Rosh Hashanah — The New Year
Hebrew: רֹאשׁ הַשָּׁנָה | When: 1-2 Tishrei
Rosh Hashanah: The Day of Divine Sovereignty
Rosh Hashanah is described in Chabad thought not primarily as a day of judgment but as the day of kabbalat ol malchut shamayim — the acceptance and renewal of God’s sovereignty over all creation.
The Shofar: Waking the Soul
The tekiat shofar (sounding the shofar) is the central mitzvah of Rosh Hashanah. Its sound bypasses the intellect entirely and speaks directly to the yechidah — the deepest level of the soul. The Baal Shem Tov taught that the shofar’s “cry” is the wordless prayer of the Jewish soul from its deepest root.
The Alter Rebbe explains the shofar’s call as the soul’s awakening from its annual amnesia — the year’s immersion in the physical world causes a kind of “forgetting” of one’s Divine nature; the shofar pierces through and reawakens it.
Malchuyot, Zichronot, Shofarot: The Three Themes
The Rosh Hashanah Musaf prayer’s three sections correspond to three dimensions:
- Malchuyot (Sovereignty) = recognizing God as absolute King
- Zichronot (Remembrances) = God’s memory of the covenant with Israel
- Shofarot (Shofar) = the revelation of Divine will through its primal voice
In Chabad: these three correspond to Keter, Binah, Chochmah — the three supernal sefirot that govern the new year.
”The King Sits in the Field”
The Alter Rebbe’s famous metaphor: throughout the year, the King is in His palace — accessible only through many layers of protocol. During Elul and the High Holiday season, the King goes out to the field and is accessible to everyone who approaches, with a smiling countenance.
This is the season of maximum Divine accessibility — the gates of prayer are wide open.
Sources
- Tanya, Part I, Chapter 26
- Alter Rebbe, Likkutei Torah — Rosh Hashanah discourses
- The Rebbe, extensive Rosh Hashanah teachings