Are We Ignoring Our Own Needs on Rosh Hashanah?
R’ Yitzchak Meltzen, in his Siddur HaGra (Pesicha L’Tefillas Rosh Hashanah), poses a question that is very fundamental to understanding the objective of our tefillos on Rosh Hashanah. On the Day of Judgment, why is our entire tefillah focused only on being mispallel for the Kavod HaShechinah? Shouldn’t we be imploring Hashem for banei, chayei, u’mezonei, children, life and sustenance? Shouldn’t we be begging for selichah and mechilah? Furthermore, asks Rav Meltzen, shouldn’t we specifically mention our sins instead of ignoring them; as we know, modeh b’knas patur, one who admits to guilt warrants exemption. Would it not improve the Heavenly judgement if we confessed, admitted our sins, and asked for forgiveness? When our lives and our entire future hang in the balance, shouldn’t we be begging for what is certainly foremost in our minds? Why do we seem to be ignoring our own needs on the Yom HaDin?
Pray for Hashem ... and He Will Provide
Rav Meltzen answers that on Rosh Hashanah we definitely would want to daven for our needs, for our parnassah, and for our children. However, there is something that transcends our own personal needs: the Shechinah. The Shechinah is in pain. The Shechinah is in exile. Hashem is, so to speak, without a home, disrespected and disgraced throughout the world. How can we bring ourselves to ask for our physical and worldly needs when Hashem is not afforded the proper kavod and yirah to which He is entitled!? Therefore, Chazal instructed us to focus first and foremost on restoring Kavod Shomayim, making sure that Hashem’s needs, so to speak, are addressed. We ask for only the bare minimum of our own needs on Rosh Hashanah; we ask only for life – Zachreinu L’Chaim – and even then, our tefillah is framed by our intention to bring more kavod to Hashem with the life He would grant us. We say, “L’maancha Elokim chaim”’ we ask for life only so that we can serve You better.
We focus our tefillos on Rosh Hashanah on asking Hashem to make His Name and honor revealed and manifest throughout the entire world. When we put our own needs on the back burner, and focus on asking for the kavod Shomayim to be magnified, the prosecuting angels are silenced, since they see that our concerns are first and foremost those of the Ribbono Shel Olam. And then, the pasuk, אני לדודי ודודי לי, is applicable in its truest sense. We are for our Beloved: We are using out tefillos and requests on the Yom HaDin for the sake of the honor of our Beloved – and then our Beloved will be for us, and will provide for our needs.
Furthermore, says Rav Meltzen, we can apply Chazal’s principle that “kol hamispallel b’ad chaveiro v’hu tzoreich l’oso davar, hu yaaneh techilah, one who davens for a friend, while simultaneously having similar unmet needs of his own, will be answered first.” By davening for the “needs” of Hashem, while we ourselves have significant needs, we ensure that our needs will be answered first.
All Blessing and Goodness Result from the Manifestation of G-d’s Malchus
R’ Daniel Glatstein shlita (The Mystery and The Majesty pg. 77) suggests another approach to answer the above question, based on a principle set forth in the Derech Hashem (Chelek 4, Perek 4, ois 3).
Rav Moshe Chaim Luzzatto writes that the mechanism and the dynamic of how Creation is set up are such that when Hashem’s Authority is known and recognized by mankind, all good and prosperity exists in the world. Blessing is increased, and the world abides in peace. When Hashem’s subjects, however, do not subjugate themselves to Hashem and recognize His sovereignty, then goodness is lacking, darkness prevails, and evil dominates. Whenever any reason exists for the Creator to manifest Himself in His Kingdom and demonstrate His rulership over His world, it results in great blessing and prosperity among mankind. There is an increase in the holy illumination of Hashem’s beneficence while the forces of evil are humbled and subjugated, so that they are not able to undermine the good of the world.
Based on this principle of the Ramchal, we can understand the focus of our tefillos on the Yom HaDin, as we ask Hashem:
ובכן תן פחדך ה' אלקינו על כל מעשיך ואימתך על כל מה שבראת .וייראוך כל המעשים וישתחוו לפניך כל הברואים – “And so, grant that Your awe, Hashem, our G-d, be upon all Your works, and Your dread upon all You have created; and then all Your works will fear You and prostrate before You.”
