Musar for Rosh Hashanah 35:17

<big>גמ׳</big> וליפקו נמי אתמוז וטבת

But we see that this is not so! No; what it means is this: 'The Creator sees21 their hearts together and considereth all their doings'. <big>MISHNAH: </big>THERE ARE SIX NEW MOONS TO REPORT WHICH<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' I.e., to report whether the Beth din in Jerusalem have made the New Moon on the thirtieth or the thirty-first day after the preceding New Moon. Lit., 'for six months'.');">22 MESSENGERS GO FORTH [FROM JERUSALEM23 TO THE DIASPORA]. [THE NEW MOON] OF NISAN ON ACCOUNT OF PASSOVER,24 OF AB25 ON ACCOUNT OF THE FAST,26 OF ELUL ON ACCOUNT OF NEW YEAR,<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Knowing the New Moon of Elul, the Jews of the Diaspora will fix New Year thirty days later, Elul usually having twenty-nine days, though there is still a risk that the Beth din may in any particular year declare Elul to have thirty.');">27 OF TISHRI FOR THE ADJUSTMENT OF THE FESTIVALS,28 OF KISLEV ON ACCOUNT OF HANUKAH,29 AND OF ADAR ON ACCOUNT OF PURIM.30 WHEN THE TEMPLE STOOD, THEY USED ALSO TO GO FORTH TO REPORT IYAR ON ACCOUNT OF THE LESSER PASSOVER.31 <big>GEMARA: </big>Why should they not also go forth to report Tammuz and Tebeth32

Shemirat HaLashon

[Torah study is] greater than all the sacrifices, for thus have Chazal expounded (Rosh Hashanah 18a): “(I Samuel 3:14): ‘The iniquity of Eli’s house will not be purged with sacrifice or offering forever.’ Rava said: ‘It cannot be purged with sacrifice or offering, but it can be purged with words of Torah.’” And thus does Scripture state (Vayikra 7:37): “This is the Torah for burnt-offering, meal-offering, and sin-offering, etc.” And they have said (Menachoth 110a): “If one occupies himself with Torah, it is as if he sacrificed a burnt-offering, as if he sacrificed a meal-offering, as if he sacrificed a sin-offering, as if he sacrificed peace-offerings.” And this is the language of the holy Zohar, Parshath Shelach 159a: “

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Orchot Tzadikim

Therefore, it is proper that everyone who reveres God should lessen his usual occupations and let his thoughts be calm, and let him fix hours, during the day and a night, when he can sit alone in his rooms and examine his ways and search them out, and arise even before the watches of the morning to occupy himself with the paths of repentance. And let him not do as in most cases where people fast, or rise early to pray, but they do not actually wage war against the sins in order to remove from themselves every ugly thing. For if a man prays and fasts, and confesses, and still clings to his former ways — this is not the path of repentance. But a man should arouse himself to do complete repentance during the Ten Days of Repentance, for this is a time when God accepts his plea and his prayer is heard, as it is said, "In an acceptable time have I answered thee, and in a day of salvation have I helped thee" (Is. 49:8). And our Sages, of blessed memory, said, "Seek the Lord while He may be found" (Is. 55:6) — these are the ten days that are between Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur (Rosh Hashana 18a). And they also said that the Day of Atonement, together with repentance, atones. Therefore Scripture has warned us that we should repent and make ourselves pure before God, Blessed be He, in our ways of repentance. As it is said, "From all your sins shall ye be clean before the Lord" (Lev. 16:30). And then he will atone for us with this day, to purify us (Yoma 85b).

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