Igrot Kodesh · Letter 2238 — Faith & Bitachon

B"H,

First day of Selichos* 5713,

Brooklyn, New York,

To our brothers and sisters, the Bnei Yisrael*,
wherever they are,
may Hashem grant them long life,

Greetings and blessings,

On the occasion of the new year, which approaches in a positive way, for us and for all Yisrael, I express by this letter my blessing to all our brothers and sisters, the Bnei Yisrael, wherever they are, that they have a good and sweet year.

Rosh Hashanah*, the beginning of a new year, the five thousand seven hundred and fourteenth since the creation, was not fixed on the first day of creation, but on that of Adam HaRishon*, that is, on the sixth day of this creation.

Thus, minerals, plants, and animals already existed beforehand, as the Torah recounts. Despite this, Rosh Hashanah is celebrated at the creation of man, and it is then that a new year begins for the entire world, including for animals, plants, and minerals. And we say, regarding this date: "This day is the beginning of Your works."

There is here a profound lesson, upon which everyone must meditate, particularly during these days of moral accounting.

The world and all that constitutes it reached what they were meant to be only with the creation of man, the purpose of this creation.

Man is a microcosm, and creation as a whole is reflected in him. What happens in the world also finds its equivalent in him. He carries, in his person, all the stages of creation. In the course of his existence, man lives, in turn, like a mineral, a plant, an animal, and a human being. Even when he fully reveals his intellect and his spirit, he nevertheless preserves, in his life and in his actions, all these levels at once. At certain moments of the day, he may be no different from a mineral. At other moments, he identifies with a plant or an animal. At still other times, his accomplishments and his actions testify that he is a human, imbued with intellect and spirituality.

Rosh Hashanah delivers to every person the following teaching.

The beginning, Rosh Hashanah, corresponds to the appearance of man. The beings who preceded him — minerals, plants, animals — did not yet fully express the perfection of creation. Then, when Adam HaRishon was created and said: "Come, let us prostrate ourselves and bow down, let us kneel before Hashem our Maker," it was indeed so, as the Zohar*, vol. 1, page 221b, and the Pirkei deRabbi Eliezer*, chapter 11, explain.

Man effected the connection between the creation and the Creator. He made the world a Sanctuary, a place of dwelling for the Shechinah*. Thus was accomplished the purpose of creation, in its totality and in each part that constitutes it. It was then Rosh Hashanah, a new period.

The same holds for every person, in his existence in general and in each of his days in particular. The deep and essential aspect of a person's life consists in highlighting the human aspect within the animal, plant, and mineral manifestations of the personality. Only then is he a man, in the full sense of the term.

Thus, one whose accomplishments are comparable to those of animals, plants, or even minerals must, despite this, distinguish himself from them, be more refined, more elevated, to the point that all the expressions of his personality may be qualified as human. In this way, the person, by the totality of himself, by his body and by his neshamah*, can respond to the call of Adam: "Come, let us prostrate ourselves and bow down, let us kneel before Hashem our Maker." In order to obtain such a result, one must conform one's life to the injunctions of the Creator, base it on Torah and the mitzvos* of "Hashem, our Maker."

As the new year approaches, when a new period of life begins, each one must meditate once more and engrave in his mind that "this day is the beginning of Your works," the foundation and the purpose of all creation, the acceptance of the yoke of Malchus Shamayim*, which enabled all of creation to proclaim: "Hashem reigns, Hashem has reigned, Hashem shall reign for all eternity."

With my blessing for a good and sweet year, material and spiritual,