As we all know – we are now in the midst of preparing ourselves for R”H. In fact the whole focus of the month of Elul is not on itself as its own individual entity, but as a lead up and a preparation for Tishrei & R”H. Everything we do throughout Elul and what it is unique and famous for – the Shofar, L’Dovid H’ Oyri and from tonight onwards Selichos is geared towards R”H.

So the obvious question is, why is the 1st of Tishrei so important and what exactly is R”H ?

This may seem to be on the surface an extremely simple question with an obvious answer. The common response most of you are thinking is that R”H is the anniversary of the creation of the world.

If we look in the Torah, we find that the month of Tishrei is simply referred to as plainly Chodesh Shvei – the 7th month, not even the 1st month of the year. Tishrei is not referred to by any particularly significant name. In fact the Yom Tov we call R”H is referred to as Yom Terurah or Zichron Terurah and the only time in the whole Tanach that the name R”H is used is in Yechezkal Perek 40, Possuk 1 “B’R”H Beser L’Choidesh” and this clearly does not even refer to R”H, but rather to Y”K instead. Even in our Tefillos of the day, R”H is referred to by another name - Yom Hadin or Yom Hazikoron.

Just digressing for a moment, the two names of R”H mentioned in the Torah – ‘Yom Terurah’ & ‘Zichron Terurah’ – a ‘Day of Blowing’ and a ‘Remembrance of Blowing’ are an allusion to the two different types of R”H. When R”H falls on a Shabbos (like this year), the Rabbanim overruled the Torah and removed the Mitzvah of Tkias Shofar. By carefully examining the full context of the name in the Torah, ‘Shobosoin Zichroin Terurah” – Tosfes says that this alludes to when R”H falls on a Shabbos, then the Y”T is only a ‘Zichron Terurah’ and not a ‘Yom Terurah’ like every other year when it falls on a weekday.

So as we can see, R”H is not even referred to as R”H by the Torah nor is Tishrei singled out as a special month and no special mention or significance is made of the 1st of Tishrei apart from in relation to the Mitzvah of Tkias Shofar.

A good place to begin to understand the significance of Tishrei is in Mishnayes R”H, and it doesn’t take long for the Mishna to discuss this seemingly simple question. In Perek 1, Mishna 1, the Mishna says there are 4 R”H in a year.

i. Nissan - R”H for Years of Jewish Kings & for pledges to BHM”K to be paid up by ii. Elul – R”H for Maser Behamois iii. Tishrei – R”H for ‘Lashonim’ Years, Shmita, Yovel, Orlah & Maseh (also Nedarim – Berisa) iv. Shvat – Trees (Machloikes - with some saying Tu B’Shvat)

The Gemorah when discussing the Mishna’s reference to Tishri as being a R”H for Lashonim in 8a interprets the word Lashonim in 3 different ways.

The 1st meaning is that it refers to years for dating of documents according to the reign of Non-Jewish Kings. This is opposed to Jewish Kings whose reign start in Nissan. A modern example of this is the 1/8 which is the international birthday for horses. If a horse was born on 2/8 or up until the 31/7, 364 days later, the next 1/8 they both turn 1. Similarly when counting the years of a kings’ reign – come the 1st of Tishrei – he is considered to have reigned for a year, whether he was anointed 1 or 355 days previously.

The 2nd interpretation is that ‘Lashonim’, means the basis of the Jewish calendar. Meaning Tishrei is the reference point of the year to ensure that the Jewish months & consequently the Yomim Tovim fall in their correct seasons eg Pesach in the spring (in Eretz Yisroel).

The 3rd interpretation is that Lashnim refers to ‘Judgement’ – Rashi there explains that the world is judged on Tishrei for what will happen until next Tishrei – hence it is a R”H for the coming year.

So learning from this third interpretation in the Gemorah of the Mishna, we find this as our source for referring to R”H as Yom Hadin and all that it entails ie Teshuvah, etc. However, it seems that this date – the 1st of Tishrie is just an arbitrary date, much like the end of an accounting period be it 30/6, 30/9 or even 31/12. It seems that the 1st of Tishrei is just an accounting or book-keeping concept with the 1st of Tishrei decided to be the cut-off date for a person’s ledger of Mitzvois & Averiois to be reconciled. But no mention of an internally intrinsic reason for the 1st of Tishrei to be Yom HaDin is made by the Torah, Mishna or Gemorah.

This view of R”H as merely as an arbitrary end of an accounting period is reinforced by looking at the following Mishna. In Perek 1, Mishna 2 it says that the world is judged 4 times a year;

? Pesach – for grain ? Shavoes – for fruit ? R”H – all the inhabitants of the world pass before Him like sheep ? Succos – for water

So it appears that Hashem has merely divided the year into 4 different periods and 4 different judgement days to avoid a last minute paper rush or network crash and it just so happens that we are judged on 1st Tishrei. This is not to diminish this Yom Hadin in any way, as any Day of Judgement – no matter what day of the year - is a serious time that is deserving of all the preparation that we give it during Elul.

However, given all of the above, what is striking and most conspicuous by its absence is that there is no mention of R”H being the anniversary of the creation of the world.

