1 Tishri, 5784 – ROSH HASHANAH!

on September 16, 2023

Tyler’s Torah Thoughts for 1 Tishri, 5784

L’Shanah Tova!

Once again I had the pleasure of attending services on campus with Rabbi Meir. And once again we are reminded that the Hebrew word Rosh does not mean “new.” It means “head.” The head is what drives our actions. The central nervous system is connected to the head and responds based on what is happening in our brains. Often times, this is sub-conscious.

What will be the head of 5784 for us? For me, I am seeing abundance. That is the head. Abundance in relationships – with food, with money, with friends, with kids, etc. Abundance!

I wrote this a year ago – and I think it is salient:

This is Rosh Hashanah. God remembers. Abraham coronates God as king by circumcising Isaac. Sarah was happy.

What is OUR Rosh Hashanah?
We know God remembers.
Who are WE going to coronate as king?
How will we coronate our King? What will we circumcise?
And what/who external to us will be happy because we do?

That last one? Let me dig deeper.

We are Abraham. Who or what is our Sarah?

My take is Sarah relates to our relationships. Things and people we have relationships with. You see in Judaism, all things have a soul – a purpose. How we relate to these things creates opportunities to elevate them to achieve their purpose – which manifests happiness.

So – by coronating Hashem as our King? We find these things happy:

Food – our relationship with food. Instead of coronating food as our king, we instead coronate Hashem as King. This allows us to elevate the soul of food we place in our bodies – by saying a bracha (blessing) before we do, by enjoying each bite of food we take in. By being mindful! Hashem as King? Food is happy. The scale does not define our worth, Hashem does.
Money – our relationship with money. Instead of coronating money as our king, we instead coronate Hashem as King. This allows us to elevate the soul of money we bring into our bank accounts and pockets. We see the flow in and out of our lives – bringing abundance in, and spending that abundance where it’s purpose is – where Hashem drives us to – blessing others and providing for them. Money doesn’t define our worth. Hashem does.
Kids – our relationship with our kids. Instead of setting our kids up as king in our lives, we instead coronate Hashem as King. This allows us to elevate the souls of the children we have been entrusted with – by guiding them towards FREEDOM AND LIBERATION AND HASHEM and not oppression and control. We see the flow of our children in and out of our lives as being purposeful and part of Hashem’s plan. We don’t take personally what happens and allow our kids to be sovereign. This will allow them to see Hashem, and coronate Hashem as King in their lives.
Friends/Romantic relationships. Instead of setting our friends and/or romantic partners up as king in our lives, we instead coronate Hashem as King. This allows us to elevate the souls of our friends and romantic partners by stepping out of the way and observing THEM and who THEY coronate as king in their own lives. We are not responsible for their coronation, and we are not responsible for MAKING THEM put Hashem as King in their lives. We don’t “own” their feelings for them, but we instead work to support them in their own work to navigate their own feelings. It is the difference between “holding someone’s sadness for them” and “holding someone in their sadness.” (Mark Nepo).
- We can only elevate our friends and romantic partners to the point at which they have coronated Hashem as King. If they choose not to elevate or coronate Hashem as King? That just means our work gets more challenging – but it doesn’t stop because we made the choice to coronate Hashem as King in our own lives.

This is what the next 10 days are ALL ABOUT. Who will we coronate as King in OUR lives. That’s it. I can’t make my kids coronate Hashem. I can’t make my friends coronate Hashem. We can’t make our romantic partners coronate Hashem.

Money? Food? They don’t coronate anyone as king. Because they do not have a “godly” soul like we do.

And. One last thing.

Hashem? Is Love. Now. Go reread the above words, and each time you read Hashem? Substitute love.

You’re welcome. May this create a sweet new year for us!

Tyler’s Torah Thoughts for 1 Tishri, 5783

L’Shana Tova! Happy New Year!

Last night I attended the Chabad services on campus – and there was a beautiful message given by Rabbi Meir; at the core, the next two days are the “head of the year” – Rosh Hashanah literally means this. And it’s different than a new year. In a “new year” the slate is wiped clean and we start over with a blank canvas.

