Rosh Hashanah

Standing in the Presence of God - Every Day!

Adapted from Rabbi Dov Peretz Elkins

Rabbi Israel Salanter, founder of the nineteenth-century musar (ethical introspection) movement used the idea of the High Holydays to teach that "today is the first day of the rest of your life."

"Even while you are absorbed in concern and trepidation on Rosh Hashanah, the Day of Judgment, you are not free to violate the prohibition against stepping on another person's toes." In the synagogue in the small European shtetl where Rabbi Israel lived, people swayed as they prayed passionately. He reminded them to be sensitive to the needs of others even as they conversed with God.

"When you have to make a decision, ask yourself: ëHow would I decide if it were N'eilah on Yom Kippur, 30 minutes before the week of repentance ends?'" On Yom Kippur, our ethical awareness is heightened, and the "high road" is easier to identify. Rabbi Israel suggests that we try to recall that awareness whenever we are facing a significant decision.

"People begin to do teshuvah (repentance) at Rosh Hashanah. More devout people begin four weeks earlier, on the first day of the month of Elul. But in my personal view, it is possible to begin even earlier. One should begin the process of teshuvah for the coming year as soon as Yom Kippur ends." Often we feel that the High Holydays are upon us and we have not properly prepared our hearts. Rabbi Israel suggests we avoid that problem by beginning our preparation for next year the moment Yom Kippur ends!

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