Atah Hashem Levadekha: Malchus and Exclusive Attachment on Rosh Hashanah

Topics

• Atah Hashem Levadekha
• Es Hashem He’emarta Hayom
• He’emarta as Hamlacha
• An Example from North Korea
• Heimarta: Choosing Hashem
• L’dodi li: Exclusive attachment
• Chativa and kesher
• Malchus, Kesher, and Rosh Hashanah
• The Belz Custom and the Meaning of Choosing

Transcript

# Atah Hashem Levadekha

I’m sorry that I’m a little sharp today, because I’m in a rush, but that’s fine, okay? Okay, okay. You wanted the boys of the yeshiva to come, and they’re all gone already? What are the secrets?

Every Rosh Hashanah we have the pasuk, “Atah Hashem levadekha, Hashem,” You should be the King alone, King alone. What does that mean? “Yimloch Hashem” — You should be King. What do you mean, “levadekha,” alone?

The simple pshat is that everybody has his king and what he worships. The whole world worships Hashem also on Rosh Hashanah: “Yimloch Hashem levadekha.”

# Es Hashem He’emarta Hayom

I want to say a different pshat, but it’s based on this week’s parashah. In this week’s parashah we have the pasuk, “Es Hashem he’emarta hayom,” and then it continues, “v’hu he’emircha.” What is “Es Hashem he’emarta hayom”? What does it mean, “he’emarta hayom”?

The word “he’emarta” is very complicated to translate. Rashi on the spot gives a different pshat than “hevdalta,” “pirashta” — I don’t know, different. “He’emarta.” It’s 21, so I only have nine minutes, so you’ll look it up yourself. Rashi — you’ll look it up in the rest of the parashah. They’re busy with the word “he’emarta” because it’s a hard word to translate. You were “he’emarta” Hashem. What does it mean?

The Alshich even asks, what do you mean “hayom”? What do you mean “hayom”? It’s only today? He wants to know what the “hayom” is. So, pashut, it has to do with the bris. The Alshich, “hayom.”

# He’emarta as Hamlacha

You know what I would say? The Tazkenim learns that the word “he’emarta” — Tazkenim ba’alei Tosafos — “he’emarta” is “hemlachta.” “Hayom,” I could say, we know that whenever it says the word “hayom,” it is Rosh Hashanah. Every time it says the word “hayom,” the Zohar says clearly it’s Rosh Hashanah. So I think it’s so-so, and I don’t know why there isn’t one of them that brings a raya. So “he’emarta,” “hemlachta,” “hayom.”

Okay, so why is malchus in the lashon of amirah? I always understood, maybe — and I say “always” and “maybe” because it’s not always literally, and “maybe” because I’m not even sure myself — when you have a melech, that’s all you talk about. When you exalt something, you talk about it twenty-four hours a day: the king, the king, the king, the king, the king. “He’emarta” is to speak in glowing terms, and that’s “hemlachta.”

A lot of times you elect the president, but you know how you talk about him? “Ramei vinyah.” “He’emarta” means it’s a hamlacha of real, I talk about him in terms of respect and glowing, and he’s the focal point.

# An Example from North Korea

I could say that we talk about — you know where I saw this? In North Korea. That’s how they treat him. Everything they say, they mention his name. It’s something I saw. We should take his zchus from them? They brought a doctor from the United States two days to do what they didn’t have food, because they don’t have food, they get blind. They’re missing vitamin A. I saw the documentary. When they started to see, who do they thank? They don’t thank the doctor or anything. They thank him. They thank this guy, the big fat bloated guy. It was his dad though, I think.

Huh? It was his dad in that video. It wasn’t his dad? Everything they speak, it’s this.

Okay, I would say a different pshat. You ready? There’s an interesting...

# Heimarta: Choosing Hashem

Rosh Boch, Rosh B’Av, heimarta Yisrael laHashem. The word heimarta means that you chose from among others. Who says? You went here, did this, and said, “You know what? Hashem.”

I saw the Satmar Rebbe in Divrei Geah last week. What does that mean? Could you imagine coming and saying, “Hashem, I chose You from among the junk”? There is a lot of junk over there. It is either that dirty diaper or that dirty thing, and then Hashem. Hashem is unbelievable. He said that is the peshat in heimarta: from all that I let go, I took this. What does that mean? I do not like the question. I will explain what I mean.

