Page 3 - HaMizrachi # 22 Rosh HahHana - Yom Kippur 2020 USA

TORAT MIZRACHI

Rabbi Doron Perez

Head, Heart and Soul

THE FES TIVALS OF TISHREI

Head minds the ideal world we would like the details lest we fail to distinguish
to live in and the ideal role we would the woods from the trees. It’s not a
t is fascinating that the Hebrew for time ‘to be rearranging deck chairs on
our New Year is Rosh Hashanah like to play in it.
I– the Head of the Year – and not It’s a time of deep cognitive reflection. the Titanic,’ but rather to ensure that
we are heading in the right direction.
the more obvious term Reishit HaSha-
nah, which means the beginning of the We examine our spiritual and mental The shofar is the instrument of the day
and the echo of Jewish history calling
year. 1 paradigms, thought processes and us to recalibrate our moral course and
mindset as we address the salient
So why did our Sages pick this term – issues of life in preparation for the reset our spiritual compass.
the head – to define the first festival year ahead. It’s a time for big picture Rosh Hashanah is an intense exercise
of the year
mind mapping rather than meddling in systematic and strategic spiritual
It seems that the head and mind are in minutiae. thinking.
the keys to understanding the essence
of the day. There is no focus on individual actions Heart
nor any mention of sin – not one single
On the anniversary of Creation, we confession – throughout the lengthy Yom Kippur is all about Service of the
aim to envision and recreate in our prayer service. We dare not get lost in Heart – Avodat HaLev. 2

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