BAIS HAVAAD ON THE PARSHA Parshas Ha'azinu 5771: The Laws of Rosh Hashana

Rosh Hashana: The Beginning of a New Year; the Beginning of a New Self By: Rav Yitzchok Basser We are all familiar with Rosh Hashanah, the beginning of the year, as being a day of awe; a day of judgment. The day that “Angels are confused and are overcome by trembling, and declare: behold the Day of Judgment!” It is interesting to note that the Torah is largely silent about the fact that Rosh Hashanah is the Yom Hadin, the Day of Judgment. In fact, the primary source for Rosh Hashanah being a day of judgment is inferred by Chazal from a verse in Tehillim (81:4) Blow the shofar at the moon’s renewal, at the time when the festive day is covered. For it is a decree for Israel, a judgment [day] for the G-d of Jacob. The Gemara (Rosh Hashanah 8a-b) says, “[At] what festival is the moon covered?