Shalom Friends;
Our Rosh Hashana vort is being sponsored by Avraham and Miriam Deutsch of Efrat who dedicate Special L’Shana Tova wishes for our brethren, the former residents of Gush Katif, as well as L’Shana Tova for Zahal and Kol Am Yisrael and prayers for the safety of the Chayalim and the liberation of all remaining hostages and their return home without experiencing any further harm. To the Deutsch family, many thanks for your sponsorship and your continued kindnesses.
You can celebrate a Simcha — a birth, a Bar/Bat Mitzvah, a Chassuna or other Simcha event in your life, or commemorate a Yahrtzeit of a loved one, or for whatever other reason by sponsoring a Parshat HaShevua.
Please forward to your relatives and friends and encourage them to sponsor a Parshat HaShevua. And please be in contact with me with any questions, or for further details.
Best Regards,
Moshe Burt
olehchadash@yahoo.com
skype: mark.burt3
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This year, the first day of Rosh Hashana 5785 begins on the evening of Yom Chamishi (Wednesday Evening) and Rosh Hashana leads into Shabbos, ergo in essence a three day Yom Tov. And this year, with Rosh Hashana, we re-coronate, Hashem as Our King, the Creator of All existence as the nation remains in an existential war — the nearly one year War of Simchat Torah.
On Rosh Hashana, we have dual feelings; of Simcha for the annual coronation, or re-coronation of Hashem as our Melech, the King and Creator of the World in all of its aspects, as well as reflecting throughout the month of Elul on our short-comings, our aveirahs and taking corrective action — to do sincere Teshuvah so as to come closer to Hashem in the coming year and years to come.
Baruch Hashem that in most years we are able to hear the Shofar blown on both days of Rosh Hashana which will once again rock Satan’s attempts to prosecute a case against Am Yisrael.
This author has managed to keep quite a few “handout vorts” from years past and a vort caught the eye, entitled “The Main Point” which is cited from the sefer, “Growing Each Day,” by Rabbi, Dr. Abraham J. Twersky, MD, Z”l:
Rosh Hashana marks the day on which man was created, and that was the sixth and final day of Creation….
To understand this…, one must understand what Hashem’s “works” really are. He did indeed will millions of details of Creation into existence for the five days preceding the appearance of man on the scene. But were these his “works?” If an artist spends a few days purchasing paints, canvases, brushes and easels, setting up his studio and adjusting the lighting, would one call these achievements his works? His works begin when he puts brush to the canvas.Man is Hashem’s brush, with which He effects His Will in the world. Everything created before man, from the amoeba to the supernova, is there to enable him [man] to fulfill his Divine purpose — to put himself in the Artist’s [Hashem’s] Hands [as it were] and make himself an instrument of Hashem’s works.
But what if man — what if Am Yisrael acts contrary to his Divine purpose as Hashem’s “paint brush?” What about when anything goes, i.e. the “wild, wild west” where deceit in word or deed is portrayed as truth and righteousness; when unnatural sinful acts by man, i.e. same-genderism, termination of life in the womb or at birth become the “new normal;” when dual standards prevail within the Am based on factional bias or lust for political power; disdain for spirituality and more? What about when the arrogance, intimidation and threats by a military high command toward their subordinates who repeatedly warn of enemy war preparations result in surprise enemy attacks resulting in mass slaughter and hostage taking of their brethren and many of our brave Chayalim dying in combat? And what about the possible military high command’s strategic and tactical shortcomings in their subsequent conduct of the war, as well as the government’s equivocal “diplomatic” negotiations early on in the war which led to combat stoppage, release of bloody-handed terrorists at a ratio of 3 for every hostage released while giving Hamas time for reinforcements — contributing to the pro-longed war?
To repeat a thought this author had a few years ago regarding Parshat Re’eh;
This author wonders, how much of the hate and loathing of Judaism and spirituality, as well as manifestations such as bogus “two-state solutions” and the like by secular Jews are outward expressions of subconscious feelings or perceptions that ones’ faults and transgressions are such that one is soo far from the ways of Hashem, as to feel beyond redemption, to have given up hope of ever achieving closeness to Hashem?
To excerpt from a vort on Rosh Hashana by Rabbi Yehudah Zev Segal, Z’l, the Manchester Rosh Yeshiva in his sefer, “Inspiration and Insight, Volume 2, Discourses on the Holidays and Other Themes” (page 80):
As we sit in Shul prior to the blowing of the Shofar on Rosh Hashana, every one of us rises high above the vanities of everyday life and finds himself in a totally different world. We sense the spirituality of the moment and this impels us to focus on our purpose in this world. The earthly desires which are so enticing, at the moment of trial are perceived as trivial and lacking substance — which indeed, they are.
On this day, we ponder our spiritual successes and failures of the past year. Hashem has tested each of us in a variety of ways. One can rest assured that every effort he expended in his struggles with his yetzer hara is an immeasurable source of merit. And what of our failures? This awesome Day of Judgement is a time when we can and must strive for improvement.
