1

Today's rally of Tzivos Hashem takes place during a special time of the year, "The Ten Days of Repentance." Let us therefore talk about something which is unique at this time.

Although each day of the Ten Days of Repentance has some individual aspect, such as Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, there is a theme common to all the days, the theme of teshuvah.

Therefore, the Order of the Day for Tzivos Hashem today is: to think about teshuvah and to make a resolution to bring into action the good intentions of teshuvah.

The Gemara tells us that this verse was said concerning the Ten Days of Teshuvah:

Seek the L-rd while He may be found, call upon Him while He is near. (Yeshayah 55:6)

This means that during this time of the year G-d is close to us, and therefore we have a good opportunity to search for Him and to call to Him. In fact, G-d Himself, suggests that we call Him and turn to Him at this time.

We must concentrate on what to ask G-d and how to turn to G-d when He is close. This is also the intention of the verse which you just all said together:

It is within your close reach to follow the Torah in speech, feeling and deed. (Devorim 30:14)

G-d and His Torah are indeed very close to us.

This is more important for members of Tzivos Hashem, the Army of Hashem, for you have the special mission to be victorious against the yetzer hora. You know, that:

In the beginning G-d created the heavens and the earth.

(Bereishis 1:1)

All parts of the Universe, above and below, were all made by G-d. A child of Tzivos Hashem knows this, and he also contemplates on the fact that:

G-d stands over him and the whole earth is full of His glory and He searches his mind and heart (to see) if he is serving Him as fitting. (Tanya ch. 41)

This means that Hashem stands near to each and everyone to see if we act properly, for we must be a living example for others: "You should love your fellow as yourself." So, boys must encourage other boys, and girls, other girls to join Tzivos Hashem and follow the great rules of Torah.

You must be good examples and living examples, and others will thereby be convinced that they should also join Tzivos Hashem. Especially when they will see that: "The Jews rejoice in their Maker," and thereby bring great joy to G-d who rejoices in His creations when He sees that the members of Tzivos Hashem act as good, living examples. G-d is then proud of His creations and says:

They are the branch of My planting, the work of My hands in which I take pride. (Yeshayahu 60:21)

So, the theme of teshuvah of the Ten Days of Repentance is especially important to the children of Tzivos Hashem who act properly.

This conduct will make G-d happy and He will increase all of His blessings to the members of Tzivos Hashem and to their parents who educate and raise them, and to the leaders and teachers who educate them, so that there will be more blessing.

This will increase the Kesivah Vechasimah Tovah for a good and sweet year, and will bring the redemption through Moshiach, when we will see how good G-d really is. For we will be in the Holy Land, Eretz Yisroel, where "the eyes of G-d your L-rd are on it at all times, from the beginning of the year until the end of the year." (Devorim 11:12) We will be in Yerushalayim, the Capital city, on the Temple Mount, in the Bais Hamikdosh, G-d's special, chosen house.

Actually, you children have the ability to make your own rooms and homes that special house of G-d. How? By learning Torah and doing mitzvos you make your room a "small sanctuary," for you will be sanctified through the mitzvos.

May G-d speedily give us all these blessing and the main blessing, that each and everyone of you and all the Jewish people should all be together in the Third Bais Hamikdosh with the true redemption.

2

At every rally many boys and girls gather from many families and many places to join together as one. Our special Order of the Day makes this unity stronger.

Also, since we gather in a Synagogue which is a place for Jews to come together for prayer and for Torah study, we become a community. And when we study the "One Torah," as you said the 12 verses from Torah, and we will also accept the resolution to perform the mitzvah of tzedakah, all these factors unite us as one. We therefore ask G-d:

Bless us, our Father, all of us as one, with the light of Your Countenance. (Siddur)

G-d will surely add more blessing and more light in these days when He is close to us and "while He may be found," and the blessing is nearby to everyone.

At this time of the Ten Days of Teshuvah several themes of the 12 verses take on new importance. This period of the year recalls the time of creation, so there is special emphasis on the verse "Bereishis." The theme of Ahavas Yisroel (Love of fellow Jews) is also stressed more at this time, because Yom Kippur is called the "One day of the year" when all Jews are united as one before G-d.

The Gemara tells us that man was created singularly so that each Jew should know that he is a full world, for when a Jew acts properly he becomes the one who unites everything in the world; just as Adam said:

Come let us prostrate ourselves and bow down; let us bend the knee before the L-rd our Maker. (Tehillim 95:6)

Teshuvah similarly gathers all Jews together in a movement of unified return to G-d.

At this time there is also more meaning to the verse "... the branch of My planting the work of My hands ...," for when we accept the kingship of G-d on Rosh Hashanah and attain teshuvah in the Ten Days of Teshuvah -- we are truly the "the branch of G-d," in which He takes pride.

The verse of Shema Yisroel, proclaiming G-d as one and alone, is recited by all Jews in unison at the close of Yom Kippur, and, thus, it is also more meaningful at this time. This also delineates the importance of loving your fellow Jew -- for the love and unity of the Jewish people is stressed at this time.