In Jewish cycles, the next two days are about establishing the head of 5783. Who will be king over us? Is it going to be Hashem? Is it going to be our Neshama? Or will we let other forces be the “brain” for this upcoming year? The next two days are about us establishing these areas of kingship and sovereignty over our lives! Hopefully we can reflect as we engage on this journey of freedom and liberation!

Let’s dig in!

For Rosh Hashanah today; the Torah reading is Genesis 21:1-34 and Numbers 29:1-6.

Again. It is an interesting thing that yesterday we began the portion of Va-yelekh and Moses told us he can’t go with us to the promised land. We break from that and rewind to the beginning.

And what is Genesis 21:1-34?

We start with God remembering. “God remembered His promise of pregnancy to Sarah as He has said…”

Whoa. Most of the Torah seems to be about US remembering. It’s about being reminded about what God did for US! But on Rosh Hashanah the message is “God remembered” to start with.

If we are going to coronate Hashem as king, it would be comforting to know; he remembers. That puts us in a good space.

Next, after God remembered, Sarah conceived. Then Sarah gave birth to Isaac. Abraham circumcised Isaac. Sarah was happy. She literally says in Genesis 21:6; ”God has made me happy!”

This is Rosh Hashanah. God remembers. Abraham coronates God as king by circumcising Isaac. Sarah was happy.

Isaac grew and was weaned. There was a feast.

In coronating Hashem as king, I wonder if there is a time where we become weaned from Hashem being just an external king, to moving inside and seeing our Neshama as king as well? That we are the sovereign within. Not from a place of ego – “I am God.” But from a place of connectedness “God is within me- I don’t have to look externally!”

I think this idea continues as Sarah sees Hagar and Ishmael – they are worshiping idols. So their source of sovereignty is external.

As we journey to liberation and freedom, Rosh Hashanah is a time for us to look within for the King as much as we look beyond.

And we aren’t to look at those who have external sources of kingship as “bad.” We shouldn’t judge because the passage we read has Hashem treating Hagar and Ishmael kindly. Hashem is sovereign and kind to Hagar and Ishmael just as much as He is to Sarah.

Next, another king comes to Abraham and acknowledges his power. That king offers Abraham the pick of the land. In return there is an argument about Abimelech’s servants and the well they were using. Abimelech said he didn’t know about it. Now that he does he will take care of it.

Abraham took flocks and cattle and gave them to Abimelech; and they formed a covenant. Then Abraham put seven more lambs by themselves. And he gave those in addition to prove the well was dug by Abraham.

This is a beautiful message of the Kingship of Hashem. Hashem was Abraham’s king. But Abraham was ALSO a king. Abimelech respected him as such. Abraham was aware of the king within. His Neshama.

Do we have that power? Do we have responsibility for that power? Or do we abdicate our throne and only look at Hashem externally?

Those are important questions for us to consider in the head of this year. The decisions we make over the next two days of Rosh Hashanah will impact the rest of the year.

Let’s jump to Numbers 29:1-6: this is the passage that gives us a framework for Rosh Hashanah:

In the seventh month, on the first day, you will have a holy celebration:
You may not perform any manual work.
It will be a day of sounding (the ram’s horn) for you.
You should bring a burnt-offering as a pleasant aroma to God:
- One young bull one ram
- Seven lambs in their first year, (all) perfect (and unblemished).
- Their accompanying meal-offerings (should be) fine flour mixed with oil: three tenths (of an ‘ephah) for the bull, two-tenths for the ram, ” and one-tenth for each lamb, for the seven lambs.”
- (Offer) one young male goat as a sin-offering to atone for your (inadvertent ritual contamination of the Temple. All this is) in addition to the New Moon burnt-offering and its accompanying meal-offering, and (in addition to) the daily burnt-offering and its accompanying meal-offering and libations, as prescribed for them. (It will be) a pleasant aroma, a fire-offering to God.”