Laws of Rosh Hashanah - Rabbi Boruch Lavkivker shlita

00:02 Speaker 1 You’re listening to “Lema’an Yishme’u,” a podcast of Machon Halacha Chabad.

00:09 Speaker 2 On Erev Rosh Hashanah, we say Selichos that are longer than on the other days of Selichos. There is an additional passage during which the Aron Kodesh is opened, and the chazzan says a verse and the congregation repeats it after him. After that comes Shacharis. At the end of Shacharis, we perform hataras nedarim, the annulment of vows. This applies, of course, to vows we don’t remember, and so on, as detailed in the text of hataras nedarim. Hataras nedarim is performed with a minyan apart from the person requesting the annulment. In other words, there are ten people, plus the person who wants his vows annulled—eleven people altogether. If there is no minyan, it can also be done with three people apart from the person requesting the annulment. Children, of course, do not perform hataras nedarim, and women also do not customarily perform it on Erev Rosh Hashanah. In a Shemitah year, when someone is owed money, the arrival of Shemitah means he can no longer demand repayment of those debts. So the Sages instituted the writing of a pruzbul, at a time when the mitzvah of Shemitah applies by rabbinic law. A pruzbul means that we hand our debts over to a beis din, so that it is the beis din, rather than us, that collects them. The debts belong to the beis din. It is customary to say during hataras nedarim, “I hereby hand over to you all the debts owed to me, so that I may collect them whenever I wish.” That is essentially the wording of the pruzbul. The Rebbe would say this wording from a written text, either on a separate sheet or, in some years, from where it was printed at the end of the Selichos. In any case, the Rebbe would say it from a written text, but someone who remembers it can also say it by heart. If he has no written text, he can

02:33 Speaker 2 say it by heart and hand over the debts owed to him. If someone lends money after hataras nedarim and before Rosh Hashanah begins, he should, of course, make a new pruzbul: find three people and hand those debts over to them. On Erev Rosh Hashanah, we customarily write a pan for ourselves and our family members. Before writing a pan, of course, one should immerse in a mikveh, wash one’s hands, and give tzedakah. Someone who already wears a gartel should, of course, wear it while writing the pan. Those who have the privilege of being with the Rebbe know that on Erev Rosh Hashanah the Rebbe receives the panim. We had the privilege of handing our panim to the Rebbe personally. The Rebbe stands at the entrance to his room, receives each person’s pan, and wishes them a good inscription and sealing, and a good and sweet year. That is regarding writing a pan. A pan is written on a plain sheet of paper. At the top, as its heading, one writes the letters peh and final nun. In the pan, of course, we write what a Jew needs—all the good things we need—and write it to the Rebbe. On Erev Rosh Hashanah we do not blow the shofar. There are several reasons for this. One is to distinguish between the blasts that are obligatory and those that are customary. Blowing the shofar during Elul is a custom, not an obligation. We stop on Erev Rosh Hashanah to distinguish between the obligation and the custom. Another reason given is to confuse the Satan: when he sees that we are not blowing the shofar on Erev Rosh Hashanah, he will suddenly think, “Wait, perhaps the Day of Judgment has already passed.” If the Jewish people are not blowing the shofar, perhaps the Day of Judgment has passed, and he will not know when Rosh Hashanah is, so he cannot come to accuse us. The Rebbe explains this

04:45 Speaker 2 point. At any rate, the essence of the explanation is that he sees that Jews no longer need the awakening of the shofar on Erev Rosh Hashanah. So he is sure that the Jewish people have already received a good and sweet year even before Rosh Hashanah. Consequently, when he arrives on Rosh Hashanah, he is no longer sure whether there is anything for him to do, because Hakadosh Boruch Hu has already given us a good and sweet year. Preparations for Yom Tov: On Rosh Hashanah, we try not to eat sour foods, and we do not cook fish with vinegar. We also do not eat nuts on Rosh Hashanah. Some have a custom not to eat spicy foods, but one may certainly season food, even with somewhat spicy seasonings. Vinegar, though, we do not use. We need to remember that we must light candles on the second day of Rosh Hashanah too, so we have to prepare a flame that will remain burning at home, from which we can light the candles for the second day of Yom Tov. That flame must remain lit until the second night of Rosh Hashanah. Candle lighting: Although one may light candles on Yom Tov from an existing flame, even on an ordinary Yom Tov we try to light at the proper time—before sunset, as on every Shabbos. Someone who did not manage to light before sunset may light later, but from a flame that is already burning. As for the blessing, on Rosh Hashanah we say, “to kindle the light of the Day of Remembrance.” That is our custom, as is written, even though some say “to kindle the light of Yom Tov” on Rosh Hashanah. Our blessing is “to kindle the light of the Day of Remembrance,” followed, of course, by Shehecheyanu.

