It’s all in the head
While Rosh Hashanah is commonly referred to as the “Jewish New Year”, in fact, the precise translation of Rosh Hashanah is actually “Head of the Year”.
We call this holiday “Head of the Year” since these two days stand in the same relationship to the rest of the year as the head does to the body. Just like the head is the source of the life force of the person, and afterwards this life force is distributed to each individual organ of the body, so too Rosh Hashanah has hidden within it all of the life force of the year, and from the holiday it is apportioned to each and every individual day.
Among the many wonderful traditions of Rosh Hashanah, you may be familiar with the custom of eating from the head of a ram or a fish on the night of holiday to symbolize that in the coming year “we should be the head and not the tail".
However, practically speaking, how can we expect everyone to serve as a head?
More than just receiving an official leadership title, serving as a head means to make decisions and lead our lives based on Divine morals and values instead of following our base instincts or social conformity.
Reclaiming our head means to recognize absolute objective truths based on a G-d given moral system which empowers us to control our lower urges and live a life of meaning.
Parents and educators must lead their children by example and set clear guidelines and boundaries between right and wrong. Business owners and professionals have the responsibility to demonstrate the true value and purpose of their careers by creating a work environment which is conducive to philanthropy, connectivity and making a positive impact on society.
On the Shabbat preceding Rosh Hashanah, the Torah portion of Nitzavim is always read. The reason for this is that every Shabbos is related to the time period during which it is read.
Parshat Nitzavim begins with the final speech Moses gave to the Jewish people on the day of his passing. Moses proclaimed, “You are all standing this day before the Lord, your G-d, the leaders of your tribes, your elders and your officers, every man of Israel. Your young children, your women, and your convert who is within your camp both your woodcutters and your water drawers”- Deuteronomy 29:9-10
Moses made a point of recognizing both the unity and the diversity of the Jewish people assembled before him, from the heads or tribes to the water carrier and wood choppers. He expressed the fact that they were each equally important in G-d's eyes and each one of them served an indispensable role in this world.
We are united not despite our differences but rather because of our differences.
Moses was empowering each of them to see themselves as a “head” in their own right. Rabbi Schneur Zalman of Liadi (1745, Liozna, Belarus- 1813, Haditch, Ukraine) expounds on this concept further: “Like the various organs and limbs of a body, each of which complements, serves and fulfills all the others, so too the Jewish people: the simple “wood-hewer” or “water-carrier” contributes something to each and every one of his fellow Jews, including the most exalted “head.”
During Rosh Hashanah, we forge so strong a bond with G‑d — utterly transcending logic — that no power in the world can sunder the relationship. In order to arouse within G‑d the desire to unite with us in such a powerful manner, it is necessary for us to demonstrate a willingness to give of ourselves in a manner that transcends logic. This is accomplished when we unite so thoroughly that we become “truly as one.” Achieving such a feeling for one's fellow indeed goes beyond the boundaries of logic, for logically, one person is a “leader” while the other is a “wood chopper and water drawer.” When we show this degree of love towards our fellow, then G‑d in turn demonstrates His infinite love for us on Rosh Hashanah, and blesses us during the coming year with all manner of good.
This concept is also represented by the primary Mitzvah of Rosh Hashanah- the blowing of the Shofar. Rosh Hashanah is the day we coronate G-d as our king and reenter into a unique relationship with Him. The Shofar represents the essential cry of the soul which yearns to leave the confines of its limitations and reveal its infinite potential by connecting to G-d. Rather than highlighting personal creativity and sophistication, the cry of the Shofar is a relatively simple sound, representing the essential bond which we all equally share with our creator.
May this coming year usher in a time of health, happiness, Yiddishe Nachas and success for you and your family. May this Rosh Hashanah usher in a time of ultimate peace and prosperity for all nations on earth with the coming of redemption when the great Shofar will be blown. As we request in our daily prayers, "Sound the great shofar for our freedom; raise a banner to gather our exiles, and bring us together from the four corners of the earth into our land."
