ליל ראש השנה תשפ"ג

מַתְנִי׳ אֵין פּוֹחֲתִין מֵעֲשָׂרָה מַלְכִיּוֹת, מֵעֲשָׂרָה זִכְרוֹנוֹת, מֵעֲשָׂרָה שׁוֹפָרוֹת. רַבִּי יוֹחָנָן בֶּן נוּרִי אוֹמֵר: אִם אָמַר שָׁלֹשׁ שָׁלֹשׁ מִכּוּלָּן — יָצָא.

Rosh Hashanah 32a:16

MISHNA: One does not recite fewer than ten verses in the blessing of Kingship, or fewer than ten verses in the blessing of Remembrances, or fewer than ten verses in the blessing of Shofarot. Rabbi Yoḥanan ben Nuri says: If one recited three from each of them, he has fulfilled his obligation.

ראש השנה ל״ב א:י״ז

גְּמָ׳ הָנֵי עֲשָׂרָה מַלְכִיּוֹת כְּנֶגֶד מִי? אָמַר רַבִּי: כְּנֶגֶד עֲשָׂרָה הִלּוּלִים שֶׁאָמַר דָּוִד בְּסֵפֶר תְּהִלִּים. הִלּוּלִים טוּבָא הָווּ! הָנָךְ דִּכְתִיב בְּהוּ ״הַלְלוּהוּ בְּתֵקַע שׁוֹפָר״.

Rosh Hashanah 32a:17

GEMARA: The Gemara asks: These ten verses of Kingship, to what do they correspond? Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi said: They correspond to the ten praises that David said in the book of Psalms. The Gemara asks: There are many more praises than that in the book of Psalms. The Gemara answers that he means those in which it is written by them: “Praise Him with the blast of the shofar” (Psalms 150:3). In that chapter the phrase “Praise Him” appears ten times.

תהילים ק״נ:א׳

(א) הַ֥לְלוּ־יָ֨הּ ׀ הַֽלְלוּ־אֵ֥ל בְּקׇדְשׁ֑וֹ הַֽ֝לְל֗וּהוּ בִּרְקִ֥יעַ עֻזּֽוֹ׃ הַלְל֥וּהוּ בִגְבוּרֹתָ֑יו הַ֝לְל֗וּהוּ כְּרֹ֣ב גֻּדְלֽוֹ׃ הַ֭לְלוּהוּ בְּתֵ֣קַע שׁוֹפָ֑ר הַ֝לְל֗וּהוּ בְּנֵ֣בֶל וְכִנּֽוֹר׃ הַ֭לְלוּהוּ בְּתֹ֣ף וּמָח֑וֹל הַֽ֝לְל֗וּהוּ בְּמִנִּ֥ים וְעֻגָֽב׃ הַלְל֥וּהוּ בְצִלְצְלֵי־שָׁ֑מַע הַֽ֝לְל֗וּהוּ בְּֽצִלְצְלֵ֥י תְרוּעָֽה׃ כֹּ֣ל הַ֭נְּשָׁמָה תְּהַלֵּ֥ל יָ֗הּ הַֽלְלוּ־יָֽהּ׃

Psalms 150:1

(1) Hallelujah.
Praise God in His sanctuary;
praise Him in the sky, His stronghold.

ראש השנה ל״ב א:י״ח

רַב יוֹסֵף אָמַר: כְּנֶגֶד עֲשֶׂרֶת הַדִּבְּרוֹת שֶׁנֶּאֶמְרוּ לוֹ לְמֹשֶׁה בְּסִינַי.

Rosh Hashanah 32a:18

Rav Yosef said: The ten verses correspond to the Ten Commandments, which were said to Moses at Sinai. Rabbi Yoḥanan said: They correspond to the ten utterances through which the world was created. The Gemara asks: Which are these ten utterances? The Gemara explains: This is referring to the ten times that the phrase “And He said” appears in the story of Creation in the first two chapters of Genesis.

