it is our intent which defines what we hear as kol shofar

The Mishna (R"H 27b) has a din:

התוקע לתוך הבור או לתוך הדות או לתוך הפיטס אם קול שופר שמע יצא ואם קול הברה שמע לא יצא

If you blow shofar into a pit, that halacha says that if you hear the sound of the shofar, you are yotzei; if you just hear an echo, you are not yotzei.

The Mishna continues:

וכן מי שהיה עובר אחורי בית הכנסת או שהיה ביתו סמוך לבית הכנסת ושמע קול שופר או קול מגילה אם כוון לבו יצא ואם לאו לא יצא אע"פ שזה שמע וזה שמע זה כוון לבו וזה לא כוון לבו: גמ' תנו רבנן ארוך וקצרו כשר גרדו והעמידו על גלדו כשר ציפהו זהב במקום הנחת פה פסול שלא במקום הנחת פה כשר ציפהו זהב מבפנים

If you are walking past a shul and hear the shofar, if you have kavanah, you are yotzei; if not, you are not yotzei.

At first glance these are two completely unrelated halachos. The first din is addressing itself to what sound you are hearing. The second din is addressing what is going on in your mind while you are listening. But if that is correct, what is the word וכן doing there in the Mishna? How does the second din follow from the first if they are unrelated points? The Tos Y"T takes out the word out  וכן and so problem solved; however, the girsa we have in our gemara does have וכן.  How does it make sense?

Says the Sefas Emes (Likkutim): Just like hearing an echo is not the same as hearing the actual kol shofar, hearing a shofar sound without intention and thought is not the same as hearing kol shofar. It's a musical sound, it's a noise -- but it's not a shofar blast. A lack of intent changes the cheftza of what you are hearing into something else entirely.

Shofar is our alarm clock that awakens us to teshuvah, that reminds us that Hashem is the Creator, that echoes the sound we heard at mattan Torah. If you just hear a trumpet noise and are oblivious to the message and the mitzvah, you are missing something essential.

We see this reflected in the Rambam, who paskens in hil chameitz u'matzah (6:3):

אכל מצה בלא כונה כגון שאנסוהו עכו"ם או לסטין לאכול יצא ידי חובתו.

The implication is that mitzvos do not require kavanah to be yotzei. However, the Rambam paskens with respect to shofar (2:4)

נתכוון שומע לצאת ידי חובתו ולא נתכוון התוקע להוציאו או שנתכוון התוקע להוציאו ולא נתכוון השומע לצאת לא יצא ידי חובתו. עד שיתכוין שומע ומשמיע:

Here, kavanah is essential.

Matzah is matzah, whether you eat it with intent to fulfill a mitzvah or not. Kol shofar, however, is not the same if your mind is elsewhere.  The medium without the message has no value.

make your requests l'shem Shamayim

The Tiferes Shlomo comments on our parsha:

ונתנם ה' לפניכם ועשיתם להם ככל המצוה אשר צוויתי אתכם. הידוע מספרים הקדושים שכל מצוה מתרי"ג מצות אם האדם עושה אותה רק לשם שמים ליחד קוב"ה ושכינתי' פורחת לעילא ומצוה כזאת גוררת מצוה אחרת אבל אם האדם עושה המצוה להנאת עצמו אף שיש בו מצוה לא פרחית לעילא. וע"ד שכ' הר"ן בנדרים בענין מצות לא להנות ניתנו אם יש לו הנאת הגוף בהדי מצוה לא אמרינן מצוה לא להנות ניתנו הה"ד בכל המצות. ובזה אמרתי הטעם מה שמצינו במלחמת ישראל שהחרימו את ערי עובדי כוכבים ושללם בפ' חוקת וישמע הכנעני וילחם בישראל וידר ישראל נדר לד' ויאמר אם נתון תתן את העם הזה בידי והחרמתי את עריהם ופרש"י אקדיש שללם. הנ"ל ב"ה שזה הי' הכוונה כדי שילחמו לשם שמים ולא להנאת עצמם כלל:

This is the theme of aseres ymei teshuvah that can bring us success on the ymei ha'din. If you are looking for bracha for your own sake, then good luck with being zocheh to it. But if you are doing things for Hashem's sake and ask Him for help and success, then nothing will be withheld.

We see this idea in the bakashot we add in shmoneh esrei. The Meshech Chochma (in Zos haBracha) quotes a Chazal that before speaking about ourselves, we have to give shevach to Hashem. וְזֹאת הַבְּרָכָה אֲשֶׁר בֵּרַךְ מֹשֶׁה אִישׁ הָאֱלֹקים אֶת בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל לִפְנֵי מוֹתוֹ actually does not begin with a bracha to Bn"Y, but rather speaks about Hashem coming down to Sinai to give the Torah ה׳ מִסִּינַי בָּא וְזָרַח מִשֵּׂעִיר לָמוֹ הוֹפִיעַ מֵהַר פָּארָן וְאָתָה מֵרִבְבֹת קֹדֶשׁ מִימִינוֹ אֵשׁ דָּת לָמוֹ. If so, asks Meshech Chochma, why do we stick זכרנו לחיים in the first bracha of shmoneh esrei? Shouldn't it belong later, after the first three brachos that are birchos ha'shevach to Hashem?  Tos already asks this question, but the M.C. gives his own spin on things.

The M.C. answers that zochreinu is not a bakasha for our sake. "Ain Melech b'lo am." Our existence is a testimony to Hashem's hashgacha. The fact that Klal Yisrael has survived and thrived proves that Hashem is in charge. זכרנו לחיים... למענך אלקים חיים. We ask Hashem to grant us life for His sake kavyachol, as a testimony to his greatness.  

This explains why we ask "zochreinu l'chaim" in this opening bracha, but later in shmoneh esrei we ask, "ksov l'chaim tovim..."  When we are asking for ourselves, we don't just want a job -- we want a good job.  We don't just want a house -- we want a nice house.  Chaim alone is not enough -- we ask for 'chaim tovim."  The first bracha, however, is not about us.  For Hashem's hashgacha and majesty to prove themselves, it's enough that we simply continue exist through history.  Chaim, even if not chaim tovim, is sufficient (Mishne Berura quotes a different hesber for the difference in bakashos.)

