Page 19 - HaMizrachi Australia Rosh HaShana Yom Kippur 5781

GLOBAL RELIGIOUS LEADERS

Chief Rabbi Dr. Warren Goldstein

A TIME TO REGAIN

Lost Vision

hen a baby is in its of accumulating material posses- reconnect us with who we are and
mother’s womb, it can sions and indulging ourselves to the why we are here.
Wsee from one side of the greatest extent, and we forget about
world to the other. Obviously, this any higher purpose. The shofar is Reconnecting with our soul and
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cannot be understood on a literal, a call from G-d to wake up to that with our deepest Divine purpose
physical level. What our Sages are higher purpose – to remember brings invigorating joy. This is why
conveying to us through this vivid why we are in this world in the first Rosh Hashanah – while being a day
description is that vision is one place. A call to regain our vision, to of judgment and introspection – is
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of the most important aspects of transcend our daily entanglements also celebrated as a festival. It is a
human greatness. and return to the basics. A call to day on which we celebrate the pro-
our souls to return to the reality of found joy of knowing our mission,
Vision is the intellectual clarity to of renewing our sense of purpose
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grasp the ultimate purpose of life; why G-d created us – to live a life and recapturing the transcendent
the emotional power to transcend of good deeds and in so doing, to vision of life we all saw so perfectly
our current circumstances, to see make the world a better place. in the womb.
beyond what’s immediately in front It is significant that Rosh Hasha-
of us, and the spiritual inspiration nah, the day of repentance and
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to rise above the travails of life to judgment, takes place on the 1 Niddah 30b.
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understand the big picture, the full anniversary of the creation of the 2 The Hebrew word ן ֹוז ָ ח means both vision
perspective of why we are here on world. There is a deep connection and prophecy, see I Samuel 3:1; Isaiah 1:1,
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Proverbs 29:18.
this earth. between these two aspects of the 3 See Mesilat Yesharim, chapter 2.
Often, we get so engrossed and day. The fact that G-d created the 4 Rambam, Hilchot Teshuva 3:4.
entangled in our day-to-day chal- world means that life has an ele- 5 Rosh Hashanah is the first of the Ten Days
lenges that we don’t stop to think vated, Divine purpose. At the heart of Repentance. See Rambam, Hilchot
Teshuva 2:6.
about why we are here in the first and soul of the Torah’s worldview 6 Mishna, Rosh Hashanah 1:2. See Rosh
place, and whether we are fulfill- is the idea that G-d created each Hashanah 32b; Arachin 10b.
ing the purpose for which we were and every one of us to carry out a 7 See Rosh Hashanah 10b-11a; Vayikra
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created. In the rush and pressure of unique mission in this world, ful- Rabbah 29:1; Pesikta D’Rav Kahanna
daily life, we often lose sight of the filling His commandments and 23:1; Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer 8:1; Bereishit
Rabbah 22:4. See also Maharsha, Rosh
bigger, greater picture. 3 living life on an elevated plane. Hashanah 16a.
People can so easily forget the pur- 8 See Sefat Emet, Parshat Korach, 13:2,
Rosh Hashanah is a time to step pose of life and slip into a dream- quoting his grandfather, Chidushei HaRim
back and regain our lost vision. like state of being, where trivial on Avot 1:14.
And the call of the shofar is how we matters assume inflated importance 9 See Shulchan Aruch 597:1; Shulchan
do it. The Rambam writes that the and important values are forgotten. Aruch HaGraz O.C. 529:5, 597:1.
message of the shofar is to “awaken
those who are asleep.” The analogy The shofar, with its simple call to
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to sleep is profound. The dreams the clarity of purpose, awakens
we experience in our sleep seem so us to see the world the way it is
real at the time, yet the moment we instead of how it appears when we
wake up we realize they were merely are in a state of spiritual sleep. G-d
illusions. So too, we often live life has given us the incredible gift of Rabbi Dr. Warren Goldstein is the Chief
in a spiritual slumber. We dream Rosh Hashanah to wake us up and Rabbi of South Africa.

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