6:07pm - Candle Lighting, Wednesday RH1
>7:06pm - Candle Lighting, Thursday RH2
6:09pm - Candle Lighting, Friday
7:08pm - Havdalah, Saturday
LAMPLIGHTER
ZICHRON YAAKOV
PARSHAH IN A NUTSHELL
Rosh Hashanah Torah Readings in a Nutshell
Genesis 21:1–34; Genesis 22:1–24
Day 1:
G‑d remembers Sarah, and gives her and Abraham a son, who is named Isaac (Yitzchak), meaning "will laugh"; Abraham is then one hundred years old, and Sarah ninety. Isaac is circumcised at the age of eight days.
Hagar and Ishmael are banished from Abraham's home and wander in the desert; G‑d hears the cry of the dying lad, and saves his life by showing his mother a well. The Philistine king Abimelech makes a treaty with Abraham at Be'er Sheba.
Day 2:
G‑d commands Abraham to sacrifice his son on Mount Moriah (the Temple Mount) in Jerusalem. Isaac is bound and placed on the altar, and Abraham raises the knife to slaughter his son. A voice from heaven calls to stop him, saying that it was a test; a ram, caught in the undergrowth by its horns, is offered in Isaac's place.
Haazinu in a Nutshell
Deuteronomy 32:1–52
The name of the Parshah, "Haazinu," means "Listen" and it is found in Deuteronomy 32:1.
The greater part of the Torah reading of Haazinu ("Listen In") consists of a 70-line "song" delivered by Moses to the people of Israel on the last day of his earthly life.
Calling heaven and earth as witnesses, Moses exhorts the people, "Remember the days of old / Consider the years of many generations / Ask your father, and he will recount it to you / Your elders, and they will tell you" how G‑d "found them in a desert land," made them a people, chose them as His own, and bequeathed them a bountiful land. The song also warns against the pitfalls of plenty—"Yeshurun grew fat and kicked / You have grown fat, thick and rotund / He forsook G‑d who made him / And spurned the Rock of his salvation"—and the terrible calamities that would result, which Moses describes as G‑d "hiding His face." Yet in the end, he promises, G‑d will avenge the blood of His servants, and be reconciled with His people and land.
The Parshah concludes with G‑d's instruction to Moses to ascend the summit of Mount Nebo, from which he will behold the Promised Land before dying on the mountain. "For you shall see the land opposite you; but you shall not go there, into the land which I give to the children of Israel."
HAFTORAH IN A NUTSHELL
R'H Day 1:
I Samuel 1:1–2:10
The haftorah for the first day of Rosh Hashanah describes the birth of the prophet Samuel to Elkanah and his wife Chanah, who had been childless for many years. This echoes the story discussed in the day's Torah reading, about Sarah giving birth to Isaac after many years of childlessness.
During one of her annual pilgrimages to Shiloh, the site of the Tabernacle, Chanah tearfully and quietly entreated G‑d to bless her with a son, promising to dedicate him to His service. Eli the high priest saw her whispering, and berated her, thinking that she was a drunkard. After hearing Chanah's explanation, that she had been whispering in prayer, Eli blessed her that G‑d should grant her request.
Chana conceived and gave birth to a son whom she called Shmuel (Samuel). Once the child was weaned, she brought him to Shiloh and entrusted him to the care of Eli.
The haftorah ends with Chanah's prayer, wherein she thanks G‑d for granting her wish, extols His greatness, exhorts the people not to be haughty or arrogant, and prophesies regarding the Messianic redemption.
Day 2:
Jeremiah 31:1–19
The haftorah for the second day of Rosh Hashanah talks about G‑d's everlasting love for His people, and the future ingathering of their exiles. In the last verse of this hauntingly beautiful haftorah, G‑d says, "Is Ephraim [i.e., the Children of Israel] not My beloved son? Is he not a precious child, that whenever I speak of him I recall him even more?" This follows one of the primary themes of the Rosh Hashanah prayers, our attempt to induce G‑d to remember us in a positive light on this Day of Judgment.
Jeremiah begins by affirming G‑d's love for the Jewish people. "With everlasting love I have loved you; therefore I have drawn lovingkindness over you."