The first mitzvah which a Jew has when he becomes Bar Mitzvah is the recitation of "Shema Yisroel" (accepting the rule of G-d) on the evening of his birthday. The first mitzvah a Jew must do everyday when he awakes is to recite "Modeh Ani -- I offer thanks (to You living and eternal King ...)." There is a common thought here which is also associated with the idea of making G-d King on Rosh Hashanah. At the end of Yom Kippur we will all say:

Blessed is the name of the glory of His kingdom forever and ever, (Siddur)

Here again we mention the Kingdom of G-d. We also will express our hopes and prayer to be next year in Yerushalayim and we will blow the Shofar, which will remind us of the Shofar of Moshiach.

So may it be, that speedily, the true and complete redemption should come, through the good resolutions of this rally, and G-d should give us the fulfillment of the promise, that this year on Yom Kippur we will be with all the Jewish people in Yerushalayim, in the Bais Hamikdosh; with joy and gladness, quickly and truly in our days.

3

Let us look to the Chumash section of today to find the special Order of the Day.

The Torah says:

Ask your father and let him tell you, and your grandfather, who will explain it. When the Most High gave nations their heritage and split up the sons of man, He set up the borders of nations to parallel the number of Israel's descendants. But His own nation remained G-d's portion; Ya'akov was the line [rope] of His inheritance.

(Devorim 32:7-9)

Ask your father and grandfather and they will tell you that G-d chose the Jewish people despite the fact that the other nations were very many and the Jewish people were very few.

This reminder gives you strength not to fear the yetzer hora who may try to confuse you. The yetzer hora might say:

You are a small child of a small nation among many big nations, how can you think that you will be one of Tzivos Hashem and will try to conquer the world by saying: "In the beginning G-d created ..." or when you crowned G-d as King on Rosh Hashanah. How can you imagine that you, a small child, can do this?

The Torah gives us the answer for the foolish yetzer hora.

G-d chose the Jewish people, and all who belong to the Jewish people are the "rope of G-d's inheritance." Among all the nations, we are a nation alone -- and G-d gives us this mission along with the power to accomplish the mission, because He is the King. We proclaim this again with joy and forcefulness: The Jewish people will be alone and will be victorious over all.

When the yetzer hora hears this he loses his power, he realizes that no foreign force can go against G-d or Yiddishkeit, for we are one cord with G-d. Since Mattan Torah (the giving of the Torah at Sinai) our fathers and grandfathers have told us this.

In Tehillim there is a psalm which we recite every day of the Ten Days of Repentance:

Shir Hamaalos: A song of Ascents. Out of the depths I call to You, O L-rd. (Tehillim 130:1)

Each Jew calls from the depths, with more devotion and more concentration; he calls from the depths of his heart to the Holy One, Blessed be He. This is true of all members of Tzivos Hashem and all the Jewish people. The last verse of this psalm reads:

And He will redeem Israel from all its iniquities. (Ibid.:8)

The yetzer hora might have thought that he could make a Jewish child do a sin. So Dovid Hamelech tells us that the Holy One, Blessed be He, redeems him and the yetzer hora will have no power -- it will be nullified.

During the Ten Days of Repentance we call to G-d from the depths of our hearts and praise G-d even more than always. And G-d will certainly redeem us and we will certainly do all the mitzvos which Hashem commanded.

The mitzvah of loving a fellow Jew means that we will also encourage other children to follow suit. This we also learn from the Sefer Hamitzvos section of today, the eighth of Tishrei. The Rambam teaches the mitzvah of the holy things in the Holy Temple which may have become tameh (spiritually defiled) if they were touched by something tameh. What must be done with these holy things (kodshim) that have become tameh? They must be burned! They are still called kodesh, but G-d says that they must nevertheless be burned!

The reason for this is explained in the commentaries. If it is not burned, even if the owner is very careful and remembers to guard it and not to use it, it may still happen that another Jew will find it and not know that it is tameh and forbidden and he might use it or eat it. Or perhaps the yetzer hora will convince a Jew to use it or eat it. So in order to protect another Jew from doing a sin, G-d said that we must burn the kodesh to save another Jew from doing something bad!

From here we can see how important is the rule to love another Jew! Not to let another Jew do a sin, even by accident. Especially in the Ten Days of Repentance this idea is even stronger for we said that G-d will redeem us from sin. Burning the kodesh will protect other Jews from sin.

Now we will bring all this together and unite as one by singing the song "Ach Tzaddikim." It means that every Jew who sings that song wants to be just and righteous and do G-d's will. This is the general and specific Order of the Day. It will be made easier by giving tzedakah and I will give each of you 3 coins, one for tzedakah, one for a special tzedakah connected with the Ten Days of Repentance, and one to do with it as you wish, of course in a kosher and good way.

Similarly, in your merit, I will give the adults three coins and they will realize that through you they will have the mitzvah of tzedakah.

Now you will first sing "Rachamana," which asks G-d, the Merciful Father, to have mercy on all who are oppressed and suffering, and since we don't have Moshiach yet we are suffering. But the Holy One, Blessed be He, will hear our pleas. Then you will sing "Ach Tzaddikim" and "We Want Moshiach Now," and then "Sheyeboneh Bais Hamikdosh," with great joy, and G-d will be happy with His creations.

It should be with joy and gladness of heart.