Rabbi Doniel Staum, LMSW
Rabbi, Kehillat New Hempstead
Rebbe/Guidance Counselor – ASHAR
Principal – Ohr Naftoli- New Windsor
STAM
TORAH
ROSH
HASHANA 5775
“TO
BE A BEE OR NOT TO BE A BEE”
“Dip
the apple in the honey; Make a b’racha (blessing) loud and clear
Shana
Tova Umesuka; Have a happy, sweet new year”
An elderly carpenter was eagerly preparing
for retirement. When he informed his employer/contractor of his plans, the
employer asked him if he could do him a personal favor and build one more house
before he left. After so many years of working together the carpenter felt he could
not refuse, and so he begrudgingly agreed. It quickly became apparent that the
carpenter’s heart was not in his work. He resorted to shoddy workmanship and he
used inferior quality materials. It was an unfortunate way to end a dedicated
career.
When the carpenter
finished the house he informed his employer that the job was done. The employer
smiled and handed the key to the front door to the carpenter.
"This is your house," the
employer said, "It is my personal gift to you, with gratitude for your
dedication and work for so many years."
The carpenter was crestfallen! If he had
only known he was building his own house, he would have built it so
differently. Now he would be living in a subpar home with no one to blame but
himself.
We are the carpenters constructing our own
lives. "Life is a do-it-yourself project.” The attitudes and choices we
make throughout our lives are the nails, boards, and walls that compose the
"house" we live in tomorrow. We would be wise to build carefully and
adroitly!
One of the most famous aspects of Rosh
Hashana is the universally accepted custom to eat symbolic foods on the eve of the
holiday, and to recite prayers which incorporate a play on words with the
Hebrew name of the food, to ask G-d for various blessings during the coming
year. Arguably, the most beloved is dipping challa and an apple into honey and
petitioning G-d for a sweet new year. In fact, along with the shofar, honey is
a symbol of Rosh Hashana and of our deepest hopes for a happy and healthy new
year.
Perhaps there is a deeper connection and
meaning in the custom to ‘dip in honey’ on Rosh Hashana than the mere fact that
honey is sweet. The very manner in which bee-honey[1]
is produced serves as a powerful lesson for our main objective and focus on
Rosh Hashana.
Honeybees use nectar from flowers to make honey. Nectar
is almost 80% water with some complex sugars. In North
America , bees get nectar from flowers like clovers, dandelions,
berry bushes, and fruit tree blossoms. [Different colors and flavors of honey
are primarily based on what kind of flowers the bees use to produce their
honey.]
The bees use their long, tube like tongues as straws to
suck the nectar out of the flowers. Then they store it in their "honey
stomachs". [Bees actually have two stomachs, their honey stomach which
they use like a nectar backpack and their regular stomach.] When the honey
stomach is full it weighs almost as much as the bee does. Honeybees must visit
between 100 and 1500 flowers in order to fill their honey stomachs.
The honeybees return to the hive and pass the nectar onto
other worker bees. These bees suck the nectar from the honeybee's stomach
through their mouths. These "house bees" "chew" the nectar
for about half an hour. During this time, enzymes are breaking the complex
sugars in the nectar into simple sugars so that it is both more digestible for
the bees and less likely to be attacked by bacteria while it is stored within
the hive.
The bees then spread the nectar throughout the honeycombs
where water evaporates from it, making it a thicker syrup. The bees help the
nectar dry faster by fanning it with their wings. Once the honey is gooey
enough, the bees seal off the cell of the honeycomb with a plug of wax. The honey
is stored until it is eaten. In one year, a colony of bees eats between 120 and
200 pounds of honey.
Honey is created from a transformation that occurs within
the bee. The bee gathers the raw materials and then works intensely to abet the
process and ensure that it is completed. The process of teshuva –
repentance, which begins on Rosh Hashana, is not simply about going through the
motions. Rather, it is a deeply internal and personal process. It is primarily
a transformation that occurs within a person’s heart and mind, and includes a
commitment to growth and improvement.
Truthfully, it seems enigmatic that the two days of Rosh
Hashana serve as the first two days of the Ten days of Repentance. The prayers
of the day are primarily focused on accepting and declaring the Majesty and
Grandeur of the Eternal Monarchy of G-d, In fact, there is nary a mention of
sin, repentance, or regret in all of the prayers of the day.[2]
It is obvious that the service of Rosh Hashana is not
only integral to the process of repentance but it is also the vital starting
point. How does the theme of recognizing and focusing on G-d’s Kingship relate
to the repentance and forgiveness that we so desperately seek?
