Q:
Shouldn’t the Aseres Yemei Teshuva come before Rosh Hashanah?
A:
This question we discussed here at length. Why are the Aseres Yemei Teshuva not before Rosh Hashanah so that we can do teshuvah before Yom Hadin?
The answer is, Aseres Yemei Teshuva are a preparation for Yom Kippur, for taking off the spots from your soul, the sins that are staining your neshamah. But the preparation for Aseres Yemei Teshuva is Rosh Hashanah. Because what good is it for you to ask Hashem to cleanse you of your sins, if you are still far away from thinking about Hashem.
First is Hashem! We say we want yiras Shomayim but you have to have Shomayim to be a yarei Shomayim. So the first thing we establish is Shomayim. Hashem Melech! That’s number one! That’s most urgent. After that, then we’re ready now for the pratim, for the details.
So make sure you understand what was said here tonight. The yesod, the foundation of everything is, Hashem Melech! He made the world! That’s the first thing to think about. And on Yom Kippur when you bang yourself on your chest, think, “Did I think enough that Hashem Melech? Do I think Hashem is the King of the world?”
By the way, when our forefathers said, “ה’ ימלך לעולם ועד,” by kriyas Yam Suf, they meant we don’t want a king. Hashem is our King. Actually a king.
And therefore, when they approached Gideon and told him, “Be a king over us,” he said, “I’m surprised at you,” he said. “Hashem is your king!” It’s a remarkable story; Gideon was their hero and their champion, and so they approached him and said, “We’ll make you a king.”
“I’m surprised,” he said. “You have a king! At kriyas Yam Suf you said, ‘ה’ ימלך לעולם ועד.’ He’s your King.”
When they came to Shmuel HaNavi and said, “Give us a king,” he said, “What’s this?! ה’ מלככם – Hashem is your king.”
It’s a remarkable statement. We don’t understand that today but they understood; they understood that Hashem is their king.
And we have to work on that. At least a miktzas min hamiktzas should enter into our mind that Hashem is our King. And that’s the most fundamental teshuvah that you can do. It comes before any other al chet. על חטא שחטאנו לפניך that we didn’t recognize Hashem Melech! We said it always with words, we never thought it with our minds.
Do you think you’re standing in the presence of a King right now? If we thought a king was looking at us, we would sit up with derech eretz. But a King is looking at us right now. That’s the attitude of Hashem Melech. You have to behave at all times.
And so when you’re talking in the home, a husband and a wife, you can’t say mean words to each other. Suppose you have a guest, an important guest, would you say mean words to each other in front of the guest? You have a guest; at all times Hashem is there looking at you. So you’re going to behave!
And that’s why that’s the first thing to do before you start thinking about teshuvah on details is the teshuvah on forgetting that Hashem Melech. That’s what Rosh Hashanah is for. And that’s the preparation for the Aseres Yemei Teshuvah.
TAPE # E-27 (September 1995)
