Chapter Eighteen

How God holds Court on the New Year over the Sins of the Jews, and how they prepare for their New Year Feast.

In Medrasch Schoher tobh, you can read the following opinion. At the New Year (which begins on the first day of Tisri, or the autumn month, when the autumn moon becomes new) the Sanhedrin, or the great court, sat in Jerusalem, and it was decided that they will keep the New Year on such and such a day. God then called together all the angels, and said to them: Go out and discover if they have come to know the New Year down there, and if it is decided. Then the angels came down to earth, and after they found out what the court has decided they answered God that on such and such a day the New Year will be. Then God prepared himself for that day too, to sit in court and to justify his work, as it is written Ps.46.5: God came down with a sound, and the Lord with the noise of trumpets. Then the benches in court will be ordered, and cushions will be spread, the court records will be opened and the great court of angels will sit in front of his countenance, as it is written Dan. 7.9: I saw that the chair was set, and the old one sat down, a thousand times thousand served him and ten hundred times a thousand stood before him. So far from the Medrasch.

This beautiful story, it seems to me, is based on the Talmud , where you can read: Rabbi Jochanan said: On New Year three books will be opened up; one for the Rescháimgemúrim, [sic] for the thoroughly godless; the other for the Tzaddikim gemúrim, for the thoroughly just, the third for the Benoniim, the people of average piety, who did as much good as evil. The thoroughly pious are promptly inscribed for eternal life, the thoroughly godless for death, and those of average piety are given a period of postponement until the day of reconciliation (it is the tenth day after New Year). They conduct themselves well, and do much repentance, so that the good may outweigh the evil, and everything may turn out right; but if the evil outweighs their good deeds, then they will promptly be inscribed for death. After that, Rabbi Aben [usually now transcribed "Abin"] said: Where does Scripture say that? Answer: the Prophet David in these words Ps. 69.29: Blot them out of the book of the living, that they may not be inscribed with the just. "Blot them out of the book" by this we understand the book of the godless. The word "life," or "the living," [the Hebrew word hayyim is ambiguous] means the book of the just. However, the words "that they may be inscribed etc." refer to the book of those of average piety. [See editor's note on this exposition.] Rabbi Nachman, son of Isaac, said concerning this that at another place Scripture says Ex. 32.32: Now forgive them their sins; if not, then blot me out from your book that you have written. "Blot me out" refers to the book of the godless; "from your book," refers to the book of the just; "that you have written" refers to the people of average piety. So far from the Talmud. This is explained in their Minhágim, or service books, [German: Kirchen ordnung Büch] in the following manner: We have, they write, received and understood from our forefathers long ago, through the oral Kabala, tradition and revelation, that God Almighty created the world, and the first Adam in Paradise, at some time in the autumn. Therefore it is only just that God should want a full account from men after one year is over, and want to know how they lived that year, so that he may requite them for their good or evil acts. He pays them out in the following year after they committed them in the following manner.

For part of their sins they are punished in this world, and some part he punishes in the other world. Also, some of their good deeds get their rewards here, some there. If a man has sinned all year, and is immersed in sin, but did some good deeds as well, then everything comes before the court of God on New Year's Day. Then God weighs one against the other; if it seems to God that he would like that man's good deeds to be paid out in this world, then he is called a Tzaddik, or a just man, because the sentence turned out good for this world, and he is therefore written in the book of the living, that is, he should live the following year, or get rich, or come to great honors. And a pious and just man, who did many good deeds during the year, but also committed some small sins, and it seems to God that he should punish him for his sins, and make him pay for it in this world, then he is called a Rascha, godless and unjust, because his sentence turned out badly in this world, and it will be inscribed in the book of the dead, that is, that he should die the following year, or become poor or sick. Therefore one can be a Tzaddik, or just, in the other world and yet be called a Rascha, or unjust man in this world, because he is punished as a guilty one in this world. Also, the one who is a Rascha or damned, in the other world may still be a Tzaddik, and just in this world, because God wants to reward him for his good deeds in this world. Therefore you should not be surprised to see a pious man who is having a bad time in this world, and, on the other side, you see a godless who is doing very well, but God will give both of them the appropriate reward in the other world. And therefore the Gemara says that on New Year three books are opened. Sometimes, it is a good deed which extinguishes many sins; also one sin may extinguish many good deeds. This all lies within the power of God. A sinner who is inscribed in the book of the dead still has time until the Feast of Reconciliation (the tenth day after New Year) to repent. God may yet change the sentence, and inscribe him in the book of the living. Also, a just one who commits a sin may be put into the book of the dead.

Thus do the poor, deluded Jews hold and believe about God and his authority. They make him a judge for their sins as they would like him to be. The Prophet David believed quite differently when he was troubled about his sins, and said Ps. 143.2: Do not come into judgement with your servant, because before you no living man can be just. Also, Ps. 130.3: O Lord, if you count each one's sin, Lord, who shall stand?

