No Worrying Pattern for Rosh Hashanah 5787

By Rabbi Shais Taub | SoulWords.org

Last week, a video was posted on COLlive about the meaning of Rosh Hashanah coinciding with Shabbos. It included a statement by Chazal that seemed to suggest this could be a negative sign for the year, chas v’shalom.

Since then, I have received numerous messages from people who were anxious that the first day of Rosh Hashanah this year, 5787, falls on Shabbos.

More than one person told me that they had expressed their concerns to other Chabad rabbis and were reassured that it is not our “derech” in Chabad to focus on such frightening ideas. While I agree with that general sentiment, the fact remains that the video quotes an explicit Gemara, which still needs to be addressed if we are to completely allay people’s fears. So in that spirit, I present the following response, which I am making public in the same place where the video appeared.

VIDEO:

Before addressing the video’s claims, I want to state unequivocally that its ultimate call to strengthen Shabbos observance is a worthy one. I commend its creators for wanting to encourage such an important mitzvah, and I am sure their intent is entirely l’shem Shamayim. Zechus harabim taluy bahem.

Yes, I may take exception to a style that uses fear to motivate people, but that is not why I am writing. The project appears to have been produced for a good and worthy cause, and I would not have written an article merely to object to its approach. I am writing and publishing this letter because if even one Jew is experiencing unnecessary agmas nefesh—which I am sure was never the intention of the video’s creators—I want to do what I can to put that person at ease so that they can enter the new year joyfully.

Let us go straight to the sources. As the video correctly quotes, the Gemara states: “Any year in which the shofar is not sounded at its beginning will suffer misfortune at its end.” (Rosh Hashanah 16b).

Taken by itself, that certainly sounds foreboding. However, Tosafos addresses the matter right there on the daf: “This does not refer to a year in which Rosh Hashanah comes out on Shabbos, but rather to one in which circumstances beyond their control occurred”—that is, the shofar was not omitted because of Shabbos observance, but because unusual and unexpected circumstances arose that prevented the shofar from being sounded (Tosafos, Rosh Hashanah 16b, s.v. She’ein Tokin).

This should be enough to allay any fears, but let me state the point as plainly as possible: The Gemara’s statement is not talking about when Rosh Hashanah falls on Shabbos.

The Gemara is referring to a year in which Rosh Hashanah is not on Shabbos and thus the shofar should have been sounded but circumstances beyond the community’s control prevented it. It is not talking about a year such as ours, when we deliberately refrain from sounding the shofar on Shabbos in accordance with gezeirah d’Rabbah, the Rabbinic enactment intended to prevent a possible desecration of Shabbos (Rosh Hashanah 29b).

That really should be enough to put this entire discussion to rest.

The video, however, also quotes a teaching from Rabbi Yaakov Ettlinger (1798–1871), commonly known for his work, the Aruch LaNer, which also needs clarification.

The Aruch LaNer points out (although to be precise, the teaching cited does not appear in Aruch LaNer, but in another of the same author’s sefarim, Minchas Ani, in a discourse on Parashas Haazinu) that historically speaking, years in which Rosh Hashanah comes out on Shabbos have not followed a uniform pattern. Some were years of extreme calamity (such as the years in which both Batei Mikdashos were destroyed) while others were years of extraordinary blessing (such as the year in which the Jewish people were forgiven for the sin of the Golden Calf, the year in which the Mishkan was erected, and the year in which they entered Eretz Yisrael.)

His point is not that Rosh Hashanah coinciding with Shabbos is inherently a negative omen—for indeed, as Tosafos explains, it is not—but to ask why the character of these years seems to fluctuate so widely.

He answers his own question with a parable of a minister who sinned against the king and was summoned for judgment. When no advocate would plead his case, his own wife appeared and successfully defended him. A second minister later committed the same offense and had his own wife defend him. However, he had treated her cruelly, and when she appeared in court bearing signs of his abuse, her very presence became evidence against him. The nimshal is that when Rosh Hashanah falls on a weekday, the shofar serves as our advocate. However, when Rosh Hashanah falls on Shabbos and the shofar is not sounded, then Shabbos, the bas zug of the Jewish people, appears to defend the Jewish people.

The video accurately reflects the Aruch LaNer’s point about the importance of Shabbos observance in a year when Rosh Hashanah falls on Shabbos, which appears to be the basis for the video’s call to action. However, it is essential to clarify that he is not saying that a year in which Rosh Hashanah falls on Shabbos is inherently a bad sign. His point is that strengthening our observance of Shabbos strengthens our advocate. This homiletical teaching does not change Tosafos’s explicit statement that the Gemara’s warning does not apply merely because Rosh Hashanah falls on Shabbos.

As for the video’s historical argument, it points to three major recent catastrophes as evidence that especially troublesome years have begun on Shabbos. Two of the examples are dated correctly: October 7 occurred in 5784, a year in which Rosh Hashanah was on Shabbos, and 9/11 occurred in 5761, which also began on Shabbos. The third example, however, is incorrect. The COVID pandemic and worldwide lockdowns began in 5780, a year that began on Monday—not, as the video states, in 5781.

More fundamentally, years of enormous catastrophe, Rachmana litzlan, have also begun on other days of the week. World War I broke out in 5674, which began on a Thursday, and World War II began at the end of 5699, which began on a Monday. Thus, the historical record does not support the claim that catastrophic years are uniquely associated with Rosh Hashanah falling on Shabbos. Nor should we expect such a pattern. After all, as explained above, Tosafos makes clear that the Gemara’s warning does not refer to Rosh Hashanah falling on Shabbos in the first place.

I think it’s also important to point out that Rosh Hashanah falling on Shabbos is hardly unusual. Because of the rule of Lo ADU Rosh, which prevents Rosh Hashanah from occurring on Sunday, Wednesday, or Friday, it can occur on only four days of the week and comes out on Shabbos in more than one-quarter of all years.

Now, if you want an uplifting message about the meaning of a year that begins on Shabbos, look no further than the Rebbe’s michtav klali of Chai Elul 5732, written in preparation for Rosh Hashanah 5733, whose first day also fell on Shabbos.

The Rebbe points out an apparent contradiction. Rosh Hashanah is literally the head of the year and thus sets the tone for every day that follows. When Rosh Hashanah falls on Shabbos, the year begins with—and is therefore defined by—a day on which we must refrain from all work. But the Torah says, “Man is born to toil” (adam l’amal yulad; Iyov 5:7). How can abstention from work set the tone for the year when the point of life is hard work?

The answer is that a year beginning on Shabbos is not a year without toil; it is a year in which our toil is elevated. Instead of being consumed by the toil of worldly work, we are given a special ability throughout the year to invest more of ourselves in the toil of Torah and mitzvos.

Further, even our necessary worldly work is then elevated by directing it toward a spiritual purpose. In the Rebbe’s words, we bring “Shabbosdikeit” (the spirit of Shabbos) into every part of life.

That is the message of a Rosh Hashanah that falls on Shabbos: not a year to fear, but a year in which to elevate all of our hard work to a higher level. The Rebbe’s letter contains no warning of impending catastrophe. It concludes with joy, trust in Hashem, and a blessing for a good and sweet year.

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