Erev Rosh Hashanah: The Final Day
Scroll down for the Deeper Dimension.
Erev Rosh Hashanah is the final day of the year. The Sages taught that one who spends even a single day in teshuvah during the year is regarded as though he had repented the entire year. For this reason, the custom is to fast, rise early, and say more Selichos and viduyim on that special day.
Visiting Cemeteries
Some also visit cemeteries, but one must take care not to pray to the dead, chas v’shalom, for this borders on “inquiring of the dead,” which the Torah forbids (Devarim 18:11). Rather, one should pray to Hashem that He act mercifully in the merit of the righteous buried there. One who is ritually impure from a nocturnal emission should not enter a cemetery, lest forces of impurity cling to him. It is also forbidden to visit the graves of the wicked, for they are themselves negative spiritual forces [that can damage one’s connection with Hashem].
Proper Conduct for the Day
The day should be filled with Torah study, mitzvos, and acts of kindness. One should not delay seeking forgiveness from others until Yom Kippur, but hasten to do so beforehand. It is also customary to immerse in a mikveh or river, preferably after the fourth hour of the day [z’man tefilah]. Throughout the day one should stay focused on repentance.
Note: The Maharil is the source for the above ruling that, although it is customary to pray at the graves of tzaddikim, one must be careful not to direct his trust to the departed themselves. Rather, all requests should be made solely to Hashem, while invoking the merit of the righteous as an aid in arousing mercy. This approach is likewise quoted in the Mishnah Berurah.
Discussion on Praying to the Righteous
Rabbi Shmuel Huminer, however, points out that the sources seem to contradict this approach. The Gemara (Sotah 34) states explicitly that Kalev went to Chevron, to the graves of the Avos, and cried out: “My fathers! Plead for mercy from Heaven that I be saved from the counsel of the spies!” This also brought in the Zohar which further explains that although it was dangerous for Kalev to go to Chevron, he understood that without the intercession of the Avos he would not withstand the spies’ influence.
From here we learn that one may even ask a tzaddik to intercede in prayer on his behalf, just as Kalev did with the Avos. If this practice were improper, the Gemara would not have recorded it without critique. [Eved Hamelech, Parshas Shelach]
Rebbe Nachman’s Teaching
Rebbe Nachman told his daughter, “After I leave the world and you visit my gravesite, I will be as accessible to you as though I am in the other room.” Some wonder why it is permitted to speak to a deceased tzaddik. This is similar to a discussion about speaking to angel during Selichos. After all, should we not only direct our petitions to Hashem? The Maharal writes that one should not say the liturgical poems, “Malachei HaRachamim” and “Machnisei HaRachamim,” since in it we petition the angels and the Jewish people are greater than angels. In addition, he brings from the Yerushalmi that one who is in dire straits should not appeal to the angel Michael or Gavriel. He should rather shout to Hashem and He will deliver him. Others wonder whether it is permitted to petition angels in any way at all. Nevertheless, the custom is to say this since, we find it in the Rishonim. (Nitei Gavriel)
We might ask why any concession is made to direct any words at all toward angels since all prayer must be directed toward Hashem alone. The underlying reasoning is that they were created to uplift our prayers, so what we are really asking is that they simply fulfill their duty on high. (Magen Avraham; Rav Shlomo Zalman Auerbach)
The Ramchal asks why there need to be angels at all, and reaches the conclusion that there is no need for them! They only exist because it is Hashem’s inscrutable will that there be angels. Similarly, Hashem created the world for the sake of tzaddikim (Yoma 38; Bereishis Rabbah; Zohar); He gave them the power “to decree and nullify Hashem’s decrees” (Shabbos 59; Ta’anis 23; Kesuvos 103). Our sages also say that tzaddikim are greater after they leave the constraints of the material world (Chullin 7).
How is one to know, though, exactly where the delineation between speaking with a tzaddik, living or dead, in a way that is consonance with a praiseworthy emunas chachamim, and when he is doing what is forbidden? Rav Gedalia Kenig quotes the Sefer HaIkarim that the red line is crossed the moment someone thinks that the stars, constellations, angels, or tzaddikim have power of their own. As long as one understands that there is nothing without Hashem, he may petition tzaddikim to pray for him or ask that their merit assist him, and he has done nothing wrong.
The Concept of Ibur
Someone came to the Chazon Ish seeking guidance on how to properly work on tefillah. “I have been in kollel for many years and have really grown immensely in Torah. I find it much harder to pray with proper focus, though. I get to shul on time and follow the halachah to say the words carefully and think about what they mean as much as possible. Nevertheless, I cannot seem to connect in a real way to my prayers no matter what I do. I have been trying for years and, of course, I will continue to follow the halachah. I only wish I saw some real progress. Is there anything I can do to truly transform my tefillah experience?”
The Chazon Ish gave a startling response. “If you have tried so hard and seen no progress for so long, this means that your main purpose here on earth is not to work on the regular order of prayer. You must keep the halachos as you have been doing, but you need not worry about whether you progress, since this is not what you are here to fix. However, if you persevere in working on this matter with the same focus, you will receive what the mystics call an “ibur”–a “gestation.” This means that the soul of a tzaddik joins with us to help us accomplish something that was beyond us before. In this manner, you will expand your soul and tefillah will become a genuine part of your soul-work in this lifetime…”
Rav Yonason Eibeschitz explained similarly, “It is well known from the Zohar and the Arizal, especially in Sha’ar HaGilgulim, that when a person sins and Hashem wants to rectify him, there is a special mechanism to help that person find their way. Sometimes Hashem sends the soul of a tzaddik that has a connection to the mission of this fallen soul and assists him in his task. This is especially true for those who share the same soul source or “root”—they are profoundly affected when this person fails. The tzaddik is an ibur–in a spiritual symbiotic gestative relationship with the person in this world and helps him to fulfill his life’s mission.” (Maaseh Ish; Yaaros Devash, Part II, 16)
This spark is especially available at the gravesite of a tzaddik, as the Arizal explains at length in Sha’ar Ruach Hakodesh and is what we wish to attain when we visit the grave of a tzaddik. Whether one speaks to the tzaddik or not, the main thing is to yearn for the powerful connection that was revealed by tzaddik in his lifetime and teachings, so one can get a bit of this and be empowered to transform for the better.
Deeper Dimension: The Essence of Rosh Hashanah
Rosh Hashanah is “the beginning of Your works” (Tehillim 111:10), when creation first emerged from potential to actual. At that very root, when creation first unfolded, lies the possibility of falsehood, for with what appears to be duality comes the opening for falsehood that enables free choice and is the weapon of the evil inclination. On Rosh Hashanah, the great tzaddikim work to sweeten that root of judgment, returning creation to its Source and nullifying falsehood at its origin.
Since tzaddikim attain their fullest strength after their passing, as our sages taught, Jews visit their graves on Erev Rosh Hashanah. In doing so, they draw from the power of the tzaddikim to lift creation back to its root. This is the essence of teshuvah: to return all of existence to its first Source, “like a stone cast back to the place from which it was taken.”
Connecting to tzaddikim on Rosh Hashanah enables us to join in their avodah of sweetening judgment at the root of creation, and in so doing, beginning our Ten Days of Teshuvah with renewal and elevation. (Likutei Halachos)