Page 25 - HaMizrachi Australia Rosh HaShana Yom Kippur 5781

YAMIM NORA’IM READING

Rabbi Zev Leff Rabbi Berel Wein

Past, Present and Future

osh Hashanah marks the begin- of Remembrance. G-d, so to speak, shofar, and they inspire us to strive
ning of a reflective period in remembers us for good and for life to become a holy nation and a king-
Rthe Jewish calendar year. At one and we remember our entire his- dom of priests. That echo has never
and the same time we look back at the tory from the binding of Yitzchak till diminished and the challenge it con-
accomplishments and failures of the today. The most painful of all condi- veys has also never lessened. Rising
past year and we also look forward to tions, as we are all so aware of in our to that challenge is the goal set for
our lives and hoped-for achievements time, is the disappearance of memory. us in the new year. The sounds of the
in the coming good year now dawning The person we loved and cherished is shofar remind us again of Sinai and its
upon us. The prayers of Rosh Hasha- gone even if the body of that person is eternal covenant and strictures. Just
nah represent this duality of outlook. still present and functioning. as our past was governed by it, so too
will our future be determined by its
They also represent the constants in If this is true regarding individual structure and parameters.
our lives and souls. The malchuyot human beings, how much more so
section tells us of G-d’s ever-present does it apply to national memory? We So too, to a certain extent, our future
rule over His world and its creatures. ask G-d not to forget and forsake us can be assessed and can become more
It is this constant that surpasses time but we are also bidden to remember predictable on Rosh Hashanah. The
and space, calendars and timepieces. our story and ourselves. Heaven, so more we are able to hear the echo
Life is too random and unstructured to speak, holds up a mirror to us, and of the shofar of Sinai, as we strain to
for human society to begin to under- as we move, so does our reflection in listen to the faint strains of the shofar
stand and cope with in the absence of Heaven. of Redemption, the better the new
this constant. year will be for us individually and
If we are not diligent in remember-
It is only because of this omnipres- ing then we are prone to be forgotten nationally. The shofar represents our
ent constant that we retain the ability as well. Rosh Hashanah is the tool trumpet call to national and spiritual
to glimpse the past and foresee the to reinforce our memory of people greatness.
future simultaneously. A Hebrew quip gone and of past events, of family All of the verses of the liturgy of sho-
says the past is gone, the future has traditions and ancient customs and farot combine these two soundings
not yet arrived and the present is but of the core events of Jewish history. – Sinai and Redemption – in their
a wink of the eye. Yet the present is On Rosh Hashanah, the entire sweep message and import. The great army
always with us with its demands and of humanity is remembered and of G-d’s eternal people is being sum-
challenges. It is the constant reminder assessed. In a flash, the past becomes moned to arms, to face the challenges
of G-d’s eternal sovereignty, always the present. That is the tremendous of the new year. We have to hear those
omnipresent even if sometimes aspect of memory, for by being able to shofar soundings reverberate in our
hidden. evoke the past we recreate it as part of souls, not only in our ears.
the present. The zichronot section on
The L-rd ordained for us so many Rosh Hashanah provides us with this
commandments so that in every step gifted ability.
in life we are reminded of His pres-
ence and sovereignty. We are never But Rosh Hashanah is also a holiday
really alone in our existence in this of optimism and of looking forward
world. This is one of the sublime mes- and ahead. We resolve to become
sages of Rosh Hashanah. better people, more humane and
G-dly in our attitudes and behav- Rabbi Berel Wein is Senior Rabbi of Beit
In our liturgy and rabbinic literature, ior. We hear the echo of the shofar Knesset HaNassi in Jerusalem and Direc-
Rosh Hashanah is called the Day of Sinai, or our own sounding of the tor of the Destiny Foundation.

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