September 18, 2022|כ"ב אלול ה' אלפים תשפ"ב Approaching Rosh Hashana as a Ki Tavo Jew
Print ArticleWe take our Jewish rituals very seriously and we should. Mr. DeSteno, a professor of psychology at Northeastern University, the author of “How God Works: The Science Behind the Benefits of Religion,” wrote an article in the Wall Street Journal a few months ago entitled, “Does Religion Make People More Ethical?” The article cited two studies that found no differences in moral failures between people who identified with a religion and those who did not. Because when it comes to morality, the power of religion is more in the doing than in the believing. Identifying with religion means very little, but people who live their faith, regularly go to services and engage in their religion’s rituals, tend to live longer, healthier and happier lives. The article states, “When we pray and sing together, listen to readings from scripture, or give offerings and blessings of thanks to God, our minds and bodies aren’t passive. They’re subtly being nudged towards virtue.” Furthermore, “During a moment of temptation, belief that God is watching you is difficult to ignore when you’ve been regularly reminded of this fact through prayers and rituals. That’s why people who believe in God often work harder to resist temptation the more they practice their faith. This kind of religious influence isn’t easy to replicate in a secular context, since no parent or other authority figure is as all-knowing as God.”
We are about to enter into our season of rituals and the hope and the goal is that our Jewish rituals transform us and make us better people. We have our Rosh Hashana rituals, our Yom Kippur rituals, our Sukkot rituals, our Shmini Atzeret rituals and our Simchat Torah rituals. By the time the last day of Simchat Torah comes along, needless to say, some of us suffer from ritual fatigue. But the truth is that we don’t begin on Rosh Hashana. We begin tonight. For Ashkenazim, selichot beings tonight. Yes, it’s true, for Sephardim, selichot began a few weeks ago, but that’s the tradeoff for eating kitniyot on Pesach. The Mishna Berura writes that we must always begin reciting selichot at a minimum of four days before Rosh Hashana based on the Torah requirement to examine every sacrifice that we bring four days before it is offered. We enter Rosh Hashana like a sacrifice so we require that preparation. Before the Biblical rituals of Rosh Hashana, Yom Kippur and Sukkot, we have the rituals of preparation, which are critical in religious life.
A beautiful example of the importance of preparation is Rav Soloveitchik’s famous lament during one of his famous teshuva drashot about the disappearance of the “Erev Shabbos Jew” in America. He writes, "Even in those neighborhoods made up predominantly of religious Jews, one can no longer talk of the 'sanctity of Shabbat.' True, there are Jews in America who observe Shabbat... But it is not for Shabbat that my heart aches; it is for the forgotten 'erev Shabbat' (eve of the Sabbath). There are Shabbat-observing Jews in America, but there are no 'erev Shabbat' Jews who go out to greet Shabbat with beating hearts and pulsating souls. There are many who observe the precepts with their hands, with their feet, and/or with their mouths - but there are few indeed who truly know the meaning of the service of the heart!"
Rav Soloveitchik offers some speculation as to why there is no erev Shabbos Jew in America. He writes: "Much of this is due to the current religious atmosphere, suffused with shallow pragmatism; much is caused by the tendency towards the ceremonialization - and, at times, the vulgarization - of religion; and much is brought about by the lack of a serious ability to introspect and to assess the world and the spirit." Rav Soloveitchik bemoans specifically the lack of mental preparation for Shabbat. Perhaps William Shakespeare said it best in Henry V when he wrote, “All things are ready, if our mind be so.” It’s about our minds. It’s about our mental preparation.
Our mental preparation for Rosh Hashana is so crucial when we consider how to utilize these pre-Rosh Hashana rituals to transform ourselves. It’s all about entering Rosh Hashana as being a Ki Tavo Jew and not a Bechukotai Jew. What’s the difference between being a Ki Tavo Jew and being a Bechukotai Jew?
We read two “tochachot,” two lengthy speeches in the Torah about how Bnei Yisrael will be rewarded if they observe mitzvot and how they will be punished if they fail to do so. The first speech took place in Parshat Bechukotai at the end of Sefer Vayikra when the last generation is standing at Sinai after the Torah was given. The second speech took place in this week’s parsha when the current generation is standing by the borders of Eretz Yisrael. Why are there two tochachot? Is there any difference between them?
