We are just before Rosh Hashanah and in this article I’ll bring some important advices we should alll consider using in order to get ready before the ‘appearance in court’, to have a good verdict and a new blessed year.
On Rosh Hashanah God created Adam and Eve and on the same day they sinned, brought mortality to the world and created judgment for all future generations. Every year we, as parts of Adam’s soul, stands in trial to be evaluated and receive life fore for the coming year. This will continue until Mashiach comes and we have final peace and immortality.
Every element of Creation is ‘judged’ because the world was created for Adam/us.
The two days’ process is according to Kabbalah considered as one day of 48 hours long. We are all sparks of the soul of Adam and Eve and as such we are judged every year until the end of days.
The world is going through a period of great chaos. It seems like heaven and earth are working against us. Deadly storms (water, air), Fire, Volcano erruptions and  earthquakes (earth) and plagues (air) are all over the world. The initials ארמע for Fire, Wind, Water and earth. We feel as if are already under harsh judgment and can’t tell what kind of ‘surprise’ we will wake up to on the next day.
The entire world feels the spiritual shift in the world. Satan and all of his agents are roaming the earth causing harms to people everywhere. Forces of separation and extreme are visible all over the world. We see evil doers everywhere and even if we can cover our eyes and think that it will pass, it won’t. Not this time. The negativity is too strong.
We are blessed to have the Zohar studies in our lives and that is the only tool promised to protect us like being in Noah’s Ark during the Flood.
We have very short time to prepare for Rosh Hashanah as we need to stand before the judge as pure as possible so we can receive a good ‘pass’ to have the protection of the Ark.
We prepare ourselves by making self-accounting on our actions during the last year. We forgive those who made us wrong because if we’re not then we would be carrying judgments that attract more judgments. We ask forgiveness from those we hurt in one way or another. If we cannot see the person and correct the situation, we give Tzedakah with the consciousness of regretting the action and pray to have the situation corrected with the Tzedakah that we give.
We should remove bread of shame by paying all of our debts, spiritual or material. Payment plans are excluded. We want to give the Tithe we owe from the past year to remove any and all aspects of death from ourselves. Giving tithe make room for ‘life’ energy to come to us. We should make promise to share our next year’s tithe with all sources that benefit us spiritually. We have the responsibility to make sure that we give to the righteous causes. We should avoid giving to corrupt organizations that may have 10s or 100s of millions in their bank accounts. Having so much money means that they do very little for their followers and for people in need on a spiritual or material levels. Giving money to such organizations is like making direct deposits into their fat accounts, making them richer while adding to the aspect of death because the money we give is not properly used.
Our tithe should be used positively for the entire congregation and beyond. It should be transformed into ‘life’ and continuation of light. True spiritual leaders, rabbis and teachers do their work for spiritual reasons, not to get rich and live like royals. All the great kabbalists that we study from, like rabbi Shimon, The holy Ari, Rabbi Ashlag and all the greats in between, were humble and run away from accumulating money, even though they could easily make money and have all the pleasures of the world. The Torah forbids us from wasting our God given blessings in the wrong places.
When we come to Rosh Hashanah services, we focus on the prayers and do not speak anything outside the words of the prayers. We follow the leader of the prayers and may only to help another person next to you to follow the prayers. We have to understand that we stand in front of the judge during this entire holiday. Any misbehavior is ‘judged’ and the consequences are registered for the coming year. Ask yourself to how would you behave when you appear in a courtroom, in front a flesh and blood judge.
Don’t be like one of those that Tikkunei Zohar (Tikkun six (old print page 22), Maalot Hasulam #34,#35 ) calls shameless and idol worshippers. The Zohar describes them as barking dogs that scream for ‘food’, forgiveness and to be inscribed for life without repentance. Before asking for our needs, we want to be pure. The proper prayers lead us to the point that we can ask for ourselves and even then our wish should not be selfish. Follow the prayers from the beginning to have merit to ask for personal wish on Rosh Hashanah. It’s the best day for women to pray to have children.
Be happy with the opportunity to finish one year with its curses and start a new year with its blessings.
