B"H

Message from the Director

for the Rosh Hashanah season

Dear Friends,

Rosh Hashanah is the first day of the month of Tishrei in the Hebrew calendar, which starts this year on Wednesday evening, October 2, at sundown. I send you my wishes for a Shanah Tovah – a good year! The balance scale is a symbol for Rosh Hashanah, because it is G-d's annual day of judgment for every person and every nation. The preceding days in the month of Elul are a highly opportune time for accumulating more good deeds and achieving self-improvement and sincere repentance.

Many nations are now on the brink of war, with their threats getting more severe every day. Some are already engaged in war. The Sages of the Talmud informed us that when we see such conditions, it is a sign that we should expect that Mashiach, the true Messiah, will come soon. The challenges we're facing now in the world and in our personal lives are primarily being sent as a test of faith. To succeed in this test, a person needs to strengthen his or her faith (emunah) and trust (bitachon) in the One True G-d, with the knowledge that all of this is being directed by Him for an ultimate good purpose.

In Deuteronomy 11:12, Moses says, "Forever are the eyes of the L-rd your G-d upon it [the Land of Israel], from the beginning of the year to the end of the year." One of the classical simple meanings cited by Rashi is that at the beginning of the year, on Rosh Hashanah, G-d decrees what will happen for the Land of Israel at the end of the year ahead. Thus we see that in many years, major events start happening in Israel and around the Middle East in the last few months, weeks and days before Rosh Hashanah.

Rosh Hashanah is also the anniversary of the 6th day of Creation, when G-d made Adam and Hava (Eve). The preceding 5 days which we are now passing through, from the 25th to the 29th of Elul, are the anniversaries of the first 5 days of Creation. To “live with the times,” as the Alter Rebbe advised, what lesson does that hold for us now, in our current situation?

As Israel battles for its existence against evil terrorists in the countries around it, we should ask, what is the root of their evil, and how can it be removed? There is a general principle that G-d provides the cure before the sickness appears. Ultimately, hatred against Israel is driven by the evil trait of jealousy. That trait goes back to the original manifestation of evil in creation. It motivated the serpent in the Garden of Eden to tempt Hava, it motivated Kayin (Cain) to kill his brother Hevel (Abel), and many years later, it motivated the original 70 nation-families to build the immense tower of Babel in hopes of waging war against G-d. What is the cure that G-d had already provided for this evil trait, during the first 5 days of Creation?

Genesis 2:7 states: “And the L-rd G-d formed man of dust from the ground, and He breathed into his nostrils the soul of life, and man became a living soul.” Rashi explains: “He [G-d] made him [Adam] of earthly matter and of heavenly matter: the body of earthly matter and the soul of heavenly matter. Because on the first day, heaven and earth were created. On the second day, He created the firmament for the heavenly beings; on the third day [He commanded], 'and let the dry land appear,' for the earthly beings; on the fourth day, He created luminaries for the heavenly beings; on the fifth day, [He commanded],'Let the waters swarm,' for the earthly beings; on the sixth day, it became necessary to create for both the heavenly and the earthly beings, for if not, there would be jealousy in the Creation, for these would exceed those by the creation of one day” [from Midrash Genesis Rabbah 12:8].

Thus, G-d made earthly creations for the beings in the earthly realm, and heavenly creations for the beings in the heavenly realm, and He balanced their apportionment. Likewise, for the realms of the Children of Israel and the Children of Noah in this world: G-d apportioned the small Promised Land of Israel as the eternal inheritance for the small Jewish people, and the rest of the world as the inheritance for everyone else. Yet for some people, their evil trait of jealousy brings them to invent glaring falsehoods to convince others not to accept that fact. As G-d intervened in the three cases I mentioned, to give just consequences to those who did evil because of their jealousy, so will He do for those who persist against Israel in our time.

In closing, this is the first newsletter we are sending out after our launch in July of the new and greatly improved web site for Asknoah.org. This fully modernized and user-friendly site provides us with a platform reaching more people and launching new resources. Thanks to all who helped to support this major investment, and for everyone's support going forward!



With blessings and best wishes,

Dr. Michael Schulman

Executive Director