Erev Yom Kippur--Like clay in the hands of the potter. . .

Like the clay in the hands of the potter,
who by his will makes it wider and by his will makes it shorter,
so are we in Your hands, former of kindness. . .


So we say in one of the most poignant prayers of the night of Yom Kippur.  At first glance, the theme of this piyut is a continuation of Rosh Hashanah's theme of God's kingship--- God is in complete control.

However, the phrase "Like the clay in the hands of the potter" wasn't original to this poem.  It's based on Chapter 18 of the book of Yirmiyahu, where God tells Yirmiyahu to go down to the house of the potter, and has him watch as the potter makes clay pots.  Sometimes they break, and the potter just refashions them.

God tells Yirmiyahu that God is like the potter and we are like the clay.   How so?   Sometimes we are wicked and mired in sin, and God judges us with an unfavorable decree.  Nevertheless, if we just return to God, He will refashion the unfavorable decree and turn it into a good one.

The message is that even if it looks like hope is lost, like we cannot do teshuva, God is ready to accept our teshuva and will "refashion" the decree and His relationship with us for the good.

The prophet goes on to describe how people will sometimes take the wrong approach and say "noash"-- we have given up hope, and we will just do what we want.    This, Yirmiyahu tells us, is the wrong approach because the door to teshuva is always open.

So our famous poem turns out to be less about God's kingship and much more about how we should not give up or despair, but instead realize that even now, even if we've ignored the past year, ignored Rosh Hashanah and the days before Yom Kippur, even now we can do a complete turn around.  If we reshape ourselves with teshuva, God will reshape the decree and His relationship with us.

A most appropriate poem for the beginning of Yom Kippur.

Gmar Chatima Tova.

The Right and Wrong Ways to Do Teshuva

As we move through from Rosh Hashanah to Yom Kippur, there is a little bump called Tzom Gedaliah, a fast day that we suffered through this past Wednesday, the day after Rosh Hashanah.   Why do we have another fast day for yet another tragedy of the Jews?  Isn't Tisha B'Av enough?  Isn't Asarah b'Tevet enough?  Isn't Shiva Asar B'Tamuz enough?   Plus, why distract us from the Teshuvah process?

It seems to me that Tzom Gedaliah is not like any of those other fasts.  It is not really a fast of mourning, though it is based on a tragedy.   Instead, it is a fast which was established to teach us the wrong way to do teshuva, or how not to do teshuva at this time.

After the destruction of the Temple, Nevuchadnezzar the King of Babylon placed a puppet leader in charge of the small remnant of Jews remaining in Jerusalem who had not been killed or exiled.   That leader was Gedaliah ben Achikam, who at least provided some internal independence for the Jewish community.   

As the book of Yirmiyahu tells us (in Chapters 40-41), Jews loyal to Gedaliah told him that the King of Amon hired a Jew named Yishmael ben Netanya to assasinate Gedaliah.   They suggested killing Yishmael ben Netanya so he would not be able to carry out his plot, kill Gedaliah and destroy the remaining community.

What was Gedaliah's response?   "Do not do this thing, because you are speaking lies about Yishmael".  (Yirmiyahu 40:16).   Needless to say, Yishmael does indeed kill Gedaliah, all the people with him, and the rest of the Jewish community is snuffed out.

Several verses later (41:9), the death of the victims who were massacred by Yishmael is blamed on Gedaliah himself!   Rashi quotes the Talmud as stating that "since he should have listened to the counsel . . . and didn't listen, Scripture considers it as if they were killed by his hand."

Gedaliah didn't want to accept lashon hara.  He didn't want to believe something bad about another.   He is the example of how NOT to do teshuva, and we are warned, right after the inspiration of Rosh Hashanah, not to follow it.

What was wrong with Gedaliah's approach?  Let's say I want to stop listening to lashon hara.

I could either 1) give up on the whole enterprise and listen freely, or 2) never listen at all.

If I do 1), I've obviously failed at the outset.  But if I do 2), then I may miss an opportunity to save someone (or myself) from danger.   But more commonly, I will eventually find it too difficult, and just give up.