מחזור אשכנז לראש השנה, תפילת מוסף, יום ראשון של ראש השנה, שופרות א׳

אַתָּה נִגְלֵֽיתָ בַּעֲנַן כְּבוֹדֶֽךָ עַל עַם קָדְשֶׁךָ לְדַבֵּר עִמָּם. מִן הַשָּׁמַֽיִם הִשְׁמַעְתָּם קוֹלֶֽךָ וְנִגְלֵֽיתָ עֲלֵיהֶם בְּעַרְפְלֵי טֹֽהַר. גַּם (כָּל) הָעוֹלָם כֻּלּוֹ חָל מִפָּנֶֽיךָ וּבְרִיּוֹת בְּרֵאשִׁית חָרְדוּ מִמֶּֽךָּ בְּהִגָּלוֹתְךָ מַלְכֵּֽנוּ עַל־הַר סִינַי לְלַמֵּד לְעַמְּךָ תּוֹרָה וּמִצְווֹת. וַתַּשְׁמִיעֵם אֶת הוֹד קוֹלֶֽךָ וְדִבְּרוֹת קָדְשְׁךָ מִלַּהֲבוֹת אֵשׁ....

Machzor Rosh Hashanah Ashkenaz, Musaf, First Day of Rosh Hashana, Shofarot 1

You were revealed in Your cloud of glory to Your holy people to speak to them. From the heavens, You let them hear Your voice, and revealed Yourself to them in pure clouds. So too, the entire world quivered before You, and the works of creation trembled before You, when You, our King revealed Yourself upon Mount Sinai to teach Your people Torah and mitzvos. You let them hear the majestic splendor of Your voice, and Your holy words from flames of fire; amidst thunder and lightning You revealed Yourself to them, and with the sound of a shofar, You appeared to them, as it is written in Your Torah: “And it was on the third day, as morning dawned there was thunder and lightning, and a dense cloud over the mountain, and the sound of a shofar was exceedingly loud; and all the people in the camp trembled.” And it is said: “And the sound of the shofar became increasingly louder; Moshe spoke and God answered him by voice.” And it is said: “And all the people saw the sounds and the flames, and the sound of the shofar, and the mountain in smoke; and the people saw and were shaken, and stood from afar.”

ראש השנה ל״ב א:י״ט

רַבִּי יוֹחָנָן אָמַר: כְּנֶגֶד עֲשָׂרָה מַאֲמָרוֹת שֶׁבָּהֶן נִבְרָא הָעוֹלָם. הֵי נִינְהוּ? ״וַיֹּאמֶר״ —״וַיֹּאמֶר״ דִּבְרֵאשִׁית תִּשְׁעָה הָווּ! ״בְּרֵאשִׁית״ נָמֵי מַאֲמָר הוּא, דִּכְתִיב: ״בִּדְבַר ה׳ שָׁמַיִם נַעֲשׂוּ״.

Rosh Hashanah 32a:19

The Gemara asks: Does it refer to the repetition of the phrase: “And He said” in Genesis? There are only nine such phrases, not ten. The Gemara answers that the phrase “In the beginning” is also considered an utterance, as it is written: “By the word of the Lord were the heavens made” (Psalms 33:6), which indicates that all of creation came into existence through a single utterance, after which all matter was formed into separate and distinct entities by means of the other nine utterances.

משנה תורה, הלכות יסודי התורה ב׳:ב׳

(ב) וְהֵיאַךְ הִיא הַדֶּרֶךְ לְאַהֲבָתוֹ וְיִרְאָתוֹ. בְּשָׁעָה שֶׁיִּתְבּוֹנֵן הָאָדָם בְּמַעֲשָׂיו וּבְרוּאָיו הַנִּפְלָאִים הַגְּדוֹלִים וְיִרְאֶה מֵהֶן חָכְמָתוֹ שֶׁאֵין לָהּ עֵרֶךְ וְלֹא קֵץ מִיָּד הוּא אוֹהֵב וּמְשַׁבֵּחַ וּמְפָאֵר וּמִתְאַוֶּה תַּאֲוָה גְּדוֹלָה לֵידַע הַשֵּׁם הַגָּדוֹל....

