Halacha Date: 22 Elul 5771 September 21 2011
The Midrash says regarding the verse (Devarim, 7), “For who is a great nation that has as god who is as close to him as Hashem our G-d is [to us] whenever we call Him?” that Rabbi Chanina and Rabbi Yehoshua say: “Which nation is like ours that knows the customs and laws of its G-d? The custom of the world is that when one has a judgment pending he wears black clothing (i.e. when one has a judgment regarding life or death or regarding wealth or poverty, and the like, he is very worried and is not happy at all, and he most certainly does not take a haircut or wear his holiday finery before the court case), however, this is not so regarding the Jewish nation, as they wear white clothing, trim their beards, cut their nails, and eat and drink on Rosh Hashanah, for they know that Hashem shall perform a miracle for them.”
We thus customarily take haircuts and wash our clothing on Erev Rosh Hashanah and this is indeed a fine custom. Similarly, some have the custom to immerse themselves in a Mikveh on Erev Rosh Hashanah; if one cannot immerse in a Mikveh either because there is none in the vicinity where he resides or because he does not wish to due to his modesty, Maran Harav Ovadia Yosef Shlit”a writes that he may suffice with pouring nine Kabin (unit of measure) of water onto himself. Nine Kabin is equal to twelve-and–a-half liters of water.
The Poskim disagree whether or not the pouring of these nine Kabin of water can be done through taking a shower by standing under a stream of water from the showerhead until one feels certain that nine Kabin of water have already been poured on him. Hagaon Chazon Ish holds that since by a shower the water exits the showerhead through small holes, it cannot be considered as though nine Kabin of water were poured on him at once. Nevertheless, according to the opinion of Maran Harav Shlit”a, one may do so using a shower. (Obviously, this form of purification through pouring nine Kabin of water on one’s self is not as effective as actually immersing in a Mikveh and it is equally obvious that this form of purification is effective only in lieu of a man’s immersion for purposes of holiness; however, regarding a woman’s purity, a woman will always remain impure until she immerses in a Mikveh as prescribed by Halacha.)
This that the Midrash states that the Jewish nation is sure that Hashem shall perform a miracle for them and they therefore wear holiday attire etc., it is quite clear that Hashem will not perform a miracle for free. G-d-forbid shall Hashem yield to their sins, as our Sages say that it is forbidden to say that Hashem yields to one’s sins. Rather, what this means to say is that the Jewish people are sure that because of their repentance, intensified prayer, and charity, Hashem shall forgive them, accept their prayers willingly, and inscribe them in the book of the truly righteous.
Some customarily visit the cemetery on Erev Rosh Hashanah. The Gemara (Ta’anit 16a) states, “Why do we visit the cemetery on a public fast day? To show that we are considered like deceased people and in order for the deceased to beg for mercy on our behalf.” Our Sages furthermore tell us, “Why was the grave of Moshe Rabbeinu hidden from the eyes of human beings? Because it is revealed before and known by Hashem that the holy Temple will one day be destroyed and the Jewish nation shall be exiled from their land and if they come to the grave of Moshe Rabbeinu, weep there, and request that Moshe pray on their behalf, Moshe shall arise and nullify the decree against them, for the righteous are more beloved during their death than during their lifetime.” Thus, some have the custom to pray at the graves of righteous individuals, especially on Erev Rosh Hashanah. Similarly, the Rama writes in the laws of Rosh Hashanah that it is customary to go to the cemetery on Erev Rosh Hashanah and pray profusely there.
Nevertheless, Maran Harav Ovadia Yosef Shlit”a writes that one who visits the cemetery should not place his hope in the deceased people there as if they are the ones who will help and save him; rather, one should request mercy from Hashem in the merit of the deceased, dwellers of the dust. If one wishes, he may request from the deceased to be a good advocate on his behalf to request Hashem’s mercy.
However, one must do so in a correct balance, for sometimes the damage that results from visiting the cemetery is greater than the benefit, for as we know according to the great Mekubalim that if one enters the cemetery, many evil impurities may cleave to him. It is well-known that Hagaon Rabbeinu Eliyahu of Vilna would abstain from visiting cemeteries. When the anniversary of death of his mother, whom he esteemed very much, arrived, he was asked to visit her grave as is customary on the day of one’s anniversary of death, for this would surely cause her much spiritual satisfaction. The Gaon refused to go there claiming that although he knew this visit would cause her much spiritual satisfaction, nevertheless, he would become greatly harmed by doing so. This was indeed the custom of Maran Harav Ovadia Yosef Shlit”a who would not go visit the grave of his father zt”l on his anniversary of death claiming that it would be better if he stayed home and learned Torah in his father’s merit and this would indeed cause greater spiritual satisfaction to his soul (Maran Shlit”a would, nevertheless, visit the grave of his late wife on her anniversary of death). Nevertheless, it would seem that in a place where only righteous individuals are buried, such as the grave of the Rambam and the like, all this does not apply.
Regarding the day of Rosh Hashanah itself, the opinion of Maran Harav Shlit”a is well-known that one should not travel far away from home in order to be close the graves of righteous people, even if it is especially auspicious to visit their graves on this day, for the day of Rosh Hashanah is a holiday and one is obligated to be glad with his family members on this day and to gladden them as he would on any other holiday. Thus, clearly one should not push aside the simple meaning of the law and the straight path in order to fulfill an auspicious practice that may apply on any given day, even if some speak of its greatness and importance to no end. This was indeed the way of our greatest luminaries throughout the generations who did not trouble themselves to travel far and wide so as to be close to the graves of the righteous on the holiday of Rosh Hashanah. Even amongst the Chassidic communities, we have not heard that they are quick to pray by the graves of the righteous on the Days of Awe. This applies especially to the residents of Eretz Yisrael, for it is known that the primary importance of the graves of the righteous is due to the fact that its level is tantamount to the level of Eretz Yisrael. How then could one leave the main object in favor of something that is only comparable to it? There is no further need to elaborate.
