5784/2023
Rosh HaShana is a day on which to reflect about what we did
wrong in the past and what we should ask Hashem to help us be a better person in the future. Therefore, it is a different davening than weekdays. On weekdays we daven for the Gashmiot (physical) needs for our bodies. However on Rosh Hoshana, the Zohar says it is forbidden to daven for your personal needs (and one is akin to a dog if he does so!), unless it's for Ruchniyot (spiritual needs). We are supposed to recognize Hashem as our G-D and ask Him to control everything. Since Hashem does everything for the good, there is no reason for us to daven for ourselves; we should daven that everything should follow in His ways and not in our hands. We should also daven that we have a specific item and can use it to serve Hashem and use it in the proper ways. For example in tefillah it says, זכרינו לחיים... למענך אלוקים חיים- We should have life so we can keep serving Him day and night.
Also, we daven for Teshuva, which is not for ourselves but for the Klal. תשובה comes from the word שוב-return. What are we returning to? We need to get closer to Hashem and return to Him for all of our troubles and just to live life. We can just turn to Hashem and say what we want, as long as we remember and have Emunah that Hashem will do everything for the good and won’t leave us. Also, for the new year we have to physically return to Eretz Yisrael and do everything we can to bring Mashiach this year. We should work on being a better person, or davening with Kavana and return straight to Hashem in our problems.
We have to recognize that Hashem is the Melech over all of us. We don’t have davening all day and asking for forgiveness for our sins, for that is for Yom Kippur. The purpose of Rosh Hoshana is to bring us closer to Hashem. We should set goals for ourselves to become closer to Hakadosh Baruch Hu/ One does not need to be a perfect person but he should put Hashem in everything you do. Recognize that Hashem rules over everything and think about it everyday.
Have an amazing Rosh Hoshana and try your best to get closer to Hashem!