There is a chassidishe vort that sharpens the idea further  Most of us read the bakasha like this:

זכרנו לחיים מלך חפץ בּחיים וכתבנו בּספר החיים

comma

למענך אלקים חיים

But you can also read it like this:

זכרנו לחיים מלך חפץ בּחיים וכתבנו בּספר

comma. 

What sefer do we want to be inscribed into? We say to Hashem that the book to put us in is the book of

החיים למענך, אלקים חיים

We want to be put together with to those people who dedicate their lives l'shem Shamayim, who are החיים למענך and not for their own sake.

Chazal give us a little behind the scenes in the story of the haftarah of the first day of Rosh haShana. Chana brought Shmuel to the Mishkan at age two. This little child noticed that people were waiting around, delaying offering a korban. They all thought a kohen was needed to do shechita, and so they were waiting for one to be available. Shmuel stuck in his two cents and told them that it was not required. Shechita is OK if done by a zar. Everyone is learning zevachim now in the daf yomi and so mistmama people know this halacha, but at the time, this was a chiddush gadol and not the accepted norm. Eli wanted to punish Shmuel and get rid of him for this sin of being moreh halacha b'fnei rabo. This is where you have Chana's plea to Eli:

אֶל הַנַּעַר הַזֶּה הִתְפַּלָּלְתִּי וַיִּתֵּן ה׳ לִי אֶת שְׁאֵלָתִי אֲשֶׁר שָׁאַלְתִּי מֵעִמּוֹ

וְגַם אָנֹכִי הִשְׁאִלְתִּהוּ לַה׳ כׇּל הַיָּמִים אֲשֶׁר הָיָה הוּא שָׁאוּל לַה׳ וַיִּשְׁתַּחוּ שָׁם לַה׳

Shmuel was just 3 years old. Why was Eli such a stickler? Why couldn't he let things go? He couldn't overlook a mistake of a little 3 year old?!

I saw in the Chashukei Chemed of R' Zilberstein the following answer: Rashi in parshas Korach tells us that Korach thought he would be a success because his great-great-descendent was Shmuel haNavi. Eli knew that Shmuel had the DNA of Korach in him. Korach was the original "moreh halacha b'fnei rabbo," undermining the authority of Moshe Rabeinu. In that episode even the children were punished. The threat of Klal Yisrael being torn apart by machlokes, by different leaders/people pulling in different directions, is so great that the normal rules of mercy don't apply. Eli saw the tremendous kochos ha'nefesh of little Shmuel and his lack of fear to challenge authority that he feared another Korach was in the making. Therefore, he applied the same principle of showing no mercy even to a child.

If so, what was Chana's counterargument? What did she say that convinced Eli otherwise?

R' Zilberstein answered that Chana declared that her tefilos to have this child Shmuel were completely l'shem Shamayim. She did not want a child for her own sake, but for the sake of serving Hashem, and that is why Shmuel was given over to serve in the Mishkan. About a decade ago I posed the diyuk of R' Chaim Volozhiner on the pasuk וַתִּתְפַּלֵּל עַל ה׳ (1:10). Why עַל ה׳ and not אל ה׳? Chana was not davening TO Hashem for her sake, but rather ABOUT Hashem, meaning for the sake of kvod Shamayim. She said that if she has a child, there would be greater kvod Shamayim in the world and Hashem's greatness would be increased. When your tefilos are purely for the sake of kvod Shamayim, when your life is dedicated completely to kvod Shamayim, then your tefilos are answered, and nothing untoward will happen because of them.

the lesson we can learn from the confusion of the satan; the shofar's echo into the future

1) We do a lot of things before R"H with the intent of confusing the satan.  Some explain that the reason we don't bentch rosh chodesh Tishrei is in order to confuse the satan so he doesn't know that Rosh haShana is upon us.  The gemara (R"H 16) also talks about blowing tekiyos d'meyushav in order to confuse the satan (see Rashi and Tos for different explanations of what that means).   We don't blow tekiyos on erev R"H to confuse the satan and make him thing he missed the holiday (if the reason was simply to separate the tekiyos d'orasysa of the chag from the tekiyos of the month of Elul which are only a minhag, then it would be enough to skip blowing during the daylight hours before yom tov; the additional reason of trying to confuse the satan precludes blowing even during the night of erev Y"T).  My wife commented on shabbos that the satan must not be the sharpest crayon in the box.  Every year we do the same things to confuse him, and every year he falls for it! 

I think this is exactly the Chazal want to ellicit in order to make a point.  The gemara tells us that the satan= the yetzer ha'ra.  Every year we ask for mechila and slicha and promise to do better, yet every year the yetzer ha'ra appeals to us with the same tricks as the year before and every year we fall for it again!  If you laugh at the yetzer ha'ra for falling for the little rouse we pull, the jokes on you for falling for his even simpler tricks.  

2) Almost all Yamim Tovim celebrate something that happened -- leaving Egypt, sitting in sukkot in the desert, being saved from Haman, the victory of the Chashmonaim.  The holiday of R"H is בַּכֵּסֶה לְיוֹם חַגֵּנוּ.  We are celebrating the creation of the world, an event long past, but we are also celebrating something that hasn't happened yet, something that is still concealed and hidden from us.  R' Tzadok haKohen writes (Divrei Chalomos #14):

ומצות שׁופר בּר"ה אין הקדושׁה מתגלית בּלב עדיין והוא בּכּסה רק אח"ך היא פּועלת בּהתגלות לבּו

כל מחשבות של יראת שׁמים הבּאים ללב האדם בּכל ימות השׁנה הכּל מקיום מצות שׁופר בּר״ה 

We don't necessarily feel the full effect the shofar has upon on us R"H, but as the year goes on, it's sound echoes within us inspires.  Shofar is not just about the past, but it heralds the future, as we look forward to בּיום ההוא יתקע בּשׁופר גדול.

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.

judgment of the individual and judgment of the tzibur

There is a din that before R"H a person has to bathe and take a haircut before Y"T because it's a day of celebration, as we are confident that we will emerge triumphant from standing before Hashem and being judged.  

Meforshim ask: The gemara writes that we do not recite hallel on R"H because it would be inappropriate when the sifrei chaim and sifrei meisim are open and our fate hangs in the balance to be celebrating.  If we are so confident of a positive outcome, why not celebrate?   