07:00 Speaker 2 If a woman made a mistake and, instead of saying “to kindle the light of the Day of Remembrance,” said what she is accustomed to saying every Shabbos—“to kindle the light of the holy Shabbos”—then if she remembers immediately, within the time it takes to say a few words, she can correct herself and say “to kindle the light of the Day of Remembrance.” But if she remembers later, she has not fulfilled her obligation. She must light again—not extinguish the candles, but light additional candles from an existing flame and say the blessing over those candles. If she said “to kindle the light of Yom Tov,” she has fulfilled her obligation, because, as we mentioned, some people say that blessing over the Rosh Hashanah candles in the first place. Shehecheyanu is said after candle lighting—that is, after the blessing “to kindle the light of the Day of Remembrance”—for Yom Tov, for Rosh Hashanah. Remember that a woman says Shehecheyanu when lighting candles. If a woman makes Kiddush for herself, she should not say Shehecheyanu during Kiddush, because she already said it at candle lighting. If a man lights the candles, he says Shehecheyanu at Kiddush. As we mentioned, a woman, or anyone else who already said Shehecheyanu at candle lighting, does not say it again during Kiddush. Immediately after Kiddush, since Kiddush must be followed by a meal, we wash our hands and eat bread—challah, of course, or whatever bread we have. We say the blessing of Hamotzi and dip the bread in honey rather than salt. Kiddush must be followed by a meal.

09:24 Speaker 2 We dip the challah in honey. In fact, at all the Rosh Hashanah meals—and afterward as well, on the eve of Yom Kippur and on Shabbos Shuvah—we dip the challah for hamotzi in honey. But even though we dip it in honey, there is salt on the table. We put salt on the table because the table is like an altar, and salt belongs on it. The Rebbe’s practice is to take a piece of bread during the meal and dip it in salt three times. Of course, we also dip the challah in honey three times. After we’ve eaten the bread at the beginning of the meal—that is, after we’ve said hamotzi, dipped the challah in honey, and eaten it—we eat the apple with honey. We eat the apple at the beginning of the meal, not immediately after kiddush, because right after kiddush we need to wash our hands: kiddush must be followed by a meal. The bread is what constitutes the meal, so when we eat it, we shouldn’t have just one bite or a tiny amount. Since we washed our hands, we need to eat bread. If someone said the blessing on washing hands, the minimum amount of bread they must eat is a kebeitzah, around fifty-six grams. So immediately after hamotzi, we eat that amount of bread, and only then eat the apple. By the way, this isn’t specific to Rosh Hashanah; it always applies. When a Jew washes hands, they need to remember that to say the blessing on washing hands, eating only a kezayis is not enough. If we eat just a kezayis, we do need to wash, but we cannot say the blessing on washing hands. We say that blessing only when eating at least a kebeitzah.

