Rosh Hashanah as the year's root

החכם עיניו בראשו רמז על יום ר"ה כמו שיש ראש בנפש והוא משגיח על כל הגוף ובו הנשמה ועיקר ראיות העין מתוך החושך והשחור שבו כמ"ש חז"ל.

"The wise man, his eyes are in his head" (Koheles 2:14) — this hints at the day of Rosh Hashanah. Just as there is a head in a person, and it oversees the entire body, and in it dwells the neshamah, and the main power of sight of the eye comes specifically from the darkness and blackness within it, as Chazal said.

The Sefas Emes reads "rosh" (head) in Koheles as alluding to Rosh Hashanah, the "head" of the year. As the head governs the whole body and houses the neshamah, and as the pupil sees precisely through its dark center, so this day governs everything that follows.

כמו כן בזמן זה היום הראשון בו ההשגחה על כל השנה והחכם מבין שכל השנה תלוי' בראש השנה.

So too at this time, the first day — upon it rests the hashgachah (Divine oversight) for the entire year, and the wise person understands that the whole year depends upon Rosh Hashanah.

Just as the head directs the body, Rosh Hashanah is the day from which Hashem's providence flows out over the coming year. The wise person grasps that everything to come is rooted in this single day.

ולכן בכסה כתיב בי'.

Therefore "ba'keseh" (at the concealment) is written regarding it — "Blow the shofar at the new moon, ba'keseh on the day of our festival" (Tehillim 81:4).

Rosh Hashanah is a hidden, concealed day — the moon is covered — corresponding to the darkness of the pupil from which true sight emerges. Its power works precisely through concealment.

כי ישת חושך סתרו.

For "He makes darkness His hiding place" (Tehillim 18:12).

Hashem's deepest oversight is clothed in concealment. The hiddenness of Rosh Hashanah is itself the place where the loftiest Divine vision rests.

וכל הסתכלות והראי' הוא בזה היום.

And all the gazing and seeing (of Hashem's providence) is on this day.

It is on Rosh Hashanah that Hashem "looks" upon the world and sets its course — the day of supreme Divine attention.

וכמו שכל זה היום הוא בבחי' הראש והשורש.

And just as this entire day is in the aspect of the head and the root (shoresh),

The day is not merely first in sequence but is the source and root from which the whole year grows.

כן צריכין בנ"י לשוב בו להתחזק בראשיתן והוא התורה והאבות שעליהם נרמז בחי' השופר.

So too Bnei Yisrael must return on it to strengthen themselves in their "beginning" (reishis) — which is the Torah and the Avos, who are hinted at in the aspect of the shofar.

Teshuvah on Rosh Hashanah means reconnecting to one's own root: the Torah and the Avos. The shofar evokes them — especially Akeidas Yitzchak — calling a person back to the source of his holiness.

והוא בחי' אשא דעי למרחוק לזכור השורש שלנו.

And this is the aspect of "I will carry my knowledge from afar" (Iyov 36:3) — to remember our root.

To reach back "from afar" is to recall our origin in the Avos and in Torah, drawing strength on Rosh Hashanah from the deepest source of who we are.

כענין שאמרו מתי יגיעו מעשי למעשי אבותי.

This is like what they said: "When will my deeds reach the deeds of my fathers (Avraham, Yitzchak and Yaakov)?"

A Jew measures himself against the Avos and yearns to live up to them. This longing is exactly the inner work of returning to one's root on Rosh Hashanah.

כי מעשה אבות היו הכנה לבנים.

For the deeds of the Avos were a preparation for the children.

"Maaseh avos siman/hachanah l'banim" — the acts of the Avos laid down spiritual strength that their descendants can draw upon in every generation.

וזהו שרמזו חז"ל בעקידה ויקח כו' המאכלת שישראל אוכלין מתן שכרה.

And this is what Chazal hinted regarding the Akeidah, "and he took... the knife (ma'acheles)," that Yisrael "eat" (ochlin) its reward — playing on the word ma'acheles.

Chazal connect "ma'acheles" (knife) to "achilah" (eating): Bnei Yisrael continue to draw sustenance and reward from the Akeidah. The merit Avraham and Yitzchak created remains nourishment for their children forever.

והיינו ע"י מעשה העקידה יכול כל איש ישראל למסור נפשו בעבור קדושת שמו ית'.

That is to say, through the act of the Akeidah, every Jew is able to give over his soul (mesiras nefesh) for the sanctity of His Name, may He be blessed.

The Akeidah implanted in every Jew the capacity for self-sacrifice. The readiness to give one's life for Hashem is a direct inheritance from Yitzchak on the altar.

ובנ"י שבוחרין בדרכי אבותיהם.

And Bnei Yisrael who choose the ways of their fathers —

The inheritance is not automatic; it belongs to those who actively choose to walk in the path of the Avos.

מעשה אבות מסייע להם.

— the deeds of the Avos assist them.

When a person chooses the way of the Avos, the merit and strength they generated comes to his aid in his own avodah.

ולכן עקידת יצחק לזרעו תזכור.

Therefore we say, "And may You remember the Akeidah of Yitzchak for his offspring (today, with mercy)."

The Rosh Hashanah prayer asks Hashem to recall the Akeidah on behalf of Yitzchak's descendants — those who carry forward his self-sacrifice.

הם בנ"י שבוחרין בדרכי אבותיהם.

These are the Bnei Yisrael who choose the ways of their fathers.

"His offspring" who merit the Akeidah's protection are precisely those who choose to follow the path laid down by the Avos.

וזהו החכם עיניו בראשו להימשך אחר מעשי אבותיו:

And this is "the wise man, his eyes are in his head" — to be drawn after the deeds of his fathers.

The Sefas Emes returns to his opening verse: the truly wise person keeps his eyes fixed on his "rosh," his root and beginning, allowing himself to be drawn after the deeds of the Avos. This is the wisdom of Rosh Hashanah.

Summary: "The wise man's eyes are in his head" alludes to Rosh Hashanah, the head and root of the year, from which Hashem's providence flows over all that follows — and like the pupil that sees through its darkness, its power works through concealment (ba'keseh). The wise person uses this day to return to his own "beginning": the Torah and the Avos, evoked by the shofar. Through the Akeidah, every Jew inherits the capacity for mesiras nefesh, and those who choose the ways of their fathers are aided by the deeds of the Avos and remembered for the merit of Akeidas Yitzchak.