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Why does Rosh Hashanah precede Yom Kippur, judging us before we've confessed or repented? The shiur develops a fundamental yesod from Yishmael's story: Rosh Hashanah judges not our past behavior but our present willingness to coronate Hashem (ה׳) as king going forward. When Yishmael—guilty of idolatry, adultery, and attempted murder—called out to "Elokim" (not just God but King), he became a tzaddik in that moment, meriting a miracle despite his horrific past.
The shiur opens with a fundamental question about the structure of the Yamim Noraim: Why does the Torah (תורה) arrange Rosh Hashanah—the Day of Judgment—before Yom Kippur and the teshuva (תשובה) process? Logically, we should first accumulate merits through Sukkos (סוכות) mitzvos, then confess on Yom Kippur, and only then face judgment. Starting with judgment seems to set us up for failure, forcing us to win on appeal rather than prevailing in the initial trial. An equally perplexing question emerges from the Torah reading Moshe Rabbeinu established for Rosh Hashanah. The first day's reading is the story of Yishmael being cast out and saved—hardly an inspiring choice. We invoke the merit of Akeidas Yitzchok throughout Rosh Hashanah and even use a ram's horn because of it, yet Moshe chose the story of Avrohom's wayward son, guilty of idolatry, adultery, and attempted murder on Yitzchok, for the primary reading. Some explain that Sarah was remembered on Rosh Hashanah, but other significant events (like Yosef leaving prison) also occurred on Rosh Hashanah yet aren't memorialized in the reading.
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Parshas Nitzavim-Vayeilech; Bereishis 21 (Yishmael narrative)
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