Weekly Letter: Why is Rosh Hashanah Referred to as the Beginning of G-d’s Works?
As we prepare for the auspicious day of Rosh Hashana – the Rebbe’s letter gives us much food for thought and introspection. In answer to the question “ Why is Rosh Hashanah referred to as the beginning of G-d’s works, where in reality it is the 6th day of creation, not the first?” the Rebbe asks additional questions and proceeds with a detailed explanation.
By the Grace of G-d
Days of Selichot, 5729
Brooklyn, N.Y
Greeting and Blessing:
The question has been raised why Rosh Hashana has been designated as the day of the beginning to Thy works, whereas actually Rosh Hashana corresponds to the sixth day of Creation.
The answer was given by our Sages of blessed memory: inasmuch as man is the ultimate purpose and raison d’etre of all domains of the Universe and since with the creation of man the whole of Creation was completed and fulfilled, man in effect embodies the entire creation, as if before him nothing was created.
Nevertheless, the question begs to be asked: How can this be said, when there is a big world besides man, an impressive and noteworthy world, viz., “How manifold are Thy works, O G-d “and “How great are Thy works, O G-d?” Moreover, considering the whole of Creation, man included, we find that the speaking genus (man) is much less than the order of animals, and still less than the order of plants, and least, in comparison to inorganic matter (earth, minerals, etc)?
The answer – and this indeed is one of the basic teachings of Rosh Hashana in regard to the entire Creation – is as follows:
The order in the scale of created things, where inorganic substances exceed plants and plants outnumber animals and least of all is man, is based on consideration of quantity. However, when quality is considered, the order is reversed: inorganic matter, which has no sign of life and locomotion, is at the bottom of the scale; above it is the world of plants, endowed with growth but lacking the vitality and movement of animals; higher still is the world of animals which, since animals do not possess human intellect, is inferior to man – the highest of all creatures. For although an animal has an intellect of its own, the animal intellect is not an end in itself, but a servant whose function is to serve the natural needs of the animal. The human intellect, however –provided the person conducts himself as a human being and not an animal- also is, and mainly, and end in itself. Furthermore, the human intellect attains its goal and fulfillment not when it serves as an instrument for the gratification of the physical needs, as is the case of animals, but on the contrary, when all such natural functions as eating, drinking and the like become servants of the intellect, in order that a person should be able to rise ever higher in intellectual and spiritual pursuits.
Yet, this is not quite the true fulfillment of the human being. True fulfillment is achieved when the intellect leads him to the realization that there is something higher than intellect, so that the intellect surrenders itself completely to that which is higher than intellect.
To put it more clearly: Human fulfillment is attained when intellect recognizes that man and with him the entire Creation, must strive for and achieve complete surrender to G-d, the Creator of the Universe and Master of everything and all in it.
On the first Rosh Hashana this fulfillment was attained by the first man, Adam. It was reflected in his effective call to all crated beings: Come, let us worship, bow down and kneel before G-d our Maker.
This concept directly relates to and must permeate, our daily life, as evidenced by the fact that the Psalm beginning with “G-d reigns, He robed Himself in majesty”, has been instituted as the Daily Song (Shir shel Yom) for the sixth day of every week around the year. This is what the first man, Adam, accomplished when he acknowledged the Sovereignty of the Creator, elevating himself and all Creation to a level of complete surrender to G-d our Maker, King of all the Earth.
The general lesson to be inferred from all that has been said above, in brief summary, as follows:
Reflecting upon himself, a person will see that most of his life and most of his efforts are taken up with things which at first glance, are material and mundane – such as eating, drinking, sleeping and the like and with preparations therefore. It is also evident hat among the human species there is a greater number of men of the world than men of the spirit. And in general one sees a vast material and physical world immersed in material pursuits. Hence, one may erroneously think that perhaps the material and physical aspects of life are the most important in the world.
Comes Rosh Hashana and teaches us that the opposite is true: To be sure, it took five days and past of the sixth to create all sorts of creatures. Yet it was man, a very small part of Creation in time and space, that was the essence and purpose of the entire Creation. And in man too, the essential thing is not the body, which is dust from the earth, but the soul, the living spirit which G-d breathed into his nostrils; a soul which is truly a part of G-liness above. Only after man was created with the Divine spark in him did the entire Creation become worthy and complete. Thus man can justly be described as the beginning of Creation in all its domains and Rosh Hashana , the birthday of man, as This is the day of the day of the beginning of Thy works.
With blessing,
