Over the past six weeks, since Tisha b’Av, we have examined in this column the Maamar HaGeula of the Ramchal. With Rosh Hashana only a week away, and Ashkenazim beginning to say slichot this Motzei Shabbat, here are some more thoughts from the Ramchal, suitable to the season.
Rosh Hashana marks the anniversary of the birth of Adam and as such the dawn of human consciousness. On Rosh Hashana every year we, the Jewish people, affirm G-d’s kingship on behalf of the human race. In Maamar HaChochma, the Essay on Wisdom, the Ramchal examines the special prayers and customs of Rosh Hashana in light of the sanctity of this day on which we as a species accept and acknowledge the kingship of Hashem.
Rosh Hashana is unique among biblical holidays in that the service in the Beit HaMikdash is tangential to the essential mitzvot of the day. On Rosh Hashana we blow the shofar, recite distinctive prayers, and perform Tashlich to recognize the Creator of the Universe as the source of all mercy and forgiveness. Each of these activities develops a theme which might best be described as elevating our consciousness to a level conducive to active partnership in the completion of the process of Creation. The Ramchal explains that as Jews in service of the Divine, by acknowledging the role designated for us in the plan of Creation, we prepare the universe on Rosh Hashana for its consummation in the ultimate perfection of the human being in accordance with the design of Creation.
In each of the iterations of the Shemoneh Esrei recited on Rosh Hashana, we add a number of paragraphs to the fourth bracha, acknowledging the kingship of Hashem. We ask Hashem’s cooperation in bringing the rest of humanity into conformity with His will as a result of which evil will be eradicated and Israel will be elevated to our rightful place as spiritual leaders of mankind. The Ramchal explains how one idea necessarily follows from the other: The world requires the leadership of Israel to unify and accept divine sovereignty upon all.
Similarly, in the Aleinu prayer which was a part of the Rosh Hashana service before it became the conclusion of our public prayer services, we describe a world where everybody has subordinated themselves to the will of the Creator and His plan for Creation. The Ramchal shows how the words establishing the unique responsibilities of Israel for this process correspond to the letters of the Divine Name. Conversely, the corruption of the other nations is described by four deleterious descriptors. Aleinu, it is incumbent upon us to effect this change, to transition from idolatry and moral dissolution to the proper service of the Creator.
Similarly, the sound of the shofar has been historically shown to accompany great revelations and the intrusion of the infinite into the limits of human consciousness. The Ramchal explains in detail how the sound of the shofar is a somatic component of the prophetic experience, preceding true prophecy or even supplanting it in the minds of those who are unprepared for the experience of receiving the content of the divine message. We learn this from the warning of Moshe Rabbeinu: “You did not behold any image; there was only the voice” (Devarim 4:12).
The Ramchal describes this beautifully as “the garment in which the supernal light is cloaked when it comes to be revealed below.” He says the shape of the shofar is a funnel showing how the divine light is transported into the material world. When we blow the shofar on Rosh Hashana, we are seeking to bring some of that light into our world to effect the transformation to goodness and completion that will catalyze the transformation of humanity into suitable receptacles for the divine bounty as Adam, the first man, was created to be.
