Newspaper Page Text
Rosh Hashona’s
Inspiring
Message
by DR. HELEN HIRSCH
“By thy seed shall all the
nations of the world be
blessed . . . ”
According to our tradition, Rosh
Hashona marks the birthday of
the world, the anniversary of the
creation of the first man and the
birthday of our Patriarch Abra
ham who occupies such a high
place in our history. For he was
the medium through which re
ligion was presented to a heathen
world, he was the high-souled
proclaimer of monotheism, the
founder of a great spiritual king
dom.
When in the night of the new
moon of Tishri—Rosh Hashona—
Abraham was watching the stars
to forecast the year’s fertility, the
revelation came to him that, in
view of God's omnipotent will, all
astrological predictions were val
ueless. And in a fervent prayer,
he complained to the Lord that
he had no children. And lo and
behold, the word of the Lord came
unto him saying: “Look now to
ward heaven and count the stars
if thou be able to count them. So
shall thy seed be.” (Genesis XV:
5). And He promised him: “I will
bless thee and greatly multiply
thy seed as the stars of heaven
and as the sand which is upon the
seashore. And thy seed shall pos
sess the gate of his enemies and
by thy seed shall all the nations
of the world be blessed.” (Gen.
XXII, 16-18).
And when Abraham was called
upon to prove his love for God
to sacrifice his young son Isaac—
he resigned himself with a heavy
heart to obey, but by God’s in
finite mercy regained his beloved
child. This is a story of deep sig
nificance. Because Abraham was
ready to give up what he prized
most, he received more than he
gave. By his unhesitating readi
ness to fulfill the Lord’s wish,
Abraham had given proof that he
served God not only from fear,
but out of love.
And God Almighty then gave
the solemn promise that whenever
the Akedah chapter (telling of
Abraham’s sacrifice) is read on
Rosh Hashona, when the ram’s
horn is blown (in remembrance of
the horn of the ram sacrificed in
stead of young Isaac on Mt. Mor
iah), the descendents of Abraham
should be redeemed of sin, of op
pression and apprehension.
Thus the solemn ritual of the
Rosh Hashona liturgy reminds us
that we are of the seed of Abra
ham and that such seed is a pre
cious treasure.
The whole spirit of the New
Year Festival is one of solemnity
and seriousness which is reflected
in the Zodiac sign for Tishri—a
pair of scales, a symbol remanding
us that our deeds are weighed
and judged in the Heavenly Book
of Life, where everyone’s fate is
written for the coming year.
A wealth of thought of deep
religious faith and feeling lie be
hind this hearty wish, which is
not a wish for mere merriment as
in other religions—for us it means
a fervent prayer for faith and
hope, for deep joy and unbound
love. Our Rosh Hashona thoughts
and wishes are wide enough to
express their poignant concern not
only for our loved ones, but for
all our Jewish brethren in suffer
ing or peril. Our mood is never
frivolous, our wishes not glib lip
service. When we say “A Happy
New Year”, we wish it also for
those who are saddened, for those
who are in need, for those who
are distraught.
More than ever in these
troubled, insecure times, we have
need of joy, we have need, as
never before, of calm assurance
and confidence in God who, de
spite many tribulations through
danger-fraught millennia, has nev
er deserted us, but brought us to
safety. We have need of courage
in the face of danger and of pa
tience in the face of frustration.
And before all we are sorely in
need of unshakable faith in God’s
mercy and compassion. These are
the great spiritual gifts of Rosh
Hashona, which will give us
strength, lighten our sorrows and
lift up our hearts.
And so, like our Patriarch Abra
ham, in the days of old, we come
before the world’s despots to
bring them the eternal message
of human rights, equality and jus
tice proclaiming that no people
can of right be robbed of its na
tional life or territory, its lan
guage or spiritual heritage.
The humane message of Rosh
Hashona is extended to all peo
ples reminding them that not
blind fate determines the rise and
fall of nations and kingdoms, but
that only righteousness exalteth
a nation. In the long run, all will
be well with those that build on
moral foundation; in the long run,
robber-states write out their own
doom. And we pray fervently:
“Remember us unto life, O King,
who delightest in life and inscribe
us in the Book of Life, for thine
own sake. O living God.”
The Southern Israelite
29