Above Self

Rosh Hashana is about accepting G-d as King of the world, as we see from the three special blessings in the prayers for that day, known as Malchios, Zichronos and Shofros. Malchios, kingship is self-explanatory. Zichronos is about how He is in charge of everything, and Shofros is trumpeting His arrival as is done for a king. But what does that mean? Either He is or not, why do we have to do something? It means accepting Him as king of OUR world, the worldview we have in our minds. Normally, I am the king of my worldview. I am at the center of my life, because from where I'm standing, everything seems to revolve around me. (Just as in the theory of relativity, where the observer appears stationary, and all motion is relative to him or her.) I decide how I view the world and what place things have in it, whether they hold a position of importance or insignificance. I care more about what I think on a topic than what anyone else thinks. Who cares what other people think, anyway? Just do your own thing.

Such self-centeredness is ultimately self-defeating. If the value I ascribe to actions is based on my own perceptions alone, then they are only valuable inside my own head, not in the real world. Why should the rest of the world care about how important I think I am and how good I decide I've been? If the importance of my deeds is all in my head, then is it really worth anything, even to me? What is the purpose of doing what I want, if I am only doing it because of own arbitrary whim? As someone once said, "If Jimmy cracks corn and no one cares, then why does he keep doing it?"

"Like happiness, self-actualizing is an effect, the effect of meaning fulfillment. ...If he sets out to actualize himself rather than fulfill a meaning (out there in the world), self-actualization immediately loses its justification." (Victor Frankl, The Will to Meaning, p.38)

What does give my actions value then? How do I decide what is really important and good to do? Something is only good in the context of a purpose. The frying pan is good for frying in. It is bad for wearing as a hat. The baseball cap would probably be better for that, but it would not be so good for frying in. Is the frying pan good, or is the baseball cap good? It all depends on what purpose you have in mind.

On Rosh Hashana, we recall that the whole world was made by G-d and is governed by His rules. He had a purpose in mind when He created it. So it's really His view and His wishes that determine what is important, and whether something is fulfilling it's purpose or not. He is the King, not me.

Judaism is about the relationship between me and G-d. I do what He wants because He wants it and I love Him and want to make Him happy. It is an expression of the closenes between us that I do these things the way I know He likes them. It is a way of living in which I invite G-d into my life.

(If I admit that values are external to myself, then I will not use only my own intellect to decide what is good. I will seek the advice of experts, just as I would seek the advice of doctors to heal a disease, and not just insist that it ought to work the way that makes sense to me. This is because I acknowledge that it is an objective reality. These experts are the wise men of Israel in every generation, who are so qualified because they have studied to understand what the unadulterated will of G-d is, and have gained enough wisdom to decide accordingly, not merely according to their personal feelings on the issue.)

The true value of a human being is determined primarily by the measure and the sense in which he has attained liberation from the self.” (Albert Einstein ---From Mein Weltbild (1934). Reprinted in Ideas and Opinions, 12)