Vayigash: Shanah Tovah

The streets beyond the shtetl were loud: music, laughter, drunken revelry that rose into the cold night sky. Fireworks lit up the dark night. People were losing themselves in the revelry of escapism and partying. In the big city, it was rumored that a giant mirrored ball made of crystal and reflective glass would be lowered from the sky, a sphere of descending light. Taverns were full of merrymakers, and peasants by the thousands gathered to prepare for the “Różana Miska,” the great Rose Bowl game on the morrow.

Inside the beis midrash, the Chassidim of the Ohev Yisrael of Apta sat bent over their sefarim, trying to ignore the obnoxious sounds from outside. As the window panes shook, the pressure of the raucous sounds pushed inward until suddenly, the tzaddik entered.

Without a word, the Ohev Yisrael, as he was known, walked to the frost-covered window, opened it a crack, and let the noise pour in. The Chassidim were startled. Why allow the disruptive, impure tumult of the street into their fortress of sanctity, their beloved beis midrash?

The Rebbe stood still, eyes half-closed, smiling, as if he were listening for something deeper beneath the chaos. After a long pause, the Ohev Yisrael closed the window gently and turned to his Chassidim:

“Kinderlach, do you hear them celebrating? This is how the nations begin their year, with noise, confusion, intoxication, and escape. And look at us: when a Yid begins the year, he stands in awe. He prepares with a full month of focus, Selichos, and listening to the wakeup call and cry of the shofar. He pours himself into teshuvah, tefillah, and tzedakah. With a trembling heart, he embarks on a journey across the seas of the world to his Master, to coronate the Melech, electrified by the lofty atmosphere of the Yamim Noraim, the Days of Awe!”

The Rebbe paused, the silence of the study hall overpowering the noise outside. “When you hear their shouting, let it remind us of who we are!”

The noise outside dropped, becoming a background to a different kind of sound: the quiet pulse of Jewish life, the heartbeat of a people carrying the privilege and responsibility of a covenantal life of holiness and obligation as they pass through a world that often forgets its own.

The proprietor of Hecht’s Got Judaica store on Coney Island Avenue in Flatbush, Rav Sholom Hecht, once entered into a yechidus (private meeting) with the Lubavitcher Rebbe on the morning of January 1. At some point during the Yechidus, the Rebbe wished him a “Happy New Year.” Rabbi Hecht was surprised. The Rebbe informed him that on the secular new year, the heilige Rebbe Levi Yitzchak of Berditchev would bless his kehillah with such a greeting, and explained the Berditchever’s practice as based on Kapitel Pey Zayin in Tehillim: “When Hashem counts in the script of the peoples forever, He will say, ‘This one was born there.’” (Tehillim, 87:6).

Rashi explains that in the future, when HaKadosh Baruch Hu inscribes the nations for dira’on, an abhorrence, He will count the Jews who are assimilated among them and those who were coerced to abandon Judaism among them, and extract them from their midst. “Then (Hashem shall) say, ‘This one was born of those of Zion,’ and He will choose them for Himself…. taking those assimilated among them and bringing them for a tribute… there will be among them Kohanim and Leviim who are unrecognizable, ‘but they are revealed to Me’ since ‘The secret things belong to Hashem, our G-d (Devarim, 29:28).’”

Rama (149:12 in non-censored editions) suggests that practically speaking, most people do not associate New Year’s Eve with any specific religious observance, and are not even aware of its religious history. Indeed, for the majority of the Western world, it is simply a day to celebrate the start of the new year on the calendar, make New Year resolutions, purchase a gym membership, and enjoy sales at department stores and online. However, for Yidden, January 1st actually marks the culmination of a wondrous tekufah of giving and generosity, since practically every Jewish institution, yeshivah, and organization has sent out “last licks” fundraising emails encouraging end-of-year tax deductible charitable gifts. And that alone is a sibah l’mesibah, a reason for a party and celebration.

One of the most powerful and moving niggunim of the Kedushas Levi, a love song to awaken merit for Klal Yisrael, begins with the words, Lomir dertzeilen di mailehs fin Yiddishe kinder, “Let us relate the positive attributes of the Jewish People.” It has been a long December, and there’s reason to believe that b’ezrat Hashem, this year will be better than the last. As the civil calendar shifts to 2026, let us resolve to relate the positive attributes of our nation, remember all the good times, and hold on to these moments as they pass, counting these final moments toward geulah.

May this be a “gut gebentsht yor” for Am Yisrael and for all the good people of the world! L’chaim! 

Rav Judah Mischel is executive director of Camp HASC, the Hebrew Academy for Special Children and the author of the “Baderech” series. Rav Judah lives in Ramat Beit Shemesh with his wife, Ora, and their family.