You know what shows real ahavas Hashem? Someone who saw everything and still threw everything away and said, “You know what? This is what I want.” To love something when you do not know what else is out there is not really proof of love. It is not proof of love. You know what the proof of love is? To be far, to be fatum with a million other things, and then come back and say, “Hashem, this is what I want.” I am telling you, and that is what I am telling you to choose.

# L’dodi li: Exclusive attachment

Elohu we know is about, that is what I need. I need l’dodi, l’dodi li. What is “I need l’dodi”? I am for. I am for l’dodi. What do I mean, I am for? True ahavah means that you have nothing else but this. I need, you know what? It is only l’dodi. I do not exist. L’dodi—the only thing on him is me. That is real ahavah. Nothing else besides. Are you with me still?

The Maharsha says that tefillin is called pe’er. Pe’er is tiferes, like it says, Hashem is like lashi pe’er. What is pe’er, he says? Tefillin. What is tefillin? You saw it? It is a half-Lithuanian Maharsha. And pe’er, tefillin is kesher. It is chativa achas. And that is what it says: I am for l’dodi, l’dodi li. It is a Maharsha. One l’dodi. Huh? I am telling you, it is a Maharsha. You have to learn the Maharsha. I wish I had time; I would have learned it with you inside. That is good. I mean, l’dodi, l’dodi only means kasher. I am tight. Elo? It is only me and the Eibishter, the Eibishter to me. I am a kesher. One more minute. Kesher. Hey. You hear? Maharsha.

The Maharsha says, what is l’dodi, l’dodi li? You hear? Elo is like tefillin. He says it is said by tefillin itself, and he says that is chativa achas. What is chativa achas? That is the only thing that exists to Hashem. Hashem is one thing. Elo means—and that is, I think, what it means. You hear? Rosh Hashanah, echad, to Hashem. L’vadech v’nei. The only thing. It is a love. I do not have anything else, just the Eibishter. That is what Rosh Hashanah is: only the Eibishter.

# Chativa and kesher

Now I am going to show you something interesting. You ready? What is the translation of the word chativa? The truth is I do not have time. It is a big machlokes rishonim. They are not sure how to translate chativa. It is a chunk. It says chativa means kesher. It means tied. How do you tie a nesuin? With a chiv amirot: harei at mekudeshes. It is Hashem amirot, because you mekash yourself today. It is like a marriage.

That is why I told you this. You want to know why I said this whole thing? When I saw that Absag Yigayim last night, I said, wow. Fifty years—I never knew this. It is Hashem.

# Malchus, Kesher, and Rosh Hashanah

What kind of malchus? With an amir, areyat mechudesh—that’s me. We’re born in Shavuos. And what is mechud, meuchad? That it’s just me and you. Yes, that’s Hashem. Heim, Martha Ayoin. Ani l’dodi v’dodi li.

I want to tell you something beautiful. The ma’aseh is that we don’t eat pas palter between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. We don’t eat gut wine. The one thing that shows we are different from the rest of the nations is pas palter, so we stay away from pas palter, and we are completely moved to menachgayim.

In Tel Aviv, do you know what sign they put up for Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur? “Ribono shel Olam is the King, but there is no king in the world.” It is too detached. Ribono shel Olam can only be a Melech if we are in His avodah. That is the only way it works. Ani l’dodi v’dodi li. Ribono shel Olam is saying, I need you like you need Me. Rosh Hashanah is the kesher. Ein melech b’lo am.

Pas palter is saying that we are moved to menachgayim. I’m going to end with this.

# The Belz Custom and the Meaning of Choosing

In Belz, they had a custom. Do you want to hear their custom? On the night of milah, they would bring in a goy to relight the neiros by the bimah. Even if it was a geir, they would bring in a goy. It was a whole ceremony. They would bring in a few goyim, and they would have to sit there and light the candles. Why? And they would say, during the milah, “Ribono shel Olam, this or this? Which one? Which one is Yours? Pick. You want Ivan, the shegetz, or just ask Chloe? Who are You choosing?” That is the beshadach.

Rosh Hashanah is that we are saying to Ribono shel Olam: we are together with You. It is a kesher. That is a mardoch, beshadach. And what is beshadach? Beshadach is that we go on many other dates throughout the year. It doesn’t have to be avodah zarah; it could be other times as well. We come back and say, you know something? We are choosing You, Ribono shel Olam.

Marriage, the Hebrew says, me and you, and you and me, and only you and me, and nothing else. That is Rosh Hashanah.