11:41 Speaker 2 On the first night of Rosh Hashanah, we eat foods as a reminder and a good sign. Some therefore have the custom of eating a pomegranate, so that our merits will be as numerous as its seeds, and eating a head, so that we will be a head. As mentioned in the Shulchan Aruch, there are other foods too, such as carrots and dates. We say the yehi ratzon only over the apple. Some have the custom of saying a yehi ratzon over each food eaten as a good sign; our custom is to say it only over the apple. There is another difference: some mention Hashem’s Name in the yehi ratzon, saying, “May it be Your will, Hashem our G-d and G-d of our fathers.” We do not mention Hashem’s Name. We say only, “May it be Your will that You renew for us a good and sweet year,” when eating the apple. We say the yehi ratzon only over the apple and, as mentioned, without Hashem’s Name. Of course, before eating the apple, we dip it in honey, say the blessing borei pri ha’etz, say the yehi ratzon, and then eat it. In other words, we do not taste the apple before saying the yehi ratzon. Rather, we dip the apple in honey first, so there will be no interruption between the blessing and eating. We dip the apple in honey, say borei pri ha’etz, say the yehi ratzon, and then eat the apple. If we have other fruit—for example, a pomegranate on the table—then when saying borei pri ha’etz over the apple, we have the other fruit in mind as well, even though a pomegranate is one of the seven species. We say borei pri ha’etz over the apple because today the apple has particular significance: the “orchard of holy apples.” The Jewish people are compared to an apple, and the apple is a good sign for a good and sweet year. That sweetness is really the main thing—that the year should be sweet, with the wonderful sweetness of truly meriting Moshiach’s Torah, which is the sweetest thing of all. So the apple is the

13:58 Speaker 2 first thing we eat, and it is over the apple that we say the yehi ratzon. If we have other fruit, as mentioned, we say borei pri ha’etz over the apple with the intention of covering the other fruit as well. If we are eating a pomegranate and have not yet eaten a pomegranate this season, so that it requires a Shehecheyanu, then if the pomegranate is on the table during kiddush, we should intend for the Shehecheyanu at kiddush to cover it too. We can then eat the pomegranate without saying Shehecheyanu or borei pri ha’etz: we said borei pri ha’etz over the apple, and Shehecheyanu over the pomegranate during kiddush, so we do not need to say Shehecheyanu over it separately. It is preferable to take a sweet apple rather than one of the varieties that are naturally more tart. The apple should itself be sweet, even apart from the honey. If a sweet apple isn’t available, of course we can use any apple and sweeten it with honey. The Rebbe explains why we say the yehi ratzon immediately after the blessing: according to our custom, our wording of the yehi ratzon does not mention Hashem’s Name. By saying it right after the blessing, “Blessed are You, Hashem, Who creates the fruit of the tree,” Hashem’s Name in the blessing also applies to the yehi ratzon said alongside it. That is why we do not interrupt between the blessing and the yehi ratzon; we say one immediately after the other, so that Hashem’s Name applies to the yehi ratzon as well. When eating the pomegranate as a good sign, the Rebbe mentions in one of his notes that apparently one certainly eats a kezayis of the pomegranate. After that, if someone has

16:15 Speaker 2 a pomegranate, as we said, they eat the pomegranate. Then we eat a head. If it’s a sheep’s head, all the better; if not, we eat the head of something else. The main thing, really, is for each of us to connect to the head, to be connected to the head, so that we will be a head and not a tail. But of course, a Jew needs to know that the main thing is for us to be like a bone connected to the head—connected to Hakadosh Boruch Hu, connected to the Rebbe. Then a Jew truly becomes a head and not something else. The custom of eating these symbolic foods is only on the first night. One may eat good foods on the second night too, but the whole practice of eating them as a good sign is on the first night, since the first day is the primary one. So eating the apple and the like is on the first day. During the meal, of course we eat the meal, but we do not prolong it too much because, as we mentioned earlier, the main thing to spend time on during Rosh Hashanah is saying Tehillim. That is what we should try to do. In bentching, we say Yaaleh Veyavo with the words “on this Day of Remembrance, on this Yom Tov, a holy occasion.” We say, “May the Merciful One grant us the day that is entirely good,” and “May the Merciful One renew this year for us for good and for blessing.” We do not say the Harachaman for Rosh Chodesh. Although Rosh Hashanah is Rosh Chodesh, we do not mention Rosh Chodesh in the Rosh Hashanah prayers. Even in Yaaleh Veyavo, we do not mention that it is Rosh Chodesh; we mention only Rosh Hashanah. If someone forgot to say Yaaleh Veyavo on the first night of Rosh Hashanah, and has already finished the preceding blessing and begun the blessing of Hatov Vehameitiv—even if they have only said the word “Baruch”—they go back to the beginning of bentching and say it again. If they remember after saying “Who builds Jerusalem in His mercy”