In order for a person to properly repent he
must have an understanding of the severity of sin and the deleterious effect
that it has upon his soul. He must also understand that G-d truly cares about
his actions because He loves him and seeks to maintain a connection with him.
Without that realization, the process of repentance is futile. One will not
repent and return to something vague and emotionless.
It is for this reason that the Ten days of
Repentance must begin with Rosh Hashana. The theme of Rosh Hashana, which
traverses all its prayers and customs, is the realization of the greatness of
G-d as the Supreme Omnipotent King of the world. At the same time we also
relate the special closeness and boundless love that G-d maintains for His
elite Nation. We mention that G-d’s kingship was only consummated when Klal
Yisroel unyieldingly accepted the yoke of His monarchy upon ourselves, which is
in effect saying that we are the progenitors of G-d’s Monarchy, as it were.[3]
When a person has an appreciation of the
greatness of G-d and of the meticulous precision of the judgment, and at the
same time understands that G-d loves him deeply, then he can foster a desire to
reconnect himself with that Supreme Being through repentance. Thus, Yom Kippur
has no meaning unless it is preceded by Rosh Hashana.
Unlike Yom Kippur which is full of external
symbols, laws, and customs regarding repentance, on Rosh Hashana our ‘repentance’
is completely internal. The deep introspection of Rosh Hashana even surpasses that
of Yom Kippur, for it is the service of Rosh Hashana that sets the trajectory
of repentance in motion which culminates with Yom Kippur. The more one appreciates
the message of Rosh Hashana the more he will be able to take advantage of the
awesome opportunity granted on Yom Kippur.
Another message to be gleaned from the
creation of honey is the bee’s persistence and incredible work ethic to produce
every drop of honey. To gather a pound
of honey, a bee flies a distance equal to more than three times around the
world. Also, it takes two million flowers to make one pound of honey. Those
numbers seem inconceivable to us but for the bee it is merely part of its job.
It was created to perform those tasks and it has the innate capacity to do so.
The Torah states regarding repentance[4], “For the matter is very near
to you, in your mouth and in your heart, to do it.”[5] Sometimes we feel that we
have sinned so much and have drifted so far that we can never repent. The Torah
tells us otherwise. The ability to repent was built into creation and our very
being, and therefore no matter how far one has strayed he can always repent. It
will unquestionably require great commitment, but it is within our purview to
do it.
Rabbi Dovid Orlofsky often repeats a classic thought:
“Most people live the life that happens instead of the life they truly want.”
Many of us have dreams and aspirations but we often never overcome the initial
hurdles and impediments. Time drags on and we sigh as we watch our dreams fall
by the wayside.
When we dip our challah/apple into honey we should
remember how much commitment, exertion and dedication it entailed for the bee
to produce that honey. It was created from an inner transformation that
transpired inside a diminutive insect fulfilling its nature.
We are constantly building our own lives! Rosh Hashana
affords us the opportunity to take a moment to look back at the blueprints and
decide if our building is developing as planned. At the same time, we dip our
challa/apple into honey and remind ourselves that the building is only as good
as its blueprints. Those blueprints are composed with forethought and insight
that stem from deep within one’s psyche.
Of course honey is also sticky (just ask my children),
but the lesson to be learned from that I leave to you…
“Most people live the life that happens instead of the life
they want”
“For the matter is very near to you”
[1] It must
be noted that one may certainly use honey from dates or other types of honey.
The thoughts recorded here relate to bee-honey as that is the most prevalent
and widely used honey generally and on Rosh Hashana.
[2] The one
exception is the opening stanza in the “Avinu Malkeinu- Our Father, Our King”
prayer which states, “Our Father, Our King, we have sinned before you.” Indeed,
there are halachic opinions which state that one should omit this sentence on
Rosh Hashana.
[3] Surely
an Infallible G-d does not need us. However, “There is no king without
subjects” and so, although G-d did not change one iota when He created the
world and man, it is only when we accepted His kingship that He could be called
King.
[4] See
Ramban on that verse
[5] Devorim 30:14
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