To tell you the truth, I am not so bothered by this question.  It seems to me that there is a difference between showing confidence and being happy.  A lawyer can be confident going to trial, but that doesn't mean he is happy to have to face litigation.  We are confident that Hashem will judge us fairly and get us to a positive outcome, but that doesn't mean we should be in a celebratory mood.  The mood is still solemn, as becoming the seriousness of being judged.  Hallel is therefore out of place.

The Chochmas Shlomo on the SA as well as the Netziv at the end of Emor in the Harchev Davar offer a different answer.  On R"H, we actually face two different judgments.  Each and every one of us is individually judged as to what kind of year we will have, but in addition, Klal Yisrael as a whole isjudged.  Will our enemies have the upper hand, or will we as a people thrive and grow this upcoming year?

The Rama (OC 583) quotes the well known minhag of eating apple dipped in honey.  Biur haGR"A explains:

תפוח. ע"ש ופריו מתוק לחכי וכמ"ש כריח שדה ומתרגמינן חקל תפוחים והיה בר"ה כידוע:

It was on R"H that Yaakov went in and got the brachos from Yitzchak (other Midrashim place the date as Pesach), usurping Eisav and making sure we would have the bechora.  Chazal (Taanis 29) comment on the pasuk וַיֹּאמֶר רְאֵה רֵיחַ בְּנִי כְּרֵיחַ שָׂדֶה אֲשֶׁר בֵּרְכוֹ ה׳ that Yaakov smelled like an apple orchard, אמר רב יהודה משמי' דרב, כריח שדה של תפוחים.  (See Torah Temima on that pasuk who notes that although the GR"A refers to the Targum as the source for it being an apple field, it is not found in the Targum, and GR"A probably meant this derasha).

This was not just a personal victory for Yaakov over his brother, but this is maaseh avos siman la'banim, and it resonates on a national scale.  Every year the conflict between Yaakov and Eisav plays itself out on R"H.  Every year we and the umos ha'olam face off in judgment, each one of us trying to earn the bracha that will put us on on top.  Every year we dip the apple in the honey, assured that we will be the ones to emerge with bracha, just as our forefather Yaakov did.

The gemara writes that R' Abahu in Keisari made a takanah to blow all the different kolos: tekiya-teru'ah-tekiya, tekiya-shevarim-tekiya, and tekiya-sh"t-tekiya.  The fact that this takanah was made in Keisari is not just a trivial detail, says R' Chaim Feinstein, but perhaps is linked to the essence of what the day is about.  The gemara elsewhere (Meg 6a) tells us:

קסרי וירושלים אם יאמר לך אדם חרבו שתיהן אל תאמן ישבו שתיהן אל תאמן חרבה קסרי וישבה ירושלים חרבה ירושלים וישבה קסרי תאמן שנאמר אמלאה החרבה אם מליאה זו חרבה זו אם מליאה זו חרבה זו רב נחמן בר יצחק אמר מהכא ולאום מלאום יאמץ

Keisari is the stronghold of Eisav, while Yerushalayim is our stronghold.  When one is ascendant, the other must fall.  Rosh haShana is a replay of the age old conflict between Eisav and Yaakov, between Keisari and Yerushalayim, and so it is davka there that R' Abahu instituted his takana of tekiyos, so as to weaken Eisav.

(Parenthetically, the Rishonim quote BH"G that there was no real doubt that mi'doraysa one is yotzei with any of the combinations of kolos.  The R' Abahu made his takanah was to create a unified minhag in Klal Yisrael.  You don't have a similar takana, for example, that all of klal yisrael should do nanau'im the same way.  Perhaps the reason why is because shofar is linked to this idea of judgment on the tzibur, and so factionalism, having different groups with different practices, would be antithetical to the spirit of the day.)

The poskim write based on Midrashim that the reason we take the lulav and esrog after Yom Kippur is because when an army would emerge victorious from battle they would have a parade and wave their standards and their arms in the air.  The lulav is our standard, and we hold in high and wave it around to show that we alone have emerged victorious from the conflict with Eisav.  

The mitzvah to bathe and get a haircut, assured that we will have a good outcome on the yom ha'din, is viz a viz the judgment that occurs on a national level.  Yaakov every year triumphs over Eisav and remains Hashem's chosen one. (I am still a bit perplexed.  So why not say hallel in commemoration of the national victory over Eisav?)  As for each one of us individually, what will happen remains to be determined.  

That being given, I think one way we can assure ourselves of a positive outcome is to throw our lot in with that of the nation, the tzibur, the klal.  This, I think, is what the Isha haShunamit (Melachim 2 4:13) meant when she told Elisha that she does not need any reward because וַתֹּאמֶר בְּתוֹךְ עַמִּי אָנֹכִי יֹשָׁבֶת  If instead of focusing on our individual needs and our individual lot we focus on our simply being members of the klal, our judgment will tie in with that of the klal.

yom ha'din -- on Torah

R' Ben Tzion Kook quotes the Rama mi'Pana on the gemara (Shabbos 31a)

אמר רבא בשעה שמכניסין אדם לדין אומרים לו נשאת ונתת באמונה קבעת עתים לתורה עסקת בפו"ר צפית לישועה פלפלת בחכמה הבנת דבר מתוך דבר 

who explains that Chazal are not just speaking here about the future judgment we will all have to undergo after 120 years when we depart from this world, but are speaking about Rosh haShana as well, the judgment we face each and every year.  

The gemara (Kid 41) writes:

דאמר רב המנונא אין תחילת דינו של אדם אלא על דברי תורה 

The first item on the list of things looked at on yom ha'din is how committed and engaged we were to Torah study this year.

We find the centrality of Torah to yom ha'din reflected in halacha as well.  Rama (OC 585) paskens that the baal tokea should stand next to the bima where the Torah is read.  M"B explains כדי שזכות התורה יגן עלינו לעלות זכרונינו לפניו לטובה, so that the zechus of Torah should enable our tekiyos to rise up to heaven.

The Mishna in R"H writes that on Pesach the world is judged as to how much wheat will be produced; on Shavuos we are judged on how much fruit will grow; on Sukkos we are judged on how much rain there will be.  Seems like everything is covered, so what happens on Rosh haShana?  Ran answers that on R"H Hashem decides what our individual portion will be.

