Rosh Hashana - Parshas Ha'azinu 5785
- Torah Tavlin
- Oct 2, 2024
- 3 min read
Minhagim and Customs of the Yamim Noraim (2)
Torah Study in the Month of Tishrei. In the many busy days that are coming up IY”H during the month of Tishrei, a Yid must be careful to always set aside a portion of his time, each day and night - Kvias Itim - to fulfill the obligation of "והגית בו יומם ולילה" (1) - which is the obligation to study Torah. Even on Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur, when so much of our time is taken up with our Tefillos, one must still do some Torah learning. (In truth, one could have in mind while reciting the “Avodah” in the Mussaf Chazaras Hashatz, to fulfill the mitzvah of Talmud Torah, since it is all sections of Meseches Yuma.)
Last Day of the Year. The Kitzur Shulchan Aruch (2) and others write that a person should spend the final day of the year (erev Rosh Hashana) doing as many spiritual things as possible, in Torah, mitzvos and tefillah. To a certain extent, doing this before the year is over, has an ability to fix up these Avodos of a whole year before the judgment of Rosh Hashana. Therefore, one should use all of his available time to learn Torah.
Rosh Hashana Meals. The Mateh Ephraim and Elef Hamagen bring down (3) similar customs about learning Mishnayos of Meseches Rosh Hashana during the Yom Tov meals. According to one custom (with sources from the Arizal), one should learn all four chapters of the masechta before bentching of the first night Yom Tov seudah. According to another custom, one should split up the four chapters during all four Yom Tov meals.
Aseres Yemei Teshuva. Both the Mateh Ephraim (4) and the Mishna Berura (5) write that during Rosh Hashana and Aseres Yemei Teshuvah, the Ten Days of Repentance, one should learn IGGERES HATESHUVA of Rabbeinu Yonah and similar Mussar seforim that discuss Teshuvah, for it helps a person to realize his goal of doing Teshuvah during this important time.
Mussar: How to Learn it. Regarding a practical way to begin learning Mussar, one should start with the later Mussar works which quote earlier sources, gathering the scattered topics into an organized order, explaining them, and bringing them into practical application in a down-to-earth manner.
How Much Time? The advice of the Gedolei Hadoros, the Sages of the generations, is to allot a specific amount of time daily for the study of Mussar - but not to overdo it. After urging people to learn Mussar, the Mateh Ephraim writes (6) that one should not make Mussar ALL of his learning, because devoting too much of one’s “brain power” to Mussar for long periods of time, takes away from the changing effect that Mussar can have on a person. A person must learn other Torah topics to truly feel the effects of Mussar working. However, if a person learns a small amount daily until he feels the urge to improve himself and thus become closer to Hashem, that is a good idea and the rest of his learning time should be used for Shas and Poskim. Indeed, the custom in most Yeshivos is to set aside twenty minutes or half an hour daily for Mussar seder.
The Chasam Sofer zt”l used to learn Chovos Halevavos (the classic Mussar work which includes much of what all the other Mussar seforim discuss) for fifteen minutes every day with his students, before he started his Gemara shiur.
(1) יהושע א:ח (2) קכח:יד (3) תקפג:ד,כג (4) תרג:ב (5) תרג:ד (6) תרג:ד