Rabbi Rael Blumenthal

One Friday, a man entered the study of Rabbi Duvid Moshe Friedman, the Tchortkover Rebbe, with a request that was tragically common in those days.

“My son was drafted into the Polish army,” the man began. “However, we have a way out. On Sunday, we are going to a doctor who will falsely declare him unfit for service. This way he will be spared certain misery, perhaps even death in that terrible army. Rebbe,” he asked, “I need your bracha that he evade the draft.”

The Rebbe quietly told him that Shabbos was nearing and he could not concentrate on such Brachos. The man should return to him on Friday evening after his tisch.

The man did so. After most of the chasidim had left, the man repeated his request, almost verbatim. Again the Rebbe was non-committal. “Return to me after Shachris.”

Dejectedly, the man noted that he would really like to resolve this matter before Sunday morning.

Shabbos morning, after davening, the man approached the Rebbe again. Calmly he repeated the predicament. “Sunday morning I am going to a doctor who will falsely declare my son unfit for military service. Please pray that we will evade conscription.” The Rebbe was not moved. Again, he deferred until the afternoon.

At Shalosh Shudos, the scene repeated again, precisely the way it had the previous three times. “I understand that you are leaving Sunday morning. Come back to me late Motzei Shabbos,” said the Rebbe. “By then I will have an answer for you.”

By this time, his Chasidim's curiosity was piqued. They had never seen their Rebbe so reluctant to give a bracha, especially when it was one that would save a Jewish soul from the frightful Polish army.

That Motzei Shabbos a large crowd gathered as the man approached with his request. Frustrated and disgruntled, the man, once again, repeated his story, almost verbatim, for the fifth time.

Immediately, the Rebbe sprung from his chair and began to shout. “What are you asking me? Why would one even try to evade the service of our wonderful country? How dare you ask me for a bracha of that sort? Your son would make a fine soldier for our country. I wish him the best of luck in the army!”

The man quickly scurried from the room and left town. The Chasidim stood shocked and bewildered. Never had they heard such an uncharacteristic outcry from the Rebbe.

“I will explain,” said the Rebbe. “That man was a fraud. He had no son, and if he did, he wanted him in the army. That man was sent by the government to test our loyalty. Thank God we passed the test.”

“But, Rebbe!” cried the chasidim, “how did you know?”

”It was quite simple,” explained the Rebbe. “When he first arrived, he asked calmly for a bracha. More calmly than a desperate father would ask. So I pushed him off, and I watched the level of intensity. From the moment he arrived until tonight there was no increase in intensity nor feeling of desperation with each request. And when I heard his fifth request tonight and it contained no more passion or desperation than his first request on Friday night, I knew he was a fraud.”

We all know the difference between sincerity and lip service, and keeping that in mind might help focus us for the days ahead.

We are about to enter 72 hours of connection, commitment and renewal. It’s a three day yom tov for Jews around the world. There will be thousands of words read and said. Hundreds of pages turned. Shofar blast after Shofar blast.

And after all of that, it’s still possible for all of it to be meaningless.

The litmus test of this Rosh Hashana is not in the amount of words that we say, but the meaning behind them. Are we going say what we mean, and mean what we say?

That’s the challenge. But this year, in particular there is a unique opportunity that we have this Rosh Hashana.

Perhaps for the first time in our lifetimes, the insanity and crookedness of the world around us is so blatantly obvious. The bubbles have burst, the illusions have faded, and we have witnessed a world of hatred that vehemently denies Hashem, His Torah and right for His People to Live.

But that’s only a piece of the story. Simultaneously, we have seen and participated in the greatest reawakening of Klal Yisrael in generations. Through the pain and brokenness we have met and discovered heroes of our people. We have shared their tears, and been inspired by these giants of spirit.

We are entering 5785 with a sense of clarity that we have never known before. The difference between good and evil has been highlighted with stunning precision.

As we stand in Hashem’s court room, He is asking each of us and all of us: How should we proceed? Are you willing to take a stand? Are you ready to make a change in your own life?

Hashem turns to us and asks a simple question: I know you want peace, safety and security; but why do you want it?

Are we yearning for the world to return to mindless narcissistic materialism? Or are we yearning for a global renaissance of morality, meaning and purpose?

Hashem does not make this decision. It’s up to us to choose how our world continues from this point onwards. The decisions we make in our hearts and minds are invisible to everyone outside of us and Hashem; but that’s where the difference is made.

The Torah speaks of Rosh HaShana as the hidden holiday – תִּקְעוּ בַחֹדֶשׁ שׁוֹפָר בַּכֶּסֶה לְיוֹם חַגֵּנוּ – Blow the Shofar in the month of the concealed festival.

Rabbeinu Bachayeh explains:

ומה שבאה פרשה זו סתומה יותר משאר פרשיות המועדים, הענין הוא מה שידוע בעניני תורתנו הקדושה אותם שהן מפנות הדת ומעקריה, כי כל מה שהענין יותר נעלם ויותר פנימי הוא יותר סתום ובא הלשון בו בדרך קצרה ובמלות מועטות

Rosh Hashanah is hidden in the Torah. It has fewer details than any other Chag in the text. But we know and understand that the deeper something is, the harder it is to contain and define it with words.

We are entering the deepest days of the year; the Rosh – the mind of the year. From our thoughts, desires and dreams in this moment, everything will be different. It has to be.

Ultimately, Hashem is making us the greatest offer in history: You see how it is. You’re dreaming of what could be. You know that everything could change this year. Do you really want it?

Hashem should help us to want His wants, to dream His dreams. To partner with Him in the last moments of history before He sounds the Great Shofar of our Freedom.