Perhaps the same is true when in comes to Torah.  The world cannot exist without Torah, and inevitably 5784 will bring with it new chiddushim, new sevaros, new ideas, new questions.  What we have to ask for on Rosh haShana is תן חלקנו בּתורתך.  We want our portion, our share!  We want that the תחילת דינו של אדם על דברי תורה should come out in a positive way for us an individuals as well as for our communities, and with it should come בּני, חיי, מזוני to enable us to learn with yishuv hadaas, harvacha, and to share that Torah with our children and others.

stolen shofar -- Raavad's view

Rambam and Raavad agree that one can be yotzei tekiyas shofar with a stolen shofar, but they disagree as to why.  Rambam paskens (Shofar 1:3)

שופר של עכו"ם אין תוקעין בו לכתחלה ואם תקע יצא. ושל עיר הנדחת אם תקע בו לא יצא. שופר הגזול שתקע בו יצא שאין המצוה אלא בשמיעת הקול אע"פ שלא נגע בו ולא הגביהו השומע יצא ואין בקול דין גזל. וכן שופר של עולה לא יתקע בו ואם תקע יצא שאין בקול דין מעילה. ואם תאמר והלא נהנה בשמיעת הקול מצות לא ליהנות ניתנו. לפיכך המודר הנייה משופר מותר לתקוע בו תקיעה של מצוה:

Raavad comments:

 ואין בקול דין גזל. א"א ואפילו יהיה בו דין גזל יום תרועה יהיה לכם מ"מ הכי איתא בירושלמי עכ"ל

In truth, both reasons are brought by the Yerushalami (Sukkah perek 3 halacha 1) in the context of explaining why a shofar of avodah zarah or ir ha'nidachas is acceptable, but a lulav with either of those two psulim is not:

 שׁוֹפָר שֶׁלְעֲבוֹדָה זָרָה וְשֶׁלְעִיר הַנִּידַּחַת, רִבִּי לָעְזְר אָמַר: כָּשֵׁר. תַּנֵּי רִבִּי חִייָה: כָּשֵׁר. תַּנֵּי רִבִּי הוֹשַׁעְיָה: פָּסוּל. הַכֹּל מוֹדִין בַּלּוּלָב שֶּׁהוּא פָסוּל. מַה בֵין שׁוֹפָר וּמַה בֵין לוּלָב? אָמַר רִבִּי יוֹסֵה: בַּלּוּלָב כְּתִיב וּלְקַחְתֶּם לָכֶם – מִשֶׁלָּכֶם, לֹא מִשֶּׁלְאִיסּוּרֵי הֲנָייָה. בְּרַם הָכָא יוֹם תְּרוּעָה יִהְיֶה לָכֶם – מִכָּל מָקוֹם. אָמֵר רִבִּי לָעְזְר: תַּמָּן בְגוּפוֹ הוּא יוֹצֵא, בְּרַם הָכָא בְקוֹלוֹ הוּא יוֹצֵא, וְיֵשׁ קוֹל אָסוּר בַּהֲנָייָה?

What then is the Raavad objecting to?  Is there some reason the Rambam should favor the reason quoted by Raavad over the one he quotes?

Secondly, while Raavad is consistent with the Ylmi, his comment seems to contradict the Bavli.  The gemara in the opening of perek lulav ha'gazul (Sukkah 30) debates whether the din of לוּלָב הַגָּזוּל  פָּסוּל applies only to the first day of Y"T or to all days of Y"T.  Even though the din of לָכֶם applies only one the first day (ולקחתם לכם בּיום הראשׁון), the gemara writes that the psul of mitzvah habaah b'aveira would invalidate a stolen lulav on the other days as well.

It should therefore follow that even if there is no requirement of לָכֶם with respect to shofar, there should still be a psul of mitzvah habaah b'aveira.

B'shlama according to the Rambam's reasoning, a psul in the shofar does not invalidate its kol, but according to Raavad who does not accept this argument (whatever his reason might be), the psul of mitzvah habaah b'aveira should invalidate the tekiyos.  

Just to make things worse and add icing on the cake, Rambam (Lulav 8:9) actually paskens that a stolen lulav is acceptable outside the first day of Y"T:

כל אלו שאמרנו שהם פסולין מפני מומין שבארנו או מפני גזל וגניבה ביום טוב ראשון בלבד אבל ביום טוב שני עם שאר הימים הכל כשר

But Raavad disagrees because of mitzvah habaah b'aveira.  

 כל אלו שאמרנו וכו'. א"א אין הכל מודים בגזול ויבש שאין פסולים משום הדור אלא גזול ה"ל מצוה הבאה בעבירה יבש מפני שהוא כמת, בירושלמי:

L'shitaso, what then does Raavad do with the idea of mitzvah habaah b'aveira with respect to shofar?

Leaving this hanging for now... 

GR"A on why we don't blow shofar Erev Rosh haShana and the piyus of Nitzavim

1) To explain why we don't blow shofar on Erev Rosh haShana, the Vilna Gaon in his commentary to Yonah (3:3) quotes the gemara (Gittin) that relates how Hashem sent a little bug or bird to fly up Titus' nose into his head and bang away there for years.  One day Titus happened to walk past a blacksmith, and when the blacksmith's hammer was banging, the pecking in his brain stopped.  Now finally having a way to get some relief, Titus arranged to have blacksmiths working in his palace, banging away day in and day out.  After 30 days, however, the pecking resumed as usual.  The bird had acclimated itself to the banging, and resumed its pecking at Titus brain.

You see from this gemara that when something happens for 30 straight days, a creature, whether it is a bird or a person, becomes acclimated to it and it makes no impression.

If we blew shofar inclusive of Erev Rosh haShana, then we would have 30 days of blowing before the chag and tekiyas shofar would make no impression on is. Tekiyos have to make a roshem!  Therefore, says the GR"A, we take a break on Erev R"H.

(But we never have 30 straight days -- there are shabbosos in between that break things us?  R' Chaim Kanievski points to the din that when you switch to saying tein tal u'mater, 30 days makes a chazakah and after 30 days you can assume in case of safeik that you said the correct insertion.  Even though you don't say teil tal u'matar on shabbosos so the 30 days are really 26 days, the fact that the change at every possible opportunity to do so during those 30 days makes a chazakah.  Same with teikyas shofar.)