Mishneh Torah, Foundations of the Torah 2:2

(2) What is the path [to attain] love and fear of Him? When a person contemplates His wondrous and great deeds and creations and appreciates His infinite wisdom that surpasses all comparison, he will immediately love, praise, and glorify [Him], yearning with tremendous desire to know [God's] great name, as David stated: "My soul thirsts for the Lord, for the living God" [Psalms 42:3].
When he [continues] to reflect on these same matters, he will immediately recoil in awe and fear, appreciating how he is a tiny, lowly, and dark creature, standing with his flimsy, limited, wisdom before He who is of perfect knowledge, as David stated: "When I see Your heavens, the work of Your fingers... [I wonder] what is man that You should recall Him" [Psalms 8:4-5].
Based on these concepts, I will explain important principles regarding the deeds of the Master of the worlds to provide a foothold for a person of understanding to [develop] love for God, as our Sages said regarding love: "In this manner, you will recognize He who spoke and [thus,] brought the world into being."

ראש השנה ט״ז א:ט״ו

וְאִמְרוּ לְפָנַי בְּרֹאשׁ הַשָּׁנָה מַלְכִיּוֹת זִכְרוֹנוֹת וְשׁוֹפָרוֹת. מַלְכִיּוֹת — כְּדֵי שֶׁתַּמְלִיכוּנִי עֲלֵיכֶם, זִכְרוֹנוֹת — כְּדֵי שֶׁיַּעֲלֶה זִכְרוֹנְיכֶם לְפָנַי לְטוֹבָה, וּבַמֶּה — בְּשׁוֹפָר.

Rosh Hashanah 16a:15

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 HaShana 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.

כללי התחלת החכמה ז׳:ב׳

[קמה]... כתב הגר"א ז"ל בליקוטיו שבסוף ספר ספרא דצניעותא: לפי שיש שני בחינות במלכותו יתברך, הא' מצד שאנו ממליכין אותו, שזהו תכלית כל העבודה [פירוש, שאנו מקבלים עול מלכותו, אפילו שאינו עושה לנו נסים, וכמו שאמרו חז"ל (ראש השנה טז, א): אמרו לפני מלכיות כדי שתמליכוני עליכם, ופירוש מלוכה, היינו שמקבלים עבודתו ברצון טוב, כמו שכתב הגר"א ז"ל במשלי],...

The Beginning of Wisdom 7:2

145. The GR"A explains that the reason for these two aspects of Rachel and Leah in Malchut is because there are two aspects of G-d's Kingdom. One aspect is our acceptance of the yoke of his kingdom willingly and faithfully without the force of miracles, as stated, "Say Malchuyot before me in order that you coronate me as your King." This is the ultimate goal of our service of G-d and is termed Rachel. The second aspect is the revelation of His Kingdom by force of miracles as in the exodus from Egypt and as will be in the time to come. This aspect displays G-d's splendor, yet he is called, "Humble" for, "Wherever His greatness is, so is His humility." This is termed Leah.
There are also two aspects of Zeir Anpin. Our adherence and acknowledgment of Gd's existence on the basis of faith, is termed Jacob -Yaakov, that is, that we recognize and believe that G-d is the source of all reward and punishment, though it is not readily apparent.
The second aspect represents the revelation of G-d as the source of everything, and is termed Israel - Yisrael. The essential quality in Zeir Anpin is that of -Yisrael - revelation, while the essential aspect in malchut is that of Rachel - acceptance.

נפש החיים, שער ב י״א:א׳

ומ''ש לפני חילו. רמז זה העיקר הגדול של ענין התפלה. שכלל כוונתה הוא. לכוין רק להוסיף כח בקדושה שכמו שהאיש מאנשי החיל משליך כל ענינו וצרכי עצמו מנגד ומוסר נפשו ברצונו רק על כבוד המלך. שיתגדל הכתר מלוכה של אותה המדינה ותנשא מלכותו. כן ראוי מאד להאדם הישר לשום כל כוונתו וטוהר מחשבתו בתפלתו רק להוסיף תת כח בהעולמות הקדושים. ולעורר בקולו הקול העליון לאמשכא מניה ברכאן ונהירו לכלא. להעביר רוח הטומאה מן העולם ויתוקן עולם במלכותו ית''ש. ולא על עניניו וצרכי עצמו כלל.

