And so goes one
of the most well known aphorisms of the mid-Twentieth Century American philosopher,
Yogi Berra.
Although in his hands
these six words never ran deeper than baseball, in ours they plummet the depths
of the run up to Rosh Hashana 5773.
This past Nissan
(5772), Rav Yaakov Akiva Mashinsky z”l left this world for the Olam HaEmes. On the 29th of Elul 5771(Erev Rosh
Hashana 5772) he spoke in Yeshiva Ohr Somayach in Monsey where he was a maggid
shiur and said the following:
If you’re
davening Mincha Erev Rosh Hashana, in Boruch Aleinu you are davening that all
of the good things that you davened for last year will happen this
year.
In other words,
NOW.
Have you ever
thought about that?
Those of us who
have the shofar of Elul ringing in our ears are so focused on our Teshuva in preparation
for the Yom HaDin and on all the changes we intend to make in the coming year
that we tend to forget that the current year has yet to run its course.
It was inscribed
on last Rosh Hashana and sealed last Yom Kippur how many will pass on and how
many will be created in these last few days of 5772. It was also written down and sealed, how many
of us will be tranquil amidst all the tumult raging fore and aft and how many
of us will be emotionally and/or mentally swept away by the same in these waning
days of our current cheshbon. And so it
goes for every facet of our lives.
I don’t know
whether Rabbi Mashinsky z”l was already not well when he spoke last Erev Rosh
Hashana or whether his subconscious was pointing him in the direction of
grabbing the moment. In either case, he
was sharing something with us that was both profound and simple at the same
time.
We’re davening
for the whole Shemona Esray to be NOW.
From today until
Rosh Hashana when you say Selach lanu (Forgive us) you are asking to be
forgiven Now, not next year. And when
you say Refuainu (Heal us) you are davening that you will hear good news NOW,
not after your doctor returns from Succos in Eretz Yisroel.
And Tikah B’Shofar
Gadol (Sound the Great Shofar) is no exception. You’re not waiting for the election results or
to see how things play out with Iran
a few months down the road. You are
davening for Kibbutz Golious (the ingathering of the exiles), NOW, today, this
year.
But Rabbi
Mashinsky z”l also takes us past Shemona Esray to show us a bigger picture of
the 5772 countdown. He tells us that
every year Dovid HaMelech comes to Hashem and asks for his Malchus back. Up until 5771 Hashem hadn’t yet acceded to
Dovid’s request.
It’s our hope
that on Rosh Hashana 5772 Hashem did indeed return the Malchus to Dovid
HaMelech and that we will still see it yet, NOW before the curtain comes down on
5772.
It ain’t over ‘til
it’s over.