אמרו לפני בראש השנה מלכיות זכרונות ושופרות מלכיות כדי שתמליכוני עליכם זכרונות כדי שיעלה זכרוניכם לפני לטובה ובמה בשופר 

The kashe of  ובמה is not asking "How do we properly fulfill the mitzvah of reciting malchiyos, etc." and telling us that you need to blow in the shmoneh esrei.  The kashe the gemara is asking (see Ritva) is "How to we fulfill the mitzvah of coronating G-d as King?"  And the answer is that you do that with a shofar.

That requires mental activity.

That requires the shofar making a roshem.

2) The Divrei Chaim of Sanz on our parsha quotes the pasuk in Yeshayahu 3:13 נִצָּ֥ב לָרִ֖יב הֹ׳ וְעֹמֵ֖ד לָדִ֥ין עַמִּֽים׃.  The word נִצָּ֥ב there refers to Hashem standing in judgment, as Radak there explains, אמר אל תחשבו כי לא יענישכם האל על הרעות שתעשו כי בכל זמן הוא נצב ועומד לדין כל העמים כל שכן עמו ישראל    We read in Tehillin 82:1  אֱֽלֹקים נִצָּ֥ב בַּעֲדַת־קל.  The word "nitzvav" implies you are coming to pick a fight.  אַתֶּ֨ם נִצָּבִ֤ים הַיּוֹם֙ כֻּלְּכֶ֔ם, we are נִצָּ֥ב לָרִ֖יב, to borrow the phrase from Yishayahu, we are troublesome, quarrelsome, rebellious. That's why we read the tochacha last week.  Nonetheless, says the Divrei Chaim, we are לִפְנֵ֖י הֹ׳ אֱלֹקיכֶ֑ם, there is the shem Havaya, the midas haRachamim, that is extended to us b'pnimiyus of the din.  This is what Rashi means:

 התחיל משה מפייסן אתם ניצבים היום (דברים כ״ט:ט׳) – הרבה הכעסתם למקום ולא עשה אתכם כלייה, והרי אתם קיימים לפניו.  

Despite הרבה הכעסתם למקום , despite אתם ניצבים היום, despite our rebellious quarrels, G-d does not punish us vindictively, and does not reject us.  We are still הרי אתם קיימים לפניו and will always be so.

GR"A on repeating insertions of zachreinu l'chaim etc during chazaras ha'shatz

I think in every shul or yeshiva I have ever davened in on the Yamim Noraim or aseres ymei teshuvah, when the shat"z got to the spot where you insert zachreinu l'chaim, mi kamocha, ksov l'chaim tovim, etc., the shat"z would pause and everyone would say those lines out loud together, and then the shat"z would say it and continue.

The GR"A in Maaseh Rav #204 writes that this is incorrect.  According to GR"A, the shat"z should daven straight through with no pause and no interruption by the tzibur.  Like most everything else in Maaseh Rav, there is no explanation as to why the GR"A held this way, but some of the meforshim link it to the GR"A's opposition to the tzibur saying "baruch HU u'baruch Shmo" during chazaras ha'shat"z (Maaseh Rav #43) and suggest that the GR"A treats chazaras ha'shatz as if the shat"z is being motzi the tzibur in the brachos of shmoneh esrei, so no interruptions are allowed.  

I'm not sure that works, because 1) the GR"A does allow piyutim to be inserted, 2) and even if you treat chazaras ha'shatz like something you have to yotzei in, the insertions of zachreinu etc. are part of the shmoneh esrei recited by the shat"z, unlike baruch Hu ub"S.  Even if the tzibur is being yotzei, why can't the they say a section of the bracha themselves instead of relying on shomeh k'oneh?  (I believe whether you can reply on shomeh k'oneh for only part of a bracha is a debate in Achronim, but it would be a chiddush to say the GR"A is taking a stand on that issue here.)  

There is a third minhag that is interesting.  Some are noheig to only recite the last two insertions, the ksov l'chaim tovim etc. out loud during chazaras hashat"z.  The logic here is that the insertions build upon each other.  First we ask zachreinu l'chaim, then we build on that and ask not just l'chaim, but ksov l'chaim tovim.  Once you ask for that in your shmoneh esrei, to go back during chazaras ha'shatz and just ask zachreinu l'chaim again without tovim is a step down, a step backwards.  That we don't want to do.  

l'maancha Elokim chaim

In parshas Ki Teitzei, Rashi (22:8) explains the smichus ha'parshiyos, the juxtaposition of the mitzvah of shiluach ha'kan with the mitzvah to build a maakah and then the mitzvah of not plowing with kilayim of a donkey and ox and the mitzvah of not wearing kilayim: 

כי תבנה בית חדש ועשית מעקה וגו׳ – אם קיימת שילוח הקן, סופך לבנות בית, ולקיים מצות מעקה, שמצוה גוררת מצוה, ותגיע לכרם ושדה ובגדים נאים. לכך נסמכו פרשיות הללו.

If you fulfill shiluach ha'kan, writes Rashi, you will be zocheh to build a house and do the mitzvah of maakeh, and then you will be zocheh to have a field and vineyard that need plowing and will keep the issue of kilayim, and you will have beautiful clothes to wear and you will get to fulfill the mitzvah of shaatnez.  

Shem m'Shmuel asks: Schar mitzvah b'hai alma leika!?  The reward for mitzvos comes only in the next world, not in this world.  Why here do you get a new house, a field, a vineyard, nice clothes one right after the other in this world for doing these mitzvos? 

Schar mitzvah b'hai alma leika, he explains, because reward is the tachlis, the end result.  The world of tachlis is the next world; this world is just the world of hachana, where everything is a means to the end, but not an end in itself.  If you are collecting schar a final reward for the hard work you put in, then you have to wait until you get to the next world.  But if the schar you are collecting is itself a means to a greater end, then that falls under this world, the world of means.  When you get a house not to show everyone the new kitchen you put in but rather as a means to do other mitzvos like maakah; when you have a field or vineyard not just to build your wealth but as a means to fulfill kilayim; when the clothes you wear are not to show off your new outfit but because you are mekayeim shaatnez and other mitzvos, then Hashem piles on more so that you can do more.  (Compare with Rambam in Hil Teshuvah perek 9).