The Ramban believes that the tochacha of Parshat Bechukotai predicts the destruction of the first Beit Hamikdash and the tochacha of Parshat Ki Tavo predicts the destruction of the second Beit Hamikdash and he uses different Biblical language in each parsha to prove his point. However, Rav Soloveitchik believes that the two tochachot are based on two difference covenants into which God entered with the Bnei Yisrael. According to Rav Soloveitchik, at Sinai, God entered into a covenant with us because of His relationship with the avot, with our forefathers; however, in this week’s Parsha, He entered into a covenant with us because each one of us is chosen for a particular mission and each one of us in every generation has the responsibility fulfill that mission.
This is why at the end of Parshat Bechukotai, the Torah tells us that there is an end to the exile, but in this week’s parsha, no end is mentioned. If our covenant is based on God’s relationship with our avot, then even if we fail, God will save us because of His relationship with the avot. God will not completely abandon us. However, if our covenant is based on our mission, then our success is not automatic. The end of our suffering is not automatic. We will only succeed based on our actions, based upon us acting like an “am segulah,” a chosen nation. God will never abandon us completely because of his relationship with the avot, but for us to thrive, for us to fulfill our mission, for us to be that chosen nation that lights the way for other nations, it’s all up to us.
This is the mental preparation that is needed coming into Rosh Hashana and the Yamim Noraim in 2022. The submissive, scared cry for God to save us because of the merit of our ancestors doesn’t motivate us. It makes us feel helpless and incapable of achieving anything on our own merits. If we have nothing else, then we need Parshat Bechukotai and the merit of our ancestors to save us. But if we want these pre-Rosh Hashana rituals to transform us, to make us better people, more ethical, more moral and kinder, then we utilize this preparation time to think about our mission very broadly and that can be very inspiring.
Make no mistake about it. There are different ways that we can come to God on Rosh Hashana. The second Mishna in Masechet Rosh Hashana tells us that on Rosh Hashana, the entire world is passing by God like “bnei maron.” What exactly is bnei maron? The gemara in Masechet Rosh Hashana (18a) actually writes that bnei maron has three definitions. The gemara says “hacha” … - here, in Babylonia, we interpret it as sheep. Reish Lakish had a different definition – it’s “k’ma’alot bait maron” – it’s like the ascent of Beit Maron. Some say it should read Beit Choron. Rav Yehuda in the name of Shmuel explained it as “hayalot shel beit David” – King David’s soldiers. Three different definitions. Three different images.
What is the first image, what is the first definition? The first image is a single sheep, one who is a member of the community, indistinguishable from the next. We come to God as a passive, humble servant together with the rest of Your flock who are also Your humble servants. Reish Lakish adds the element of fear of judgment that accompanies this phenomenon. We’re not simply walking by, sheep by sheep, with our heads down, but we’re walking up the ascent of Beit Choron, which, according to Rashi, was a narrow, winding road that was carved into the mountains, allowing only for single file movement, one person traveling at a time. The first two definitions convey feelings of submissiveness and fear. But there’s a final definition of “bnei maron.” Bnei maron refers to “chayalot beit David,” the army of David. We are soldiers in the army of David Hamelech fighting spread Torah and Torah values throughout the world.
How do we see ourselves? What is our definition of “bnei maron?” Do we see ourselves as submissive, as scared, or as a passionate fighter? Let us not lose the value of the rituals of this season. These rituals have the power to be deeply transformative. Not just the rituals of the season, but also the rituals that prepare us for the season. Let’s develop that mentality of being a Ki Tavo Jew, a mission-driven Jew, someone who really feels that I can make a difference. This is my vision and this is my reality and I want to close the gap in the upcoming year between the vision and the reality. Let us prepare ourselves tonight starting at 10:15 pm as we plan to be inspired by Rabbi Blass. Let us inspire ourself to think about the glorious opportunities that this season provides for us. May God bless us in our ability to fully take advantage of these opportunities.