Sweet Actions

Rav Wolbe, in his sefer Alei Shur (vol 2, page 430) talks about what we're supposed to do as we prepare for the high holidays. He quotes a Ramban on the pasuk when God revealed Himself to Moshe and said one of His names, אהיה אשר אהיה “I will be that I will be. ” The Ramban says it means, “ The way you act with Me, I act with you. ” If you open your hands to give charity, I open My hands to give you. If you don't open your hands, I close My hands… it’s the concept that God is called your Shadow. If you show a shadow your finger, the shadow shows back a finger. If you show the shadow a hand, the shadow shows back a hand. God's ways of acting is based on the way we act. There’s a famous statement in the Gemara in Rosh Hashana, 17A: “Whoever is easygoing and lets things pass, God lets things pass.” This doesn't mean that God just forgets, says Rashi, but that God is not Medakdek / God is not exacting . You could be exacting, or you could be less exacting. You could find the minuscule mistakes in something, or you could just, so to say, not get as analytical . And he says, that is a great hope for us as we get ready for Rosh Hashana. We have to act with people in an easygoing way on Rosh Hashana; we have to be aware of getting angry or being Makpid , which means to get upset over a little things, for example, if somebody sat in your seat, bumped into you, or came late to the meal….etc. As we mentioned many, many months ago, every day, before you pray, the Arizal says that you're supposed to accept upon yourself the Mitzvah of V’Ahavta L’Re’echa Kamocha/to love your friend like you love yourself, and especially on Rosh Hashana. When start our Rosh Hashana prayers, we should think like that. A little later in Rav Wolbe’s sefer (page 433), he says that on Rosh Hashana, we're careful not to eat anything that is sour or tart, because of the concept called Simana Milta , which means there's a, so to say, good omen when you do certain things. That's why we eat all those special foods, and why we stay away from the foods that we shouldn't eat. And we dip our bread (depending on the custom) in sugar or honey… But he says, if we're careful to have a good omen in what we eat, then it’s surely so in the way we act and what we do… All of our actions have to be sweet.” It’s not just about the signs and the symbols. This is an important concept to focus on, as we get ready for Rosh Hashana. And furthermore, Rav Wolbe says in his sefer (page 243), that it's quite difficult, in just a day or two before Rosh Hashana, to dive into this. Hopefully, he says, if we've been working on it all year, it's easier just to arouse it as we get closer. Those of us that get this lesson every day have been working on Ahavat Yisrael, and are aware of all these different concepts. So B’Ezrat Hashem, we will just be extra cognizant of how easy going and soft and sweet we have to be during the high holidays, being that the way we act is the way God acts with us. Have a wonderful day.