what a difference a day can make

פֶּן־יֵ֣שׁ בָּ֠כֶ֠ם אִ֣ישׁ אֽוֹ־אִשָּׁ֞ה א֧וֹ מִשְׁפָּחָ֣ה אוֹ־שֵׁ֗בֶט אֲשֶׁר֩ לְבָב֨וֹ פֹנֶ֤ה הַיּוֹם֙ מֵעִם֙ ה׳ אֱלֹקינוּ לָלֶ֣כֶת לַעֲבֹ֔ד אֶת־אֱלֹהֵ֖י הַגּוֹיִ֣ם הָהֵ֑ם פֶּן־יֵ֣שׁ בָּכֶ֗ם שֹׁ֛רֶשׁ פֹּרֶ֥ה רֹ֖אשׁ וְלַעֲנָֽה׃

וְהָיָ֡ה בְּשׇׁמְעוֹ֩ אֶת־דִּבְרֵ֨י הָאָלָ֜ה הַזֹּ֗את וְהִתְבָּרֵ֨ךְ בִּלְבָב֤וֹ לֵאמֹר֙ שָׁל֣וֹם יִֽהְיֶה־לִּ֔י כִּ֛י בִּשְׁרִר֥וּת לִבִּ֖י אֵלֵ֑ךְ לְמַ֛עַן סְפ֥וֹת הָרָוָ֖ה אֶת־הַצְּמֵאָֽה׃

לֹא יֹאבֶה ה׳ סְלֹחַ לוֹ כִּי אָז יֶעְשַׁן אַף יְהֹוָה וְקִנְאָתוֹ בָּאִישׁ הַהוּא וְרָבְצָה בּוֹ כׇּל הָאָלָה הַכְּתוּבָה בַּסֵּפֶר הַזֶּה וּמָחָה ה׳ אֶת שְׁמוֹ מִתַּחַת הַשָּׁמָיִם.

How can a person hear the tochacha and react so cavalierly כִּ֛י בִּשְׁרִר֥וּת לִבִּ֖י אֵלֵ֑ךְ?

If you want to say that the pasuk is talking about someone who is not a maamin, then, as the Nesivoas asks in his sefer on chumash Nachalas Yaakov, the continuation doesn’t make sense. What good is threatening such a person וְרָבְצָה בּוֹ כׇּל הָאָלָה הַכְּתוּבָה בַּסֵּפֶר הַזֶּה? If he didn’t believe in the theats of the tochacha, then why would this threat be any more believable? The pasuk must be addressing itself to someone who does take the threat of punishment seriously, and nonetheless, feels like he is immune to the danger.

The sefer Tiferes Banim (the son of the Bnei Yisaschar) has a nice psychological insight here. The yetzer ha'ra is not dumb. Were he to try to convince a person to take a 180 degree turn and go from shemiras hamitzvos to kefira, it likely will never work. You find even non observant Jew who, when they are threatened and pushed to renounce their yahadut, will find the strength to be moseir nefesh. So what does the yetzer ha'ra do? He creeps up on a person one degree at a time. It's not a 180 degree turn in the opposite direction, but it's just a small turn, putting things a little off kilter. An example: A frum guy goes to work, comes home at the end of the day, and goes out to learn the daf yomi. He does it every day -- it's daf yomi after al! But tonight is the superbowl and his home team is in it (obviously not a NYer). Tonight is the world series. So the yetzer ha'ra says, "You are not giving up night seder. Chas v'shalom! This is just a one off, a minor exception. Just for tonight, you can take a break and enjoy the game." This, says the Tiferes Banim, is what the pasuk is describing, אֲשֶׁר֩ לְבָב֨וֹ פֹנֶ֤ה הַיּוֹם֙ מֵעִם֙ ה׳ אֱלֹקינוּ The person hears the tochacha and says, "That's not talking about me! I'm just making an exception this one day -- הַיּוֹם֙ -- and that's it." It's not a 180, it's just one degree! But the truth is אם תעזבני יום יומים אעזבך.

I would just add 2 small cents. What we say about a midah ra'ah is true even more so about a midah tovah. How can you defeat the yetzer ha'ra?  If you try to do a 180 degree turn and change your life completely, he will fight you tooth and nail.  But if you turn just one small degree, you can slip things by him.  An example: A guy never goes to daf yomi.  One night in Elul he says to himself, "There is nothing good on Netflix tonight anyway, football is still in preseason, the shul has free cholent on Thurs, so maybe I'll go to the shiur tonight."  No promises about the future, no promises even about tomorrow.  He will tell you that he is still not a daf yomi guy, but for that night, he's there.  He changed one degree.  אַתֶּ֨ם נִצָּבִ֤ים הַיּוֹם֙ כֻּלְּכֶ֔ם לִפְנֵ֖י ה׳ אֱלֹקיכֶ֑ם  It's just one day -- הַיּוֹם֙!  But if turning one degree in the wrong direction and thinking that it won't make a difference can lead to disaster, then turning one degree in the right direction, with the intent that it will make a positive difference, will inevitably lead to better things.  More good days will follow.

