Rosh Hashanah and the Battered Wife

 

 

ברוך הסגר אשר [בגללו] נבטח בה'

I have a great deal of admiration for Rav Dovid Saks of Scranton, Pa. I have never met him personally but I found myself on the receiving end of his weekly Parsha newsletters. He calls his program the Jewish Heritage Connection. The main part of his weekly email is his Shabbat Message which, unlike my blog, is short and to the point. I have found it to be very inspirational and have even quoted him on occasion (this is going to be one such occasion). The rest of the newsletter are community bulletins which shows that he is very dedicated to his flock.

Last week’s Shabbat Message did not really have anything to do with last week’s Parsha (Netzavim-Vayelech) but rather with the upcoming Rosh Hashanah and the fact that, this year, the first day of Rosh Hashanah falls out on Shabbos.

Here is the main part of what he wrote:

This year Rosh Hashana falls on Shabbos and Sunday. The Shofar is not sounded on the Shabbos because the sages were concerned that in one's zeal to fulfill the mitzvah he might come to desecrate the Shabbos. The Talmud explains that this rule is hinted at in the Torah where Rosh Hashana is called, "a day of Teruah," yet, it is also refers to it as "a day of remembrance of the Teruah," for when Rosh Hashana falls during the week we actually sound the Shofar, however, when it coincides with Shabbos, we do not sound the Shofar. Rather we only remember the Shofar in our prayers. 

A question is raised: We know that there is a tremendous power in the Shofar sounds, for it silences the Satan from presenting his prosecution against us. If so, what stands for our defense on Shabbos when the Shofar is not sounded? The answer is, that our observance of the holy Shabbos itself protects us and silences the Satan! 

I came across an article written by Rabbi Yaacov Feitman who quotes an illustration given by Rabbi Yaacov Ettlinger o.b.m. to explain how the Shabbos comes to our benefit and protection. 

An officer sinned terribly against the king, and he sentenced him to death. None of the officer's attorneys could calm the angry monarch and convince him to change his dreadful sentence. 

In desperation, the wife of the officer tearfully stood before the king and poured her heart out. "Your majesty, my husband did indeed transgress toward you. However, it was a one-time aberration; he is truly loyal to you. Please, I beg you not to execute him and leave me as a widow and my children as orphans." The king was moved by her honesty and pain and granted clemency. 

A few months later, another officer was disloyal to the king and was sentenced to death. The officer asked his wife to speak her heart out to the king because this was effective in the previous incident. 

When his wife appeared before the king, he noticed that she was covered with bruises. He ordered an investigation and discovered that it was her husband's doing. The king maintained the sentence of the officer. When the officer cried that this was unfair, the king answered him, "Your wife did not speak out of her love for you. She spoke because she was afraid of your wrath, and for that there is no clemency." 

Rabbi Ettlinger continues. The Medrash relates to us that the Shabbos is the bride of the Jewish people. We express this as we welcome the Shabbos in our prayers, when we chant, Lecho Dodi Likras Kalla - "Come my beloved toward the (Shabbos) bride." 

Shabbos is our bride and on Rosh Hashana when we are not permitted to sound the Shofar out of concern that one may transgress the Shabbos law of carrying the Shofar in a public domain - our reverence for the sanctity of the Shabbos bride stands in our defense and pleads our case because we have a loving relationship with her. 

We give up the Shofar, our most powerful tool to obtain a good year. G-d hears the Shabbos brides' cries and supplications on our behalf and our King forgives us because of her! A Shofarless Shabbos Rosh Hashana can bring us great blessings! 

However, what can be concerning is the flipside. If the Shabbos bride is injured, abused and treated unkindly, Shabbos is unable to make a winning presentation and without the Shofar to protect us, our protection is compromised.

 

The message up to this point is: When we treat Shabbos with love and respect, we have a very charismatic “wife” who can come and plead on our behalf and make a positive impression. But for those who mistreat and abuse the Shabbos (R”L), the “wife” will only be able to show up covered with black eyes and bruises and won’t be able to make a very convincing plea motion.

I am omitting his last three paragraphs. In the last three paragraphs he concludes this message in a way that is suited for his American readers. But as I read it, it seemed to me that here in Eretz Yisrael there is an alternative application that makes this message even more appropriate.

As many of you know, even if you do not live here in Eretz Yisrael, the Israeli government has announced a full-scale lockdown (seger – סגר) for the entire country to commence on the eve of Rosh Hashanah and to continue on throughout the holidays.

For the religious Jews, there is not much impact from this except that men’s mikvaos will be closed. We also won’t be able to have non-related guests. Family members can still come if they live in the neighborhood or show up before 2:00 pm on Friday. But we are all anyway home for Yom Tov and the shuls will function even if there will be some restrictions. For those who always treat their Shabbos “bride” with honor, there will not be much of a difference.

The major impact will be with the irreligious who don’t observe Shabbos and even if they make kiddush and have a meal, spend the rest of the day going to the malls or beaches and nightclubs or watching and playing soccer. These folks will be “forced” to subdue their wanderlust this Shabbos/Rosh Hashanah. This year they will be forced to treat the Shabbos “bride” a lot nicer. Hopefully, the Shabbos “Chiquita” will have fewer bruises.

We are all one nation so we all have only one Shabbos “bride”. Even though many of us are Shomer Shabbos, we are the minority. Every Shabbos-Rosh Hashanah until now has been compromised because the “wife” has shown up to plead for us full of bruises at the hands of those who mistreat her. HKBH has never really been able to “let us off” despite those who observe Shabbos properly. There have always been too many black eyes and bruises.

HKBH has had enough. He wants to see the “wife” clear and pristine. For once, He may be able to “let us off” but she needs to come on behalf of all of us. And she needs to look like she is loved and honored so she can make a good impression. If this seger is what it takes to get it done, then this is what we are going to get. It’s for the benefit of all of us.

Currently, there are news clips in circulation revealing that the Chasam Sofer wrote about 190 years ago that the numerical value of תשף (5’780) has some very negative insinuations. But when you add an א to it to make תשפא (5’781) you have the word אשפת which suggests  מאשפת ירים אביון – the destitute will rise out of the dung heaps. A reference to a year of salvation.

May this be the year that we rise from the ashes of golus!

מקימי מעפר דל, מאשפת ירים אביון. להושיבי עם נדיבים, עם נדיבי עמו. מושיבי עקרת הבית, אם הבנים שמחה הללו-קה!

 

לשנה טובה תכתבו ותחתמו!!!