The Tiferes Shlomo says that the reason we recite the tochacha at this time is as a sign that the year and its curses should come to an end. If, Heaven forbid, a bad decree was issued against a person, we hope that it will be fulfilled by reading from the Torah about bad things, and he will then be able to experience only good.
The Tochacha Annuls Aveiros
Similarly, the Kozheglover Gaon zt”l writes in Sefer Eretz Tzvi (Parshas Bechukosai) that reading the tochacha before Rosh Hashanah serves to annul aveiros because hearing these words breaks our hearts and causes us to regret our sins.
When There is Emunah There are no Parnassah Concerns
Rav Yehoshua of Belz zy”a explains this pasuk as follows: “And your life will hang before you” – even though it was predetermined on Rosh Hashanah how much money you will earn this year (Beitzah 15A) and that amount is just “hanging” and waiting for you to take it. “You will be in fear day and night” – you will nevertheless be afraid. The reason for this fear is because “you will not believe in your life” – you will be lacking in emunah and won’t believe that whatever Hashem decreed for you will come to you no matter what. If you would have the proper level of emunah, however, you would not be afraid at all and you would trust in Hashem to provide for you.
