The navi tells (Melachim ch. 4) us "va'yehi HA'yom," on that day, and Chazal tell us that HA'yom, THE day, is Rosh Hashanah, Elisha the prophet came to the Shunamis woman and offered to give her a blessing for whatever she needed. A berachah from a tzaddik on Rosh Hashanah certainly can't hurt! But the Isha Shunamis replied to Elisha: בתוך עמי אנכי ישבת- “I am among the people, I prefer to not be singled out for your special attention.”
What did the Isha Shunamis mean? How do you turn down the berachah from a tzaddik?
The usual peshat is that if you are singled out, then Hashem looks at your merits or lack thereof as you stand as an individual. That's not such an easy test to pass. But there is another aspect to din that looks at how you fit into the klal, at your standing as a member of the community, "b'toch ami.” Even if you don't past muster on the individual level, sometimes you will be judged positively anyway because you are part of a community that is worthy of being judged positively. The Isha Shunamis thought she stood a better chance in din being looked at as just another member of her community than she would had the navi would have singled her out.
The Tiferes Shlomah (page 40a d"h l'havin) says a slightly different answer. Rosh Hashanah is called Yom HaZikaron not (only) because Hashem "remembers" kavyachol each one of us, but rather it's called Yom HaZikaron because we remember and think about each other. That's the key to being judged favorably. "Ki dorshecha l'olam lo yikasheilu" - if you approach tefillah as "ki dorshecha l'olam," your requests are for the world, for the klal, not focused on your own selfish needs, then "lo yikasheilu," you will not be rejected. "VaYizkor Elokim es Noach v'es ha'chaya v'es ha'beheima asher ito ba'teivah" - Hashem remembered Noach because the lions and tigers and bears were "ito ba'teivah," their needs were on his lips, in his words of prayer - he davened on their behalf, not just for himself. This is what the Isha HaShunamis was telling Elisha. The berachah of a tzadik and navi is great, but the berachos of all Klal Yisrael together is even more powerful. "B'toch ami anochi yosheves" - on Rosh Hashanah my needs are surely already being mentioned in the tefillos of all Klal Yisrael which we are saying behalf of one another. (R’ Avraham Bukspan)
