בס”ד

This blog post is a summary of a powerful lesson on the significance of Rosh Hashana. It’s definitely worth watching the full lesson on YouTube for a deeper insight. Here, we share some key ideas and practical lessons on how we can use our speech in daily life to build rather than break.

Rosh Hashanah: The Day of Universal Accountability

Imagine a courtroom with no walls, no microphones, no borders. Every human being alive — seven billion souls, maybe eight billion now — gathered before a single judge.

This is Rosh Hashanah, the Day of Judgment for all humanity. Parashat opens as follows, Deuteronomy 29:9:

“You are standing today, all of you, before Hashem your G-d.”

Although this is a snippet of the dialogue Moses had with Am Yisrael, the Torah emphasizes something larger: it’s not only about leaders. It’s about woodcutters, water drawers, men and women, children, and strangers — all are present. That is the broader meaning of “you are all standing here on Rosh Hashanah.” This is why we always read this Parasha on the Shabbat before Rosh Hashanah.

The Challenge of Responsibility

Our culture today avoids accountability. Leaders shift blame, corporations hide behind contracts, and individuals often say, “I’m too small to matter.”

But the Mishna says in Rosh Hashanah 1:2:

“All who enter the world pass before Him like sheep.”

This applies not only to Israel, but to the entire world. Deuteronomy 30 says:

“I call heaven and earth to witness against you today; I have placed before you life and death, blessing and curse. Choose life, so that you and your descendants may live.”

The Rambam in Hilchot Teshuvah 5:2 explains that every human being has the freedom to choose the good path and be righteous, or the evil path and be wicked.

Human Dignity and Free Will

From this we learn three key lessons:

  1. Human dignity rests upon free will.
  2. Rosh Hashanah measures how that freedom is used.
  3. Our destiny is not dictated by circumstances, but by the choices we make in response to them.

Some might ask, “Am I judged only by the seven Noahide commandments?”

Classical sources answer: no. Judgment goes deeper. The Ramban on Deuteronomy 29:17 writes that while nations are not bound by the 613 mitzvot that Israel is bound by, they are still accountable for corruption of morality and conscience. The Maimonides (Sanhedrin 57a) explains that the seven laws are the floor, not the ceiling. G-d also weighs conduct according to derech eretz — upright character. This is true even for the 613 mitzvot.

Character and Divine Judgment

The great Rabbi Kamenetsky zt”l taught that the code of Jewish law is a compendium of meaning — it sets the baseline for how a person should behave in this world, not the upper stories.

The Mishna’s phrase, “like sheep we pass before G-d,” reminds us that sheep do not notice that they are being counted. Humanity may forget G-d, but He never forgets humanity.

Just as every business faces an annual audit, so does the human race. Daily transactions may seem to vanish, but the ledger records everything. Rosh Hashanah is the world’s audit: every kindness, every cruelty, every silence — it is all noted.

Reflection Before the New Year

That is why, especially in the last days of Elul before Rosh Hashanah, we take time to reflect: What happened this year? What do I need to remember? What do I need to fix? This is akin to what anonymous groups call a “searching and fearless moral inventory.”

The Mishna says:

“Just as mountains cannot be ignored, so too the covenant cannot be ignored.”

Mountains dominate the landscape. You can deny them, but you cannot erase them. Likewise, conscience cannot be ignored. On Rosh Hashanah, the mountains of conscience rise before us in an unavoidable way.

This may sound terrifying, but it is liberating: it is the chance to finally connect with oneself, with truth, and with Hashem, and to start fresh on the right path.

Personal and Collective Judgment

Rosh Hashanah is about personal accountability. You stand before G-d; no one can answer for you. Your relationship with Him is direct and personal. Every daily choice — truth or falsehood, compassion or cruelty, courage or apathy — matters.

But it is not only personal. Nations are weighed on this day too. Great civilizations like Rome, Babylon, and Greece fell because they trampled justice. A society that mocks life cannot endure.

Think of it like a GPS system: every wrong turn is recorded, and the system recalculates. Rosh Hashanah is the world’s recalibration — a chance to see if you are still on the road to life, or stuck in circles.

The Eternal Measure

Pleasures of the body are fleeting, but the deeds of the soul endure. On Rosh Hashanah, G-d does not ask, “What did you consume?” He asks, “What did you become?”

The Torah is not a checklist of rules; it is a path of transformation. The mitzvot — and the Noahide laws for the nations — are vehicles for aligning with the divine.

Judgment includes:

We are judged not just on law, but on refinement of character.

The Call of Rosh Hashanah

Parashat and Rosh Hashanah converge on one truth:

“You are standing today before G-d. The world is judged. You are judged. Nations are judged.”

The question is not only legal or technical — it is the full measure of human character.

Hear the call:

When the books are opened, may they show courage, not excuses.

May this Rosh Hashanah be a day of awakening for all of us. May conscience be stirred, choices purified, and may we be inscribed for life, health, prosperity, and blessing.

By Rabbi Tani Burton

More shiurim of Rabbi Tani Burton

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