Now we understand what we mean when we say, "Zachreinu l'chaim..,. l'maancha Elokim chaim."  We ask Hashem for life, we ask Hashem for so many other things.  Schar b'hai alma leika, why should we imagine we will get any of it?  The answer is, "L'maancha Elokim chaim."  We're not asking just to satisfy our own selfish needs, but we're asking so that we can use what we get "lmaancha," for your sake Hashem.  It's all just a means so that we can be better ovdei Hashem.

If that's the attitude you bring to your bakashos in davening, then hopefully you won't be turned away.

Kiddushin 25a:

 הכל מודים בלשון לענין טומאה דגלוי הוא

The gemara writes that the tongue, the mouth, is considered "galuy," a revealed, open place.  If a sheretz comes in contact with a person's tongue, the person is tamei; it's not maga beis ha'starim.  

A person can articulate and express through the tongue and the mouth things that are "galuy," that he/she can to reveal and communicate to others.

But there is a whole deeper level of pnimiyus in a person that is not galuy, that the mouth and tongue cannot formulate into words, that we can't articulate either to others or maybe not even to ourselves.  That's the kol shofar.  That's the cry that  cannot be formulated into words, but which stirs inside of us.

That's the kol that we cry to Hashem with on Rosh haShana. 

are tekiyos and brachos m'akeiv each other

The gemara (R"H 34b) writes  תקיעות וברכות של ראש השנה ויום הכפורים מעכבות זו את זו  Tos (33b towards the end of the long Tos) quotes that Rashi explained that this means the two mitzvos of shofar and tefilah must go hand in hand -- you can't be yotzei tekiyos outside the context of tefilah, and can't be yotzei tefilah unless you blow shofar during the davening.  

Tos disagrees and says this can't be the pshat.  Proof #1 - the din is that if you have a choice between going to a place where there is shofar blowing or a place that has a minyan and sha"tz for davening, the gemara says to go hear shofar since it is d'oraysa.  If you can't be yotzei shofar without tefilah, what good is that?  

Proof #2 - the gemara says if someone davened without having a shofar and then later in the day managed to get a shofar, he blows.  According to Rashi, shouldn't he have to daven again, since davening without a shofar doesn't count?

Tos therefore learns that the gemara means that the 3 brachos of malchiyos, zichronos, and shofaros are m'akeiv each other, i.e. if you only know one but not the others, you can't be yotzei tefilah.  Similarly, the different kolos of shofar are m'akeiv each other, i.e. if you only know how to blow a tekiya, for example, you are not yotzei blowing that kol alone multiple times.  But the two mitzvos have nothing to do with each other.

It's very hard to understand this shitas Rashi.  What does he do with those gemaros?

In R' Wahrman's sefer Oros Ymei HaRachamim he quotes a very Brisker-ish sevara from R' Leizer Silver.  Rashi agrees that of course you can be yotzei the mitzvah of shofar even if you don't daven, and you can be yotzei davening without a shofar.  But Rashi understood that gemara on 34b to mean that in addition to the independent chiyuv of shofar and the independent chiyuv of tefilah, there is a new composite chiyuv of tekiyos al seder ha'brachos that requires both elements.  

The gemaras that Tos quotes are talking about the independent chiyuvim of shofar and tefilah, not the composite chiyuv.  It's that new composite chiyuv cannot be fulfilled unless you have both elements.

This, he suggests, is why many have the practice of blowing shofar even in the middle of the silent amidah.  The tefilah would be a tefilah even without shofar, but you would lack the added kiyum of the composite chiyuv that requires both.

to live as a baal teshuvah or die as a baal teshuvah?

1) Rambam, first halacha in perek 7 of Hil Teshuvah:

הואיל ורשות כל אדם נתונה לו כמו שבארנו ישתדל אדם לעשות תשובה ולהתודות בפיו מחטאיו ולנעור כפיו מחטאיו כדי שימות והוא בעל תשובה ויזכה לחיי העולם הבא

Had you asked me I would have said that a person should do teshuvah to rid himself of aveiros so that he can live a righteous, fulfilled life.  But that's not what the Rambam says.  He puts the focus on death -- כדי שימות והוא בעל תשובה.  Rambam could have eliminated that phrase entirely and simply said to do teshuvah  ויזכה לחיי העולם הבא.  Why the particular stress on dying as a baal teshuvah?

2) R' Ovadya Yosef holds that if a person or tzibur cannot say slichos in the morning, they can be said before mincha.  He was asked why in that case the slichos should be said first -- tadir v'she'aino tadir tadir kodem, so mincha should be recited first.

Whatever the answer is, the question should not apply only to mincha.  Unless you are saying slichos b'ashmores ha'boker (as the Rambam says to), then when you come to shul for shacharis at 6:30 or 7:00 or whenever, you have a tadir chiyuv of shacharis that should take precedence over slichos.

(The Shaagas Aryeh already is mechadesh that you only apply the rule of tadir when comparing apples to apples, i.e. two mitzvos d'oraysa or two mitzvos derabbanan, but when you are comparing something like a minhag with a real chiyuv, then the rule does not apply and, counterintuitively, the minhag can come first.  Whether this Shg"A is correct is a debate and a discussion for a different post.)

..bincha, yechidcha, asher ahavta

Kach na es bincha es yichidcha asher ahavta...

Rashi comments that when Hashem said "bincha," Avraham said, "What do you mean? -- I have two sons."

"Es yichidcha" -- "What do you mean? -- each one is a yachid in his own right?"

"Asher ahavta" -- "What do you mean? -- I love them both equally."

Yet when Avraham travels to Har haMoriah, he tells Yishmael and Eliezer, "shvu lachem poh im ha'chamor," stay with the donkey while I go up the mountain with Yitzchak.  Chazal comment that Avraham was telling Yishmael that he was spiritually like a donkey and had no place coming up to Har haMoriah with him.

How is it that Avraham recognized Yishmael as spiritually bankrupt, but at the same time when Hashem appears to talk about Avraham's unique, special, beloved son, Avraham does not even realize that he means Yitzchak until Hashem spells it out?

The Tiferes Shlomo answers that although Avraham did not at first distinguish between his sons, once Hashem told him that he has to pass the test of akeidas Yitzchak, Avraham deliberately accentuated the greatness of Yitchak and the shortcomings of Yishmael so as to make the test that much greater a challenge and that much greater a sacrifice for G-d's sake.

