Boulder Aish Kodesh

You've probably heard that Rosh Hashanah is the commemoration of the 6^th of creation, when Adam and Eve were created.  There is fruitful contemplation to be had in considering this.  But there are more stores of what happened on the first day of Tishrei.  Rebbe Eliezer says 'In Tishrei, the world was created.  In Tishrei, the avot were born.  In Tishrei, the avot died.  On Pesach, Yitzhak was born.  On Rosh Hashanah, Sarah, Rachel and Hannah were remembered (and they conceived).  On Rosh Hashanah, Yosef was left prison.  On Rosh Hashanah, our ancestors ceased working in Egypt.  In Nissan, they were redeemed.  In Tishrei, we will be redeemed in the future.'  That's all one opinion, the opinion of R' Eliezer.  He and Rebbe Yehoshua disagreed about a lot of things, and they disagreed here as well.  R' Yehoshua said, 'In Nissan the world was created; in Nisan our avot were born, and in Nissan they died.  Yitzhak was born at Pesach time.  On Rosh Hashanah, Sarah, Rachel and Hannah were remembered (and they conceived).  On Rosh Hashanah, Yosef left the prison.  On Rosh Hashanah our fathers ceased working in Egypt.  In Nissan they were redeemed, and in Nissan they will be redeemed in the future.'

They actually agree about a few of the dates – everyone agrees that Yitzhak was born at Pesach, and Sarah, Rachel and Hannah conceived on Rosh Hashanah.  They also agree that Yosef left prison on Rosh Hashanah, and that our ancestors stopped working as slaves at that time.

There are many ways to approach this passage from the Talmud.  One is to try to reconcile all or some it – Rabbeinu Tam, for example, writes that the world was created in thought in Tishrei and in deed in Nissan.  This offers food for thought – we conceive of a new world around this time, but we don't expect to see that vision come to fruition until around Pesach time.  This is not a time to actualize.  It is a time to vision – to dream, even – about the world we want to see, and to give ourselves ample time to gestate and cultivate that vision before we work toward bringing it out.  Along these lines, the sukkah can be seen as a womb of sorts, holding the vision safely as it goes through essential early stages of gestation.

Another approach is to look toward the events mentioned here – creation, the birth of the avot, the birth of Yitzhak (why is he separated from the other avot here?), remembrance/conception, leaving prison, ceasing to be slaves, redemption – as branches of one essential root, and to distill them down to that root.  Maybe they are all about new phases – nothing>something, empty>pregnant, imprisoned>free, slaves>free, this world>the next.  So, too, at this time, we can look at our current lives as a phase that will ultimately give way to another phase.  Maybe we are single and are looking forward to the married phase.  Maybe we will conceive or give birth to our first kid, maybe we'll add another soul to our family.  Maybe we are preparing for the passing of a loved one.

A third way to approach this passage is to look at the distinctions and differences between these events.  Creation is truly something from nothing.  Maybe this near year should be seen as completely unique, completely new and unprecedented.  Brand new things will happen this year.  It is a new me, a new year, and a brand new set of potentials.

Or maybe the image I can relate to is being freed from prison.  I am stuck, limited by real or imagined walls, and I have to break out of them.  I can follow Yosef's story, enormous potential held back by my own character flaws, emerging voraciously to amazing power after a crucial encounter with my own shame.

And I can choose to connect to the birth image – something inside of that I have known about for some time, something that can only develop with time – something beautiful and natural and born of love but subject to time.  Unlike Yosef's emergence from prison, where he hits the road running, birth will yield something small and delicate, something that I will have to continue to nurture even after it emerges.

Or maybe Rosh Hashanah is a stage toward Pesach.  Though Pesach celebrates the redemption, Rosh Hashanah honors a particular stage in that process, one where are no longer serving Pharaoh but we are also not yet free.  Like creation in thought>creation in action, this is a time of visioning freedom, feeling it but still having to actualizing it.

All of these stories can help us move through the new year experience.  Find the one that serves you well and let it carry you there.