Because of this love, G‑d assures His nation that they have a very bright future awaiting them. "I will yet build you up, then you shall be built forever, O virgin of Israel; you will yet adorn yourself with your tambourines, and go forth in joyous dance." Jeremiah then describes the ingathering of the exiles, when all of Israel will be returned to the Holy Land: "You will again plant vineyards on the hills of Samaria . . . Behold, I will bring [Israel] from the land of the north, and gather them from the ends of the earth . . . a large assembly will return here. Weeping with joy they will come, and with compassion I will lead them . . . I will turn their mourning into joy, and will console them and gladden them after their sorrow."
Jeremiah then describes the heavenly scene, where the silence is broken by the sound of bitter weeping. Our Matriarch Rachel refuses to be consoled, for her children have been exiled. G‑d responds: "Still your voice from weeping and your eyes from tears . . . There is hope for your future; the children shall return to their border."
Shabbos Shuva Haftorah:
Hosea 14:2-10; Micah 7:18-20.
The Shabbat between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur is known as Shabbat Shuva or "Shabbat of Return (Repentance)." The name is a reference to the opening words of the week's haftorah, "Shuva Israel — Return O Israel." This haftorah is read in honor of the Ten Days of Repentance, the days between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur.
The prophet Hosea exhorts the Jewish people to "Return, O Israel, to the L-rd your G‑d," encouraging them to repent sincerely and ask for G‑d's forgiveness. Hosea urges the Jews to put their trust in G‑d, not in Assyria, powerful horses or idols. At that point, G‑d promises to remove His anger from Israel, "I will be like dew to Israel, they shall blossom like a rose." The prophet then goes on to foretell the return of the exiles and the cessation of idol-worship amongst the people.
The haftorah concludes with a brief portion from the Book of Micah, which describes G‑d's kindness in forgiving the sins of His people. "He does not maintain His anger forever, for He is a lover of kindness. He will have mercy on us, He will grasp our iniquities and cast all our sins into the depths of the sea." Micah concludes with an enjoinder to G‑d to remember the pacts He made with the Patriarchs, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
The Shabbat between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur is known as Shabbat Shuva or "Shabbat of Return (Repentance)." The name is a reference to the opening words of the week's haftorah, "Shuva Israel — Return O Israel." This haftorah is read in honor of the Ten Days of Repentance, the days between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur.
The prophet Hosea exhorts the Jewish people to "Return, O Israel, to the L-rd your G‑d," encouraging them to repent sincerely and ask for G‑d's forgiveness. Hosea urges the Jews to put their trust in G‑d, not in Assyria, powerful horses or idols. At that point, G‑d promises to remove His anger from Israel, "I will be like dew to Israel, they shall blossom like a rose." The prophet then goes on to foretell the return of the exiles and the cessation of idol-worship amongst the people.
The haftorah concludes with a brief portion from the Book of Micah, which describes G‑d's kindness in forgiving the sins of His people. "He does not maintain His anger forever, for He is a lover of kindness. He will have mercy on us, He will grasp our iniquities and cast all our sins into the depths of the sea." Micah concludes with an enjoinder to G‑d to remember the pacts He made with the Patriarchs, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
SAGES ON THE PARSHAH
Sarah said: "G‑d has made laughter for me, so that all that hear will laugh (yitzchak) with me" (21:6)
The concept of Rosh Hashanah as the day of G‑d's "coronation" as king of the universe explains a most puzzling paradox in the nature of the day. On the one hand, Rosh Hashanah is when we stand before the Supreme King and tremulously accept the "yoke of His sovereignty." On the other hand, it is a festival (yom tov), celebrated amidst much feasting and rejoicing—a day on which we are enjoined to "eat sumptuous foods and drink sweet beverages, and send portions to those for whom nothing is prepared, for the day is holy to our L‑rd; do not be distressed, for the joy of the L‑rd is your strength" (Nehemiah 8:10).
But such is the nature of a coronation: it is an event that combines trepidation and joy, awe and celebration. For true kingship, as opposed to mere rulership, derives from the willful submission of a people to their sovereign. So the coronation of a king includes a display of reverence and awe on the part of the people, conveying their submission to the king; as well as the joy that affirms that their submission is willful and desirous.
(From the Chassidic Masters)
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