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Spiritual Accounting
Thank you to Ari Schwab, our Rabbinical Intern for sharing his Dvar Torah with us here.
If we examine the relevant verses in the Torah that discuss Rosh Hashanah, we encounter something unusual. Though the Torah repeatedly refers to the shofar element of this holiday, but makes no mention of it being a day of judgment, a yom hadin. Where did the notion of Rosh Hashana being a day of spiritual accounting originate?
The Ran (Rabbenu Nissim), a 14th century Spanish commentary, suggested the following answer. According to one view in the Talmud, the word was created on the 25th of Elul, rendering Rosh Hashana the day of man’s creation. On this day, the Ran explains, Adam first sinned and was judged by God. Therefore, God decreed that this day shall henceforth be a day of reckoning, because just as Adam was pardoned in the eyes of Hashem, so too would all future generations receive this type of treatment. Though Rosh Hashana and the sound of the shofar may seem like a daunting challenge, Hashem assures us that we will be found innocent in His eyes.
May we all be written down and inscribed for only blessings.