This past Wednesday night I put my 20-month-old daughter, Sarah, to sleep in her crib. We have a nightly bedtime routine. I hold her in my arms and sing Shema as well as the 12 pesukim (12 verses of the Torah which encapsulate many of Judaism’s fundamental teachings). Then I lay her down, sing her a chassidic tune and make sure she has her water bottle with her in case she gets thirsty during the night.
She usually falls asleep instantly, but this time as soon as I left the room I heard her crying for me, “Tatty! Tatty!” Thinking she would fall asleep, I ignored her and began working on my Rosh Hashanah sermon. But she continued to cry and when I realized she was not falling asleep as predicted, I relented and went back into her room. She was standing at her crib and broke out into the most adorable smile as soon as she saw me. I couldn’t resist. I took her out of her crib and let her hang out with me in the living room for the next hour.
Tatty vs. Sarah: Sarah wins!
In just a few days we will celebrate the holiday of Rosh Hashanah, when G-d judges every one of us. We beseech Him for a good, sweet, healthy year. On our prayers we acknowledge, “As a shepherd examines his flock making his sheep pass before him, so do You cause to pass every living being and You allocate the fixed portion of their needs and inscribe the verdict of their judgment.”
We all carry some sort of burden. Perhaps we are in need of health, livelihood, children, happiness or a spouse. We all have our problems and our prayers.
But G-d loves each of us as if we were His only child. The same love that I feel for Sarah is the love that G-d feels for all of us. G-d adores us! And just as I couldn’t resist my daughter’s pleas for more than 15 minutes,G-d cannot resist us—His beloved children.
When we blow the shofar on Rosh Hashanah and pray from the depths of our hearts, it is impossible for G-d not to listen .
G-d vs. us—we win!
May G-d listen to all our prayers and supplications this Rosh Hashanah, and may He send us Moshiach and redeem us from exile right now.