Parshas Nitzavim/Rosh HAshana Issue
By Rabbi Dovid Zauderer
I called a suicide hotline in Afghanistan…..they got all excited and asked if I could drive a truck..
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Why is it so difficult to count anything in Afghanistan? …..because of the tally-ban.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
With all the bombings in Kabul, Afghanistan’s capital city, authorities are planning to rename the city ‘Kabum’.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Now these might be funny jokes, but the situation on the ground (and in the air) in Afghanistan now that the final US troops have pulled out of the country is downright dangerous! And not just for those residing in Afghanistan itself. The peace and stability of the entire region – indeed, of the entire world - is threatened by the radical Taliban and its evil allies.
Who knows what kinds of nefarious and wicked schemes these terrible people will be cooking up for us, G-d forbid, in the coming year?
Now we know that on the holiday of Rosh Hashanah, the “Day of Judgment”, man is judged for all his deeds of the previous year, and it is decided in the Heavenly Court what will happen to him in the coming year.
As we recite at the beginning of the Zichronos (“Remembrance”) section of the lengthy Mussaf prayer on Rosh Hashanah:
“You [G-d] remember the deeds done in the universe …. You remember everything ever done and not a single creature is hidden from You….”
But it’s not only individual people whom G-d remembers and judges on Rosh Hashanah. Entire nations are judged as well. As we recite in that same Zichronos prayer a little further on:
“Regarding countries, it is said on this day which is destined for the sword and which for peace, which is for hunger and which for abundance; and creatures are recalled on it to remember them for life or death. Who is not recalled on this day? For then the remembrance of everything fashioned comes before You: everyone’s deed and mission, the accomplishments of man’s activity, man’s thoughts and schemes, and the motives behind man’s deeds.”
This means that on the coming Rosh Hashanah (which is only days away!) G-d will be ascending His Throne of Judgment and will be deciding the fate of the country of Afghanistan and its Taliban rulers – as well as our own country’s fate – for the coming year. Scary, isn’t it?
What can we do on Rosh Hashanah – you ask – to ensure as much as possible that we merit a favorable judgment and remain safe from all of those evil people who wish to do us harm?
Rabbi Elijah of Vilna (1720-1797), otherwise known as the “Vilna Gaon”, has the answer for us. He quotes in his Introduction to the Prayers of Rosh Hashanah from the Zohar who describes someone who asks for personal requests on Rosh Hashanah as comparable to a dog barking 'hav’ ‘hav’. [‘Hav’ is an Aramaic word that means 'give’ and also sounds like a dog barking 'ruff' 'ruff'!]. Just as a dog barks for food, so, too, do we ‘bark’ to G-d on Rosh Hashanah and ask Him to give us stuff…Give me long life and good health! Give me a livelihood! Give me atonement for my many sins! Give, Give, Give!
We are told to choose a different approach. Stop thinking about yourself! Put your personal troubles, needs, and desires aside – and think about the bigger picture. Think about the tremendous Chillul Hashem (Desecration of G-d’s Name) that there is in the world so long as there are wicked people like the Taliban and its allies running around and brazenly doing whatever they so desire with seemingly no one to stop them. Is there any Chillul Hashem greater than that?! Pray that the evil Taliban should be eradicated from the earth and that G-d’s Name should once again be glorified and sanctified the way it should be.
By taking this attitude that it is not about us but about Him, explains the Vilna Gaon, we show our great love for G-d, and we are guaranteed a favorable judgment for the coming year.
Let us conclude with the beautiful prayer that is added to every Shemonei Esrei (Amidah, or “Silent Prayer”) on Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, in which we long for a better time when all evil is eradicated from the earth. May we all live to see that joyous time. Amen:
And so, too, the righteous will see and be glad, the upright will exult, and the devout will be mirthful with glad song. Iniquity will close its mouth and all the wickedness will evaporate like smoke, when You will remove evil’s domination from the earth.
http://www.torchweb.org/torah_detail.php?id=680