A Discourse on Rosh HaShannah by Rav Gershon Chenoch of Radzin, a 19th Century Chassidic Master

May you all be blessed with a sweet new year, inscribed in book of life. May all who need healing be healed, all who need sustinance find success and wealth, all the brides should find their bridgrooms, all those who long for children be answered and this time next year be serenaded with the sweetest cries, and all the gates of Torah be open wide for all who do and do not want to know. May God answer all the requests of your heart for the good.

The Sod Yesharim:

Rosh Hashanah

It is written (Psalms, 68:35), “Give strength (‘oz’) to God, His pride is in Israel and His strength is in the heavens.” And in the Zohar (Vayikra, 18b), “Said the Holy One, blessed be He, My children, do not be afraid, for I am standing in the doorway (protecting you), only brace yourselves on this day, and give Me strength. How shall you give me strength? By sounding the Shofar.” Also in the Zohar (Lech, 84a), “what is, ‘Your strength’? (‘uzcha,’ As in Psalm 86, “give Your strength to Your servant.”) This is God’s supernal strength.”


When God shows us His strength He is showing us His supernal strength. How does this become apparent? He does this by showing us that Israel was the first thought in God’s consciousness before He brought the creation into being. This is, “oz ‘ila’a,” God’s supernal strength, and when this kind of light is revealed to man, all spiritual accusers and negative forces are driven away. And here, God commanded that we give Him strength for all that He formed in the work of creation, as all of the creation is only a garment for God’s will, dressed in different hues, different forms and attributes. At a time when God’s inner will is in a state of concealment within the garments, then man has a portion in all of the garments, i.e. it is to his credit that he does not move as much as a hair’s breadth (away from God’s will). This is the inner meaning of the verse (Ecclesiastics, 7:20), “there is no one who is perfectly righteous in the land, who does only good and does not sin.” (This means that when God’s will is concealed, one would expect that, “there is no one who is righteous,” so at such a time, when one nevertheless connects with God’s will, God considers it as if the man himself has a portion in his fulfillment of God’s will.) And surely, when the Source of Life is revealed, for God is called, “the Living God,” and the Divine conduct in the world is not on, “autopilot,” but a vibrant, living connection from the Source of Life, then when He judges the hearts of mankind, naturally God will find the depths of the heart of Israel connected to His will.


This is the meaning of the above passage in the Zohar, “My children, do not fear … only give Me strength, with the Shofar.” It is also the meaning of another passage in the Zohar (Bo, 32b), “Rebbi Elazar opened and explained the verse (Job, 1:6), ‘And there was a day when the ‘bnei elohim’ (a kind of angel) came to stand before the Hashem, and Satan came also among them.’ This ‘day,’ he said, ‘was Rosh Hashanah, on which God sits in judgement on the world. The, ‘bnei elohim’ are the supernal beings who are appointed to watch the actions of mankind … and when man’s actions are proper, they (the angels) bring strength to God, as it is written, ‘give strength to God.’ ”


The day of Rosh Hashanah is called, in the phrase of the Psalms (81:4), “(blow the Shofar in the month) in the covering of the day of our festival.” The plain meaning is that Rosh Hashanah is the one festival that falls on a new moon, when the moon is concealed (covered). There is a hint in this as to the nature of Rosh Hashanah. On the new moon, the moon is not influenced, or illuminated, by the light of the sun. This represents a state of being where God’s light is not apparent in occurrence or action. Even though God “dressed” His light in actions and the performance of mitzvoth, still it rests there in a state of concealment. It is “dressed” within every action. Through Divine service, or the performance of mitzvoth with the intention of serving God, this light can be aroused. So too, at times which we call, “mikraei kodesh,” or Holy Festivals, this light can be awaken through Divine service, and then man can see how inherent in the performance of God’s commandments it the light of His holy will. And indeed, on the day of Rosh Hashanah, this light is in a great state of concealment, so much that the only mitzvah that can assist in waking the power of the light of life is the mitzvah of the sounding of the Shofar.


This is as it is written in the Zohar (Tetsave, 184a), “(the sounding of the Shofar) is in order to break the covering which conceals the moon…” On this day, all of the creation recedes and conceals itself in God’s primordial will, which preceded the creation of the world. It preceded the dressing of the Divine Utterances of Creation within the letters of the work of creation. Therefore on this day we find great accusations from all the promulgation of the powers of creation. This is called, “bnei elohim,” the kind of angels mentioned above. This is because the whole point of creation was to be able to return (Divine effluence) face to face before God, and rejoin it to God’s primordial will. This happens only when the creation is in a pure and refined state, without the slightest deviation from God’s will. However, when the creation is drawn after the garments which are distanced and concealed from the light, how can it then return and be included in God’s will?


