Rosh Hashanah, in just two minutes

For many people the traditional Rosh Hashanah prayers are a challenge that they accept with reluctance. The synagogue service is long and can easily last six or seven hours. In place of the usual prayers one finds many poetic and allusive texts that are sometimes hard to read or understand—even in translation. Some people attend services out of loyalty but still bring something to read for when the going gets too tough or when they simply can’t focus on what Rosh Hashanah is supposed to be about. Others again have no problems coping with the service but bring a little supplementary reading material with them into which they can dip whenever there is a pause in the proceedings or the chazan is shifting into operatic mode.

Even if you can’t make it to shul, or get there and wonder what to do next, don’t worry! You can capture much of the essence of Rosh Hashanah in just one mishnah from Avot. At 4:29 Rabbi Elazar HaKappar teaches this:

הַיִּלּוֹדִים לָמוּת, וְהַמֵּתִים לִחֳיוֹת, וְהַחַיִּים לִדּוֹן, לֵידַע וּלְהוֹדִֽיעַ וּלְהִוָּדַע שֶׁהוּא אֵל, הוּא הַיּוֹצֵר, הוּא הַבּוֹרֵא, הוּא הַמֵּבִין, הוּא הַדַּיָּן, הוּא הָעֵד, הוּא בַּֽעַל דִּין, הוּא עָתִיד לָדוֹן. בָּרוּךְ הוּא, שֶׁאֵין לְפָנָיו לֹא עַוְלָה, וְלֹא שִׁכְחָה, וְלֹא מַשּׂוֹא פָנִים, וְלֹא מַקַּח שֹֽׁחַד, וְדַע שֶׁהַכֹּל לְפִי הַחֶשְׁבּוֹן. וְאַל יַבְטִיחֲךָ יִצְרָךְ שֶׁהַשְּׁאוֹל בֵּית מָנוֹס לָךְ, שֶׁעַל כָּרְחָךְ אַתָּה נוֹצָר, וְעַל כָּרְחָךְ אַתָּה נוֹלָד, וְעַל כָּרְחָךְ אַתָּה חַי, וְעַל כָּרְחָךְ אַתָּה מֵת, וְעַל כָּרְחָךְ אַתָּה עָתִיד לִתֵּן דִּין וְחֶשְׁבּוֹן לִפְנֵי מֶֽלֶךְ מַלְכֵי הַמְּלָכִים, הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא

[Translation] Those who are born will die, and the dead are to live. The living will be judged—to learn, to teach and to understand that He is God, He is the maker, He is the creator, He is the One who understands, He is the judge, He is the witness, He is the prosecutor, and He will judge. He is blessed because before Him there is no unrighteousness, no forgetting, no favouritism, and no taking of bribes. Know that everything is strictly according to His reckoning. Don’t let your evil impulse convince you that the grave is your escape route for against your will you were created, against your will you were born, against your will you live, against your will you die, and against your will you will have to give an account and assessment of yourself before the King, the King of kings, the Holy One, blessed be He.

Rosh Hashanah marks our acknowledgement that God is the King of kings, that He has created us and that He is also the judge of all that, for better or worse, we do. Our mishnah echoes this sentiment.

Rosh Hashanah is also the Yom HaDin, the Day of Judgement, and this mishnah is all about facing the reality that lies behind the label. It is we who are being judged and it is God who is judging us. No-one escapes this process since we are all called to account for our actions, our words and even our unworthy thoughts.

Giving an account of ourselves demands that we can recall what we have done, why we have done it and whether our deeds, words and thoughts comply with the ancient covenant that God established with our ancestors. This requires memory, which is why Rosh Hashanah is Yom HaZikaron, the Day of Remembrance.

The judgement process takes place annually, when the old year ends and the new one begins. Rosh Hashanah being an annual calendar event, we understand that we are subjected to regular annual judgement. There is more to it than that, though. Each year we are examined during God’s interim assessment of our ongoing performance in life. Additionally, as our mishnah indicates, we face a final judgement, once our lives have run their course. Each year, as He chooses, He may grant us more life or decide that we have lived long enough. We cannot know why some people are allowed to continue their lives while others are not: God is our witness, He knows all the material facts; He calls us to answer for what we have done. Finally He makes His decision. This is in accordance with His plan, which He fully understands but we do not.

There is no way to beat the system and no way to cheat it. Escape justice by committing suicide? That doesn’t work. Why? Because it is only after death that the final judicial process takes place: far from evading trial, the act of taking one’s life in order to escape judgement simply brings forth the trial date. Bribing God won’t work either: there is nothing we can give Him that he needs except our love and fear of Him. Yet, if we love and fear God, we should not be feeling the need to escape His judgement since we will believe we have done our best. We should then be confident that, as a fair arbiter of our conduct who understands the failings and foibles of humankind, He will be kind in judgement, not harsh.

This teaching is not for Jewish eyes only. Everyone, Jew and gentile alike, must face the same routine of annual interim judgement followed by a final one. We are all created in God’s image and must do His bidding. Where we as Jews differ is that we are held to a higher standard than others. We are expected to behave properly and serve God to the best of our abilities in accordance with the extra rules which He has ordained for our service. Have we done so? We all have our own opinion of our performance, but it’s God’s opinion alone that counts.

So, if the long haul of Rosh Hashanah liturgy is not for you, do at least focus on this mishnah. It takes only a couple of minutes to read and think about—but a lifetime to appreciate.

AVOT TODAY WISHES ALL OUR READERS A KETIVAH VECHATIMAH TOVAH!