2020/5781
On Rosh HaShanah, when we speak directly with Hashem, it is important to be in the right frame of mind. The Ba`al Sheim Tov is famous for many things, but is perhaps most known for his writings about the Neshamah. He writes that every Neshamah is beautiful and precious to Hashem and that He has no favorites. I heard Rav Yisroel Yaakov Berman offer the analogy that Hashem is like the sun. We, his sons, are the people inside the classrooms, with huge windows. In theory, each window should receive the same amount of warmth and the same amount of light. However, we also have blinds on our windows. We regulate those blinds to allow either more or less light into our rooms. Therefore, when one encounters a Rabbi who is very close to Hashem, that closeness is not because he is any closer to the sun. Rather, he has opened his blinds fully. Similarly, if there is a person who is very far from the Derech Hashem, it is not because Hashem is not reaching him the same way that He is reaching the Rabbi. He just has to open his blinds.
The Ben Ish Chai offers another Mashal. A horse and buggy driver goes around the city picking people up and taking them wherever they need to go. One day, as he is on his usual route, a man stops him and asks for a ride. A few minutes into the trip, the passenger asks if he would be able to sit in the front with the driver. “Sure”, he replies, “I would love the company”. About ten minutes later he asks the driver if he could hold the reins and steer the horse. “Sure”, is the response. “You're just making my life easier.” A few minutes later they get to the destination and the driver turns to his passenger. “Thank you for your help, but we are here. You can get off now”. “No, YOU can get off now”, he yells. So they start arguing and fighting and eventually find themselves in front of a judge. The judge simply asks them, “Who was holding the reins? Because whoever wasn't holding the reins, will have a very hard time proving ownership.”
Hashem gives all of us our horse, our own life. We alone choose what to do with it. He also gives us a Yeitzer Hara, something that appears very enticing and enjoyable, like someone driving our horse for us. The Gemara in Chagigah writes that without this animalistic spirit, we wouldn't be able to exist. Ultimately, come Yom HaDin, Hashem is going to ask us, “Who holds the reins? Who is really in charge?” A person must eat, to sleep and to take breaks. Nonetheless, it is our responsibility to not let this “passenger” take charge and become how we define ourselves.