By Rabbi Dovid Sapirman, Dean, Ani Maamin Foundation
In just a few weeks, the world will stand in judgment before the Creator, “passing before Him like sheep,” in the words of the Mishnah, being counted one by one.
How does a person prepare for a trial? He plans his defense and rehearses what he may have to say in order to plead his case. The more severe the potential outcome, the more effort he must invest to prepare for it. We, too, must prepare ourselves to stand before Hashem, but our defense is not only our words, but the feelings of our hearts. In this, too, we must prepare.
The Mussaf of Rosh Hashanah contains three special brachos not said at any other time of year. The first of them is Malchuyos. Chazal tell us that Hashem says, “Say before Me Malchuyos in order to make Me king over you.” Such is the essence of this holy day: we reaffirm our commitment to Hakadosh Baruch Hu as our King. Loyal subjects are proud to serve; they want everyone to recognize their king. Our tefillos are filled with this concept.
But it’s not just a pledge to be more careful in following His commandments. Rather, we envision Hashem’s reign over all of Creation, with every creature on earth subservient to His will.
This is what will happen when Mashiach comes. The truly evil will be destroyed, and among those who remain, there will be a universal awareness of Hashem.
Therefore, the majority of our tefillos are requests for the eventual universal acceptance of Hashem’s malchus. There is relatively little asking for a good and easy year. One depends on the other—the outcome of Rosh Hashanah depends on the fervor and sincerity of our Malchuyos.
May the Ribbono shel Olam help all of us heighten our commitment to Him and be zoche to a kesiva v’chasima tova.
