Uteshuva Utefillah Utzedaka Ma’avirin Et Ro’a Hagzeira
In just a few weeks, we will be hearing these powerful words, words which send shivers down our spines. At that awesome moment, we pray that all the teshuvah we have done, all the prayers we have uttered and all the tzedaka we have given will remove any evil decree, providing for us a year filled with beauty and blessing.
But there is a shortcut. It’s not a simple shortcut, but it works. According to our kabbalists, if I want to make sure that I am not judged harshly, if I want to make sure that I am not looked upon from heaven in a harsh way, there is one thing I must do:
I have to make sure that I do not judge anybody. It’s as simple as that.
In our parsha, Parshat Shoftim, the Torah tells us that we need judges. But who do we need judges for?
“Titen Lecha” – for yourself. It doesn’t say “Titen Lahem”, or ‘Titen Lo’ – it’s to make sure that any accounting that you are worried about is only for yourself.
Can you imagine showing up this Rosh Hashana after a whole month of not judging a soul?
This is the entry to a world filled with blessing and filled with love, with the removal of any evil decree.
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