For this reason it is said, “give strength to God,” meaning that Israel shall serve God with actions that give strength to all the powers of creation. For truly, any action performed in this world, no matter how incredibly refined and pure, can not be included in the realm above, for the heavens can not stand even an infinitesimal amount of “this (material) world.” This is discussed in the Zohar (Vayakhel). When God established the creation in a way that (His will) would be dressed in actions, even the very foundations of creation were then distanced from the source. Israel needs to intensify the power of her Divine service so greatly in order to fix the very foundations of creation at their source. This is because all actions need fixing at their roots, as they were lacking in the brilliant clarity of light at the source of creation. Israel can only fulfill this vital function when Israel returns in Teshuva to the way of God, through proper action and Divine service. Once done the creation can then be returned face to face before God, may He be blessed, and this can only be done through the sounding of the Shofar.


Through the act of prayer, which is called, “the service of the heart,” one can crown God as Sovereign over his own thoughts and will. This done, it will follow that at a time when man’s mind is clear in this aspect, then his head, which is the power of his thought, reigns over his whole body. But still, the acceptance of the Divine sovereignty (“kabbalat ‘ol malkhut shamayim”) during prayer happens through an order and through a process of gradated levels. It is known that when something is received in this world through such a gradated process (called “the hishtalshelut” the downward linkage from the Infinite into the creation, with myriad upon myirad levels of greater concealment), even though it touches the highest and most sublime levels of Divinity, nonetheless, its gradient aspect means that there is a dividing entity separating the passage to each successive level.


However, with the blowing of the Shofar it is different. The Shofar also represents an acceptance of Divine sovereignty, as in the words of the Gemara (Rosh Hashanah 34b), “and on Rosh Hashanah you shall crown Me over you. And with what? With the Shofar.” The deeper meaning is that with the Shofar, man completely delivers over to God his actions and the entirety of his powers and capabilities. With the blowing of the Shofar, man delivers over his very being. This of course means that also the inner nature of his mind is then delivered over to God without any separation or, “dressing in garments,” whatsoever. There is a power in the blowing of the Shofar which is greater than the power of thought. The Shofar causes the power of action to ascend up to the Divine in its pristine and undressed form. The result is that all the powers within the creation then voice their support for the salvation and success of Israel in the world. This is because they then know that the only way they can experience ascension to their source in the Divine is through the actions of Israel.


This day is, “Rosh Hashanah,” which means literally, “the head of the year.” In calling the New Year as the head, we are acknowledging that it is the supernal head, the control center, over the whole year, just as the head of man, containing the control center of the nervous system and thoughts, has control over the body. So too, this day contains the power of intellect and thought over all the actions of the coming year. By fulfilling the mitzvah of blowing the Shofar on Rosh Hashanah, we are including and imbuing all the actions of the coming year in the power of mitzvah.


This is the meaning of the phrase in Psalm (68:35) from the beginning of this teaching, “His pride is in Israel.” With the Gentile nations, God shows His pride in that when it is revealed, all the powers of the earth are nullified. This is as it is written in the song at the splitting of the Red Sea (Exodus, 15:1), “for He is greatly exulted,” “gao ga’a,” an intensive form of expressing God’s pride. Onkeles’s Aramaic translation of this is revealing, saying, “He prides Himself in His exaltedness, and loftiness is His.” In this vein, He prides Himself in Israel, as they are included in God's very exaltedness, for truly, Israel is a very portion of the Divine (cf. Deuteronomy 32:9). God with Israel is like a king among his people. He is the exalted one among them, and included in him is their entire consciousness and intellect. Similarly, Israel’s function in the world is like God’s own vessel of action. The day of Rosh Hashanah can be compared to a time when man’s consciousness is complete, and he is not involved in the performance of any action. At this time all the powers of his body and soul are included in his mind powers. Similarly, on the day of Rosh Hashanah, Israel (God’s “vessel of action in the world”) is completely included in God’s will.


This is as our verse in Psalm 68 ends, “and His strength is in the heavens.” “His strength,” as the Zohar explains, is God’s highest, supernal strength. Meaning, when Israel delivers all their actions over to God, recognizing clearly that all the workings and events of the world are only resulting from the inner power emanated unto them at each and every moment, and without the power of God there is no power of action for any part of the creation, then by means of this God makes it clear that the recognition of His glory in the world is only through and resulting from Israel. Based on the actions of Israel, it is seen how God’s exaltedness and pride is upon them and within them.


