“Tickets Please!”

A Pre-Rosh Hashana Message

By Rabbi Mordechai Rhine

The period preceding Rosh Hashana is a time for rebuilding relationships. “Ani Lidodi V’Dodi Li,” I am to my beloved and my beloved is to me is the theme of these days. A key part of rebuilding a relationship with anyone is communication. The same is true in our relationship with Hashem. A key part in rebuilding the relationship is communication. That communication is called prayer.

This week, with the start of selichos, the communication called prayer began in earnest. With just days to go before Rosh Hashana, the selichos prayers pave the way for what we hope will be a favorable judgment.

Jewish tradition tells us that Rosh Hashana is a day of judgment. On this day the direction of a person’s life is decided for the coming year and beyond. For some people the High Holidays is a stressful time, a time filled with the aura of judgment. But a more accurate perception is to realize that the stress is born from the infinitely loving and dear relationship which we are supposed to have with Hashem. That relationship might have been violated on some level. Through the communication called prayer we hope to restore that loving relationship. We offer our apologies; we remember good times and moments of crisis which we weathered together. What emerges from successful selichos is a nation ready for blessing. The stakes are high. We certainly hope we will succeed.

In addition to the communication of trying to work things out there is another part to the communication: The requests. Part of the relationship with Hashem is to recognize that blessing comes from Him. He is the one who gives us strength, wisdom, and fortuitous timing. To inculcate this within us we are required to ask for blessing as part of the way that we forge our relationship with Hashem. And ask we do.

The High Holiday period is a most powerful time for asking. “Remember us for life… In the book of life, goodness, blessing, and peace may we be inscribed,” are common refrains during these days, in addition to any personal statements of prayer that we may articulate.

How powerful are our requests? Most powerful.

How much impact do they have? The impact of our requests is enormous.

Perhaps this analogy will illustrate this point.

A few years ago I was in Brooklyn, NY, for a meeting and I entered a kosher fast-food eatery to get something to eat. After placing my order and paying for it, I saw the register print out a ticket itemizing my order. I took the ticket and stood by to wait for my order to be filled.

After many minutes I noticed that people were coming in, placing orders, and their orders were being filled. And I was still waiting…waiting…waiting. I finally suspected that something was wrong. “Perhaps they lost my order?” I wondered. So I went up to ask.

“Excuse me, Sir,” I said. “I have this ticket for the order that I placed, and I was wondering…”

The gentleman looked at me in confusion. Busy as ever, running his fast-food restaurant, he simply took the ticket from my hand and placed it on a tray. Within moments a flurry of workers appeared. They glanced at the ticket and promptly began to fill the order.

It was then that I realized that although placing the order informed the staff in the back room to prepare the order, it did not actually get put on the tray until the workers saw the ticket on a tray. The ticket that was printed was not intended for me to hoard to prove that I had placed an order. The ticket that was printed was meant to be placed on the tray so that the workers would know how to fill the order.

As I watched the workers scurrying around to fill my order, I saw that they were taking food from the ledge behind the counter and placing it on my tray. The food had been there for many minutes. They knew what I wanted and were prepared to fill my requests. But if I refused to submit my ticket then I would end up waiting for all eternity.

Such is the power of prayer.

Hashem knows what we need. But he wants us to formally request things through communication so that we develop a relationship with him. If we decline the opportunity to make the request, then the blessings may well remain sitting on a ledge somewhere instead of being served in the bountiful way that Hashem intended.

So as the season for communication begins in earnest, please use the opportunity wisely. Don’t just list off your needs and say goodbye. Make your requests in a sensible way. As you recite each prayer, make sure to ask for a few things that are meaningful to you. Intersperse your request within the overall communication as you would in any interpersonal relationship. Give a little praise, add a little appreciation, and then a request. Beg, ask, and thank. Thank, ask, and beg. Don’t hoard your tickets. Because Hashem is the Conductor. And at this time of year- if you listen closely- you can hear His voice calling out to all those who ride His train. He is saying, “Tickets Please… Tickets Please…”

May we all be inscribed for a blessed new year.

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