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20 | Harav Michoel Fishman
Conscious Acceptance of His Sovereignty
Despite its uniqueness, the 25th of Elul is eclipsed by Rosh Hashanah. This is
because the creation of man opened a new and deeper relationship between
Hashem and the created world.
Of all the beings in the physical and spiritual realms, man alone can choose
to accept Hashem›s sovereignty. Only man’s relationship with Hashem stems
from conscious decision and free will. Though Hashem creates and regulates
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all the other beings in the universe, they do not consciously accept this
relationship. Their link with the creator flows from His creativity; it does not
result from their own decision.
With the creation of man, Hashem introduced the potential for voluntary
acceptance of His unity and active consent to His will. Admur Hazokain illustrates
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the difference between Hashem›s relationship with man and His relationship
with the remainder of creation by contrasting two forms of absolute rule,
tyranny and sovereignty. A tyrant exercises dominion without his subjects’
consent, by virtue of his might; the subjects of a king, must willingly coronate
him, accept his authority and seek his sovereignty.
Unlike every other created being, man has the choice of embracing Hashem›s
dominion or rebelling against it. Man alone has been empowered to
acknowledge the unity of Hashem through his own thought processes, and to
relate to Him as his sovereign.
Making Hashem Part of Our Reality
Why must Hashem’s sovereignty be consciously perceived by man? From His
perspective, His unity with the world encompasses every facet of creation.
Man is rarely able to conceive of Hashem’s unity from this perspective. Why,
then, should mere man›s awareness and recognition be of such importance?
Chazal teach that Hashem created the world because He “desired a dwelling
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place in the lower worlds.” In order for this desire to be completely realized,
7 See Mishneh Torah, Hilchos Teshuvah, ch. 5.
8 Likkutei Torah, Rosh Hashanah, p. 55b ff.
9 Midrash Tanchuma, Parshas Bechukosai, sec. 3; Tanya, chs. 33 and 36.
Agudah Achasgudah Achas
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the establishment of a dwelling place requires not only that G-dly energy -
תויח יקולאbe extended into those lowly realms, but also that those realms be
aware of the G-dliness - תוקולא in their midst and accept it. Only then is His
dwelling place in the lower worlds complete.
Before man’s creation, G-dliness and the world appeared to be opposites; the
world, from its own perspective, did not relate to the G-dly potential with
which it is invested. Only with the creation of man did the possibility for an
internalized awareness of Hashem come into being.
Hashem's Partner in Creation
Man was created not only for the purpose of expressing unity with Hashem in
his own life; he was also given the potential to suffuse the entire world with
an awareness of Hashem›s unity. Adam, the first man, gave expression to this
potential on the first day of his existence by addressing all of creation: “Come,
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let us bow down; let us bend the knee before Hashem our Maker.”
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By imparting his superior relationship with Hashem to the entire world, man
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becomes Hashem›s partner in creation and contributes a necessary element
to the world›s existence - a conscious union with Him. This uniquely human
perception of Hashem’s pervasive unity makes Rosh Hashanah -the day of
man’s creation, - eclipse the 25th of Elul. For the potential for oneness with
Hashem that came into being with man’s creation overshadowed all previous
levels of creation.
A Diverse Existence
The question, however, remains: Why do our Rosh Hashanah Tefillos proclaim
that the world was formed on the 1st of Tishrei? Even if it is acknowledged
that Rosh Hashanah takes precedence, it was on the 25th of Elul that the
world was created.
10 Zohar III, 107b.
11 Tehillim 95:6.
12 Shabbos 10a; see Likkutei Sichos, Vol. XV, p. 95 ff.
Agudah Achas