So is R”H just one of 4 Judgement days disbursed throughout the year or is there something distinctive about the 1st of Tishrie in its own right ? Why do people associate R”H with the creation of the world, yet no references are made to it in the Torah or Mishna ? When the Gemorrah discusses the creation of the world, it is not surprising to know that there is a Machlokies regarding the date of the creation. In Gemorah R”H 10b, R Eliezer holds that the world was created in Tishrei while R Yehoshua argues and contends that it was created in Nissan. However, more surprising than the fact there is a Machloikes is that on 12b the Maskoneh of the Gemorah is in favour of R Yehoshua - that the world was created in Nissan !

This would not be seem to be problematic as Tishrei would then remain as one of 4 Judgement days dispersed throughout the year. However we all commonly assume that the world was created in Tishrei and everyone thinks that it is rather obvious. Even more glaring is that we say in our R”H davening we say “Zeh Hayom Tichlas Masecho, Zichron Leyoim Rishon” “This day was the beginning of your handiwork, a remembrance of the first day”. Compounding this even further is that on the 1st of Nissan, the date concluded by the Gemorah as the anniversary of the creation is not acknowledged or commemorated at all.

Rabbeinu Tam tries to answer this apparent inconsistency by stating that the world was created in Nissan , and the “Masecho” referred to in our Teffilah refers to the judgement that takes place in Tishrei. The Rabbeinu Tam, possibly realising the weakness of his answer adds that we say “Alu V’Alu Divrei Eloikim Chaim” – even though the two opinions seem mutually exclusive and contradictory, each one is valid and it is up to us to work out how to reconcile them. To this end, he offers another possibility - that in Tishrei, Hashem formulated His plan to create the world and in Nissan He implemented it.

Nevertheless, however we understand it, the day we commemorate as the anniversary of Creation is traditionally the 1st Tishrei. However, even this is not entirely correct. According to all opinions, the 1st of Tishrei is not the anniversary of the 1st day of creation. That was on 25th Elul. The 1st of Tishrei is the 6th day of creation – the day Adam was created.

So even if we accept that the world was created around Tishrei, why do we commemorate and celebrate the 6th day of the creation. Why don’t we celebrate when the creation started – 6 days earlier? This question is reinforced by asking how we can say in Mussaf of R”H “Zeh Hayom Tchilas Masecho” “This day was the beginning of your handiwork”, given that we know that the creation started 5 days earlier, implying that up until the 6th day, all that was created – the planets, sun, moon, vegetation and all the animals are not worthy of recognition or to be referred to as “Masecho” .

The answer is that this is the very core of R”H. Up until the 6th day of creation – the creation of Man, there was no one to voluntarily proclaim Hashem as King of the World. Before Man , Hashem was Ruler of the World – everything on Earth had no choice but to recognise or proclaim Hashem as King. It was only after Man was created with his unique element of possessing free choice to recognise or reject Hashem, that Hashem could be referred to as a King. The primary difference between a Ruler & a King being that a ruler is like a dictator, one who has absolute power and control only because no one has any authority or choice to deny or defy him. Whereas a King rules without the threat of fear of immediate retribution for disobedience but rather with the voluntary consent, recognition and loyalty of his subjects.

So the question of when we recognise the creation of the world, depends on the purpose of the creation. If it is to be considered as nothing more than just earth & water, then the 1st day is deserving to be celebrated as the anniversary– but if the purpose of the creation of the world is to proclaim Hashem as King then it has to be the 6th day as this is the day that the whole purpose of the creation began. Similarly, one could ask when did the 2000 Olympics begin ? One could argue it was when it was initially awarded to Australia or when Stadium Australia was first begun to be built or even when it was completed back in 1998. Because if the Olympics is merely only the infra-structure, then you could argue that the Sydney Olympics began when the stadiums were built to accommodate it, but if the whole purpose of the Olympics is the competition between athlete & athlete, then the Olympics did not start until the first athletic event was held. Similarly the world was created before Man , the ‘stadium’ was ready, but that is not the point of the creation – and therefore the Creation is not referred to as having begun until Man arrived on the 6th day – the 1st of Tishrei.

This then can explain why possibly Hashem chose 1st Tishrei as “Yom HaDin”. Since the whole purpose of the creation is for Man to voluntarily proclaim Hashem as King, a day of reckoning is needed to evaluate how Man is performing and whether he is deserving of Hashem’s rewards. Hashem therefore chose the anniversary of when Man first arrived on Earth and his mission began

This concept of Hashem’s sovereignty on earth is the primary theme of R”H. The whole davening is full of references to Hashem being King and acknowledging his Kingship. The special tefillas of R”H – Malchiyos, Zichronois & Shofrois – make no explicit mention of the creation of the world or being the beginning of the year, except for the possuk “zeh hayom techilas masecho” and instead are full of proclamations about Hashem being our King.

