If we learned today that every year on Rosh Hashanah, new life begins, and this is the intention of וַיִּפַּח בְּאַפָּיו נִשְׁמַת חַיִּים – thus, the first request we ask for in the Maariv Tefillah of Rosh Hashanah is זָכְרֵנוּ לְחַיִּים – Remember us for life! And why do we ask for life first? Because this is the yesod of Rosh Hashanah! The Brisker Rav writes, every year on Rosh Hashanah, the creation begins anew!
A person comes and says to Hakadosh Baruch Hu: "Listen, everything I have – is mine! A million dollars in the bank – yes! My house – yes! Two houses for the children – yes! Don't touch any of this. You've already given it all to me and it's mine! Now, I’ll proceed to present You with a new list for the coming year, start writing." And then this person begins to ask: זָכְרֵנוּ לְחַיִּים מֶלֶךְ חָפֵץ בַּחַיִּים וְכָתְבֵנוּ בְּסֵפֶר הַחַיִּים לְמַעַנְךָ אֱלֹהִים חַיִּים. "What am I asking for, Ribbono Shel Olam? Just a bit of life! A minimal request!”
"You want life," responds Hakadosh Baruch Hu, "No problem – you got it!" Do you know what kind of life this is? There are people who live – they have an oxygen tank on their back and a tube connected to their nose – but they live. Every three days, an oxygen truck comes and fills up their tank. Is he alive? Yes, and he even talks on the phone! But is this really life? Chas v’shalom! Immediately, you upgrade the request: אָב הָרַחֲמָן, זוֹכֵר יְצוּרָיו בְּרַחֲמִים לְחַיִּים – “Ribbono Shel Olam, you're not going to connect me to an oxygen tank now, right? Give me independent breathing, with mercy!"
"You want life without a tank? No problem – you got it!" There are people who, although they are without an oxygen tank, also cannot move from their chair. Is this really life?
You reach the end of the Tefillah and suddenly you gain some courage: וּכְתֹב לְחַיִּים טוֹבִים כָּל בְּנֵי בְרִיתֶךָ – "Ribbono Shel Olam, inscribe all the children of Your covenant for a good life!" Earlier, you only asked for life, then you upgraded the request and asked for life with mercy, and now, you ask for good life. "Ribbono Shel Olam, do I need to explain to You what good life means?! You are the One who gives good life, but in case You didn't understand, let's part with one final request: וְכָל עַמְּךָ בֵּית יִשְׂרָאֵל לְחַיִּים טוֹבִים וּלְשָׁלוֹם: בְּסֵפֶר חַיִּים בְּרָכָה וְשָׁלוֹם וּפַרְנָסָה טוֹבָה נִזָּכֵר וְנִכָּתֵב לְפָנֶיךָ אֲנַחְנוּ. “Wait, but maybe You didn't understand what I meant, so I'll just do Oseh Shalom and then explain it in full detail..." and then comes the full shopping list; all 44 Avinu Malkeinu’s! "Ribbono Shel Olam, write it all down!"
Where does our confidence to ask come from? The Midrash raises this question and explains that requests must be ordered from light to heavy; illustrated through a parable:
A poor man once knocked on a door.
“Excuse me, sir, do you have a little salt?”
“Of course,” replied the homeowner, handing him some.
The pauper stared at the salt in confusion: “What do you expect me to do with this? Eat salt by itself? You know it ruins the kidneys! Bring me a tomato, so I’ll have something to sprinkle it on.”
The man complied and brought out a large tomato. But the beggar protested again: “What do you think I am, a vegetarian? What will I do with tomato and salt? Bring me bread!”
The man went back inside and returned with a roll. Yet the pauper still wasn’t satisfied: “Does this look like a pre-fast meal for Tisha B’Av? Put an omelet with hummus in there, you miser!”
The Midrash concludes: he started with salt and ended with a full meal.
So too, Chazal teach: when you daven, don’t begin with a long list of demands. Start simple: “Ribbono Shel Olam, give me life.” If asked, “What kind of life – with breathing tubes? In a wheelchair?” the answer is clear: “No! I want a good life – In the Book of Life, blessing, peace, good livelihood, salvation, comfort, and favorable decrees...” And why not ask for all this right away? Because had the poor man knocked at the door demanding, “Give me a baguette with fries, an omelet, salad, and pickles,” the door would have been slammed shut, “You think this is a restaurant?!” But when you reach the end of the Tefillah and say מוֹדִים אֲנַחְנוּ לָךְ – We thank You, then you have shown gratitude, and with that, the gates of request are opened. Hakadosh Baruch Hu loves to give – to those who know how to say Thank you. This is the yesod of Rosh Hashanah!
We will arrive at Rosh Hashanah with a list of requests – "Write... and write... and write" – Hakadosh Baruch Hu says: "No problem, I'll write – but tell me, the last year went more or less okay, right? Without an oxygen tank, walking on your own... true, there's a little overdraft in the bank, but you're alive and breathing, you're not underground, you're not being carried on a stretcher." Take a break for a few hours, and start doing a self-accounting – speak to your Father in Heaven and say, “Thank you very much for all the goodness You have done with me in the past year!” This is the yesod – after you say Thank you, you can ask away!
How much should we thank Hakadosh Baruch Hu for granting us the merit to sit in the tent of Torah! To sit and toil in His Torah! Let us thank Hakadosh Baruch Hu and ask that just as He gave us this year – so may He give us the coming years for good; that we merit to learn together, in good health, and that we may all be inscribed and sealed in the book of completely righteous people, and may we merit to hear the sound of the shofar of our righteous Mashiach speedily in our days, Amen v’Amen!!!
