Nachal novea; makor chochma -
A flowing river; the source of wisdom (Mish. 18:4)
The Jews were about to enter the land of Israel. They were all well aware Al of the failures of the past - the sin of worshiping the Golden Calf, the sin of the spies, the many rebellions and fights with G-d etc. They were also very. hesitant and worried about the prospects for the future , for Moses had warned them about the difficulties they would encounter living in a land surrounded by immoral and corrupt societies; societies which would negatively influence the people to sin and distance themselves from G-d, thus incurring G-d's wrath. Therefore, Moses gave the Jews encouragement, that despite the failures of the' past and the failures expected in the future, G-d would make sure that everyone would stand before Him and eventually be brought back close to Him no matter what they had done.
Just Prior to Rosh Hashana, the Jewish New Year, every Jew finds himself in a similar situation to that which the Jews experienced just before entering the Holy Land. The activities of day to day living leads to an encounter with hoards of evil forces that attack us and to try to prevent us from finding G-d when we try to accomplish our goals. The forces of evil constantly bombard us all year long with our every action. So by the time the New Year has arrived, we have become weighed down and are in great need of spiritual cleansing and renewal. The repentance that we do during the Ten Days of Repentance cleanses us from the forces of evil and our sins that we have absorbed all year long. This is why after Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement) everyone feels happy and light, like a heavy burden has been removed (1 Lekutai Moharan 62:9).
Every individual grows and changes as a result of the encounters he experiences during the course of the year. No one is the same person at the New Year as he was the previous year. Therefore, the New Year requires a reevaluation to determine, based on the changes that occurred; what other changes, corrections, and course of action are necessary to implement in a person's life to bring him closer to G-d under the framework of his free-will. Although Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement) is the holiest day of the year (excluding the Sabbath) , Rosh Hashana is the most important day of the year, for this evaluation at the beginning of the New Year is most critical and serious. The determinations and conclusions arrived at by G-d and the 24 Heavenly Courts of angels impacts the person's very eternity. This awareness can break and daunt even the greatest of Tzaddikim (saints). Therefore, Rabbi Nachman taught that despite one's awareness of the immense failures of the past, and with the per son's knowledge of his own short-comings making future improvement difficult to achieve, one must be bold and daring and not be deterred at all from praying and begging G-d to bring him closer to Him. The Talmud teaches: "Yehudah ben Tema said: 'Be bold as a leopard ... and strong as a lion, to carry out the will of your Father in Heaven [which is to come close to G-d despite your flaws and failures and feelings of inadequacy]'" (Talmud: Avoth 5:23).
There was no greater expert and authority on the subject of Rosh Hashana than Rabbi Nachman, no one understood Rosh Hashana better than he. Rabbi Nachman said that his whole life was connected to Rosh Hashana (Chayai Haran 50:36). This means that through his great devotion and work to come close to G-d Rabbi Nachman merited to understand Rosh Hashanals true inner essence with all its spiritual and physical implications and ramifications. Therefore, it is essential that we learn as much as possible from the Rosh Hashana specialist, Rabbi Nachman. In the following paragraphs we will discuss some of Rabbi Nachman's lessons on Rosh Hashana.
Rabbi Nachman taught: "On Rosh Hashana [the judgement is so severe for literally, one's life is on the line: (Ari)] one must act very wisely and think only good thoughts [for thought, especially has an influence on the judgement on Rosh Hashana and has a tremendous impact on the upper spiritual worlds and on the person himself]. one should keep in iniiid only that G-d will be good to us [in judgement, creating an evaluation that leans in our favor]. one must be very happy on Rosh Hashana (to reconnect oneself to G-d and His mercy and inspire oneself to approach G-d to ask Him for a good year] and yet one must cry Carousing compassion in judgement]. On the first day of Rosh Hashana, one must speak as little as possible (due the seriousness of the judgement. It is implied by the holy Chofetz Chiam in the Mishna Berura (laws of Rosh Hashana) that even a slip of the tongue, accidently pronouncing a negative word in prayer on Rosh Hashana, could have a bad effect on the judgement]. Rab bi Nachman said that a great leader must even be more careful about this. (Sichos HaRan 21).