This is the wrong way to do teshuva:  A mere resolution to never do the sin again.    Instead,  to be successful, the resolution must be accompanied by 1) a plan for how to avoid sinning, and 2) Torah study to help me navigate the varying circumstances (both inside my own mind and outside of it) that will arise.  

Tzom Gedaliah was not a day of mourning, but the next step after Rosh Hashanah.  We come out of Rosh Hashanah ready to "perfect the world in the Kingdom of God."   The day after Rosh Hashanah, we start thinking about the wrong ways (and by deduction) the right ways to do this.

Chatima Tova.

Erev Rosh Hashanah

The Tur writes (and this is how the Shulchan Aruch holds as well) that the day before Rosh Hashanah, Erev Rosh Hashanah, we do not say Tachanun (a penitential prayer said after the shemoneh esreh on weekdays) in the morning.  The Tur states that we don't say tachanun on Erev Rosh Hashanah "just like on all the other Erev Yom Tovs".   On the day before Passover, Sukkot, Shavuot, we do also do not say Tachanun, and it sounds like Erev Rosh Hashanah is for the same reason.

But what is that reason?   The Perisha points out that there is no such rule as "every Erev Yom Tov you don't say Tachanun".   Instead, each Erev Yom Tov happens to have an independent reason not to say Tachanun.   Thus, we don't say Tachanun the entire month of Nissan (because the first 14 days of Nissan is each a mini holiday because a separate tribal head brought an offering for the dedication of the Mishkan in the desert) , so Erev Pesach obviously is included.    We don't say Tachanun starting the first day of the month of Sivan until after Shavuot (6 days later), (because of the Jewish people's several days' preparation for the revelation at Sinai).   Further, we don't say Tachanun from Yom Kippur onwards, (because in the time of Shlomo Hamelech, he dedicated the Temple during this time period)  so Erev Sukkot is obviously included.  And Erev Yom Kippur is itself considered a holiday with its own special halachot, (such as a mitzvah to eat!) so no Tachanun is said then.

So what does it mean for the Tur to say (and other authorities, including the Mishneh Berurah, to repeat) that we don't say Tachanun Erev Rosh Hashanah "just like every other Erev Yom Tov"?  

1.  Popular Perception and the Misunderstanding of Rosh Hashanah:
Maybe people won't remember the specific reason we skip Tachanun the other Erev Yamim Tovim, and when they notice that we say it Erev Rosh Hashanah, they will read into it that it must be because of the penitential aspect of Rosh Hashanah.  (They will say, "why do we say Tachanun on Erev Rosh Hashanah and not on any other Erev Yom Tov?", and will answer "because Rosh Hashanah is not a happy day, but a time for asking for forgiveness of sin."   But the truth is the opposite.  Rosh Hashanah is indeed a time of teshuvah (repentance), but it is the beginning of teshuvah--- the recognition by each individual that God is above me.   Penitence and confession come later.      Thus, in order to prevent us from confusing the nature of Rosh Hashanah by improperly contrasting it with other holidays and thinking it overly penitential, we skip Tachanun on Erev Rosh Hashanah as well.

2. Perhaps the reasons for the skipping of the Tachanun on the eve of the other holidays have a common theme which applies to Rosh Hashanah as well.  The other Erev Yamim Tovim (I think the proper term should be "Arvei Yom Tov") all do not include the tachanun prayer because of the theme of preparation.   Before Pesach, the princes of each tribe brought sacrifices to dedicate the Mishkah.  Before Shavuot, the Jewish people made special preparations for receiving the Torah.  Before Sukkot, King Solomon dedicated (a form of preparation) the Beit Hamikdash.   On Erev Yom Kippur, we are eating in order to prepare for Yom Kippur.

What is the preparation for Rosh Hashanah?   See this post where I recorded the customs of Erev Rosh Hashanah like getting a haircut and preparing nice clothing as a sign of happiness.   Yes, we are trembling in awe before God's judgment.  But we are also happy because God will do for us a miracle.
What is the nature of that miracle?   See here.