Therefore on R”H – the 1st of Tishrei, the anniversary of the creation of man, it is quite logical to be judged on how we have fulfilled Man’s mission - to live our life with Hashem as our King and His laws as our guide. This judgement extends in two dimensions. We are judged on our previous year’s efforts and actions and this determines the coming years sustenance and our ability to contribute to the greater good of extending Hashem’s Kingship in this world. If a person has shown that he has utilised the blessings that Hashem gave him and influenced the world in a positive fashion then he might be bestowed more benefits and hence have more responsibility for the coming year. If however, a person has shown that he has been an inefficient distributor of Hashem’s resources then perhaps Hashem will reallocate those resources and influence to somebody else.

That is why in the davenings of R”H, no mention of individual needs or personal requests are made. People might think to themselves of the coming year in terms of healing their sick, their children, Parnoseh, etc but on R”H these small individual requests pale into insignificance to the greater goal of recognising and proclaiming Hashem as King – the very reason the world was created. That is why our main Tefillos all ask for Hashems name to be sanctified and we spend the day stressing our faithful observance to Hashem. How can we ask Hashem for an extra few thousand dollars when we are being judged on the very reason the universe exists? We can only be bold enough to start making requests of Hashem for the coming year, if we are confident enough about our previous years efforts and that we made the most of what we were given and deserve great rewards for doing so, and not many of us can confidently make that statement.

As we know R”H is a serious time – our Judgement Day. It is referred to as a Day of Awe and should be spent in a serious mood with no frivolity, full of introspection and redefining ones’ life goals. R”H is the climax of all one’s Teshuvah with the whole month of Elul behind it.

However, the way we conduct and express ourselves on R”H seems incongruous and seemingly inconsistent with what the solemness of the day. When we think of R”H we think of Shofar – even though it is a Midoraiseh , it really is just a warning bell to do Teshuvah. We also think of Tashlich and the Yehi Rotzoins and in particular the famous and ubiquitous apple dipped in honey. These minhagim which include beans, honey carrots, head of lambs etc are no just modern inventions based on ‘Americanised consumerism’ and slick marketing tricks but are based on a Gemora in Kerisus (6a) and have been universally practiced for thousands of years.

The question is who are we kidding ? R”H is a day of fundamentals, the core basics of our lives. We are being judged on our performance on the key criteria that Hashem created the whole world for. But we fill it by eating foods that play on word games – an early form of rhyming slang and cheap gimmicky symbolism. That does not seem to be a particularly sophisticated or mature way to respond to this Day of Judgement and Awe.

The obvious answer is that these omens and symbols are just that – omens and symbols. The goal of these omens is to act as a reminder, as obviously just eating these foods achieves nothing in their own right. By eating them a person should realise that we are asking for these things, as now is the time we are being judged. As soon as one realises that he is being judged, he will realise that eating omens alone isn’t enough and that real Teshuvah and actions are needed to ensure a positive year to come.

Another reason for eating these omens is to do with the essence of R”H. As previously mentioned , the theme of the R”H davening, is primarily proclaiming Hashem as king. Although R”H is the day on which we are being judged, we do not make personal requests for sustenance, health, etc. However, by eating these omens and saying the accompanying Yehi Rotzoins, we are covertly reminding Hashem of our desires. We obviously do not want to blatantly make such bold personal requests, so instead we surround ourselves with symbols to hint to Hashem how we would like our next year to be.

The food that is most associated with R”H is honey. We dip our Chalah in it and famously an apple into it. Upon eating the apple and honey, we say a Yehi Ratzon that asks Hashem for a "Shana Toveh U’Mesukah” a ‘good and sweet year’"

One of the many explanations as to why we use an apple is from the Maharil who explains that we find that when Yaakov disguised himself as Esav in order to "trick" Yitzchok, into giving him the blessings of the bochur, which he bought off Esav. Yitzchok noticed a sweet smell emanating from Yaakov. which caused him to comment (Bereshis 27:27) “Reah, Rayach Be’nee K’ryach sodeh asher borchu Hashem”, "See, the smell of my son is like the smell of a field which Hashem has blessed." The Gemorah Tannis 29b explains that the "field which Hashem has blessed" refers to an apple orchard, whose smell is akin to the smell of Gan Eden. The Vilna Gaon explains further that this occurred on R”H and it is therefore appropriate to eat an apple, whose smell is associated with the blessings of Yaakov (which were given on this day) as well as with Gan Eden, on the day on which we ourselves want to be blessed.

The Zohar, explains that B”Y are compared to "apples" that hang on a tree - which is Hashem. So eating an apple reminds us of our intimate relationship that exists between us and Hashem.

According to the Pri Tzaddik dipping the apple in honey alludes to our desire to be dipped into Torah. The apple, which is sweet to begin with, is dipped in honey, which is sweeter yet, to symbolise how we who are sweet being faithful Jews want to cover ourselves in Torah to make our sweet life even sweeter.

I will end with an explanation as to why we wish for both a "good" AND "sweet" year? We know that nothing happens by chance and everything happens only for good and is all part of a divine plan. Even when things may look bad, we are comforted by knowing that in reality, although it may not be apparent everything is actually "good." So when we ask for the coming year to be good and "sweet", we are requesting that as well as everything be good as it necessarily has to be, but that it also should be obviously and apparently good as something that is sweet.