#JudgmentDay5779

MISHNA: At four times of the year the world is judged:

• On Passover judgment is passed concerning grain;
• on Shavuot concerning fruits that grow on a tree
• on Rosh HaShana, all creatures pass before Him like sheep [benei maron], as it is stated: “He Who fashions their hearts alike, Who considers all their deeds” (Psalms 33:15);
• and on the festival of Sukkot they are judged concerning water, i.e., the rainfall of the coming year.

The Gemara explains:

As it is taught in a baraita:

All are judged on Rosh HaShana, and their sentence is sealed on Yom Kippur; this is the statement of Rabbi Meir.

Rabbi Yehuda says: All are judged on Rosh HaShana, and their sentence is sealed each in its own time:

- On Passover the sentence is sealed concerning grain;

- on Shavuot concerning fruits that grow on a tree; - on the festival of Sukkot they are judged concerning water;

- and mankind is judged on Rosh HaShana, and the sentence is sealed on Yom Kippur.

...At four times of the year the world is judged:

On Passover concerning grain;

on Shavuot concerning fruits that grow on a tree;

on the festival of Sukkot they are judged concerning water;

and mankind is judged on Rosh HaShana and the sentence is sealed on Yom Kippur.

And when the mishna is taught, it is taught with regard to the beginning of the judgment process, i.e., the judgment of mankind is initially passed on Rosh HaShana.

§ It is taught in a baraita that Rabbi Yehuda said in the name of Rabbi Akiva:

For what reason did the Torah say: Bring the omer offering on the second day of Passover?

It is because Passover is the time of grain, the beginning of the grain harvest season, and therefore the Holy One, Blessed be He, said: Bring the omer offering before Me on Passover so that the grain in the fields will be blessed for you.

And for what reason did the Torah say:

Bring the offering of the two loaves from the new wheat on Shavuot?

It is because Shavuot is the time of the fruits that grow on a tree, when it begins to ripen, and therefore the Holy One, Blessed be He, said: Bring the offering of the two loaves before Me on Shavuot so that the fruits that grow on a tree will be blessed for you.

And for what reason did the Torah say:

Pour water onto the altar in the Temple on the festival of Sukkot?

The Holy One, Blessed be He, said: Pour water before Me on the festival of Sukkot so that the rains of the year, which begin to fall after Sukkot, will be blessed for you.

And recite before Me on Rosh HaShanah verses that mention Kingships, Remembrances, and Shofarot:

• Kingships so that you will crown Me as King over you;
• Remembrances so that your remembrance will rise before Me for good;
• and with what will the remembrance rise? It will rise with the shofar.

...They asked the chachamim (i.e. Wisdom, which is an appellation for the Scriptures, and in particular, the Book of Proverbs), "One who sins, what is his punishment?" They said, "Misfortune pursues sinners, But the righteous are well rewarded" (Proverbs, 13:21).

They asked Prophecy, "The sinner, what's his punishment?"

She replied, "The person who sins, he alone shall die" (Proverbs, 18:20).

They asked Torah, "A sinner, what's his punishment?"

She said, "He should bring a sin offering and obtain atonement for himself, as it says, that it may be acceptable in his behalf, in expiation for him" (Leviticus, 1:4).

They asked the Holy One, Blessed be He, "A sinner, what's his punishment?"

He said to them, "He should repent and he will be forgiven, as it is written, Good and upright is the LORD; therefore He shows sinners the way" (Psalms 25:8).

The meaning is: to do teshuvah! (repentence).

He shows sinners the way,

Because these are people who sinned by mistake, therefore He shows them how to get back to the proper path.

God and upright is the LORD; therefore He shows sinners the way:

Because G-d is Good and Upright, therefore He does not despise the sinners, but rather, if they want to return, He welcomes them, and shows the the correct path.

Note that the word "the path" is vowelized with a patach under the letter beis, indicated the direct object. Not just any path, the path.

Which path is this? The one known to all mankind since the earliest days of the world's existance; the one that G-d showed to Cain, the original sinner, when He said, if you do right, there is uplift" (Genesis 4:7).

(5) But what is this that King David said: "Good and upright is the Lord; therefore doth he instruct sinners in the way. He guideth the humble in justice; and He teacheth the humble His way" (Ibid. 210.11)?

This is a reference to the prophets who were sent to make the ways of God known, and to turn the people to repentance.

Moreover, He endowed them with a power to study and understand, as it is the tendency of every man to pursue wisdom and righteousness as long as he is trained in the ways of wisdom. This is in harmony with what our Masters, of blessed memory! said: "He who comes to be cleansed receives aid"³Shabbat, 104a; Yoma, 38b. Minahot, 29a. G., as if saying: "He will find himself aided in the matter he strives after.

Repentance is not withheld from a sinner, rather the obstruction comes from his own wickedness and deceitful heart. But if he sincerely wants to draw near to G-d, the Gate of Repentance will not be closed before him, and no obstacle will prevent him from reaching it.

Rather, G-d will open for him the Gate of the Just, and teach him the good path, in His mercy and in His goodness, as written "Good and upright is the L-ord: therefore will he teach sinners in the way" (Tehilim 25:8), and "from there you will seek the L-ord your G-d, and you will find Him, if you seek Him with all your heart and with all your soul" (Devarim 4:29), and "Rather,[this] thing (repentance) is very close to you; it is in your mouth and in your heart, so that you can do it"(Devarim 30:14), and "The L-ord is near to all who call upon Him, To all who call upon Him in truth" (Tehilim 145:18).

Close - If the king is far, he can't save those who call to him. And G-d is always close...