The seemingly small detail of skipping tachanun on Erev Rosh Hashanah, in light of the Perisha's question, ends up highlighting for us the themes of Rosh Hashanah.   According to the first explanation, Rosh Hashanah's place in the Ten Days of Repentance is about making God King--- placing ourselves in the proper relationship with God, so that we can then do the work of confession and penitence after Rosh Hashanah.     According to the second explanation, it highlights that Rosh Hashanah is also a day of happiness.

A Tishrei Miracle Revisited

In a previous brief post, I noted that we have various customs the day before Rosh Hashanah that show us to be happy on Rosh Hashanah, and the Tur quotes a Midrash as saying that we are happy on Rosh Hashanah, in spite of it being a day of judgment, because we are confident that God will perform a miracle for us.   What is the nature of that miracle?

Let me suggest that the opportunity for teshuvah is itself the miracle.   We are creatures of habit and learned behavior.   Our environment influences us greatly, and it is seemingly impossible to change our ways.   How can I stop speaking lashon hara?   How can I stop getting angry?  How can I concentrate more on my prayers?  How can I stop wasting time?   (Add whatever other examples are relevant).   We seem almost caught up in the unrelenting pressure of daily life and habit.

Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik Ztz"l noted (I saw this idea in the machzor containing his ideas put out a few years ago) that man can be either a subject or an object.   We are bidden to be both, in the proper contexts.   Thus, we are bidden to be constructive in the material world, to do mitzvot, to build relationships, to add holiness.  To do this, we must be a subject, not an object.  When we give up this role and become an object, the world acts upon us and we are just tossed about like flotsam on the waves.    Being an object in this way is associated with sin.  We have given up on our active mission to serve God, and we are tossed about in the pressures and desires that life presses upon us.
On the other hand, we are bidden to also be an object.   How?  By subjugating our will to the will of God.   I am not the measure of all things--God is.    Another form of sin is rebellion, claiming to be a subject in the one context in which I should be an object and bend my own will before the Holy One Blessed is He.

Thus, Teshuva allows us to flip this around.   When I am in the quicksand of life and feel acted upon, and sin has overwhelmed me and I feel I cannot change after so many years,  God tells us that this mitzvah is in our "mouth and heart to do it."  It is possible to take the reins and become a subject, a noble actor for what is good and holy.  
And when I have put my will as the measure of all things, Teshuva is the possibility that I have to recalibrate my priorities and realize that God is the measure of all things.

This is the Tishrei miracle, the miracle of Rosh Hashanah that we are so confident about.   We know that on Rosh Hashanah, we are endowed with the nobility to ignore all of our faults and pray that all the world "will band together to do Your will with a full heart."

May this year be a miraculous one, full of Teshuvah, for all of us, for all Israel our brethren, and for all the world.

Hamelech Hamishpat

I hope I am not out of my depth in this post.  It is hard to put into words.

The Talmud in Masechet Berachot records that we must change two berachot in the amidah beginning on Rosh Hashanah and concluding on Yom Kippur.   We change the beracha that ends "HaEl Hakadosh," the Holy God, to "Hamelech Hakadosh," the Holy King.   And we change the beracha that ends "melech ohev tzedaka u'mishpat", the King who loves tzedakah and justice, to "hamelech hamishpat."

There is much discussion in halacha about what happens if you say the year-long formula instead of the special changes.   However, I am more interested in "Hamelech Hamishpat."    What does this mean?  The Beit Yosef quotes the Rokeach (I think) as offering two explanations.  The second one is very interesting:   The King, who is Justice.    

We should not think, he says, that God's qualities are external to Him, as our qualities are.   (e.g. I, as a human being, can be just, and I can be forgiving.  But it is a quality of mine that could have been, or could yet be, otherwise).

The Torah speaks of God in anthropomorphic terms, as our Sages say, "Dibra Torah b'lashon b'nei adam," the Torah speaks in the language of human beings.   But God, though He is, in the literary sense, a "character" in the Torah, is infinitely above the descriptions that even the Torah gives Him.   Thus, God is not just;  God is Justice.   (But God is not only Justice).

We think of God as an infinitely powerful being who judges us on Rosh Hashanah.   But that is but one layer of our understanding.  This beracha, "Hamelech Hamishpat" adds another layer:  On Rosh Hashanah we are brought before God, who is not only just, but Justice.   And to be judged means to be measured up against Justice itself, Hamelech Hamishpat.

