R' Kelemen thought on Rosh Hashana

(posting an email i sent out to a bunch of people- I can't believe it's almost eruv R'H!!!!)

Hey all,

I was looking over some RH notes from classes at Neve and wanted to share a short idea I heard from R' Kelemen a few years ago... (all errors are mine- all Torah/inspiration gained from this is because of R' Kelemen)

Rabbi Kelemen was telling over the story that when Reb' Kelemen had their 2nd child- Racheli- that she was very sick in bed because of a lot of emergenices associated with the birth. Racheli was born on the 22nd of Elul and so R'Kelemen went to Rav Scheinberg to ask what Reb' Kelemen should do about fasting on Yom Kippur. Rav Scheinberg said that she should fast but that in order for her to do so she would have to stay in bed all on Yom Kippur and that R'Kelemen should stay home to take care of their oldest child, Moshe- who was probably about 1 or 2 at the time. R' Kelemen argued that he needed to go to shul but Rav Scheinberg said no you need to stay home with Moshe and so R'Kelemen put on his kittle YK morning and got down on the floor to play with Moshe. A few minutes after he had taken out the leggos there was a knock on the door and 3 women in their mid 20s were standing there and said- weve come to play with your son- you have a chiyuv (obligation) to go to shul and we dont so we'll play with Moshe and take care of your wife and daughter and you go to shul. (He laughed that he had no idea who these 3 women were and was like where are you from and there were like Neve and he was like what's Neve?? but told his wife that she and the children were in good hands and left for shul)

Rabbi Kelemen explained that the goal of RH is to crown Hashem King- to realize that You Hashem are the King and I will do whatever it is that You want. Sometimes the King might tell you to daven at shul and sometimes the King might tell you to sit and play with your son. If the King comes to you and asks you to fill up buckets of sand in San Diego on Rosh Hashana then you can't tell the King- but I'm busy listenting to the trumpets at Your coronation. If the King asks you to do something-then do it- that's the whole point of His being King. A few friends and I were discussing this last night over shabbos dinner- how it's easy sometimes to look at all the chesed certain people do- they make shabbos kallahs, and vorts, and have loads of guests etc etc but often times it's even a larger chesed for the mother of the family to say no b/c she has a child at home that needs her time (or for the single woman to say no because she has to keep her own sanity so she can go on a date later that day)- this woman won't get the same recognition and yet she's also taking care of someone who needs her help. Sometimes Hashem doesn't want us to do what we think of as the "frum" thing to do- whether it's to open our home to others or to be at shul on YK- sometimes He wants us to stay at home and take care of a child. Obviously both are important- we just have to make sure that whatever it is that we're doing that it's what Hashem wants from us at that point in time.

R' Kelemen told over the story of how one year R'Yisroel Salanter was asked to lead Kol Nidrei. One woman in the town wanted to hear him so badly that she left her child at home unattended. As R' Yisroel Salanter was walking to shul he heard the baby crying. R Yisroel Salanter went into the home and upon finding the baby left unattended stayed with the baby. Time went by and the shul realized that the Rav wasn't coming and so someone else led Kol Nidrei. When the woman returned home she found that R Yisroel Salanter had missed Kol Nidrei to stay and comfort her child.


Sprituality isn't about feeling good- it's about doing what Hashem wants- even if sometimes it appears that what He wants from you isn't the most spiritual act. R' Kelemen ended by saying over in the name of R' Shlomo Zalaman Auerbach "this year on Rosh Hashana when I crown Hashem King over the entire universe, I have to make sure to crown Him King over me as well"

I just want to end by giving everyone a bracha that they should have a year in which they crown Hashem King over themselves, that they have a year in which they strive to do what Hashem truly wants from them, and that in turn they have a year in which they come closer to Hashem.

shana tova u'mesuka (it's always a good year- but it should also be a sweet year!)

Kabat