When I entered the park on Sunday, I stepped into Central America. Today, I stepped right into a painting.

I looked up as I entered the park and realized that I was observing an art masterpiece. The lines of trees rose as mountain peaks, each one higher than the line before. A mist covered the lines of trees and the hiking path just in front of them. The scene was a masterpiece by the Ultimate Artist and I was about to step into His painting.

I recalled a description of God as artist in the Talmud (Megillah 14a): “There is no rock (Tzur) as our Lord.” (Samuel I 2:2) There is no artist – tzayaar – like our God. A human being can cut a form on a wall but cannot make breath, a soul, organs or intestines for it. But the Holy One, Blessed is He, fashions forms within forms and gives them breath, a soul, and all the other organs needed for life.

God and human beings do not act the same: The creations of human beings outlive them, but the Holy One, Blessed is He, outlives His creations.”

An artist will examine a finished painting, looking for tiny mistakes, improving each detail, and perfecting his art. God, the Artist, also reviews His masterpieces: “And the Lord saw the light, and it was good.” (Genesis 1:4) He does not need to review and edit as does a human artist. His Will is expressed perfectly. However, the observation adds a new element to His relationship with His creation. He observes His work and allows it the opportunity to express itself. He assigns each detail its unique place in His masterpiece.

This is exactly what happens when God judges His masterpieces on Rosh Hashanah: He observes each detail of creation and each human being, and adds a deeper element of relationship.

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If everyone else can wear a tee-shirt with their hero’s name emblazoned on it, why can’t I? It is not because I don’t have any pictures: their tee-shirts just have a name a number. Perhaps that’s it: What number could I put on a Ramchal tee-shirt? A Rashi shirt would be awesome, and he must have a, what is it, a higher or lower number than the Ramchal. Do the numbers go up or down?

The other heroes are honored for their sports skills. Fans thrill when Derek Jeter hits a home run. I don’t understand why they are able to enjoy a baseball star’s accomplishments. How does it affect them?

My hero’s accomplishments enrich my life. Rashi’s brilliance not only enlightens me, it stimulates ideas and a passionate love for Torah. The Ramchal’s homeruns continue to resonate in my life as his words push me to grow, learn more, and search for an attachment to God.

Rashi and the Ramchal are timeless. They are as alive for me today as they were when they walked this earth. Torah gives us a live connection that bridges the ages and places. I can sit with Rashi in France, and a few minutes later, find myself at the feet of the Ramchal in Padua.

I pray with the same words as Rashi and the Ramchal. I study the same weekly portion, according to the same schedule as did they a long time ago. My prayers rise above time and place just like my learning. They both offer an opportunity to live a timeless life, only possible, because the Creator Himself is Timeless.

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“The moon will be humiliated and the sun will be shamed for God, Master of Legions, will have reigned in Mount Zion and in Jerusalem, and there will be honor for His elders.” (Isaiah 24:23)

The Malbim explains that people worshipped the sun and the moon as sources of existence. We usually look for something immediate to credit with our blessings and gifts. We forget that God is the Ultimate Source of all existence.

We will have clarity when God will reign in Jerusalem, and we sill recall all the moments when we lost sight and connection with the Source of our Blessings.

Rosh Hashana, the day of God’s Sovereignty, is an opportunity to reconnect to the Ultimate Source and regain the necessary clarity to live as He desires.

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“Naftali is a hind let loose who delivers beautiful sayings.” (Genesis 49:21 Beautiful sayings is “Imrei Shafer”. We again find the word shofar associated with beauty. (See Soundbites 1 & 2)

Naftali’s name is related to Tefillah – Prayer. The ‘beautiful sayings” refer to his ability to speak words of prayer with such beauty that they are attractive to God.

This lesson of the Shofar is to remind us to pray with the beauty of Naftali. We must make an effort and spend the time to phrase our prayers so that they are attractive to God.

One should practice “beautifying” his or her speech when he/she speaks with others. Use the shofar to remind you to be careful to say things in a manner that they can be heard.

(Based on Peirushei HaTorah L’Baalei Tosafot.)