“And His strength is in the Heavens.” From the Divine service of Israel, and with complete clarity and recognition, God shows the power of His strength in various contradictory actions, which seem in this world to be contradictory. This is hinted at in the word, "Heavens,” “Shekhakim,” in Hebrew. According to the Kabbalists, this word represents the Divine emanations of Netsach (eternity, victory) and Hod, (Splendor, Majesty), corresponding to the right and left legs in man. The Zohar states that all miracles are a result of Netsach and Hod. What is lower down in the “Tree” of Sefirot is more revealed. Netsach and Hod are the lowest and most revealed attributes of the right and left columns. They are a kind of revelation in the form of action of God’s higher attributes of Hesed (lovingkindness) and Gevurah (strength), which are directly above Netsach and Hod. They appear in this world as two opposites, one on the right, one on the left, and perhaps externally appear as very different attributes in how they manifest themselves in action. Yet truly, in the words of the Zohar, they are, “two halves of the same body.” At times when God hides the power of His strength, Netsach and Hod appear as two opposites. However, when God illuminates them from His strength and light, it is seen clearly that there is really no contradiction between them.


This is reminiscent of the story in the Gemara (Ta’anit, 25a), about Rabbi Chanina ben Dosa. “Once on a Friday eve he noticed that his daughter was sad and he said to her, ‘My daughter, why are you sad?’ She replied, ‘My oilcan got mixed up with my vinegar can and I kindled from it the Shabbat light.’ He said to her, ‘My daughter, Why should this trouble you? He who had commanded the oil to burn will also command the vinegar to burn.’ A Tanna taught, the light continued to burn the whole day until they took of it light for the Havdallah.” In this world, oil and vinegar are two opposites. Vinegar is good for you in hot weather (Shabbat, 113b). And yet, through the power of Rabbi Chanina ben Dosa’s Divine service, he was able to draw from the supernal light at the source of the Divine attributes. So for him, there was no contradiction or opposition in the attributes whatsoever.


This concerns the passage in the Gemara (Rosh Hashanah, 34b), “On Rosh Hashanah, say before verses expressing My Sovereignty, Remembrance, and the Shofar. Of Sovereignty, that you should appoint me as King over you. Remembrance, so that the memory of you should come before me for the good. And with what shall you do this? With the Shofar.” These two aspects are a good example of what was explained above. When we crown God sovereign with the Shofar, so to will the memory of Israel come before Him. This is just as was explained concerning, “give strength to God.” There we made a distinction between accepting God’s Sovereignty during prayer, and appointing God as Sovereign with the Shofar.


Concerning the sacrifices (Karbanot), the Zohar says, “The mystery of the Sacrifices. How high do they reach? To the Eyn Sof, to the very Infinite.” This was explained by the Holy Izbitser Rebbe, the Mei Hashiloach, may his merit protect us. He said, all the mitzvoth and Divine service of Israel reaches the Infinite. Yet the difference between the sacrifices and other Divine service, such as prayer, is that with each other form of service (avodah), each avodah reaches the spirit world above it. From there it continues upward, all the way to the Eyn Sof, but to get there it must go through a gradient series of levels and dividing entities. However, with a sacrifice, it the very physical action ascends above. The material bull ascends with the bull in the Supernal chariot. (See Ezekiel 1:10, As for the likeness of their faces [of the Angels in Ezekiel’s vision of the Divine chariot] … and the four had the face of an ox on the left side …”) Together they ascend to the Infinite with nothing to separate them at all, for it breaks all the veils, going higher and higher.


And in this way, the sounding of the Shofar breaks though all levels of concealment more than anything else, until man can see that God is constantly active within the garment of the souls of Israel. The act of blowing the Shofar is a complete connection. Man from his part is doing very little. In blowing the Shofar he is merely attaching an instrument to his voice, and it is the voice of man that ascends on its own.


On this day the creation was completed, “And God blew into the man’s nostrils the breath of life.” This is as it is written in the Sefer haKaneh, “He who blew the breath, from His very essence did he blow the breath.” God blew life into man from the very spirit of life, which was made out of His pure will. It was not caught up in any garment or separating entity. This is a mitzvah where man raises up his whole inner essence. The natural result of this is that man then sees that only God is the force of action in the world. This is as it is written in the Sifri (Beha’aot’cha, 41), “ ‘And on that day he will blow on the great Shofar.’ (Isaiah, 27:13) But I do not know who it is that is blowing! (It says, "he," but the verse does not specify who "he" actally is.) Thus it is written (Zechariah, 9:14), ‘and God will blow on the Shofar.’ ”


With a sacrifice, man sees how his roots are above. There is his whole being. With the sounding of the Shofar, man sees that when God created man, He created within him the deepest inner aspect, which is God dwelling within the soul of man. This is why it is written in the Gemara (Rosh Hashanah, 34b), “if on Rosh Hashanah you have a choice of going either to a town where the blessings are being said (the Rosh Hashanah service, with the Chazzan singing, praying the liturgy before the congregation, but with no Shofar) or to a town where the Shofar will be blown (But without a Chazan), go to the place where the Shofar is being blown.” All prayers and acceptance of God’s sovereignty are included in the sounding of the Shofar.