On account of the fact that the New Year is such a serious judgment day, the Rabbis ordained that a whole month ahead of it, they should repent, and take on a more pious life. Therefore, on the first day of August, called Elul, they start to consider all the sins they have committed during the year. Everyone, every day in that month before he eats, habitually takes to heart all his sins, and arouses himself to charátah, regret. He will be freed of his sins on the holy day of New Year, when everyone has to give chesbon, account. Therefore the Italian Jews have the custom, from the beginning of this month until the end, to get up early in the morning and to say their selichos or prayers to beg for merciful forgiveness of their sins. But the Askenázim or German Jews have the custom to start to get up early not less than four days before the New Year, and say their prayers.

They also have a custom that during the whole month, when they get together in shul, to blow the horn of a ram, not because Moses ordered it, but to remember how before Moses went up to Mount Sinai the second time to receive the stone tablets, he gave orders to blow a horn in the camp, to announce that he went up the mountain again to receive some more laws,so that the people would not say again: Moses is not in the world anymore; he died; make us other gods. Ex. 32.1. Besides that, they blow the horn so that everybody should take the judgement to heart, and be frightened about it, as it is written Amos 3.6: When the horn is blown in the city, should not all the people in the city be afraid? Therefore by this fear they should be reminded to repent. Just as a king has the trumpet blown, so that everybody should be on the watch, and get his weapons ready, because there is an enemy, similarly, they start a month ahead to blow, and to announce that the time has come to repent, and to prepare their weapons against sin, their enemy. The most wise write in the Talmud Rosh Hashana 16a: It is done Kdé learbebh hassátan, to daze and confuse Satan, and to make him mebulbal [confused] so that he does not know which day is New Year's, on which Moses said explicitly to blow the horn, and therefore he will not be able to come on New Year, and stand beside them in court, to accuse them of sins.

On the eve of New Year they get up earlier than usual, because they have to say many Selichos and prayers to beg forgiveness of their sins. There is also a custom too that they eat very early to show that they are not like the Christians and other peoples, who usually fast on the eve of their feast-days, but it is not a sin if one does not eat. In Germany, all of them usually eat before they say their prayers, but nobody should fill himself up so much that he would have to say the Selichos with a full stomach, especially when you have to say so many prayers, and they are usually said quickly without interruptions. A full stomach is too lazy for such speed. Many of them fast though, especially the ones who want to be noble, holy and pious, and they write that it is similar to a king who put a heavy tribute on one of his cities, and then comes with a big army to collect it. When he is ten miles away from the city, the heads and noble men meet him and say: Merciful King, we have nothing, what shall we give you? And they beg submissively to reduce the tribute. The King reduces it by a third. When he is five miles from the city, some good solid citizens meet him and they say the same thing, and he reduces it again by a third. Then, when he is almost in the city, young and old meet him, and they also ask him the same thing, and he remits it all. It is the same with God, the King of the whole world, who wants to settle accounts with the people of Israel, and wants to exact payment for all their sins. On New Year's eve the most holy and good fast, and God reduces their part by a third. And therefore everybody considers himself good so that he may fast, and thereby beg God to remit something. On the Ten Penitential Days the average citizen fasts, and on the day of reconciliation (more about that later) everybody fasts, and then God will remit everything, and each one receives pardon of his sin.

After their service and morning prayers, they go to the cemetary where their dead are buried, which implies that if God shows no mercy towards them, they will be like the dead. They beg, therefore, that God may have mercy on them, because of the great merits of the Tzaddikim, the holy and just Jews who are buried there. They also give alms to the poor, so that they may be able to buy good food for the feast.

After noon, the men get shaved and have a haircut, to indicate that they are not like other peoples, who are sad, and therefore let their hair grow because of sorrow and gloom. But we, they write in their Minhagim, are sure of our king, the king of the world, that he will have mercy on us, and our Abhéros, and that he will forgive us our infringments or be móchel [pardon -- another yiddishism].

Therefore they take a warm bath, or if the weather allows, go to a running water or pond, so that they may appear clean before the judge the next day.

They also write that some special angels fly around in that night, who are set above the world and its people. They are on their way down to the other world, and the unclean air here on earth attaches itself to them, therefore they have to clean themselves in the fiery brook Dinor (which the prophet Daniel mentions, 7.10) and all tumeah, or uncleaness has to be burned out before they may praise God again. If the angels have to bathe and clean themselves in this way, how much more should people do? While standing in the cold water, each one says his Viddui, that is, their general confession of sins, which contains twenty-two words, as many words as there are in their alphabet, and every time he says a word he beats his chest with his right hand. Then they submerge their whole body in water, and one has to be witness for the other, that he had been totally under water. The one who has no opportunity to go to a public bath may build himself a hole in the basement, or in his garden, and they have great disputes how deep and wide the hole should be, and how much water it should hold. [Such a ritual bath is called a Mikveh.]

At the time of the afternoon service, they go to shul again, say their evening prayers until it is dark, at which time the feast starts, and then they receive and bless the feast of New Year with joy.

What did the prophets say about this pure people who are so sure of their forgiveness of sins?

• Isaiah 59.2-5: Your misdeeds have separated you from your God, and your sins have hidden his face from you, so that he does not hear you. Everybody hoped for good things and speaks evil. They are pregnant with misfortune, and give birth to trouble. They hatch basilisks, and weave cobwebs.
• Ezekiel 24.13: Your uncleanness is so obdurate, that, even if I would like to clean you, you still would not get clean from your uncleanness. Therefore you cannot be clean again until my fury has cooled.