Rabbi Nachman emphasized that the power of repentance is very great. One may have fallen to the lowest depths, but no matter how low one has fallen, it is still forbidden to give up hope! Repentance is higher even than the Turah. This is why repentance has the ability to override and nullify the harsh penalties prescribed in the Torah for chronic and severe disobedience and disloyalty to G-d. Therefore, there is absolutely no place for despair. If one is worthy, even his worst sins can be turned into something good. The Talmud teaches: "[Through repentance] Sins can be transformed into merits" (Talmud: Yoma 86b). Despite one's failings and short-comings, he can easily be brought back to G-d, since nothing is beyond His power. The most important thing is never to give up, but to continue to cry and pray to G-d to connect oneself to Him (Sichos HaRan 3).
In one of His greatest acts of compassion, G-d gave us Rosh Hashana. Without the gift of mercy, how could we ever hope to have the audacity and nerve to ask and expect G-d to forgive us [for our disloyalty to Him, the sustainer of our very lives. our disobedience not only does not reciprocate His goodness towards us, but it sliows lack of appreciation]? Therefore, G-d established Rosh Hashana on Rosh Chodesh [the first day of the new month]. On Rosh Chodesh G-d Himself seeks forgiveness for diminishing the original size of the moon. When G-d diminished the size of the moon, it caused the Divine light that the moon reflected to be diminished as well. Lack of Divine light in this world allows evil to flourish. Even though the moon deserved its "punishment", it resulted in an overwhelming amount of evil to spread throughout the world, influencing man to do evil. Therefore, G-d requests that on every Rosh Chodesh (new month) we offer an atonement offering on behalf of G-d Himself, so to speak (Talmud: Shelvuloth 9). This gives each sinner a "crack in the doorway" which enables and encourages him to do penance, for if G-d needs to repent and does so, certainly the sinner can do the same. If the judge of the world Himself seeks atonement (for indirectly causing us to sin, because He caused evil to flourish through diminishing the size of the moonj on Rosh Hashana (because of it falling out on Rosh Chodesh), we can come to realize that G-d will certainly be compassionate with and more understanding of a sinner (2 Lekutai Moharan 1:19).
Brazeness is not always wrong. There is brazeness on the "side of holiness. 11 The only way to be a true Jew and to serve G-d is by developing our (positive) brazeness and stubbornness so that we will approach G-d despite our failures. We all have to endure endless ups and downs, reverses and backsliding. It takes stubbornness to stand in your place when serving G-d, to withstand the attacks from the evil forces. G-d loves each individual Jew because of his stubbornness to hang on to Him (even if only by a hair) no matter what. Each and every Jew is thrown down time and time again, by the forces of evil, but he obstinately stands his ground. Our sages asked: "Why was the Torah given to Israel [which makes them close to G-d]? Because they are brazen (Talmud: Beitzah 25b)." This is the foundation of all our service to G-d (we must have this daring in the performance of every commandment and especially to repent on Rosh Hashana]. [G-d expects that each human being, because of the nature of the forces of evil he encounters, will have many setbacks. Therefore, to achieve true closeness with G-d, one must have the daring to continue to seek Him out despite the setbacks and especially on Rosh Hashana]. (Lekutai Halachoth: Orach Chaim: Hilchoth Berchas Ha'Mozon 4:12).
Whatever spiritual level a man finds himself on (even in the pit of hell) is the place from where he must seek-out and entreat G-d. As is discussed in the Torah: When Abraham's son from his handmaid, Ishmael, corrupted his ways, he was punished and was about to die. Ishmael repented, even though he had fallen to the lowest of levels. G-d accepted his penance because G-d evaluated Ishmael from "there [his state of penance and desire to return to G-d], where he [Ishmael] was (even from the depths of sin and spiritual depravity]" (Genesis 21:17). A man who returns to G-d from the depths of sin elevates that impure place and connects it with G-d who transcends space. The sinner who returns actually connects each filthy place to G-d. If not for the sinner's fall and subsequent repentance, the impure place to where he falls cannot become connected with G-d. There is no place that can prevent the penitent from returning to G-d. Through sin one can fall to the lowest, most degraded, and filthiest places. Even there, however remember G-d, for He is there with the sinner, because G-d is called the "place that holds the entire world." In Him there is place for everyone. Therefore, there is no such thing as a true fall. In all the places where man is driven he can still return to G-d. "And from there [even in the depths of the spiritual sewer] you will seek out the L-rd your G-d.11 (Deut. 4:29) From "there!" From the place where "He is there.", [Therefore we should have confidence on Rosh Hashana that even the slightest sincere desire to return to G-d will have a big impact and make a big impression in heaven]. (Lekutai Halachoth: Orach Chiam: Hilchoth Tzitzes 3:9).
