Rabbi's Blog

As Rosh HaShanah draws closer, I wonder how my accounting system did this year. In the talmud Bavli, Beitza 16a; Rosh HaShanah 16a, the Rabbis teach that man's income and his sustenance for the entire year are determined and apportioned for him on Rosh HaShanah, and that this decision is directly related to how much he will earn for the entire year. Our yearly sustenance package is determined on Rosh HaShana. The spreadsheet lists our income and expenses; hopefully we can at least have a balanced budget at the end of the year. When I make some extra money it's always easy to say that Hashem budgeted that in for me this year. The challenge is how to deal with out-of-the -ordinary expenses. Do I attribute them to my Rosh HaShana budget or to something else?

Recently I ran into a spate of unexpected, out-of-the-daily-routine expenses. When I was in New York on a pouring, rainy day, I was handed an unnecessary and silly 'no standing zone' parking ticket. I was only there for about thirty-five seconds and got a whopping violation of one hundred fifteen dollars (yes the cost of living in New York is rather exorbitant). Prior to my last flight I had been searching for a piece of hand luggage, and when I found it saw that it needed to be cleaned. Foolishly I put it into the washing machine, causing the agitator to be ripped out.I just threw the hand luggage into the washer not thinking first if this was really a wise move. A few bucks later after temporarily fixing the washing machine, I decided that perhaps washing machines are not designed to wash hand luggage. On my most recent trip I rented a car too close to the date of my arrival. Although I knew of this trip weeks ahead of time, I 'forgot' to rent a car at the time I had booked the airline tickets. This omission cost me substantially more for my negligence. My final little extra expense came from my car door handle and window breaking, forcing me to enter the car from the passenger side and either climbing over the middle console or flicking the driver's side door open from the inside of the passenger seat. Two little pieces of plastic that definitely did not cost more than three dollars ended up costing me more than one hundred times more than that.

This week's parsha Ki Savo is identified as one of the two times the Torah delivers a horrific description of what can happen to the Jewish people if we do not follow the Torah and serve God properly. In scripture this is known as the Tochacha, the public rebuke and curses of the Jewish people. A core belief that this prophecy will come is due to our turning against Hashem. A more subtle approach is found in Devarim 28:47 "Tachas Asher Lo Avadeta Es Hashem Elokecha B'Simcha UVtuv Leivav Meirov Kol". "Because you did not serve Hashem your God with gladness and with goodness of heart, out of an abundance of everything". Rav Chaim Volozhin teaches that serving Hashem without joy is equated to a servant serving his enemies. Since the Jews did not serve Hashem with joy and a merry heart, it is as if we served only our enemies.

Reb Simcha Bunim of Peshischa comments on the words from Divrei Hayamim/Chronicles 16:10 'Yismach Lev M'Vakshei Hashem', 'Those who seek out God will have a joyful heart'. He explains that the nature of an ordinary person is to be sad when he is seeking out an object that he has lost. Only when he finds the item he was looking for does he become happy. But when a person seeks out God, the opposite is true; the exercise and process of seeking and searching for Hashem is done in a state of happiness and joy.

One of the reasons that Ki Savo is read before Rosh Hashana is to send a message that IF the curses from this parsha were to be decreed Then we want to get rid of them before the end of the year in order to start fresh next year. 'Tichle Shana M'Klaloseha' - 'the year should end its curses' - speaks to us metaphorically as well as concretely. We must view all 'supposed' curses - things that we think are bad - and end that perception. We must remove "the curse" of how we look at situations and view our circumstances through a positive lens, viewing this as a good thing, not a bad one. The Navi Yesheyahu says 55:6 'Dirshu Hashem B'Himatzo' 'Seek out Hashem where you will find Him'. I suggest that the seeking out of Hashem will only be successful if we look for the good that Hashem is doing for us, understanding that in reality everything that Hashem does for us is good. The concept of seeking out Hashem doesn't mean looking for God but rather seeing God in every situation - good or bad. We must concentrate on all the happenings of our lives, those which seem good and those which appear bad, understanding that all is for the good. Even the curses are meant to be good for us. (This article does not explain how we should attain this level). Furthermore, part of the Teshuva/repentance process is returning to Hashem, but is not limited to that. The word 'Shuva' has many connotations, return, go back, review, rest, and so forth.

This year we all need to try to end potential curses by seeking out Hashem. This act in and of itself will bring us joy. At times when challenging things happen, we contemplate whether this a blessing or a curse. When things go wrong we question how can that possibly be good. Is it a good thing or bad thing, a curse or a blessing when money is lost because of negligence or bad mazal. The proper Hashkafa/outlook or philosophy is to be happy and satisfied with any situation in life and to seek out the good, leaving the bad. What sometimes seems to be an unnecessary (or foolish) expense is, in reality, an inexpensive way to realize how necessary those little unexpected expenses really are.

Ah Gut Shabbos