A ROSH HASHANA LESSON

By Zalman Ben-Nun

“Sholom, are you coming with me?” Levi asked in a whisper. “It will be fine. When the commander is not paying attention, we’ll leave …”

A second’s lack of attention on the part of Ya’ir the commander and we were on Kingston Avenue, the main shopping artery in Crown Heights.

“I’m looking for honey,” I said to Levi. “And a bachur who will teach me how to blow the shofar. Rosh HaShana is in two days and I really want to be ready.”

As Levi listened to me, he was scanning the stores that we passed. He looked in the shop windows until he found what he was looking for. “Here!” he exclaimed. “They sell jars of honey here and if my English is good enough, then it says it’s on sale!”

We quickly entered the store where I was happy to discover that Levi was right. Two small jars cost only one dollar. Now we could look for a nice bachur to teach us how to blow.

This time, it was I who found what we were looking for. I saw a bachur standing on the stoop of 1414, the dormitory where the bachurim on K’vutza live. He was blowing the shofar loudly.

Time flew by, and when we made our way back to the group of kids in Machane Moshiach, I already knew how to blow the shofar, more or less, and I had the two jars of honey in a small black bag.

We could hear the Twelve P’sukim being recited as we got closer to 770. A group of boys was standing in an impressive line-up in front of the museum that is across the street from 770. We quickly went over to join our group. 

The stern look on the commander’s face let us know that we had not behaved as we were supposed to. At the end of the line-up, he called us over and told us to expect a talk with the general.

I became very nervous, and for good reason. Who knew what would happen? Maybe I’d lose out on the trip that was scheduled or get some other punishment?

A few minutes later, Levi and I were standing in front of the general for a disciplinary talk.

“I heard that you left in the middle of the shiur without permission. Is that true?”

We blushed and nodded yes.

“Sholom, what do you have to say about this?” he asked me with a piercing look.

I shyly replied, “I am sorry, but I just wanted to get ready for Rosh HaShana, to buy some honey for myself and my friend, and to learn how to blow the shofar.”

The general looked at me with a smile and said, “So basically, you wanted to get ready for Rosh HaShana? The day of kabbalas ha’malchus of HaKadosh Boruch Hu? I need to explain something to you.”

I was interested in hearing what he would say next. Levi kept quiet and looked earnestly at the general. The general began, “I am impressed that you wanted to get ready for Rosh HaShana, but I think you totally missed the point of the holiday. On this day, we accept Hashem’s malchus, but the completion of this malchus is with the kabbalas ha’malchus of Moshiach. How do we accept the malchus of Moshiach? The first thing is to listen to his instructions and carry them out!

“I don’t think that leaving in the middle of a shiur is the right thing to do in order to accept Moshiach. As soldiers, we need to behave with absolute kabbalas ol. This is the real way of doing what Moshiach wants, thus making Hashem the King in the world, in the most complete way.”

I looked at Levi and we both agreed. He was right. The whole idea of Rosh HaShana is to make Hashem King, and as our general explained, the completion of this is when Moshiach is made king. That means that we need to resolve on Rosh HaShana to behave like soldiers of Moshiach, accepting his rule.

“I want to say something else,” said the general. “When you came to speak to me, you were nervous. You didn’t know whether I would punish you or not.” We nodded.

“On Rosh HaShana too, we stand before Hashem in judgment. This is one of the days when He decides what will happen to us during the next year. But despite this, unlike the way you felt coming to speak with me, on Rosh HaShana we are happy and are not worried.

“Do you know why?” he asked with a mischievous smile. “Because we are sure that we will get a good judgment by making Hashem the King and bringing about the Geula! Now, dear soldiers, go back to your bunks and remember what Rosh HaShana is actually about. Be confident that you will be successful, and always behave like soldiers of the King.”

***

The giant room was full. Thousands of people crowded together, taking up every inch of space. There was an elevated atmosphere and silence.

I stood in the children’s section but wanted, very badly, to move further in, toward the platform. This time, I already knew what I needed to do. I signaled to the commander what I wanted. It was only when he gave me permission with a nod of his head that I began making my way further in, to a place from where I could better see what was going on at the table where the Torah is read.

On the platform stood the shofar-blower with his face covered by a tallis. Next to him stood the chazan who pointed in the siddur, the gabbaim, the rabbanim of Crown Heights and the baal koreh. The crowd began singing the niggunim of the Rebbeim. I was overcome with emotion as I stood there with my eyes closed as I sang quietly.

Then the crowd sang “Hu Elokeinu” with great enthusiasm. Then they sang the hakafos niggun of Rabbi Levi Yitzchok, the Rebbe’s father, at the end of which the crowd sang a rousing Yechi.

Now, now was the time to accept the malchus. Before starting the t’kios, the crowd proclaimed Yechi and accepted the malchus of the Rebbe Melech HaMoshiach, and by doing this, accepting the malchus of HaKadosh Boruch Hu. We anticipated seeing this malchus with the immediate revelation of the Rebbe.

My eyes closed on their own and my heart beat rapidly. The shofar-blower recited the p’sukim and the crowd repeated after him, word by word. 

There was the bracha for the blowing and the SheHechiyanu bracha. The shofar-blower would be taking out the shofar momentarily and blowing it.

Thoughts raced through my head. The moment of shofar-blowing, t’kia, sh’varim, t’rua, t’kia. The moment of coronating the King … This was the day when the Jewish people stand and coronate HaKadosh Boruch Hu as King over the universe. From this moment I felt that I was drawing strength for the entire year, to always behave like a soldier in Tzivos Hashem, as a soldier of Moshiach, bringing about the true and complete Geula.