5757/1996
The timing of Rosh Hashana is interesting. Unlike other חגים, we might be confused as to why Rosh Hashana falls when it does. We learn from the Torah that Pesach falls during the spring time. The Beit Yosef's approach is that Sukkot should not fall out during the spring months, so that we should not be sitting outside simply because of the nice weather; rather we should do it לשם מצוה. But, why does Rosh Hashana fall in the month of Tishrei, the seventh month of our calendar?
One might think it would be appropriate to celebrate the new year on the first month. The first month is Nissan, which is, of course, the time of יציאת מצרים, when the Jews began to forge into a nation. So why is Rosh Hashana observed in Tishrei?
The answer is that Tishrei is the month that God created the world. Gods created man in Tishrei and had a purpose for doing so.
The ימים נראים is when we realize and rediscover every year the sense of our lives. Except for Yom Kippur, Rosh Hashana has the longest davening. On each of the two days of Rosh Hashana, the shofar is blown 001 times (except Shabbat) to signal us, to motivate us to do repentance.
Rosh Hashana is time for an ethical and religious reassessment of our lives. We scrupulously examine who we are, and what we are. We look into ourselves, we look into the good as well as the bad. We ask ourselves many deep questions. We resolve to improve and then pray to Hashem for forgiveness.
The thought of creation - what God has done in this holy month of Tishrei must come to our minds on Rosh Hashana. God does not just grant us forgiveness for our sins - He also grants us life. It was in the month of Tishrei that Hashem created man and it is that same month of Tishrei when Hashem decides who shall and shall not live.