18:22 Speaker 2 “Who rebuilds Jerusalem,” amen, and he remembers immediately, before beginning the word “Boruch,” there is a blessing brought in the siddur, “Who gave Yomim Tovim.” He says that blessing in place of Yaaleh Veyavo. But if he has already begun the word “Boruch” of Hatov Vehameitiv, he goes back to the beginning of Birchas Hamazon. This applies only to the first meal, the Rosh Hashanah night meal—not the daytime meal, only the night meal, on both the first and second nights. In Birchas Hamazon we do not say “oseh hashalom,” as we do in davening, but “oseh shalom.” There are several explanations for this. One is that the initial letters of “oseh shalom bimromav” are connected with the Divine Name of 72. In any case, the Rebbe said that he asked the Frierdiker Rebbe whether to say “hashalom” or “shalom” in Birchas Hamazon, and the Frierdiker Rebbe told him to say it as written in the siddur—meaning “oseh shalom.” We daven Minchah, and between Minchah and Maariv we say Tehillim. In general, on Rosh Hashanah we should try to keep Tehillim close at hand as much as possible and say Tehillim. Keep a Tehillim in hand and say it whenever there is a moment—between the fish and the meat, between the meat—whenever we have free time, simply try to say Tehillim. Of course, we say the daily study portions and so on, but at every other opportunity we try to say Tehillim. The main order of Rosh Hashanah is kabbolas ol. Kabbolas ol means saying and saying and saying Tehillim. The Rebbe’s secretaries attest that whenever they entered the Rebbe’s room for some reason—they did not go in much on Rosh Hashanah, but when they had to—they always saw the Rebbe with a Tehillim in his hand. And that is the practice we follow. We try to spend at least close to an hour before Maariv saying Tehillim. The practice when the Rebbe

20:33 Speaker 2 entered 770 for davening was that the Rebbe would come in, sit down in his place and say Tehillim for some time. Afterward, the Rebbe would stand and signal with his hand, and they would begin singing Avinu Malkeinu before davening. Only then would Maariv begin. In Maariv on Rosh Hashanah—and, of course, throughout the Ten Days of Teshuvah, including Yom Kippur—we make changes in the davening. Instead of saying “the holy G-d” in the third blessing of Shemoneh Esrei, we say “the holy King.” We also add certain passages. In the first blessing we say, “Remember us for life, King Who desires life, and inscribe us in the Book of Life.” In the second blessing, “Who is like You, merciful Father, Who remembers His creatures?” In the blessing of Modim we add, “And inscribe all the members of Your covenant for a good life,” and in the final blessing, Sim Shalom, “In the Book of Life.” If someone forgot to say these passages, he does not repeat the davening. If he is still within the blessing, he says the passage, but if he has already finished the blessing, he does not go back for it. Since these additions are not recorded in the Gemara but come from the Geonim, we do not go back for them. On the other hand, if someone said “the holy G-d,” as he does all year, instead of “the holy King,” and did not remember immediately, within the time it takes to say a brief greeting, he returns to the beginning of the davening, no matter where he is up to. That is why it is very important—in general, too—to look inside the siddur or machzor and not daven from memory. Even though we know the opening blessings by heart, looking inside the siddur is helpful, not just on Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur but all the time.

23:03 Speaker 2 The Rebbe writes that it helps us focus our thoughts. It is a privilege for our eyes to see holy things. A siddur is holy, its letters are holy, and looking inside it helps each of us daven properly. Especially on Rosh Hashanah, when we add further passages to the davening: after “And the holy ones praise You every day, forever,” we add passages that are not part of the usual davening. So it is very important to look inside the machzor or siddur and daven from it. If a person is unsure whether he said “the holy G-d” or “the holy King,” what did he probably say? Probably what he is used to saying all year. But on Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur themselves, after “And the holy ones praise You every day, forever,” we begin adding passages: “From generation to generation,” and “And so, instill awe of You in all Your works.” Since these passages are added there, if someone remembers saying them, he presumably also concluded the blessing correctly, and he does not need to go back. At the end of Maariv, before Kaddish Tiskabel, we say Psalm 24: “A psalm of David: The earth and all it contains belong to Hashem.” Our custom is not to open the aron kodesh for this psalm, nor to say it verse by verse. Rather, everyone says the psalm, and the chazzan says the last verses aloud. At the end of davening, we wish one another, men to men and women to women, “May you be inscribed and sealed for a good year,” in the singular. Even though there are many people in shul, we say it to each person individually, in the singular. Of course, a woman says it to another woman in the feminine form, but still in the singular, not the plural. Shacharis. Before Shacharis,