My wife suggested that there is no contradiction.  Avraham recognized Yishmael's spiritual failures, but nonetheless, Yishmael was still in his eyes "...bincha, yechidcha, asher ahavta."  One can recognize a child's failures and shortcomings and love them fully anyway.

Ub'chein avo el haMelech

 There is a constant refrain of ub'chein... ובכן in the tefilos of Yamin Noraim:  Ub'chein tein kavod..., ub'chein tein pachdecha..., ub'chein tzadikim..., etc.  In the back of the Sifsei Chaim on Sefer Devarim (p293-294) there is a letter from R" Yonah Martzbach (R"Y of Kol Torah) to his then future son-in-law R' Chaim Friedlander where he writes that this refrain is meant to remind us of the pasuk in Megillas Esther (4:16) וּבְכֵ֞ן אָב֤וֹא אֶל־הַמֶּ֙לֶךְ֙ Ub'chein avo el haMelech...  At that moment Esther knew that her fate, that the fate of perhaps the entire Jewish people, hung in the balance -- would the King greet her favorably, would she find the right words to say on her own behalf, nafshei b'she'eilsai, and  on behalf of the klal, v'ami b'bakashasi?  On Rosh Hashana everything hangs in the balance.  We approach Hashem like Esther approached Achashveirosh, beseeching him on our own behalf, the prat, and for Klal Yisrael as a whole, the klal.

"V'GAM es Noach b'ahavah zacharta."  He goes on in that letter to explain that the word "v'gam" is a ribuy -- even though dorshin l'gnai, that Noach did not do enough, that he was a flawed tzadik, Hashem still remembered him l'zechus since he stood above the corruption around him.  We all fall far short of perfection, but we can be zocheh hopefully through v'gam.

The navi tells (Melachim ch 4) us "va'yehi HA'yom," on that day, and Chazal tell us that HA'yom, THE day, is Rosh haShana, Elisha the prophet came to the Shunamis woman and offered to give her a blessing for whatever she needed.  A bracha from a tzadik on Rosh HaShana certainly can't hurt!  But the Isha Shunamis replied to Elisha,  בְּת֥וֹךְ עַמִּ֖י אָנֹכִ֥י יֹשָֽׁבֶת׃, I am among the people, I prefer to not be singled out for your special attention.  

What did the Isha Shunamis mean?  How do you turn down the bracha from a tzadik?

The usual pshat is that if you are singled out, then Hashem looks at your merits or lack thereof as you stand as an individual.  That's not such an easy test to pass.  But there is another aspect to din that looks at how you fit into the klal, at your standing as a member of the community, "b'toch ami."  Even if you don't past muster on the individual level, sometimes you will be judged positively anyway because you are part of a community that is worthy of being judged positively.  The Isha Shunamis thought she stood a better chance in din being looked at as just another member of her community than she would had the navi would have singled her out.

The Tiferes Shlomo (page 40a d"h l'havin) says a slightly different answer.  Rosh HaShana is called Yom Ha'Zikaron not (only) because Hashem "remembers" kavyachol each one of us, but rather it's called Yom haZikaron because we remember and think about each other.  That's the key to being judged favorably.  "Ki dorshecha l'olam lo yikasheilu" -- if you approach tefilah as "ki dorshecha l'olam," your requests are for the world, for the klal, not focused on your own selfish needs, then "lo yikasheilu," you will not be rejected.  "VaYizkor Elokim es Noach v'es ha'chaya v'es ha'beheima asher ito ba'teivah" -- Hashem remembered Noach because the lions and tigers and bears were "ito ba'teivah," their needs were on his lips, in his words of prayer -- he davened on their behalf, not just for himself.  This is what the Isha haShunamis was telling Elisha.  The bracha of a tzadik and navi is great, but the brachos of all Klal Yisrael together is even more powerful.  "B'toch ami anochi yosheves" -- on Rosh haShana my needs are surely already being mentioned in the tefilos of all Klal Yisrael which we are saying behalf of one another.

Kesiva v'chasima tovah

no preparation

Every year before Y"T I always feel that I am not really prepared for the upcoming chagim, and this year is no exception -- the feeling is only intensified due to the disruption of the normal davening procedures and normal everything procedures.  We are in uncharted territory more than ever.

R' Amiel in his derashos points out that there are preparations that we have to make for every Y"T.  Pesach requires cleaning the house of chametz and ideally, getting a korban pesach.  We have 50 days of sefirah that is a count up to Shavuos.  Sukkos is the culmination of the Rosh haShana/Y"k season and requires building a sukkah, obtaining 4 minin.  Mes Yoma starts with the din that the kohen gadol would separate from his home 7 days before Y"K to prepare.  For Rosh haShana -- nothing.  Before every Rosh Chodesh we have a Shabbos Mevorchim, and for Tishrei, Rosh haShana, we don't even have that.

This is not by accident.  Every Yom Tov connects with the days prior, leading up to Y"T.  Rosh haShana, on the other hand, is by definition a clean break from the past.  It is by definition a new beginning.  We don't want to bring old baggage from last year into this new point in time.

selichos and tachanun

Someone recently got married and the question came up as to whether the presence of the chosson in the minyan removes the chiyuv to say tachanun at the conclusion of selichos, or only tachanun during tefilah.  My son brought a proof from the din on erev Rosh haShana where we don't say tachanun during davening, but we still say tachanun during selichos.  He also suggested that this issue may depend on a  whether saying selichos is a kiyum in tefilah or a kiyum in teshuvah.  If it is a cheilek of tefilah, then the same dinim as apply to tefilah should apply to selichos (Rav Yehudah Deri raises this chakira in his teshuvos.)

Note that the Rambam quotes the minhag of selichos in hil teshuvah 3:4, not in hil tefilah:

ונהגו כולם לקום בלילה בעשרה ימים אלו ולהתפלל בבתי כנסיות בדברי תחנונים ובכיבושין עד שיאור היום

Another potential nafka minah of this chakira is whether women obligated to recite selichos.  If it is a din in tefilah, then likely not, but if it is a din in teshuvah, then the answer should be yes.

I would argue that the Rambam has to distinguish between the two forms of tachanun.  The Rambam (hil tefilah 5:1) writes that there are 8 essential components of tefilah, one of which is bowing.  Later in that perek he explains:

השתחויה כיצד אחר שמגביה ראשו מכריעה חמישית ישב לארץ ונופל על פניו ארצה ומתחנן בכל התחנונים שירצה.

