The central theme of this week’s Parsha is the Tochacha, the blessings and curses that are consequences of our observance or non-observance of the Torah. The Gemara (Megillah 31b) states that Ezra ordained that the Tochacha be read before Rosh Hashana and before Shavuos – also a “Rosh Hashana” of sorts, as we are then judged regarding fruits of the tree. This serves as a positive omen: The old year and its curses should finally come to an end.
What is the deeper meaning of this practice?
We generally assume that things remain static and unchanging. (Inertia, of course is a law which operates in the physical world!) Even the Halacha makes this presumption; it is the basis of the well-known rule of Chazaka. If things were in a given state at an earlier time and we are in doubt as to whether things changed at a later time, Chazaka tells us that the change did not take place. Accordingly, we assume that our personal circumstances – health, income, family issues – are the way they are because this is how they were yesterday and undoubtedly they will continue to be the same way tomorrow.
Whether this assumption is ever valid can be debated, but there is one particular juncture in time where this argument is especially flawed. The last day of Elul and the first day of Tishrei are fundamentally disconnected. The former belongs to the previous year and its character is determined by the judgement of the previous Rosh Hashana; the latter belongs to the current year and its character is determined by the current Rosh Hashana. If there is no change, this can only be because we have not changed and consequently the judgements of the two years are identical.
This insight can be either very frightening or very reassuring. If things have been going badly, the prospect of a new year being different is very reassuring. On the other hand, if last year went well we may be disturbed by the fact that this coming year may be very different.
Taking Rosh Hashana seriously requires our understanding that everything is on the table; nothing is decided or determined. The curses of the old year can end because the coming year is governed by new calculations. If we change, our destiny can change as well. This is the vital message implicit in the ordinance of Ezra.
One additional point regarding this practice of reading the Tochacha before Rosh Hashana:
Surprisingly, our practice is not to read the Tochacha on the Shabbos that immediately precedes Rosh Hashana but rather two Shabbosos before. (As well, we do not read the Tochacha of Bechukosai on the Shabbos immediately before Shavuos but again two Shabbosos before.) Tosfos (Megilla 31b) explains that we don’t want to read the curses just before Rosh Hashana as this would be a bad sign. This is rather perplexing. The premise of Ezra’s ordinance is that reading the Tochacha before Rosh Hashana is a good sign. How does it become a bad sign because it is immediately before?
The Zohar (2:88a) says that all the blessings of the upcoming week are rooted in the preceding Shabbos. (In the Lecha Dodi recited at Kabbolas Shabbos, Shabbos is referred to as Mekor Habracha – the source of blessing.) Perhaps this is the basis of the custom that many Jewish celebrations begin on the Shabbos before the event proper. Marriages are preceded by an Aufruf, circumcisions by a Shalom Zachor, and – in many communities – a Bar Mitzvah was given Maftir on the Shabbos before his thirteenth birthday!
Accordingly, although it is a good omen to have completed the curses before Rosh Hashana, we avoid doing this on the Shabbos immediately before as that Shabbos is meant to be the source of blessing for Rosh Hashana itself.
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