25:24 Speaker 2 on an ordinary Shabbos or Yom Tov, we generally have something to eat before davening. On Rosh Hashanah this is a little more complicated because we have the mitzvah of hearing the shofar, just as on Sukkos we have the mitzvah of taking the Four Species. On the other hand, Rosh Hashanah davening takes longer and finishes later, which is a little harder for women. So some have the practice of being lenient about drinking but not eating. Women, who are not obligated by Torah law in the mitzvah of shofar, can certainly have some cake or the like, as on any Shabbos. As for men, someone who is able should at least drink rather than eat; if that is difficult for him, he can of course have something to eat as well. As for the davening, we begin with the regular service. When we reach “Hamelech,” we generally change chazzanim, and we say “The King sits,” not “The King Who sits,” because on Rosh Hashanah the King sits upon a lofty, exalted throne. During the liturgical poems L’Keil Orech Din and Unesaneh Tokef, the Rebbe’s practice is to stand. For the other poems he sometimes stands and sometimes does not, but for these two he always stands. During the chazzan’s repetition, there are passages we say along with him even though we said them in the silent Shemoneh Esrei, and passages we do not say. We do not say “Remember us for life, King Who desires life” before the chazzan does, and the same applies to “Who is like You, merciful Father?” But we do say “And inscribe all the members of Your covenant for a good life” and “In the Book of Life, blessing and peace.” What is the difference? “Who is like You, merciful Father?” is not actually a request; it is praise of Hakadosh Boruch Hu. It is part of the davening. Since we are not davening at that point—the chazzan is the congregation’s representative, repeating the davening—he says it.

27:47 Speaker 2 “Remember us for life” is a request, so why don’t we say it? Because we already asked for it in the prayer. At the beginning we say, “Remember us for life, King Who desires life,” and toward the end of the prayer we say, “And inscribe all the members of Your covenant for a good life.” In other words, first we asked, “Remember us for life.” The second time we asked, “And inscribe us for a good life”—not just life, but a good life. So what would we say now? “Remember us for life” again? The chazzan repeats the entire prayer, so he says it all. We don’t repeat the prayer, so we don’t make that request again; later on, we do say, “And inscribe us for a good life.” But when the chazzan sings it, we may join in and help him sing, even though we aren’t actually meant to say it. As we mentioned earlier, during the chazzan’s repetition we don’t have to stand every time the Aron Kodesh is opened. The Rebbe would consistently stand for the piyutim “LeKeil Orech Din” and “Unesaneh Tokef.” In Avinu Malkeinu on Rosh Hashanah, there are several passages we skip: anything that mentions forgiveness or speaks about sin. When we say “Kera roa gezar dineinu,” we say the words “roa gezar” together, because we are not asking Hakadosh Boruch Hu to tear up our judgment, but to tear up the harshness of our decree—the bad part of our decree. So we say “roa gezar” in one breath. When the Aron Kodesh is opened, we say the Thirteen Attributes of Mercy three times. Afterward, we say “Ribbono Shel Olam.” This is said whether Rosh Hashanah falls on Shabbos or on a weekday. This year it makes no difference, since it falls on a weekday anyway. For the Torah reading, as on every Yom Tov, we take out two