ותמלוך אתה ה' לבדך על כל מעשיך – “And You Hashem, will reign Alone over all Your works.”
מלוך על כל העולם כלו בכבודך והנשא על כל הארץ ביקרך והופע בהדר גאון עזך על כל יושבי תבל ארצך .וידע כל פעול כי אתה פעלתו ויבין כל יצור כי אתה יצרתו ויאמר כל אשר נשמה באפו ה' אלקי ישראל מלך ומלכותו בכל משלה – “Reign over the entire world with Your glory, and be uplifted over all the earth with Your honor, and appear in the splendor of Your majestic might over all who dwell in the inhabited world of Your earth; so everything that has been made will know that You have made it, and it will be understood by everything that was formed that You formed it. And they will say, everyone who has breath in his nostrils, “Hashem G-d of Israel, is King and His Kingship rules over all.”
When Hashem’s Malchus is recognized and His Glory is revealed, what will naturally follow for all are goodness, peace, blessing, tranquility, light and holiness. Everything we need, everything that we would want to ask for on the Yom HaDin, will naturally flow forth if only Hashem’s Malchus were to be recognized and accepted throughout the world. By asking for the world to recognize and honor Hashem in the proper fashion, we are, in essence, asking that we receive all the berachos we want, since that is the natural outcome of Hashem’s Malchus being recognized properly throughout the world.
The Dubner Maggid would illustrate this idea with a moshul [parable]. In the olden times houses were made from wood and it was very common for fires to spread from one house to the next very quickly. When a fire would break out, there were two options: 1) Everyone in the town could panic and quickly take their belongings out their house, and although in the meantime the fire would spread more and more, at least everyone in the town would have their belongings. 2) People could forget about their belongings, and everyone in the town could run and get water and pour it on the source of the fire and put it out and stop the fire spreading.
Following option two is much better as this way the town and most of the houses will be saved, following option one, however, is terrible, as although people may save their belongings the entire town will be burnt down to the ground.
Says the Dubner Maggid, the same thing is with Rosh Hashanah, if people daven for their owns needs they are following option one and it’s a terrible idea, therefore, on Rosh Hashanah we daven for the Ribbono Shel Olam and tackle the root of the problem, and this way hopefully everything else will be saved and automatically if Hashem’s name is made great we will be zoche to all the good that we need.
However, the Siach Yitzchok (Pirush on the Siddur HaGra) brings from R’ Yisrael Salanter that we aren’t all on such a level to be able to this. R’ Yisrael Salanter said, that if one has a toothache and he is worried about his own pain more than the pain being caused to the Shechinah due to his toothache he is not holding on such a level and he should be asking for his own needs
R’ Yerachmiel Fried shlita related that he once asked R’ Rafoel Dovid Auerbach (R’ Shlomah Zalman’s brother) about which approach to take on Rosh Hashanah, should he daven only for Hashem, or should he also daven for his own needs and he answered: “Try and have kavonah for both”.
Understanding Why We Sing So Much on the Yom HaDin
Just before blowing the shofar on Rosh Hashanah, we recite Perek 47 of Tehillim, in which Dovid writes: עלה אלקים בתרועה ד' בקול שופר זמרו אלקים זמרו זמרו למלכנו זמרו כי מלך כל הארץ אלקים זמרו משכיל - “G-d has ascended with the teruah; Hashem, with the sound of the shofar. Sing to G-d, sing; sing to our King, sing. For G-d is King of all the earth; sing, enlightened one.” Dovid appears to link blowing the shofar to singing, which is difficult to understand, as singing is normally an expression of joy, while the teruah represents cries of pain.
Additionally, as Dovid appears to advise, the incorporation of singing into the Rosh Hashanah liturgy has become almost universal, which seems inconsistent with the somber nature of the day. If a defendant accused of a capital crime began singing on the witness stand while testifying in his defense, his brazen disrespect for the decorum of the courtroom would certainly not elicit compassion and clemency from the judge. Why then do we permit ourselves to indulge in singing as we beseech Hashem for mercy on the Day of Judgment?