According to Rambam, bowing = saying tachanun.  Tachanun/nefilat apayim is part and parcel of shmoneh esrei (this is one of RYBS proofs to that conclusion).

If this is correct, the tachanun at the conclusion of selichos is a different animal entirely.

All this leads me to wonder whether one has to/should do nefilat apayim when reciting tachanun at the end of selichos.  If the reason for nefilat apayin is to fulfill the bowing component of tefilah, then this has no place after selichos.  I don't know about other sefardim, but I notice in our local Moroccon shul that they in fact do not do nefilat apayim when they say tachanun after selichos.  I believe the usual minhag among Ashkenazim is to do nefilat apayim when saying tachanun.

when shofar can't be blown - ones, shabbos

1) The source of the below quote doesn't matter -- I am just trying to understand it:

"Again, the poskim have clearly said that if you still remain personally alarmed, you are patur – exempt – from tefillah betzibbur and you should continue to daven at home."

Mi'mah nafshach: if al pi din there is a danger, then we should all daven at home.  If al pi din there is no danger, then what is the basis for allowing someone who subjectively feels they are in danger from avoiding doing a mitzvah?   

2) Just wondering: if you daven in a shul that is allowing only 50% (or whatever % less than 100) capacity, what are the other 50% of the people supposed to do?  

3) The gemara (R"H 16) writes that if you miss doing tekiyos at the start of the year, it will bring bad things before the end of that year.  Meshech Chochma (Parshas Emor 23:24) quotes the BH"G that this gemara applies even if you miss blowing because of ones, but not if you can't blow because R"H falls on Shabbos.   

Why is ones not an exemption here, and if indeed there are no excuses, why does the same not apply for failing to blow on Shabbos?

Meshech Chochma explains that shofar is like medicine (see here, see also Ha'amek Davar at the beginning of P' Bechukosai)  -- you may have a good excuse for why you missed taking it, but bottom line is you won't be cured.  The same does not hold true for Shabbos.  The reason why shofar brings forgiveness is because shofar is a reminder of akeidas Yitzchak, of the willingness of a Jew to sacrifice l'shem shamayim.  Our willingness to give up shofar for the sake of preserving Shabbos is itself an act of sacrifice, so in effect, we achieve the end result of the mitzvah by not blowing.

The Meshech Chochma's question presupposed that there is a chiyuv to blow on Shabbos, just we can't fulfill it, like ones.   One could argue that the din derabbanan is oker the mitzvah and it is as if there is no chiyuv at all.  See  here for two other approaches that fit this line of reasoning.

Giving up a mitzvah for the sake of heath, to fulfill shmiras ha'guf and allow for future observance, seems akin to giving up shofar for the sake of shabbos, not like any other ones.  

One important point is that when things have to given up, it has to be with the right attitude. "Tachas asher lo avadita es Hashem Elokecha b'simcha u'b'tuv leivav."  It's not the "lo avadita" that is the problem so much as the fact that you were "b'simcha u'b'tuv leivav" over it.   

why we blow shofar in elul

The Pirkei d'R' Eliezer's explains why we blow shofar during Elul:

תניא בפרקי דרבי אליעזר (פרק מו): בראש חודש אלול אמר הקדוש ברוך הוא למשה: "עלה אלי ההרה", שאז עלה לקבל לוחות אחרונות. והעבירו שופר במחנה; משה עולה להר, כדי שלא יטעו כמו שטעו בראשונות במעשה העגל. והקדוש ברוך הוא נתעלה באותו שופר, שנאמר (תהלים מז ו): "עלה אלקים בתרועה, ד' בקול שופר"

Sefas Emes asks (in the likutim): if the purpose of blowing was to avoid falling prey to the same mistake of eigel worship that happened during the first 40 days, then shouldn't the shofar have also been blown during the middle 40 days Moshe spent on Har Sinai as well as the last 40?  We should be blowing shofar all summer!

He offers two answers.  The simple answer is that during the middle days Moshe went up to ask Hashem for forgiveness for the eigel worship.  Davening for forgiveness for cheit ha'eigel is itself a deterrent against a similar sin.

The second, deeper explanation is that the shofar is effective only during an eis ratzon.  Klal Yisrael felt a closeness to Hashem during Elul that they had not felt before, and they were able to use the shofar davka during that time period as an instrument to cement that connection and deepen it.  

Were I a baal mussar I would point out that we are speaking about the dor de'ah, the dor that stood at Sinai and received the Torah on 7 Sivan.  We are talking about a dor that had sinned with cheit ha'eigel, and knew that Moshe had to spend 40 more days on Har Sinai davening for their lives to be spared.  They as no other dor knew what closeness to Hashem means, and knew the danger the eigel posed.  Yet, they still needed a safeguard against making the same mistake all over again!   They still needed a shofar כדי שלא יטעו כמו שטעו בראשונות.  

Oseh ha'shalom

Although there seems to be an old established minhag to change the ending of the last bracha of shmoneh esrei from ha'mevarech es amo yisrael ba'shalom to oseh ha'shalom during the aseres ymei teshuvah, many (I would say most) shuls these days opt to keep the standard ending rather than tamper with the nusach of the chasimas habracha.  I've noticed most of these same shuls have no problem on Yom Tov changing the chasimas habracha of retzey from ha'machazir Shechinaso l'Tzion to she'odcha levadcha b'yirah naavod.

Tartei d'sasrei, or can you come up with a difference?

Yesh tikvah l'achriseich

I think there are two elements that contribute to 'ha'ben yakir li  Ephraim' bring chosen as the haftarah for the second day of Rosh haShana:

1) As a parallel to the kriah on the first day which speaks about our matriarch Sarah and Hashem's fulfillment of her desire to have a child we read about our matriarch Rachel and her desire for the return of all her children.

2) Lest a person think that the job of repentance is too great and too overwhelming we read the words "yesh tikvah l'achriseich," Hashem's encouragement not to give up hope.

I don't know how you can read the final words of that pasuk, "v'shavu banim li'gevulam," without being moved by the fact that for hundreds and hundreds of years Jews have read this promise of return and it was always a distant dream, but we have been zocheh to see it happening in our lifetime.