A Tishrei Miracle

The Tur, in chapter 581, records the practice of getting a haircut before Rosh Hashanah.  This practice is based on a Midrash that states that in general, a person who has a court case wears black and worries, because he doesn't know how it will turn out.    But the Jewish people wear white and shave their beards and are well-groomed and eat and drink and are happy on Rosh Hashanah, "for they know that the Holy One Blessed is He will perform a miracle for them. . . "

Let's leave aside the philosophical discussions about miracles and the natural order.   What is the miracle that the Tur (quoting the Midrash) is describing?

I have an undeveloped idea, but I welcome your input first.   Please post your comments, don't just email them to me!

The Jewish people, and a plan for Teshuva

There is (or was--I don't know anyone who does this anymore) a custom to fast on the day before Rosh Hashanah.  The classic halachic work of the 14th century, the Tur, by Rabbi Yaakov ben Asher, describes this minhag as being based on a Midrash.

The Midrash Tanchuma describes a king to whom a state owes taxes or tribute.    The king himself, after some time, comes to the city with a great army to collect the taxes.   When he gets to some distance still far from the city, the great citizens of the country come out to greet him and say "We don't have anything to give you."   So he forgives 1/3 of the tax debt.   When the king gets closer, the basic, good people come out and he forgives another 1/3.     Finally, when he gets closer to the country, the entire population comes out to greet him and he forgives the whole thing.

So, too, the Midrash says, the Jewish people and God.  We have sinned, and God, as it were, comes to us.   The great people fast on Erev Rosh Hashanah, and God forgives 1/3.   Then, during the ten days of Repentance between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, the basic, good people fast, and God forgives 1/3.   Finally, on Yom Kippur, the entire nation fasts, and God forgives us for all of the sins.

Midrashim are not meant to be taken literally in most cases (see Rabbi Avraham ben haRambam's introduction to Midrash, printed in the front of many copies of the book Ein Yaakov).   So what does this Midrash mean?

A very basic reading reveals several important ideas:  That the Jewish people---great and not so great, pious and not so pious-- are connected together.  There is no such thing as complete spiritual success for a righteous person so long as the nation of Israel is not spiritually successful, because 1) we are all connected by bonds of family, and 2) we are all connected by bonds of mission--our goal as a Nation can only be fulfilled by the entire nation.

Another idea is that Teshuva is a process.  Erev Rosh Hashanah is a certain level, the ten days of repentance another level, Yom Kippur an even higher one.   The way we approach the repentance of these days cannot be just "okay, it'sThe time for me to repent."   We all have failings, some large and some small.   Some sins are bigger or smaller because of the nature of the sin.   Others are bigger or smaller depending on how deeply rooted the sin is in our habit.   (A big sin committed once but easily abandoned in the future may be easier to atone for than smaller sins that are deeply rooted).

The Beit Yosef, the commentary on the Tur by Rabbi Yosef Caro, asks a question about the above Midrash.   How can the Midrash imply that Erev Rosh Hashanah is the equivalent of Yom Kippur and of the entire ten days of repentance, since it atones for the same amount/quality/etc. of sin (1/3).  How can this be, he asks?    His answer is that the first 1/3 is the easiest to atone for.  The 2nd third is more difficult, and the third 1/3, which are forgiven on Yom Kippur, are the most difficult.

Perhaps this gives us a schedule for spiritual preparation.   When thinking about our sins (and our failures to do positive mitzvot, and our character failings), we start with the easier things and move on to the more difficult things.    We don't want Yom Kippur to come by and our minds are a jumble of memories of failings and faults.   Instead, we want it to arrive having planned which are the sins and failings to work on first, before Rosh Hashanah, which are either bigger or more deeply rooted and need more time, and which are the worst, most deeply rooted and need for their fixing (and the resultant forgiveness) the profound breaking of the heart that is often characteristic of Yom Kippur.

Each person knows their own heart and their own past.   There is still much to accomplish in this process, and if we do it in an organized way, much time to be successful at it.