
Rosh Hashana: The Three Keys to a Favorable Judgment - 2014 Year
Ellul: Teshuba Can’t Wait - 2013 Year
Shabbat Shuba: The Easiest Misva - 2012 Year
Parashat Nisavim- Outreach by Default - 2012 Year
Rosh Hashana- Our False Sense of Security - 2011 Year
Parashat Nisavim- The “Cardiac Jew” - 2011 Year
Sefer/Parasha:
Parashat Pinhas: The Covenant of Peace
Parashat Hukat- Seeing the Inner Goodness
Parashat Korah: The Origins of Korah’s Revolt
Parashat Shelah: Fulfilling Our Mission
Parashat Beha’alotecha- Teaching and Growing
Parashat Naso- Rectifying the Sin of Adam and Hava
Shabuot- Sara Imenu and the Roots of the Jewish Monarchy
Shavuot- Yes, the Torah is For Us
Parashat Behar: The Way to Look at a Fellow Jew
Lag Baomer- Reinforcing Our Bitahon
Parashat Kedoshim: Complementing One Another
Parashat Tazria-Mesora: Revealing Our Hidden Treasures
Parashat Shemini in Year of Pandemic 5780|2020- Inaugurating the Heavenly Altar
The Exodus and the Process of Spiritual Healing
Pesah: Earning Redemption, Then and Now
1002 Parashot found