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Then all the men who were aware that their wives were sacrificing to other gods, as well as all their wives, answered Jeremiah. There was a great crowd of them representing all the people who lived in northern and southern Egypt. They answered, “We will not listen to what you claim the Lord has spoken to us! Instead we will do everything we vowed we would do. We will sacrifice and pour out drink offerings to the goddess called the Queen of Heaven just as we and our ancestors, our kings, and our leaders previously did in the towns of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem. For then we had plenty of food, were well-off, and had no troubles.

But ever since we stopped sacrificing and pouring out drink offerings to the Queen of Heaven, we have been in great need. Our people have died in wars or of starvation.”

The women added, “We did indeed sacrifice and pour out drink offerings to the Queen of Heaven. But it was with the full knowledge and approval of our husbands that we made cakes in her image and poured out drink offerings to her.”

Then Jeremiah replied to all the people, both men and women, who responded to him in this way. “The Lord did indeed remember and call to mind what you did!

He remembered the sacrifices you and your ancestors, your kings, your leaders, and all the rest of the people of the land offered to other gods in the towns of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem.

Finally the Lord could no longer endure your wicked deeds and the disgusting things you did. That is why your land has become the desolate, uninhabited ruin that it is today. That is why it has become a proverbial example used in curses. You have sacrificed to other gods! You have sinned against the Lord! You have not obeyed the Lord! You have not followed his laws, his statutes, and his decrees! That is why this disaster that is evident to this day has happened to you.” (Jeremiah 44:15 – 22)

The people were arguing that they lived wonderful and peaceful lives even when they worshipped idols, and that matters had only become worse since Jeremiah began to rebuke their ways.

Jeremiah argued that they had no way of knowing “What If” – How much worse things would have been if they had no obeyed the prophet.

The key word in Jeremiah’s response is “Remember” – the prophet explained that God has an entirely different view of time. Only He can answer “What if”?

Many of us wonder “What If” as we review our actions and choices, and the events of the past year. When we begin the Teshuva – Returning to God – process, we can fall into a trap of guilt and self-blame.

God has a different view of time. He uses this time of Zichronot – Timelessness – to evaluate what we have become and guide us into the future in a manner that will benefit us despite the mistakes of our past.

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“The moon will be humiliated and the sun will be shamed for God, Master of Legions, will have reigned in Mount Zion and in Jerusalem, and there will be honor for His elders.” (Isaiah 24:23)

“The moon will be humiliated” refers to Isaac who was humiliated by Esau. “The sun will be shamed” refers to Abraham who was shamed by Ishmael and the children of Ketura. (Devarim Rabbah)

We make mistakes. Even Abraham and Isaac failed with some of their children. However, the prophet implies that they will only experience shame and humiliation when God reigns in Zion. Did the children who rejected all they believed not shame them before?

Isaiah teaches us that when God’s Presence will once again be revealed on Mount Zion we will witness the light of perfection. At that point, we will have an entirely different perspective on all we did and accomplished. Abraham and Isaac will understand that, although they accomplished great things for the world, their light fades before the light of God’s reign.

We celebrate the coronation of God as King of the Universe on Rosh Hashana. Those of us privileged to appreciate the great light that is revealed will understand that all we have accomplished fades into a shadow before God’s Light. It will be a lesson in humility.

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In Jewish Mystical thought , Remembering refers to the ultimate redemption. The exoduses from Egypt and from Babylon are referred to “Pekidah” which is a lower level of redemption. It is a momentary shining of God’s light and revelation of His Presence. Zechira refers to the Messiah and the total tikkun, or fixing, of this world. Zechira is the unlimited shining of God’s light, the crushing of evil and the limitations it imposes upon our spiritual lives, the freeing of the Shechina from the limitations of exile, and the end of all suffering for the Jewish People. When we say Zichor we are asking for the Ultimate Redemption.

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Hallel as Sanctification

Rabbi Daniel HaBavli derives the Biblical obligation to sing Hallel from a different verse: “You shall not profane My holy Name, and I shall be sanctified amongst the Jewish people. I am God Who sanctifies you.” (Vayikra 22:32) The prohibition against profaning God’s Name is that we shall not allow a vacuum to exist around God’s Name. If we do not sanctify God’s Name we allow a vacuum to develop. We create a Chilul – a vacuum – whenever we do not grow. The only way not to profane God’s Name is to sanctify it. Why does the verse add, “I shall be sanctified”? This is teaching a special Mitzvah to sanctify God’s Name. There is no greater way to sanctify God’s Name than with the Hallel. This is the Biblical source of the commandment to sing Hallel.