30:03 Speaker 2 Torah scrolls. From the first scroll, on the first day, we read “And Hashem remembered Sarah,” because Sarah was remembered on the first day of Rosh Hashanah. From the second, we read about the offerings in Parshas Pinchas, the offering for “the first day of the seventh month.” In the wording of the Mi Shebeirach said for someone called to the Torah, we mention “the Day of Judgment.” It is customary for the baal tokeia and the person who leads Musaf to receive aliyos on Rosh Hashanah. The melody for the Torah reading is a special melody. The maftir reading and the haftorah, however, are read in the usual way. Before Musaf, the chazzan makes a request concerning his prayer. In Shacharis, by contrast, he asks that his prayer be accepted favorably, and so on, during the chazzan’s repetition. That passage is said when the Aron Kodesh is opened, and it is a personal request about his prayer. The congregation does not say it. Likewise in Musaf, “Hineni he’ani mimaas” is the chazzan’s request concerning his prayer. He says it before the prayer, and only the chazzan says that passage, not the congregation. During the verses of the prayer we also say Aleinu Leshabeiach. During the chazzan’s repetition, we open the Aron Kodesh for Aleinu Leshabeiach, and when we say “And we bow and prostrate ourselves,” we do bow and prostrate ourselves, going down to the floor. Where the floor is stone or something similar, we put down a rug or something else as a separation. We spread something out, such as a cloth, to separate us from the floor, because prostration with arms and legs outstretched on a stone floor is permitted only in the Beis Hamikdash. May we indeed merit to do that on a stone floor, but when praying in shul I need to put down a cloth, towel, or something similar, to separate

32:29 Speaker 2 my face from the ground. If the floor is made of boards, PVC, plastic, or the like, we are not particular about this and may prostrate ourselves. That is why you won’t see towels or the like being prepared in 770: the floor there is a kind of PVC. Women, of course, do not bow this way for reasons of modesty. After Minchah, we say Tashlich. It is worth noticing that in the machzor, above the words said at Tashlich, there are numbers marking the words that correspond to the Thirteen Attributes of Mercy. Just pay attention to them, even though they are in small print. Tashlich is said beside a body of water, preferably one with fish. In some places that is not possible, but a body of water can be seen from there. For example, in Tzfas, people customarily say it facing the Kinneret, which they can see. But if possible, it is certainly preferable to go to a body of water that actually has fish. And, of course, after we finish, if we have free time until Maariv, we say Tehillim. On the second night, we must remember that the first and second days have two distinct levels of sanctity. The first day is ordained by the Torah, and the second is rabbinic, so we cannot prepare on the first day for the second. That means we cannot set or arrange the table or put out what is needed for the second night’s meal until after nightfall. Once the first day has ended and the stars have come out, we can prepare the house and set the table for the second night’s meal. As we mentioned, the candles are lit only after nightfall, from an existing flame. A woman who has—since Shehecheyanu must be said when lighting candles, and as we mentioned regarding Shehecheyanu, since Rosh Hashanah is a two-day Yom Tov that is considered one long day,

34:55 Speaker 2 there is a difference of opinion as to whether Shehecheyanu should be said on the second day. In practice, the ruling is that it may be said on the second day as well. But to satisfy all opinions, when saying Shehecheyanu we try to have in mind something else that calls for a Shehecheyanu. That could be a new garment, or, at Kiddush, a new fruit. At the shofar blowing, we cannot set out a new fruit because we cannot eat it then, but a new garment is possible. At Kiddush, we can also put out a new fruit and have it in mind when saying Shehecheyanu. A woman who lights candles and says Shehecheyanu may, if she has a new garment, light the candles after nightfall and say Shehecheyanu with the new garment in mind. But if she does not have a new garment and wants to say Shehecheyanu over the new fruit, she should light candles close to Kiddush. If she lights and says the blessing well before Kiddush, she would have to say Shehecheyanu over the new fruit again later. She could not have it in mind at candle-lighting, because there would be a long interruption between the Shehecheyanu blessing and eating the fruit. So she should light candles close to Kiddush. The new fruit should, of course, be on the table, and the person making Kiddush should look at it and have the new fruit in mind when saying Shehecheyanu. Since we said Shehecheyanu over the new fruit, we eat it before washing our hands. In other words, after finishing Kiddush, we say Borei Pri Ha’eitz. We already said Shehecheyanu at Kiddush and had the new fruit in mind, so we say Borei Pri Ha’eitz and eat some of the new fruit. It is highly advisable to eat some of the fruit

