Rosh Hashana 5712 (1951) - Part III

00:01 The hemseh in continuation to the earlier installments in regards to the Yuman, the diary, which was written by Rabbi Elchanan about Rosh Hashanah, tav shin yud beis, late 1951 by the Rebbe, seventy years ago. We continue now with installment number three, discussing the first day Rosh Hashanah. The Rebbe came into shul for Shacharis nine thirty AM. They began to daven, but the Rebbe at the time was still looking in a maimer in the discourse that was released for Rosh Hashanah, as it was mentioned in the earlier installment. The Rebbe then looked at the Seder Hatkias as it is explained in the siddur tefillas Makal HaShanah based on the kavanas of the Ba'al Shem Tov. And the Rebbe then called up to the minyan. By, uh... During the davening and the piyutim, which are the extra sections of davening, which are said Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, the Rebbe would stand up every time they opened the Aron Kodesh, and when they closed the Aron Kodesh, he would sit down. During Krias HaTorah, the Rebbe sat with his eyes closed. The whole call, call of Hasidim pushed towards the bimah. Those that were standing at a distance got up on benches and the pushing was intense. When the Rebbe was called up for Maftir for his Aliyah, as the Rebbe would receive Maftir throughout the year, all the Shabbosim and Yom Tovim, a path was immediately made that the Rebbe should be able to access the bimah. During the reciting of the Birchas Haftarah, the berachos that

02:04 come prior to the Haftarah, the berachos that come after the Haftarah, and also during the reading of the Haftarah itself, the Rebbe cried very much without let-up. Particularly, the Rebbe cried also when he read the pasuk, "Yishak shas ruach onechi vegameir veeshpaches nafshi lefnei Hashem", which this is what Chana said to Eli when she was in the Mishkan in Shiloh. After the Haftarah, the Rebbe instructed that the two sefer Torahs which were used for the reading should stand from both sides of the one that blows shofar. And the Rebbe himself prepared for the tkias. The Rebbe had three shofars. He placed them on the bimah in the direction of the kohal, and he placed on them handkerchiefs. One was a white one, and on top of it a red one, and then another white one on top of it. This is a minhag, a custom al pi kabbalah that took place also by the previous Rebbe and by the Rebbe Rashab. The Rebbe then covered his face with a tallis and bent over on the bimah. Those standing around the Rebbe heard the Rebbe was quietly singing the nigun of Rosh Hashanah. It's called the Rosh Hashanah Tune. The nigun which was s- also sung during the farbrengen the previous Shabbos, Shabbos Nitzavim. While this was taking place, the Rebbe cried very much and he saw that the tallis was already getting moist, wet. This took a long time. After that, the Rebbe removed the tallis from over his face and with a frightful voice

04:03 mixed with tears, choking with tears, the Rebbe began saying the Lam Natzeach and the whole minyan followed. When the whole call, the minyan completed seven times Lam Natzeach, they waited a few moments till the Rebbe com- c- completed it, and then the Rebbe began saying the psukim which are before tkias, pasuk by pasuk. While the Rebbe was saying it, and then the elok followed, the Rebbe was crying, but not as much as earlier. And this was with the Nigun HaYodua, the tune which is traditionally passed down from the Rebbe Rashab. Before the berachos, the Rebbe said up the shofar should be on the-- at the side of the baal tkiya. Rabbi Yosef Menachem Mendel Tenenbaum was the one who blew shofar. The Rebbe himself did not want to blow. The Rebbe says he can't. And Erev Shabbos, uh, prior to Rosh Hashanah, the Rebbe requested from Rabbi Tenenbaum that he should blow the lamid kolos, the thirty kolos which follows Musaf. Rabbi Tenenbaum was also the one who blew shofar in- during the Musaf of tav shin yud alef which is a year earlier. And for this, the Rebbe gave him one of the shofars, the black shofar from the Rebbe Maharash. The baal tkiya said that it was very difficult to blow in the shofar. And after the Rebbe recited the psukim before tkias shofar, the Rebbe motioned to Rabbi Tenenbaum that he can already say the berachos as an introduction to the sounding of the shofar. But Rabbi Tenenbaum, who merited to be

05:59 doing the tkias from the previous Rebbe, and he knew that the Rebbe is the one that says the berachos- So he made himself like he doesn't understand what the Rebbe wants because he wanted that the Rebbe should say the brachos. And he responded with a remez that surely the Rebbe could make the brachos. The Rebbe then smiled and began saying the brachos with a tune as mentioned earlier, traditionally passed down from the Rebbe Rashab. And after that, Rabbi Tannenbaum began blowing shofar and the Rebbe pointed with his finger on the siddur section by section. When they were up to Tekiah, the Rebbe already was holding his finger on the Shvarim. During Shvarim, the Rebbe was pointing at the Truah like a Makri, one that points out inside and directs. When it came to Yesvad Belachas to confess quietly, silently, the Rebbe covered his talus for a short time. And after the Tekiah Shvar concluded, the Rebbe then announced the Psukim, Pasik by Pasik, Ashrei Yo'om Gimer, which is recited after the Tekiahs and also with a tune that was traditionally passed on from earlier as mentioned. During Musaf by Valachnu Kerim, and this is when the Chazan repeats the Tefillos Amidah, the Rebbe fell Kerim and it was observed that the Rebbe fell on his thumbs as it was in the Beis Hamikdash. By Arash Esfasenu, which is a prayer that is said after blowing the Shofar, the Rebbe sat. During Berachas Ke'anim, the Rebbe moved from his place in order that he should be

08:15 facing the Ke'anim. During the reciting of Tehillim at the end of the davening, the Rebbe advised that the Chazan should announce not only at the end of the daily section of the Tehillim that is said every day, but also after each one of the three additional Kapitlach chapters that is said beginning from Rosh Chodesh Elul and concluded on Yom Kippur. But in the Tekiahs at the end of davening, the Rebbe asked to relay to the Baal Tekiah that the Baal Tekiah should also add a Tekiah Tana, a somewhat small Tekiah after Shvarim, but he did not manage, was not matzliach to do it. The davening finished at 2.10 p.m. Im Yirtze Hashem in the upcoming installment, we will discuss the second day of Rosh Hashanah.