“Holy, Holy, Holy, God, Master of Hosts, whose Glory fills the earth.” The Targum of Yonatan ben Uziel explains the three expressions of Holy as, “Holy in the highest heavens the abode of His Presence, Holy on the earth the product of God’s strength, and Holy forever and ever.”

The Maharal points out that we find all three levels of sanctity in the Hallel:

“May the Name of God be blessed from now and forever,” corresponds to the third Holy: “Holy forever and ever.”

“From the rising of the sun until its setting God’s Name is praised,” corresponds to the second Holy: “Holy on the earth the product of God’s strength.”

“God is exalted above all the nations, His Glory is on the heavens, “ corresponds to the first Holy: ““Holy in the highest heavens the abode of His Presence.”

The Maharal continues by pointing out that these three levels of holiness are repeated throughout the Hallel. The Hallel is constantly referring to one level of Holiness or another.

The Zohar Harakia also teaches that the obligation to say Hallel is Biblical. He bases this on the verse, “In the fourth year of a vineyard or tree, the fruit of the tree shall be holy Hilulim” (Vayikra 19:24) – Hilulim is the plural of Hallel. He teaches that you should say Hallel when your tree produces fruit in its fourth year and that will make it holy. Hallel is the process of taking what you have and sanctifying it.

The Jerusalem Talmud derives from the word “Hilulim” that you should make your fruit holy by singing Hallel just as you sing when you make an offering in the Temple. Sing Hallel when you eat a fruit and sanctify what you are about to eat. We do this by making a blessing. The Jerusalem Talmud understands a blessing as a miniature Hallel.

“The servants of God shall praise God, praise the Name of God.” We are praising God for two reasons: The first reason is that now we are no longer the servants of Pharaoh but the servants of God. Whenever you praise God for a specific reason you should also praise God’s Name because God is God. Don’t limit yourself by the immediate reason leading you to sing Hallel: The immediate thing you are celebrating, whether a fruit or a miracle, should be a trigger to praise God because God is God. If I take something good that happened to me as a trigger to praise God, I am sanctifying the fruit or the experience that triggered the praise.

You are taking your gifts and sanctifying them. You are changing your existence. You are going from earth to heaven and then to eternal existence: The three levels of Holy.

It is interesting to note that we derive the power of a blessing from a verse in the Hallel: “The heavens belong to God and the earth is given to man.” When do we make the earth ours? When we make a blessing.

The Talmud teaches that Israel sang the Hallel as they brought their Paschal Offering. How did they know that they should do that? The Talmud answers with a question: “Can you imagine a Jew bringing a Paschal Offering and not singing the Hallel? Can you imagine a Jew shaking a Lulav and not singing Hallel?” The joy of taking a Lulav naturally leads us to sing Hallel!

The Music of Halacha: The Focus of Hallel Part One

The Music of Halacha: The Forms of Hallel Part One & Part Two

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“Moshe Rabbenu is the opener of all gates. But Aharon haKohen brings us inside. Succos we live Inside. Simchath Torah we can go out into the world again – after being Inside we can go anywhere in the world, because we shall always remain Inside.”

“God, your Lord, will circumcise your heart and the heart of your offspring.” (Deuteronomy 30:6) The first letters of “your heart and the heart of your offspring” spell Elul.

It only takes one second for a person to change. Change is not a skill reserved for the most pious or holy. It is available to, and possible and essential for each human being.

A person who believes that he cannot change in an instant will never be able to change. The moment to change will never come, for he does not understand that such moments are possible.

Why does he not change? Because he feels unable to leave his current path at this moment. The second and third moments will follow in turn and he will not change.

The moment is now.

Madreigat HaAdam, Volume I, Page 152

The month of Elul is a month of individual moments, each with a special promise of change. God will circumcise our hearts so that we will be open to each of these moments.

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