Rosh Hashanah – the feast of the creation of man and freedom of choice

The Jews, as you know, are the clever people. They settled well even with a New Year: they celebrate it more than once. However, the Jewish New year is not a reason for alcoholic libations and Christmas trees. Rosh Hashanah is a time of awe and prayer. "You say, time passes? Time stands still — you pass away," said Rabbi Yitzhak Broyde of the Trowel. Jewish holidays are not the memories of the miracle or a historical event, or the "things of bygone days, legends of olden time deep". The Jewish holiday is a continuously (each year) emerging possibility of the use of spiritual forces, once involved in the historical process. The date indicated in the Jewish calendar as Rosh Hashanah, coincides with the sixth day of Creation.

Let’s remember the question the most famous sage of the nineteenth century, Rabbi Menachem Mendel from Kotzk: "Where is G-d?" His answer is: "G-d is where he is admitted by the man," and makes us understand the innermost essence of the creation of Man as the partner of the Creator. Desire of Creator, which has prevailed unchallenged before He created this world, has become "powerless" over "extraterritorial state", whose name is Adam (Man). On the sixth day of Creation G-d created the opportunity, thanks to which the man (endowed with freedom of choice, and therefore having the right to refuse!) can take the desire of G-d as the Regal, thereby restoring harmony in himself and in the world.

Time to implement this opportunity is called in the Torah the Day of raising the noise, i.e. the enthronement of the Almighty to the throne. After "subcivil" war — internal war that lasted for the past year, a man by defeating his own ego (the hardest of all possible opponents), acknowledges himself a subject, and Him a King. On Rosh Hashanah it is customary to wish a good and sweet year. Why the coming year should be sweet? Isn't it enough that it was just good? The thing is that the right treatment may be bitter to our taste, so we ask the Almighty to give us the appropriate remedy, but we want to feel it as a pleasant and sweet — a carrot, not a whip.

And, despite all the fear of waiting for The Last Judgment on the first day of the year, Jews say: "When the New Year is coming, our hearts are filled with joy"... The end of the year 5777 is nearing, in a few days we'll meet the 5778 from creation of the world. We wish all our wards the good record in the Book of life. Shana Tova u-metuka! A git Yur, a Zise Yur! Have a good and sweet year!

Material is prepared from the Internet sources

Rosh Hashanah – the feast of the creation of man and freedom of choice

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