B"H
THOUGHTS FOR THE NEW YEAR
"Let the [old] year and its curses come to an end.
Let the (new) year and its blessings begin!"
So we say at the commencement of Rosh Hashana.
5767 has been a year of unusual pain for many of us. Yes,
there have also been incredible simchas. We are living
in a time of both exultation and tribulation. Many feel
that Moshiach ben Dovid and the Final Redemption are very near,
yet at the same time our hearts are broken by events so tragic
that it is difficult to comprehend how to deal with them.
Recently my wife and I attended the wedding celebration of
a young man who emerged from the black pit of the former Soviet
Union. This young man and his kallah are such shining
lights that you feel the emerging glow of the Final Redemption
when you look into their faces. At his Sheva Brachos
this holy Jew spoke of the utter despair of growing up in the
world of communism, a world in which everyone you knew was
suspected of secretly conspiring to destroy you. He could
only dream of a world in which people cared for each other,
a world in which people actually planned and worked at BENEFITING
AND HELPING EACH OTHER! This world of his dreams he found
when he arrived in the United States and "happened to meet" Rabbi
Eli Bloom at UCLA.
"When G-d will return the captivity of Zion, we will be like
dreamers. Then our mouth will be filled with laughter
and our tongue with glad song." [1]
I frequently visit my 104-year-old-father, who lives in a
Manhattan hotel. After all these years, I know practically
everyone who works there. Frequently, a black Moslem
doorman is on duty when I arrive. He invariably greets
me with a broad smile and the greatest respect, often asking
me to pray for him. It struck me the other day how easy
it is for people to get along. Only one thing is required:
WE HAVE TO WANT TO GET ALONG!
Do you think it's so difficult to get along? Are conflicts
inevitable?
In my book, WORLDSTORM, I write about a terrible phenomenon
in America and the entire Western Culture. This culture
is based on success in business. One must succeed in
business; if you don't make big money, then you are a failure. But
if you ask a billionaire why he needs his billions, chances
are that he doesn't know. If he does claim that he knows,
chances are that his reason is pure vapor. I understand
that we need money in order to eat and in order to send our
children to yeshiva, but money is not a religion.
In America, the idea is to crush your competitor. We
all know that the individual proprietor of a small shop is
a dying breed, crushed by the chain stores whose employees
do not know who their customers are, let alone care about them
or greet them! Every day, a small business closes, crushed
under the treads of the giant bulldozers of big business.
"Kill the competition."
"My opponent in this election is a crook! He was convicted
of embezzlement. He voted to raise YOUR taxes! He voted
against the environment...."
Is it any wonder that we suffer from "road rage"? Our
entire culture is Organized Road Rage! The world of sports,
which consumes Western culture, is based on crushing the opponent,
whether another team or another individual. Every year,
fans are trampled to death in stadiums and billions of dollars
are paid to those who can best destroy their opponents.
I would like to contrast this world with the approach of the
Torah, lehavdil. Perhaps this will help us as we approach
the Yomim Noraim, Rosh Ha Shana and Yom Kippur. On Yom
Kippur, Moshe Rabbeinu descended from the mountain after forty
days with a new set of luchos. Perhaps we also need
to withdraw from the world for forty days in order to prepare
for the Yomim Noraim. There are holy Jews who spend the
month of Elul in yeshiva, immersed in Torah, to prepare themselves
for the Day of Judgment and to begin the coming year in sanctity.
How are we supposed to act?
Every single day of the year, we read in the Siddur the description
of the "ministering angels [who] stand at the summit of the
universe and proclaim - with awe, together, loudly - the words
of the living G-d and King of universe.... They all accept
upon themselves the yoke of heavenly sovereignty from one another
and grant permission to one another to sanctify the One Who
formed them, with tranquility, with clear articulation and
with sweetness. All of them as one proclaim his holiness
and say with awe 'Holy, holy, holy is G-d ... the whole world
is filled with His glory."' [2]
The Artscroll Siddur has the following footnote on this passage: "Tanna
d'Bei Eliyahu contrasts the behavior of the angels with that
of human beings. Unlike people, whose competitive jealousies
cause them to thwart and outdo one another, the angels urge
one another to take the initiative in serving and praising
G-d. Conflict is the foe of perfection; harmony its
ally."
My dear friends, our Torah teaches us that we are not like
angels.
We are MORE than angels!
Or, G-d forbid, less than angels!
We have the free will to ascend higher or descend lower than
angels. Angels do not have free will, but we do. We
can use it either way, but if we imitate the angels, then we
surpass them, because our angelic behavior is attained through
hard work, through discipline, through modifying our behavior
by adopting the guidance of the Torah.
May this New Year show that we, the Children of Israel, have
risen to the level of the angels! May we outdo the angels
in harmony, in love for each other and in praising the King
of Kings! May our actions be pleasing to our Father in
Heaven and to our brothers and sisters on this tear-soaked
planet. May we merit a year of blessing and Redemption! May
we merit to greet Moshiach ben Dovid and see the Great Day
when our rebuilt Temple stands in Yerushalayim Ir ha Kodesh
and we all return there in sanctity and harmony!
"When G-d will return the captivity of Zion, we will be like
dreamers. Then our mouth will be filled with laughter
and our tongue with glad song."
May we merit to see it this year!
With love and blessings!
Roy S. Neuberger
© Copyright 2007 by Roy S. Neuberger