Nefesh HaChayim, Gate II 11:1

And what is written “before his army” hints at the great fundamental principle of the matter of prayer, that the general principle of its purpose is for us to intend only to add power to holiness, for just as a soldier casts aside all of his concerns and personal needs, and devotes his life willingly only to the honor of the king, that he should capture the crown of that specific [enemy] nation and that his reign should be exalted, so too it’s very fitting for the righteous person to apply his entire attention/ intention and clarity of thought related to his prayers so as only to increase the strength given to the holy worlds, and to awaken the supernal voice with his voice, and to draw down from it blessings and light to all, and to cause the spirit of impurity to pass away from the world, and to rectify the world in His sovereignty (blessed be His name), and not in any way towards his own concerns or personal needs.

סידור הגר"א פתיחה לתפילת ר"ה
והביטה וראה איך תקנו לנו קדמונינו ז"ל תפלת ראש השנה שנתקנה רק על בקשת כבוד השכינה, שיתגלה כבודו ותראה מלכותו כי הלא לנו להקל ולעמוד על נפשנו ביום הדין הגדול והנורא הזה לבקש סליחה ומחילה וחיים ומזון ובנים כי מי לא נפקד כהיום הזה ....
רק נשליך את כל הדברים הנוגעים לנו אחר גו ויעבור עלינו מה שיהיה רק נתמרמר כולנו במרירות לבנו ועיניו תרד דמעה ועפעפינו יזלו מים על הדר כבוד אלקינו אשר גלה ואשר נוטל כבוד מבית חיינו ותפארת מלכנו...

נחמיה ח׳:ט׳

וַיֹּ֣אמֶר נְחֶמְיָ֣ה ה֣וּא הַתִּרְשָׁ֡תָא וְעֶזְרָ֣א הַכֹּהֵ֣ן ׀ הַסֹּפֵ֡ר וְהַלְוִיִּם֩ הַמְּבִינִ֨ים אֶת־הָעָ֜ם לְכָל־הָעָ֗ם הַיּ֤וֹם קָדֹֽשׁ־הוּא֙ לַה' אֱלֹקֵיכֶ֔ם אַל־תִּֽתְאַבְּל֖וּ וְאַל־תִּבְכּ֑וּ כִּ֤י בוֹכִים֙ כָּל־הָעָ֔ם כְּשָׁמְעָ֖ם אֶת־דִּבְרֵ֥י הַתּוֹרָֽה׃

Nehemiah 8:9

Nehemiah the Tirshatha, Ezra the priest and scribe, and the Levites who were explaining to the people said to all the people, “This day is holy to the LORD your God: you must not mourn or weep,” for all the people were weeping as they listened to the words of the Teaching.

נחמיה ח׳:י׳

וַיֹּ֣אמֶר לָהֶ֡ם לְכוּ֩ אִכְל֨וּ מַשְׁמַנִּ֜ים וּשְׁת֣וּ מַֽמְתַקִּ֗ים וְשִׁלְח֤וּ מָנוֹת֙ לְאֵ֣ין נָכ֣וֹן ל֔וֹ כִּֽי־קָד֥וֹשׁ הַיּ֖וֹם לַאֲדֹנֵ֑ינוּ וְאַל־תֵּ֣עָצֵ֔בוּ כִּֽי־חֶדְוַ֥ת ה' הִ֥יא מָֽעֻזְּכֶֽם׃

Nehemiah 8:10

He further said to them, “Go, eat choice foods and drink sweet drinks and send portions to whoever has nothing prepared, for the day is holy to our Lord. Do not be sad, for your rejoicing in the LORD is the source of your strength.”

שולחן ערוך, אורח חיים תקצ״ז:א׳

אם מותר להתענו' בראש השנה ובו ג' סעיפים:
אוכלים ושותים ושמחים ואין מתענין בר"ה ולא בשב' שובה אמנם לא יאכלו כל שבעם למען לא יקלו ראשם ותהיה יראת ה' על פניהם:

Shulchan Arukh, Orach Chayim 597:1

1. If it is permitted to fast on Rosh HaShana, and in it is 3 paragraphs. One eats, drinks and is merry [on Rosh Hashanah.] We do not fast, whether on Rosh Hashanah, nor on Shabbos Shuva (the Shabbos of Repentance which is between R'H and Yom Kippur). However, people should not eat to complete satiation, so that they do not reach light-headedness, and that the fear of God should remain on them.