At times a person can even reach the very gates of holiness, but then he falls away. All the forces of evil attack him with tremendous force and refuse to let him enter the gates. He feels crushed and may even give up completely. This is how the forces of evil work. Just as a man is at the verge of entering the gates of holiness of the next level the forces of evil hurl themselves against him with all their force (commensurate with his present level) . It takes tremendous strength to stand against this attack and to hold your ground. If you slip or fall you should pay absolutely no attention. Be strong, fight back by doing what you can to serve G-d under these difficult circumstances. It may take days, or even many years [depending on the individuals needs], but in the end be assured that G-d will help you enter the gates of holiness. For G-d is filled with love: He longs for our service. Every twist and turn, even the slightest motion which a man makes to draw himself inch by inch from the murkiness of the world toward -@-d is precious in G-d's eyes and every effort is included in the person's "bank account" of merits. All the merits will then come to help him in his time of trouble.
Serve G-d with all your strength and rely on His infinite love. He will never abandon you regardless of what you have done. The past is not taken into account (when one wants to return], what counts is from now on. Simply don't repeat what you have done wrong. When temptations come, remain detached from the situation and control yourself. You will be sent all kinds of tests and temptations that are related to past sins. Simply ignore your thoughts and desires and they will subside. These situations will inevitably be sent to you precisely to help you achieve perfect repentance. The essence of complete repentance is having to be exposed to the very same situations that involved the sin. Only this time you must not be swayed.
You will rise and fall thousands of times before you merit to come close to G-d and serve Him properly. The greatest Tzaddikim (saints) have all endured this. The main thing is to never despair! Let nothing, even a major sin, ever distract you from coming close to G-d. You should always make a fresh start as if you never lived before this moment. Even in the course of a day or an hour you might have to make several new starts. [Therefore, we can come to G-d on Rosh Hashana well aware of the failures of the past and knowing that the future will contain much of the same. We must have the courage to ask G-d that He give us true spiritual life and a good New Year spiritually and physically, so we can use these benefits to come closer to Him] (2 Lekutai Moharan 48).
A man once asked Rabbi Nachman: "How does one dance before the bride [to fulfill the commandment to gladden her at her wedding]?" (Talmud: Kiddushin) . Rabbi Nachman responded: "How does one gladden the bride (or anyone else for that matter)? One must dance over and skip before the bride, meaning that one dances without concern for and ignoring what had transpired before she was a bride, before the wedding [i.e. forget the past and you will be happy and then find G-d and return to Him on Rosh Hashana] (Chayai Moharan 143).
On the first day of Rosh Hashana after the afternoon prayer the custom is to go to any body of water that preferably has fish living in it. There we say various Biblical verses and especially, most significantly, from the book of Micha the prophet. This ritual is known as "Tashlich", to cast out (our sins] . The holy Ari says that when we say the verse in Tashlich, "And You [G-d] will cast into the depths of the sea all their [the Jews] sins" (Micha 7:19) we should have in mind that we are drowning all the evil forces that we have created through our sins. We should also have in mind that we are reclaiming all the lost holy sparks that have become detached fron our soul and have fallen and have become trapped in the domain of evil as a result of our sins. The Ari says that it is better to say this prayer by the sea or any other body of water, because this prayer uttered by the water connects and enables us to activate the powers of the upper spiritual sea in heaven. By activating this power, we can drown all the evil forces that were created through our sins. The Ari adds that we shake the edges of our clothing when saying the abovementioned verse. This act shakes off into the spiritual sea all the evil forces that have become connected to our spiritual clothing which clothes our souls. For our physical clothing is connected to our spiritual clothing. (Writings of the Holy Ari: Pilrei Etz Chiam: Vol 2: Shar Hashofar: Chapter: 5, Page: 599) [Note: Everything that we do during the high holidays is designed to rectify th@ mistakes of the past, as can be seen by the Tashlich ritual. This is all done because G-d loves each individual so much and He understands human frailty, therefore He gave us so many opportunities to rectify the past and return to Him. Therefore, we must beccme greatly encouraged by this and believe that everyone can easily return to G-d. All that is needed is some slight effort on our part. We must believe that G-d's mercy is infinite an(! He can tolerate any sinner or sin. To not believe in this is a denial of G-d's infinite powers and a denial of the entire Torah.]