I suggest to wake up early and be one of the first in the synagogue/ place of service. Sit quietly and meditate on the good things that you plan to do in the coming year. Do not recall ‘bad’ things so you won’t remind the court of your bad deeds. We want to be judged with consideration of our good future plans. When the service starts, pray to God to bestow clarity and focus in the mind of the person that leads the prayers. If he is distracted or have corrupted consciousness, then the value of the prayers is reduced to the general consciousness of the congregation. It’s would be smart to invest in two days of spiritual efforts in order to have blessings in the next 353 days.
Men dress in white clothes on Rosh Hashanah and all of our actions on this day (of 48 hours) should also be ‘white’.
Listening to ALL blowing of the Shofar is important and proper preparation is critical. Check other posts on the Daily Zohar for Shofar meditations. We do not sleep during Rosh Hashanah, especially on the first day. Staying awake keeps us away from the aspect of death that comes with sleep. We want an active year, full of life.
Hatarat Nedarim – Cancelling of the vows is very important for the personal cleansing process. It removes impurities created through unfulfilled promises of all kinds, small or big. It is usually done before Rosh Hashanah in order to be better ready for the court. If one missed it then he can still do it anytime until Yom Kippur. The Kol Nidre prayer that opens the Yom Kippur services can also be used as Hatarat Nedarim. Kol Nidrei is a cancelling of the vows for the congregation and all the children of Israel and when one listens to this prayer that is repeated three times, he can meditate to include the cancellation of his own vows.
The sages teach us that there are three actions that remove bad decrees;
Teshuva (Repentance), Tefillah (Prayer) and Tzedakah (Charity). We repeat these words during Rosh Hashanah services.
2 Chronicles 7:14
“וְיִכָּנְעוּ עַמִּי אֲשֶׁר נִקְרָא-שְׁמִי עֲלֵיהֶם, וְיִתְפַּלְלוּ וִיבַקְשׁוּ פָנַי, וְיָשֻׁבוּ, מִדַּרְכֵיהֶם הָרָעִים–וַאֲנִי, אֶשְׁמַע מִן-הַשָּׁמַיִם, וְאֶסְלַח לְחַטָּאתָם, וְאֶרְפָּא אֶת-אַרְצָם”
“and My people who are called by My name humble themselves and pray (prayers) and seek My face (Tzedakah) and turn from their wicked ways (Teshuvah), then I will hear from heaven, will forgive their sin and will heal their land.”
Teshuva is repentance and regrets for going far from the path of the light. This means cleansing through forgiving and asking forgiveness from others.
Tefilah is following the prayers as the sages gave us to help us create channels to the upper levels and allow the light to come into our vessels.
Tzedakah is giving money to remove the aspect of death from our lives allowing the previous two elements to affect our lives positively. We receive free energy from YHVH to use in this life and our negative actions cause dark spots on our spiritual garments and blocks the light from connecting to us. When we give Tzedakah to create channels of light/life, we ‘bleach’ these spots and restore life into our spiritual garments.
By the grace of God, the Daily Zohar delivers daily Zohar studies. We never ask people directly to give money to support our projects. For that reason, the flow of donations is slow. We could do a lot more if more of those who benefit from the Daily Zohar, contribute. I thank God for having a good day job to earn money and sustain the family so I won’t be dependent on donations for my livelihood. Your support is used to maintain a stable system, the mobile apps that benefit thousands of users every day.
Before Rosh Hashanah it’s important to remove all aspects of Bread of Shame. Make a donation to the Daily Zohar to thank God for this important resource. I thank God for the Daily Zohar that forces me to study and write every day, fulfilling the precepts of study Torah day and night. Your charitable giving would have global impact because our projects are free and help many other people. The Daily Zohar is not part of or affiliate with any organization.
Promise yourself (B’li Neder) that in the coming year you will share your tithe with other sources that benefit you. If you visit and study from different sources online on a regular basis, then you should give to all, even if it is smaller amounts. Giving proper tithe opens greater channels of sustenance. The spiritual rules are more important than the numbers.
Tap here to support the Daily Zohar
Shana Tova means “Good Year”. A good year also means a good correction process. A year full of correction is great but we want to make it all positive so the proper blessing would be “Wishing you a good and blessed year”. We say it in Hebrew “L’Shana Tova U’Mevorechet” for a good and blessed year.
L’Shana Tova U’Mevorechet to all of you with love and hugs to each one of you.