If you had the opportunity to choose whether or not to be judged on Rosh HaShanah what would you choose?
Most people’s initial response would undoubtedly be to choose not to be judged. After all who would want his every action and word evaluated? However if a person would reflect on the implications of being judged versus the implications of not being judged I believe he would decide in favor of judgment.
If we were never judged that would imply that our actions are insignificant and by extension that we are insignificant. It would indicate that nothing we do really matters and therefore it’s not necessary to evaluate our deeds. The fact that we are judged means that what we do has value and meaning. Being held accountable is an indication that our actions — and our lives — are important. I believe that most of us would choose a life of meaning even though it entails being held accountable over a life of irrelevance.
In the Image of Hashem
The Torah tells us that Adam was created b’tzelem Elokim in the image of Hashem. Hashem has no physical form so what does this mean? Rav Chaim of Volozhin explains in Nefesh HaChaim that just as Hashem has the power to control the world man created in His image also has the power to control the world through the mitzvos and aveiros that he performs.
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