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Why is Rosh Hashanah both a day of terror and joy? The shiur reveals that divine judgment itself is the ultimate chesed (חסד) because God could treat us as property but chooses to relate as King to subjects. This grants us dignity and the right to earn our existence rather than merely receive it as divine welfare.
This shiur presents a revolutionary understanding of Rosh Hashanah that resolves the apparent contradiction between the day being described as one of judgment and terror, yet also characterized as 'Ani L'dodi V'dodi Li' (I am to my beloved and my beloved is to me) and a day of simcha according to the Rambam (רמב"ם). The speaker argues that our natural fear and subsequent denial of Elul and Rosh Hashanah stems from a fundamental misunderstanding of what judgment means in this context. The core insight emerges from a Midrash on the pasuk 'Alah Elokim b'teruah, Hashem (ה׳) b'kol shofar' - God ascends with the shofar blast. Rather than God moving from judgment to mercy as commonly understood, the Midrash reveals that both movements represent ascension through shofar. This teaches that the very act of divine judgment is itself the ultimate chesed (חסד).
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Why doesn't Chanukah appear in the Mishna? The shiur develops a fundamental yesod: Chanukah represents the victory of Gemara—the human ability to use godly intellect (ner Hashem nishmas adam) to develop Torah SheBaal Peh. The Menorah symbolizes the soul's illumination through this koach, while the Mizbeach represents the body's recreation—together forming the complete tikkun of man.
Why does Megillas Esther interrupt Torah study for a message the world deemed ridiculous—that every man should rule his home? The shiur develops the yesod that the moon's willingness to "make itself small" doesn't diminish it but creates unified sovereignty. A woman who enables her husband to lead isn't relegated to second class—she is the king-maker, comfortable creating oneness where a man cannot.
Psalms 47:6 (Alah Elokim b'teruah), various Midrashim on Rosh Hashanah
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