Weekly Dvar Torah: Tishrei Was the Takeoff – Cheshvan Is Not a Crash Landing

What a month!

And oh, what a month it was indeed!

The good news keeps coming. Mazal Tov!

We started the month with the birth of a new granddaughter in Ellenville, New York, and now we are excited to end the month with the birth of another new granddaughter, this time in Houston, Texas.

May our children raise them, together with all their other children, to be good Jewish and Chassidishe children. And may we, the grandparents, see much Nachas from them and from all our grandchildren for many happy and healthy years to come.

Amen!

On Rosh Hashanah we crowned Hashem as King, and He gave us a new lease on life.

On Yom Kippur, the essence of our souls connected with the essence of Hashem. We returned home, our slate was wiped clean, and we were inscribed for a sweet and happy New Year.

Then came Sukkos. With the Lulav and Esrog, we celebrated our victory on the Day of Judgment. We danced at Simchas Beis Hashoeva, rejoicing with Hashem and each other.

And in the middle of all that joy, Hashem added a reason to rejoice.

Thousands were dancing when a FlyDubai airplane filled with Jews appeared to be crashing.

But it didn’t.

Hashem performed a miracle.

Part of that miracle was an Israeli plumber who managed to get into the cockpit.

He wasn’t a pilot. But he recognized what had to be done. He didn’t lose himself. He pulled the right lever, helped stabilize the plane—and Hashem did the rest.

The music and dancing continued with even greater joy.

Even when you are flying through the skies and everything seems to be crashing down, Hashem is still the Boss. Anywhere and everywhere, He is there.

But you have to do your part.

And finally, on Simchas Torah, we danced. And danced. And danced.

The excitement kept building throughout Tishrei, one Yom Tov after another.

And now?

Nothing?

Welcome to Cheshvan.

Back to work. Back to bills. Back to schedules, responsibilities and ordinary life.

After flying so high for an entire month, suddenly it feels as though we are crashing down.

But are we?

We just learned something about crashing.

The purpose of a flight is not to crash. It is up to us to make sure it reaches its destination.

The purpose of Tishrei was never to remain suspended in the spiritual skies forever.

As Simchas Torah ends, we proclaim:

V’Yaakov halach l’darko — “And Yaakov went on his way.”

Now we hit the road.

Hashem did not create us to be angels. He already has plenty in Heaven. He created human beings—with physical needs, material desires, jobs, families, bills and challenges—and placed us in a physical world.

And He said: Make this world My home.

That does not happen primarily while fasting on Yom Kippur or dancing on Simchas Torah.

It happens on an ordinary Wednesday morning.

You wake up and thank Hashem for returning your soul. You go to work and earn an honest living to support your family. You help another Jew. You find time for Torah. You do a Mitzvah.

You pull the right lever.

Hashem is there for you. But you need to do your part.

Sometimes the turbulence of life can be frightening. Sometimes things seem to be heading downward. And sometimes an ordinary Jew suddenly finds himself in the cockpit wondering: What am I supposed to do now?

Don’t panic.

Do what Hashem gave you the ability to do.

The same Hashem Who was with you on Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur is with you on an ordinary Wednesday in Cheshvan. The same Hashem Who was with you while dancing on Simchas Torah is with you when you are struggling to make a living.

That is what Tishrei is all about.

Rosh Hashanah gave us a new mission. Yom Kippur gave us a clean slate. Sukkos and Simchas Torah filled our suitcases with joy, faith and energy.

And Hashem says:

Now take it with you.

Perhaps that is also why Bereishis begins with light.

Before almost anything existed, Hashem declared:

“Yehi Or” — “Let there be light.”

Hashem created the light. Our mission is to reveal it—to uncover the G-dly light hidden within a physical world.

Hashem provides the light. We have to pull the lever.

Cheshvan is therefore not the crash after the high of Tishrei.

Cheshvan is where the flight was heading all along.

Everything we experienced during these extraordinary weeks was preparing us for now.

If you were flying high during Tishrei, you are not crashing down now.

You keep flying.

Take the Shofar into the office. Take Ne’ilah onto the subway. Take the Sukkah into your home. Take the dancing of Simchas Torah into an ordinary Tuesday afternoon.

Not literally.

But take their light.

And when turbulence hits during the year—and it will—remember what we witnessed this Sukkos.

Hashem is the Boss. He is there for you—anywhere and everywhere.

But don’t just sit there.

Pull the right lever.

Tishrei gave us the fuel.

Bereishis gives us the mission.

And now the controls are in our hands.

The holidays are over.

But the flight has only begun.

V’Yaakov halach l’darko.

Have a flying-high Shabbos!
Gut Shabbos

Rabbi Yosef Katzman