Rosh Hashanah 5785

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Hashem’s unusual listening conduct[1]

כי אתה שומע קול שופר ומאזין תרועה ואין דומה לך. ברוך אתה יקוק שומע קול תרועת עמו ישראל ברחמים
For you hear [שומע] the sound [קול] of the shofar, and hear [מאזין] the broken sound [תרועה], and no one is like You. Blessed are you Hashem, Who mercifully hears the broken sound of His nation of Israel[2]

The Mussaf service on Rosh Hashanah is unlike any other Yom Tov. Usually, the silent prayer, known as the Shemoneh Esrei, consists of seven blessings. Three praising G-d, one corresponding to the day, and three blessings of thanks. Rosh Hashanah, instead of just one blessing in the middle, has three, known as Malchiyos, Zichronos, and Shofaros. Blessings declaring Hashem’s Kingship, Hashem’s “recollection” of events, and the famed shofar blasts. These three, perhaps, correlate to the three principles of Jewish faith: There is a G-d, the Torah is of Divine origins, and there’s reward and punishment[3]. Malchiyos obviously correspond to the fact there is a G-d. Zichronos correspond to reward and punishment, for Hashem recalls our good and not so good deeds. Shofaros correspond to the Torah, which was given at Sinai with Shofar blasts[4].

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Balak 5782

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A Greedy nature[1]

ויען בלעם ויאמר אל-עבדי בלק אם-יתן-לי בלק מלא ביתו כסף וזהב לא אוכל לעבר את-פי יקוק אלקי לעשות קטנה או גדולה
Bilaam answered and said to the servants of Balak: “[Even] if Balak gave me the entirety of his treasury, silver and gold, I wouldn’t be able to transgress the word of Hashem, my G-d, to do something small or large”[2]

The Moabite King Balak had a plot to hire the sorcerer Bilaam to curse the Jews. Besides his occult abilities, Bilaam was a renowned non-Jewish prophet. He had direct communication with G-d. When Bilaam heard that Balak wanted his help, he responded in the negative. He stressed that even if Balak would give him all of the riches in the world, Bilaam admitted he couldn’t go against Hashem’s will. Rashi, quoting our Sages, tells us[3] that this teaches us that Bilaam had a greedy nature.

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