Teshuva
Teshuva
Rabbi Immanuel Bernstein
Rabbi Immanuel Bernstein
Mosaica Press
Just in time for the upcoming High Holiday
season, Rabbi Immanuel Bernstein, maggid shiur, and author of other pristine
publications, treats us to yet another installment to help us grow in Torah and
Yirah in a gentle, engaging, and inspiring fashion.
In “Teshuva,” Rabbi Bernstein offers us 66 short
essays covering topics related to Elul, Rosh Hashana, Yom Kippur, and Sukkot. The
essays are all very thought provoking, covering both philosophical and
practical matters. There are number of interpretations, explanations, and commentaries of
routine High Holiday themes that I have not previously seen. There are also interpretations of the High Holidays
prayers scattered throughout the sefer.
The sefer is extremely enjoyable and easy
to follow. It should also be noted that the essays are also easy to “give over”
as divrei Torah at the Yom Tov table. In fact, the various short sub-sections
of each essay are stand-alone divrei Torah in their own right.
At the time of this writing, I have read all
the Elul essays and most of the Rosh Hashana ones. There is no question that “Teshuva”
is the best High Holiday primer and inspirational reader that I have seen in years,
and probably the best ever that covers Elul-Sukkot in a single volume. With this
third volume of his work (or is it the fourth?), Rabbi Bernstien has established a chazaka for producing
quality and worthwhile sefarm.
I am attaching some samples chapters below.
This will certainly be my shul companion this coming Tishrei. Highly
recommended.
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Why Do Selichos
Start on Sunday?
A number of days
before Rosh Hashanah, we begin to add Selichos to our prayers, until Yom
Kippur. This custom dates back to the Geonic period, with two customs being
mentioned regarding when to start: either from the first of Elul or from Rosh
Hashanah.[1]
The Sephardi
custom follows this second view. Interestingly, the Ashkenazi custom follows
neither of these two opinions. For Ashkenazim, Selichos always begins on
a Sunday:
If Rosh Hashanah
falls on Thursday or Shabbos, then Selichos begin on the Sunday of that
week.
If Rosh Hashanah
falls on Monday or Tuesday, then Selichos begin on the Sunday of the
preceding week.
Why?
According to the
Vilna Gaon,[2] the Ashkenazi custom is
actually based on a third practice mentioned by the Ran as the custom of
Barcelona.[3] They would begin saying Selichos
on the twenty-fifth of Elul — the anniversary of the first day of the creation
of the world. (When we celebrate Rosh Hashanah on the first of Tishrei and
refer to it as the day on which “the world was created,”[4] we are referring to the
creation of man on the sixth day. The creation of the world itself began five
days earlier, which works out to be the twenty-fifth of Elul.)
The Vilna Gaon
explains that Ashkenazi custom concurs with this view in principle, namely,
that the first day of Selichos should correspond to the first day of
creation. However, it differs in that it opts to mark the day not by calendar
date, but by the day of the week, i.e., the first day. This is why Selichos
will always start on a Sunday. Apparently, the association of the first day of
the week with the beginning of creation is stronger than the calendar date of
the twenty-fifth of Elul. This also explains why when Rosh Hashanah falls on a
Monday or Tuesday, the Selichos begin on the preceding Sunday — in order
to ensure that the number of days between the beginning of Selichos and
Rosh Hashanah will total no less than the five days between the creation of the
world and that of man.[5]
--
While Sunday is the first day of the week, it is also the day that
immediately follows the Shabbos of the preceding week. The final Selichah
on the first day refers to this element of the timing: במוצאי מנוחה קדמנוך — We
petition You on the morrow of the day of rest. One of the late Rishonim,
the Leket Yosher, explains the significance of beginning the Selichos
after Shabbos:[6]
"On Shabbos, people are free of work and are able to set aside time
for learning Torah. That is why it is good to start Selichos on Sunday,
for people are happy due to the mitzvah of learning Torah that they have
performed on Shabbos, and also due to the enjoyment of Shabbos, and it is
stated: “The Divine presence does not come to rest through lethargy or sadness,
rather, only through the joy of a mitzvah.” Therefore, it is good to begin to
pray through the joy of a mitzvah; and the author of the Selichah
similarly opens with the words, “On the morrow of the day of rest etc.”
These words should have a major impact on how we think of Selichos
and the way we say them. While teshuvah is an unmistakably serious business,
and it may require us to confront some uncomfortable truths about ourselves,
the overarching tone is one of joy, and that tone is set from the very
beginning. Moreover, we are also reminded that the process of teshuvah is not
just one of “betterment” or of “cleansing.” It is one of returning to a state
of closeness with Hashem, and that is a state that cannot be achieved if we are
not in a state of joy, because “the Divine presence rests only through the joy
of a mitzvah.”
This optimistic mood will hopefully ensure that the tough moments
within teshuvah do not lead us to give way to despair or self-pity, but will
rather launch us to a new and close connection with the Divine presence — through
the joy of a mitzvah!
[1]
See Tur, Orach Chaim 581.
[2]
Commentary to Shulchan Aruch 581:1.
[3]
Commentary to Rif , Rosh Hashanah 16a.
[4]
For example, in the chazzan’s repetition of Mussaf after the shofar is
blown, we say היום
הרת עולם — Today the world was created.
[5]
When Rosh Hashanah falls on Thursday, there will only be four days of Selichos.
However, since the custom of reciting Selichos began when the
institution of celebrating two days of Rosh Hashanah was already in place, the
amount of days from the beginning of Selichos until the second day
(Friday) is sufficient, and it is not necessary to move Selichos back an
additional week. For other explanations of the Ashkenazi custom, see Mishnah
Berurah 581:6.
[6]
Vol. 1, p. 118.
