~ If you are in S. Diego next Wednesday, I'd love to see you at my class on Yom Kippur. See details here: atONEment: The Kabbalah of Yom Kippur~
Tomorrow night (Wed. Night - Fri. Night) Jews worldwide will be celebrating Rosh Hashana, the special holiday which marks the beginning of the Jewish year and calendar. The Mystics describe this day as a bit deeper than the usual New Years Eve parties in Time Square. What occurred on this day originally that is significant and relevant to our lives today? What is the theme of this time?
"Rosh Hashana" marks the beginning of the year, but literally means "the head of the year." Our Sages explain that this time is like the "brain" of the year - including all of the abilities of the entire "body". All that will be with us and the world is decided on this day and expressed over the next 364 (this is not to say that we cannot effect change every moment to what's planned for us, through prayer and action. This idea needs more explanation in another essay).
Oddly enough, the Talmud teaches that Rosh Hashana does not mark the 1st day of creation, but rather the 6th day! True, this is the day Adam and Eve were formed, but God Created many beautiful things; why focus only on this day? This leads us to an amazing conclusion: God's Intention for all of creation - from the innumerable spiritual worlds and endless galaxies to the countless creatures that rove our planet and species of plants - all were for the sake of the human being to perfect this particular world through Torah, Mitzvot and good deeds. In Psalm 95, King David describes a powerful scene on the 6th day of Creation: Adam brought all created beings together, saying: "Bo'u Nishtachaveh, V'nichra'ah..." - "Come, let us prostrate ourselves and bow down; let us bend the knee before the Lord, our Maker." Man and woman and their descendants had been charged with a mission to bring an awareness of the Divine to the physical world. When you make a blessing on a fruit, place charity into a pauper's hands, or perform any of the Mitzvot with your body, you are fulfilling this unique human purpose.
How can we make such a brash and haughty statement as this, that all of existence - including the most lofty of angels - exist merely to facilitate the human mission!? Let's look at the original words in Genesis when God formed each creature. How did he do it? Through speech, as it says: 'And God said, "Let the earth sprout forth vegetation.." and it was so... And God said, "Let the earth bring forth living creatures according to their kind.." and it was so.'
However, after He created man and woman, the Torah says: "And He blew into his nostrils a soul of life, and man became a living being." (Genesis 2:7) "One who blows, blows from within." (Zohar) One can speak for hours & hours without pause, because one only uses his external breath with a minimum output. A deep breath comes from the innermost depths of a person, and therefore leaves him quite breathless. God has no mouth or human form, and the Torah is speaking metaphorically; the analogy here is that the soul that each of us possesses stem from an incredibly deep level within God, deeper than the greatest of angels - who stem from the "speech" of God.
All of this leads us to a profound and also simple conclusion: 'On Rosh Hashana, whether at home or in synagogue, I am taking the time to think about this incredible gift of a soul I was given - that I am - and how I will use it to fulfill my individual mission this year to better my world and relationships, between other people and I and between God and I.' God desires that we celebrate and honor the revolutionary day when man and woman could actualize the purpose for all the rest of creation. May we all maximize this special time, and be inscribed for a very good & sweet new year with only revealed good, culminating in the final redemption speedily in our days!
-Rabbi Daniel
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