“RABBI’S
MUSINGS (& AMUSINGS)”
Erev Shabbos Kodesh
Parshas Netzovim
27 Elul 5775/ September
11, 2015
Pirkei Avos Perek 5-6
Sometime during the spring Chani handed me a brand new set
of barbecue instruments she had just purchased so that I could tovel (immerse)
them in a mikvah so we could use them. Our old ones had seen better days, and
with barbecue season just about to begin the new ones would come in handy. I
placed the package in my car so that I would remember to take care of it.
It’s been almost six months now. It’s still sitting
there.
It only takes a few minutes to drive to the mikvah and take
care of it, but I constantly reason that I could do it some other time. The
days and weeks have passed and they are still there. People who have come into
my car and have seen the pack comment that I must be a big griller. In truth
I’m just being a big procrastinator because I haven’t felt the absolute need to
take care of it immediately. We have enjoyed many barbecues this summer season,
and although the new instruments would have been helpful, we have gotten by
fine without them.
It seems that the things which can get done anytime
often don’t get done at all.
Rosh Hashanah is referred to as a day of light. In what
way is the day that we, and the entire world, stand in meticulous judgment a
day of light?
In a certain sense, Rosh Hashanah is an experience that
we do not have in any other area of Judaism. Judaism is a religion that
espouses hope and the constant ability to change. Everything about Judaism encourages
us that there is no finality. Until one’s dying breath he can repent. There is
always hope. A Jew must never fall into despair even in the face of impossible
odds.
But on Rosh Hashanah the year comes to its definite
end. The books of the previous year are reviewed and then sealed. The precise judgment
of Rosh Hashanah is to determine what we deserve based on our performance of
the previous year. Rosh Hashanah is the deadline.
There was a secretary in an office who had a sign
hanging next to her desk which read: “Don’t complain about what you didn’t get;
just be happy you don’t get what you deserve!”
On Rosh Hashanah we are written in the book based on
precise judgment. In other words, we are written for what we deserve. Then we
spend the next week imploring G-d for compassion and to not seal us based on
our performance, but rather based on our inner desire and yearning for greater
levels. We engage in supreme efforts to alter the decree based on our level of
teshuva and commitment in the coming year But Rosh Hashanah itself exudes a
feeling that the deadline has arrived.
Ironically, it is in that sense that Rosh Hashanah is a
day of light, because serves as a stark reminder that we don’t have all
the time in the world. We cannot relegate our aspirations and goals to “when I
get around to it” because the clock is ticking.
How often do we not get around to doing things that are
important until we get the proverbial kick in the pants, until the deadline
looms menacingly in front of us.
Rosh Hashanah symbolizes to us that we need to take
advantage of our time because nothing is forever. As someone once quipped
“Every tomorrow has its own tomorrow but there’s only one today.”
Meforshim explain that when the pasuk states in Parshas
Netzovim “You are standing here today” it is a reference to the day of Rosh
Hashanah – the day that reminds us that today is the greatest gift we have.
This week my son handed me a new thermos he needs me to
tovel because he needs it for school tomorrow. Guess where I’m going
today.
Shabbat Shalom &
Good Shabbos,
R’ Dani and Chani
Staum