A summary of the shmuess delivered by Maran HaGaon
R' Moshe Mordechai Epstein zt'l, rosh yeshivas
Slobodka in the main Heichal Hayeshiva, on Rosh Hashonoh
before the blowing of the Shofar
*
There was once a Torah sage by the name of R' Binyomin
Trachtman zt'l. The veteran scholars in Ponovezh still
remember him as a venerable scholar who studied in the
Ponovezh kollel and would engage the younger ones in
give-and-take. He was a product of Yeshivas Slobodka in
Lithuania, and exuded the unique flavor of yore. In the
period following the Second World War he lived in the U.S.
but in his later years, he relocated to Bnei Brak. In both
places, he occupied himself with the compilation of Torah
publications bearing various names, the most familiar
periodical being Aperion and Amtachas
Binyomin.
In one of the booklets which he edited in the U.S., called
Shevet Binyomin, we find a list in which he summarizes
the special talks of his'orerus which rosh yeshivas
Slobodka, HaRav Moshe Mordechai Epstein zt'l,
delivered before the blowing of the shofar in the heichal
hayeshiva. These talks, he notes, had a tremendous impact
upon the listeners. We bring one of them here:
*
Tosafos write (in Rosh Hashonoh 33) that the reason we
blow one hundred times is because Sisra's mother `wailed'
(vateyabeiv) one hundred times. Rosh Hashonoh is
referred to in the Torah as a Day of Teru'oh, which is
translated by the Targum as yom yebovoh, paralleled as
a day of one hundred cries.
Doesn't it seem strange that Chazal had to infer these one
hundred blasts of the shofar from the defiled wailing of the
mother of Israel's enemy, General Sisra? What connection does
this have with the teki'os on the Day of Judgment?
It is written, "And the mother of Sisra wailed because his
chariot tarried in coming." Why was she so concerned for his
safety when she should have been — and was —
certain that he would be victorious? By all natural
calculations of military strength he should have won, since
he had nine hundred iron chariots under his command. So
strong was he that Heavenly intervention was required to
overcome him, as it says, "From Heaven did the stars do
battle in their orbits." The one star that did not come to
the aid of Israel was rebuked, as Devorah said in her song,
"Curse Meroz," for its not having come to the aid of Hashem,
as it were, against the mighty men. With power such as her
son commanded, how could Sisra's mother question his success?
Or be afraid?
She had no doubt that Sisra would be victorious, but war is
war. There was always the one single doubt [the Achille's
heel of doubt] as opposed to the million chances of victory.
And that one iota of insecurity was enough to evoke from her
one hundred wails. From here Chazal learned how one must feel
on the Day of Judgment.
Dovid Hamelech compares Yom Hadin to the day of
battle. "If a battalion encamp against me . . . " Hashem is
my light - - on Rosh Hashonoh. Our actions and our thoughts
wage a war with us on the Day of Judgment and we are far from
the confidence and self-assurance that Sisra's mother had
based on her son's situation that we will be victorious in
that battle.
We can infer the greater from the lesser — if a person
emits one hundred wails of doubt even when victory is assured
almost one hundred percent through the normal balance of
power and the natural course of events, because even in such
a situation he realizes that there is always a slight chance
of things turning out differently, what then can we expect
when the Torah writes, "`A day of teru'oh' — a
day of wailing it shall be for you"?
The people wept so profusely because they understood how
decisive this day was — to the point that even Hashem
decreed: It shall be a day of wailing for you!
It is written in Nechemia that the people who went up
with Ezra wept upon hearing the reading in the Torah on Rosh
Hashonoh. They were so moved and fearful that they were
unable to eat. Ezra found it necessary to urge them not to
mourn and not to weep. "Go eat rich foods and drink sweet
beverages, for the joy of Hashem is your stronghold, for holy
is this day unto your Master."
We wonder what it was in the reading of the Torah portion for
Rosh Hashonoh that evoked such strong emotions, such weeping,
that they refused to eat?
Said Chazal: Rich, poor and wicked come to be judged. The
rich man is asked: Why did you not apply yourself to Torah
study? If he claims to have been preoccupied with his
affairs, he is put in his place and told: Were you richer
than R' Elozor ben Charsom? When the wicked man is asked why
he didn't apply himself to Torah study and he answers that he
was preoccupied with the constant struggle with his evil
drives, he is rebuked, "Were you subject to greater
temptation than Yosef Hatzaddik?" And the poor man who is
asked the same question and offers the excuse that he had to
contend with his poverty and survival is chided: "Were you
poorer than Hillel?"
We see from here the extent of the judgment. A person is not
judged only according to his particular circumstances and
nature, but according to the standards of the world. If
someone can be found in the world who was faced with the same
temptation, the same difficult circumstances, and he overcame
the obstacles, then the person under judgment has no excuse,
no retort in argument.
Since the ultimate — in wealth or poverty or temptation
— did exist at one time, and there were people saddled
with those circumstances who overcame the hurdles and passed
the test, these become the role models, the ultimate
standards, the point of possibility. Hashem does not expect
the impossible — but He does expect what is humanly
possible, as was already shown by the achievements of those
individuals. And every subsequent person is expected to be
able to emulate them and to reach that goal.
This being so, how can we begin to fathom the extent of the
severity of the judgment which a person is subjected to on
Rosh Hashonoh? It is terrible and awesome. Who can stand up
to such a judgment?
*
This is the synopsis of what was said by HaRav Moshe
Mordechai Epstein. He followed this message with a fervent
discussion of the order of blowing referred to as
Malchuyos. The remarks made a tremendous impact in the
yeshiva.