37:12 Speaker 2 Eat a kezayis of the new fruit, say an after-blessing over it, and then wash our hands for the meal. Of course, there is no need to say Al Hagefen over the wine, since we also drink the wine during the meal. The wine, the Kiddush and so on are connected to the meal. So we say an after-blessing only over the new fruit, which is not directly connected to the meal; it is there for the Shehecheyanu blessing. We eat a kezayis, say an after-blessing over it, and then go wash our hands. As we mentioned earlier, eating the symbolic foods—the apple dipped in honey, the pomegranate—is only on the first night, not the second. The prayers on the first and second days are very similar. There are a few changes in the liturgical poems recited during the chazzan’s repetition, but the order of the prayers is almost the same. Before the shofar blowing on the second day, as we mentioned earlier regarding the Shehecheyanu blessing, the baal tokeia should have a new garment ready when he recites Shehecheyanu. There was something interesting that, for years, people did not know exactly what was happening. They noticed that on the second day the Rebbe would suddenly begin whispering something, saying something. Not on the first day, only on the second. For years, nobody knew exactly what the Rebbe was saying there, until 5743. I merited to be with the Rebbe then. At the farbrengen on 6 Tishrei, the Rebbe solved the mystery. The Rebbe said that, as we know, on every festival we recite Yizkor on its final day. On Pesach, for example, Yizkor is recited on the last day of the festival: in Eretz Yisroel, on the seventh day of Pesach; outside Eretz Yisroel, on the last day of Pesach. On Sukkos, in Eretz Yisroel it is on Simchas Torah; outside Eretz Yisroel, on Shemini Atzeres, not Simchas Torah. That is the last day of the festival of Sukkos. On Shavuos, if it is one day, then in Eretz Yisroel it is on

39:35 Speaker 2 Shavuos itself; outside Eretz Yisroel, where it is two days, on the second day. As for Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, the common practice is to say that, since Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur are connected, the final festival after Rosh Hashanah is really Yom Kippur, and Yizkor is indeed recited on Yom Kippur. What happens on Rosh Hashanah? Yizkor was not recited. The Rebbe mentioned that he recites Yizkor on the second day of Rosh Hashanah. Of course, having everyone leave would be rather difficult. After all, when Yizkor is recited, everyone whose parents are living leaves the shul. Imagine the whole congregation having to leave the shul before the shofar blowing, in 770 and so on. It would literally be dangerous. So the Rebbe said that on Rosh Hashanah he recites Yizkor quietly, without anyone leaving the shul. As for whether other people should do the same, the Rebbe said he would leave it to each person to do as he understands and wishes. So that became the general practice. Of course, that year—the Rebbe said this on 6 Tishrei 5743—it was already too late to recite Yizkor on Rosh Hashanah. But from 5744 onward, those who needed to began doing so. May the dwellers in the dust awaken and sing, so that no one will need to recite Yizkor anymore. But those who do need to recite it say it on Rosh Hashanah before the shofar blowing. Of course, no one leaves the shul. Each person says it quietly to himself and recites Yizkor. After Mincha, before sunset, we wash our hands for a farbrengen. At that time we also learn Chassidus, a maamar of Chassidus, and recite

41:34 Speaker 2 a maamar of Chassidus at the farbrengen. We sing the niggunim of all the Rebbes, connecting Rosh Hashanah—the festival—to the weekdays. This farbrengen was an innovation of the Rebbe. Previously, there had been maamarim of Chassidus, but not a farbrengen, and certainly not one with washing hands toward the end of Rosh Hashanah. But the Rebbe instituted it. Someone asked the Rebbe during one of the meals what his source was—on what basis he did it, where it came from. The Rebbe said that he had no source for it, but he was not going to stop doing it. In other words, the Rebbe said: This is how I intend to conduct myself. And indeed, over the years the Rebbe did this at the end of every festival: on the second day of Rosh Hashanah, toward the end of the second day of Simchas Torah, the Rebbe would wash his hands and there would be a farbrengen. The same was true on Shavuos and the last day of Pesach. The last day of Pesach is clear, because that is Moshiach’s Seudah. But on the other festivals too, the Rebbe would connect the festival with the days that followed through a farbrengen, where they would sing the Rebbes’ niggunim on Rosh Hashanah. And of course, whenever a Rebbe’s niggun is sung, the one to whom it belongs stands before the person singing it. May we truly merit that the Rebbes, each one of them, intercede on our behalf; that we have a good and sweet year; and that every single member of the Jewish people be written and sealed for good. May Hakadosh Boruch Hu seal the end of the exile and write us into the true and complete Geulah, with the revelation of the Rebbe, Melech HaMoshiach. May we merit it immediately, right now.