By Rabbi Yosef Shemtov:
Rosh Hashana is the day of judgment. Anything that happened this past year with our health, parnassa, jobs, and the pandemic was written on Rosh Hashana and was signed on Yom Kippur. Anything that will happen next year will be written and signed on these upcoming high holidays.
So what should we do and what preparations should we make to merit a good year with all the blessings? Perhaps we can say that the way Hashem deals with people is called “Mida keneged mida,†meaning measure for measure. As it says in tehillim, “Hashem is your guard and Hashem is your shadow.â€
If we deal with people with patience, Hashem deals with us with patience. If we deal with people with kindness, Hashem will deal with us with kindness. We know that these days are called days of judgment. So if we judge others favorably and give them the benefit of the doubt, then Hashem will also do the same for us.
We know we will never be able to tolerate Hashem’s judgment if not for the fact that Hashem mixes it with his mercy. If we want to be judged with mercy we need to accept upon ourselves this very important characteristic. We must not be judgmental of others and should listen to all parties before saying something. We should always give others the benefit of the doubt.
On behalf of the Yachad Rabbis, I would like to wish everyone a Cetiva ve Chatima Tova and a year full of blessings.