R’ Segal cites a Rambam (ibid, page 80) :
There is an allusion to the Shofar blowing on Rosh Hashana: “Awake, O sleepers, from your sleep! Arouse yourselves, O slumberers, from your slumber! Scrutinize your deeds! Return with contrition! Remember your Creator! Those of you who forget the truth in the futility of the times and let your years elapse in futility and emptiness… peer into your souls, improve your ways and your deeds. Each one of you should abandon his evil way and his bad thoughts.” (R’ Segal citing Rambam in Hilchos Teshuva 3:4)
So, how does Rosh Hashana ritual and spirituality work in this nearly one year period of existential war brought upon us by the barbaric, sub-human animals of Hamas, the so-called “innocent” Gazan civilians who, in fact, collaborated with Hamas in slaughtering 1,200 Jews, many who were at a concert, while killing countless others in their homes in the Negev towns bordering Gaza and taking over 250 hostages?
R’ Segal cites further from Rambam (ibid, page 81) :
On Rosh Hashana, one should be forever cognizant of what is transpiring Above… As Rambam writes in that same chapter: (R’ Segal citing Rambam in Hilchos Teshuva 3:4)
Just as a persons’ merits and sins are weighed at the time of his death, so too, are the merits and sins of all who enter this world weighed each year on Rosh Hashana. One who is found to be righteous is sealed for life. One who is deemed wicked is sealed for death. As for one who is evenly balanced [between good and bad deeds], his fate is suspended until Yom Kippur. If he repents he is sealed for life and if not he is sealed for death.
Rabbi A. Henach Leibowitz refers to the Satan when he writes in his sefer “Majesty of Man” (pages 28-29):
We do not have the perspective of the Satan to know exactly how close we are to redemption. But we must bear in mind that every little bit of extra effort on our part could be the Teshuvah which tips the Heavenly scale to the side of merit for ourselves, and for all of Jewry. It is within our grasp — we need only to reach for it.
May it be that our Brave Chayalim, regardless of the machinations of their high command, emerge totally victorious — eradicating from the face of the earth Hamas, their terrorist buddies and the so-called “innocent civilians” of Gaza who joined with Hamas in their murderous deeds, that the Chayalim return home whole — physically, mentally and spiritually and that the Chayalim Liberate and bring home all remaining hostages. And may we see the restoration of true unity within Am Yisrael.
May we, the B’nei Yisrael be zocha that our brethren — the refugee families from Gush Katif be permanently re-settled in Gush Katif, once the IDF, by the Yad Hashem, destructs and eradicates the wild beasts of Hamas, Islamic Jihad, Hezbollah, all other terror entities, and if necessary Iran, and that our brethren be made totally whole — be totally restituted for all that was stolen from them, that the thrice expelled families of Amona be restored to their rebuilt homes and the oft-destroyed Yeshiva buildings in Homesh be rebuilt, as well as the buildings of Yishuv Elchanan, all at total government expense. May our Chayalim return from battle unharmed — physically, mentally and spiritually and merit lives of only Simcha and Health. May all of the remaining hostages brutally taken by the wild beasts of Hamas be liberated and brought home to their families. Baruch Hashem that our dear brother Jonathan Pollard is now in his fourth year at home in Eretz Yisrael and continues in a new chapter in his life. May Esther Yocheved bat Yechiel Avraham have an aliyah in Shemayim and may her spirit and memory continue to lift Jonathan to at least 120 years. May the MIAs be liberated alive and returned to us in ways befitting Al Kiddush Hashem — as with the return in April, 2019, via Russia, of the remains of Zachariah Baumel, as should the remains of the two chayalim from the Gaza War of ten years ago. May we have the courage and strength to stand up and physically prevent the possibility of Chas V’Challila any future eviction of Jews from their homes and prevent Chas V’Challila the handing of Jewish land over to anyone, let alone to enemies sworn to Israel’s and Judaism’s destruction and eradication. May we see, in 5785, the REAL Jews from the Ukraine and Russia as well as the US and Canada, the real Jews via matrilineal descent, make Aliyah enmass — via thorough review by Misrad HaPanim. And may we soon and finally see the total end to the Communist Chinese Wuhan Lab corona virus pandemic and all like viruses and variants. May we fulfill Hashem’s blueprint of B’nei Yisrael as a Unique people — an Am Segula, not to be reckoned with as with “the nations” and may we be zocha to see the Moshiach, the Ge’ula Shlaima, as Dov Shurin sings; “Ki Karov Yom Hashem Al’Kol HaGoyim”, the Ultimate Redemption, bimhayrah b’yamainu — speedily, in our time”, — Achshav, Chik Chuk, Miyad, Etmol!!!
May You, All of My Brothers and Sisters, be Inscribed and Sealed for another Year of Life… Now and always! L’Shana Tova!
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Moshe Burt, an Oleh, is a commentator on news and events in Israel and Founder and Director of The Sefer Torah Recycling Network. He lives in Ramat Beit Shemesh.
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