From the Rabbi’s Desk
Rabbi Manes Kogan
Sermon for the First Day of Rosh Hashanah
5759
As I guess some of you know, in the Torah, the first month in the year is the month of Nissan. We read in the book of Exodus: "Hashem said to Mosheh and Aaron in the land of Egypt, saying, "This month shall be for you the beginning of the months, it shall be for you the first of the months of the year" (Exodus 12:1-2).
The month of Tishrei is numbered seventh in the order of the months in the Torah. Actually, today we read from the second scroll of the Torah: "In the seventh month, on the first day of the month, there shall be a holy convocation for you; you shall do no laborious work, it shall be a day of shofar-sounding for you" (Numbers 29:1)
However, the sages of the Mishnah had a little different oral tradition that complemented the information of the Torah. We read in the beginning of the Tractate of Rosh Hashanah: "There are four new year days: On the first of Nissan is the new year for kings and for the holidays...The first of Tishrei is the new year for the years, for the Sabbatical years, for the Jubilee years, for the planting, and for the vegetables."
At this point it is important to remind you that the names of the Hebrew months (Tishrei, Nissan, Elul, etc.) don’t appear in the Torah, but in the rabbinical texts.
In the Guemarah, also in the Tractate of Rosh Hashanah, we find a discussion between two Tanaim, Rabbi Eliezer and Rabbi Yehoshua that complements the discussion in the Mishnah. Rabbi Yeoshua teaches: The world was created in the month of Nissan and Rabbi Eliezer teaches: The world was created in the month of Tishrei.. Rabbi Yehoshua maintained that the world was created in the spring (Nissan), and Rabbi Eliezer maintained that it was created in the fall (Tishrei).
Apparently, this is a technical discussion between two Rabbis who lived in the beginning of the first millenium of our era. What does it matter if the world was created in Tishrei or in Nissan? It is a fact that the world was created and we live in it, and maybe this is all the information we need so far.
However, in the Talmud is written that the month, and even the day a person was born, influences on his or her life. As you know, Astrology has the same idea. So, if it is different for a person to be born in the spring or in the fall, maybe the same happens regarding the entire world, and therefore, the discussion between Rabbi Eliezer and Rabbi Yeoshua has sense and we can learn something from it.
Also there is another Rabbi of the same period, Rabbi Eleazar who supports the opinion that the world was created during the fall, but he introduces an interesting little change: "Rabbi Eleazar said: the 25th of Elul the world was created, therefore the first man was created six days after, that is the first day of the month of Tishrei" (our current Rosh Hashanah.)
So, according to this new opinion of Rabbi Eleazar, not the entire world was created on Rosh Hashanah, but the single first man, the father of all of us, the first human being.
So what can we learn from this difference of opinions between the sages?
If we accept the opinion of Rabbi Yeoshua, that teaches us that the world was created in the spring, we’ll need to conclude that Adam and Eve, the first man and the first woman, came to the world in a season that always is ready to enjoy: Flowers, barley, wheat, music of birds and happiness of spirit.
However, if we accept the opinion of Rabbi Eliezer and Rabbi Eleazar, which teaches us that the world was created in the fall, we will need to conclude that Adam and Eve, the first man and the first woman, came to the world in a season when you need to work hard to prepare the soil in order to plant barley and wheat, and in order to enjoy the beauty of the flowers the next spring. Fall –even though it is a wonderful season (and I hear that this is especially true here, in Roanoke), is the prelude of the winter, and it is not difficult to perceive a sense of melancholia and sadness of spirit in the air.
In any case, you know the end of the story: The sages and Jewish History accepted the opinion of Rabbi Eliezer and Rabbi Eleazar, and that is the reason we are here today, the first day of the Hebrew month of Tishrei, and by a wonderful coincidence, the first day of fall, to celebrate Rosh Hashanah, the beginning of the year.
The Sages understood that like Adam and Eve, the first man and the first woman, who worked hard at the beginning of Tishrei to prepare the soil and plant the seeds, we, their offspring, need to work hard today and tomorrow, at the beginning of Tishrei and the New Year, in order to prepare not the soil, but our soul and spirit for the rest of the year.
Like a farmer who prepares the soil during the fall in order to gather the harvest during the spring and the summer, we need to prepare ourselves this fall, this Rosh Hashanah, to gather our own harvest during the coming year.
Our spirit and our soul need to work hard during these Holy Days:
How can I be a better father and a better son? How can I be a better husband or a better wife? What can I do to be a better Jew, to be more observant? Will I be able to find time to help other people in need? To share the gifts that God and life gave me with other people who didn’t have the same good luck as I? When will I stop making gossip my favorite sport? How can I be more tolerant, more open minded with the people that surround me? When will I start to look on the positive aspects of my neighbor instead of on his faults and weak points? Will I be able to recognize my faults and ask for forgiveness? Will I be able to forgive the people who hurt me? Will I be able to find the courage and the strength of spirit to change, even though people and society are telling me that I am old and tired?
These and other vital questions are part of a spiritual trip that everyone of us should take alone in order to prepare himself or herself for the coming year.
As Bruce Brenner explained to us during several past Minnian discussions, even though we are not very knowledgeable in Hebrew or we cannot find ourselves in the prayer book, we can still take advantage of these special days in order to come back, to change our lives.
During the fall, leaves will start to change color, and we also can add new color to our life. And remember: It is never too late to come back.
Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur give us this wonderful gift of renovation and change. Accept it and let it renew our soul and our spirit.
And may God bless every one of you and your families with health, and joy, with peace of spirit and sustenance, with a good and sweet year.
Shanah Tovah!