R’ Simcha Bunim of P’shischa zt”l discusses how a person can be successful on Rosh Hashanah. He says that in the Yom Tov liturgy, we say, "זה היום תחילת מעשיך" - “This is THE DAY, the beginning of Your handiwork.” The way to do teshuvah and truly be able to grow is to see each day as THE DAY, the beginning of something new. The Rebbe, R’ Bunim, writes that the reason a tefach must stick out when the baal tokeah blows the shofar is that it is symbolic of the words of Dovid HaMelech in Tehillim, “You have made my days as tefachos.”
When one is measuring something that is very long, he holds a measuring tape in his hand. He measures one yard and then another yard and then yet another yard, one increment at a time. All he has in his hand at any given time is JUST ONE METER, even if what he is measuring is 100 meters long!
And so it is with our lives. Man lives 70, 80, up to 120 years, but when Hashem “measures” him, He does it in tefachos, small minute handbreadths. He looks at each individual person and judges them by THE DAY.
On the one hand, we are judged on Rosh Hashanah, and on the other hand, we are "נידון בכל יום," - “judged every day.” How is this possible? Because on Rosh Hashanah, our circumstances are decided, but each and every day, we decide how we will handle the circumstances! If we choose the “right” frame of mind and have a positive attitude about our situation, then we have chosen LIFE and measured up in the eyes of Hashem.
It is important that we view each day as an individual unit - "זה היום." Forget about what happened yesterday, and don’t focus on tomorrow. Try to live TODAY to the fullest because that is the way Hashem judges us .... tefach by tefach ... measure by measure .... day by day. The tefach of the shofar should remind us that the way to fulfill שפרו מעשיכם - “beautify your deeds” is by living each day individually and to the fullest.
זה היום תחילת מעשיך. Rosh Hashanah is THE DAY, the beginning of Hashem’s handiwork, but every single DAY is the beginning of ours! Let’s make the most of it!