We say in our davening on R"H that היום הרת עולם. Why speak about hirayon? Since the world came into being, why not speak about "ha'yom leidas olam," or something like that?

The Mishna at the end of Brachos has a din that one is not permitted to pray for something that already happened and is fixed in place. The example Chazal give is praying that your pregnant wife should have a boy. It's a done deal; the sex of the baby in her womb is already determined, so there is no point to asking Hashem to do something about it. The gemara, however, raises a question. The Bavli presents the question is as follows:

מֵתִיב רַב יוֹסֵף: ״וְאַחַר יָלְדָה בַּת וַתִּקְרָא אֶת שְׁמָהּ דִּינָה״: מַאי ״וְאַחַר״? אָמַר רַב: לְאַחַר שֶׁדָּנָה לֵאָה דִּין בְּעַצְמָהּ וְאָמְרָה: שְׁנֵים עָשָׂר שְׁבָטִים עֲתִידִין לָצֵאת מִיַּעֲקֹב, שִׁשָּׁה יָצְאוּ מִמֶּנִּי וְאַרְבָּעָה מִן הַשְּׁפָחוֹת, הֲרֵי עֲשָׂרָה. אִם זֶה זָכָר, לֹא תְּהֵא אֲחוֹתִי רָחֵל כְּאַחַת הַשְּׁפָחוֹת, מִיָּד נֶהֶפְכָה לְבַת, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר: ״וַתִּקְרָא אֶת שְׁמָהּ דִּינָה״

Leah knew that there were going to be only 12 shevatim. She was carrying a boy but petitioned Hashem to change the sex of the child so that she would have one less boy and Rachel one more. By doing so Rachel could be zocheh to bring into the world at least as many shevatim as Bilha or Zilpa.

How could Leah's prayers work when she was already pregnant and the sex of the child was already determined?

The gemara gives two answers: 1) it was a miracle, and we are not on the level of the Imahos to ask for such a thing; 2) she petitioned Hashem early enough in her pregnant before the sex of the baby was determined.

The Yerushalmi (Brachos 9:3) and Midrashim present the story a bit differently.

דְּבֵית יַנַּאי אָמַר בְּיוֹשֶׁבֶת עַל הַמַּשְׁבֵּר. הָא קוֹדֶם כֵּן יַצְלִי. עַל שֵׁם הִנֵּה כַחוֹמֶר בְּיַד הַיּוֹצֵר. רִבִּי בְּשֵם דְּבֵית יַנַּאי עִיקָּר עִיבּוּרָהּ שֶׁל דִּינָה זָכָר הָיָה. מֵאַחַר שֶׁנִּתְפַּלְלָה רָחֵל נַעֲשִית נְקֵיבָה. הֲדָא הִיא וְאַחַר יָלְדָה בַת וַתִּקְרָא אֶת שְׁמָהּ דִּינָה. מֵאַחַר שֶׁנִּתְפַּלְלָה רָחֵל נַעֲשִית נְקֵיבָה.

According to the Yerushalmi, prayer is effective up until the moment the women is about to deliver the baby. Leah is not an exception to the rule – anyone can do the same. The Yerushalmi quotes words that we are also very familiar with from our tefilos on Yamim Noraim: הִנֵּה כַחוֹמֶר בְּיַד הַיּוֹצֵר. We are clay in Hashem's hands, and he can transform us in an instant.

This is why, says R' Chaim Kanievsky (Taama d'Kra), we say "היום הרת עולם." It may be R"H already, but don't give up. We are still "expecting," the delivery is not yet complete. There is still time for tefilah, there is still time for change.

I don’t know that היום need apply only to R"H. We can say about every day and every moment that it is היום הרת עולם, pregnant with potential to be the moment of that first step, that turn in the right direction. Carpe diem! Just like אֲשֶׁר֩ לְבָב֨וֹ פֹנֶ֤ה הַיּוֹם֙ מֵעִם֙ ה׳ אֱלֹקינוּ means frittering away one day, one moment, can thereby throw someone off track, every day is the day, the moment, where one can get back on track.

One cannot do a 180 in a day, even a great day like R"H or Y"K. Change happens in small degrees. But even a change of one degree, a change of one day, can set a person on the path to improvement.