Shulchan Aruch 603:1 “אף מי שאינו נזהר מפת של עכו"ם, בעשרת ימי תשובה צריך לזהר” – Even one who is not careful not to eat bread baked by a goy during the year, during the Aseres Yemei Teshuvah, they must be careful not to eat such bread.
The Mishnah Berurah says that inclusive of this is not to eat bread from a non-Jewish bakery. We are being told to be more careful during the Aseres Yemei Teshuvah.
The question is, whom are we fooling? Rosh Hashanah through Yom Hakippurim, we will be more careful with halachos, but we know even beforehand that right afterward, we will go back to what we were doing before.
Moshol - The king announced that he would be visiting some of his constituents to see how they lived. A poor couple who lived in a rundown shack with broken tables, chairs, and windows, received a letter from the king. The king will be coming to visit them. The husband tells his wife that he plans to buy a new table and chair for the king to sit on. They will also have to buy new windows and make the house look presentable for the king. The wife replies, “I have been telling you for years that we need to do all of that. What changed?” He answers that they do not have any money to buy what they need; they will have to borrow the money. They have no choice; the king is coming and they have to show him the proper respect. She asks, “But it says specifically in the letter that the king is coming to see how we live. This is how we live.” He responds, “How can we live like this when the king is coming?”
On Rosh Hashanah, Hakodosh Boruch Hu comes to visit us. He wants to see how we live when He comes to visit us. We may do things all year that we know are not proper or the best thing to do. During Elul and the Aseres Yemei Teshuvah, we have to try to do the things that we know the Ribbono Shel Olam wants from us. Maybe the new chair that we buy for the king will even stay with us permanently.
Our avodah on Rosh Hashanah is to be mamlich the Ribbono Shel Olam. We have to show that we are cognizant that the Ribbono Shel Olam is Master of the world, and we want to have a Father-son relationship with the Borei Olam. This is the time to take on chumros. Doing what is simply required of us does not show ahavah. The way to show ahavah to the Ribbono Shel Olam is to do something that we are not required to do. Hopefully, being mamlich the Ribbono Shel Olam and showing our ahavah will give us the zechus that the Ribbono Shel Olam will judge us with rachmanus. He will take into account why we may have done the aveiros and that we will try to be better going forward. If we borrow a chair for the king, when the king leaves, we will have to return it. However, if we borrow money and with that money buy a chair, perhaps it will be a struggle to pay back the money, but at least we will still have the chair.
May we be zoche to be mamlich Hakodosh Baruch Hu properly and be zoche to a כתיבה וחתימה טובה!
הרב בן ציון סנה
