Sicha Level 3 - Rosh Hashana

Alef: Chana – through davening at Shiloh – she had shmuel.
Need to learn a lesson from the haftorah. The reason we read this on Rosh Hashanah – because on RH she conceived – her avoda – her davening – is what gave her the child. So lesson = tefilla. (sheloh says she not only conceived on RH but also davenen on RH)

Beis: first delve into her davening
-1st eili thought she was drunk because ‘medaberes al liba’ different than customary davening – lips moving – ‘how long will you be drunk’? She said ‘NO’ – I’m pouring out my heart.

Gimmel:
How can we say eili thought she was drunk?

If Eili made a mistake, how is the torah bringing out Eili’s mistake?

Why did Eili wait for her to finish davening & not stop in the middle?

She was ‘drunk on prayer’ – stayed longer than usual, it’s not respectful to go on and on in front of a king – supposed to be straight to the point
I’ll pour my heart out before Hashem –

This is the connection to tefillas chana & rosh Hashanah. This conversation between Eili and Chana about how one should daven in a house of Hashem

ki chok lyisroel hu, mishpak l’elokei yaakov –
chok – gashmius things “lechel chuki”
elokai yaakov – how much elokus is going to come unto my life

the whole idea of rosh Hashanah is kabbalas hamalchus
BITUL – so how can you ask for your own needs when you don’t exist?

Tikkunei zohar – someone that comes on rosh hashana and asks for his own needs & health & forgiveness etc is like a dog that just asks ‘give me, give me’

but it was put in the nusach of the siddur – you have to really want it

On Rosh Hashana it’s very nice to just be batul and nothing – but maybe youre needs for a month later are realistic needs. The challenge is to be able to take the excitement of Rosh Hashanah back with you into everyday life.

Hey: Seemingly it’s a question of every day of the year. Shemona esrei is k’omed lifnei hamelech – when you stand before a king you don’t show any existence – but we have 12 middle brochos that are asking for all MY needs.

But there’s a difference between Rosh Hashana & the whole year – all year Hashem is like a king that runs a country – but there’s still some existence & needs – you’re not standing in the King’s chamber

Before you crown the king you want to have a high high level of bittul – to show the King that he should become king. So Rosh Hashanah is a much more extreme example. So how can this be a day for us to ask for all our personal needs??

Vov: The explanation:
It’s really one thing: By the fact that you’re existing it’s not that you’re asking for your own needs – it’s a continuation of crowning Hashem – we crown Hashem as king, who rules over the whole world – the ultimate of ‘molo kol ha’olem bichvodecha’ is a yid asking for gashmius things to serve Hashem. Every person has a spark of kedusha in him – wherever you’re put means that you have sparks to elevate there. So we’re asking for gashmius so we can use it to make a dira for Hashem – the ultimate expression of Hashem’s kingship.

When you’re asking Hashem for something – it’s not for YOU – you are batul and it’s for the king.
You need the money for birur hanitzitzos – birur hanitzuztos is your etzem haneshama – It’s not YOU – etzem haneshama means you don’t exist!

Zayin: The machzor is not written for the elite – it’s written for everyone. It sounds like a nice answer – but when we ask for gashmius, truthfully, is it totally for HASHEM?
The objective of davening is the outcome: your goal isn’t to daven for a person to get better, what you want is the person to be healed!
If you want to say wipe out all gashmius, don’t ask for money, and all I’ll think about it Hashem, that’s easier
“bringing the luminary close to the sparks” – Rosh Hashanah – we come close to Hashem
You really want to ask for your needs, and you really want Hashem to fulfill his request, but at the same time – how can he not be there?

Ches: “Ri’evim gam tzmeim nafsham bahem tisataf”
The Best explanation: the hunger and the thirst that your body has to a food or drink is because your nefesh wants to elevate the sparks in it – tisataf- to enwrap in it
The same applies here – if you want something – even if you don’t think you want it for Hashem – your desire for it might stem from something spiritual that your neshama needs that for Avodas Hashem, to elevate sparks, etc
During davenening we get so much more emotional & touched about who will live, who will die, etc much more than ‘Hashem melech, Hashem yimloch, etc”
The fact that you got inspired by the part about material things, that’s because you’re a soul in a body and you have to have a healthy body

Tes: Now we can understand why we say this haftorah on Rosh Hashanah. Eili’s saying ‘this is LIFNEI Hashem’ – only spiritual things here – how can you ask for your own requests, for a child? It’s not about you! You’re going even longer and longer asking for yourself, you’re intoxicated in your own ego
“Bakshu panei lifnei Hashem” – ‘eshpoch es NAFSHI’ – it’s only my PENIMIUS crying in front of Hashem – my neshama wants a child to serve Hashem.
Now we understand why right away at the beginning she promised that if she had a child he’ll just be for Hashem – it’s not for her, it’s for Hashem.

Yud:
The Horaah: its not enough to just have your penimius, you have to express it – you’ll ask for all these things and the “eili” inside you will say what are you doing asking for all this for yourself? You have to tell him, yes at that moment YOU want it – but your neshama wants it. Just like Chana answered Eili so he agreed with her and gave her a brocha & promise – Hashem should give us all the brochos in abundance.