Rosh Hashanah: Redeeming the Inner Will

אמרו חז"ל אמר הקב"ה אמרו לפני מלכיות שתמליכוני עליכם זכרונות שיעלה זכרוניכם לפני לטובה.

Chazal said: The Holy One, Blessed is He, said: "Recite before Me [the verses of] Malchiyos so that you crown Me over you; [the verses of] Zichronos so that your remembrance should rise before Me for good" (Rosh Hashanah 16a).

On Rosh Hashanah Hashem asks Bnei Yisrael to proclaim His kingship (Malchiyos) and to evoke remembrance (Zichronos), so they will be remembered favorably.

כי ע"י קבלת מלכותו ית"ש נפדין בנ"י כמ"ש פודה ה' נפש עבדיו אלו בנ"י שמקבלים מלכותו ברצון.

For through accepting His kingship, Yisborach, Bnei Yisrael are redeemed, as it is written: "Hashem redeems the soul of His servants" (Tehillim 34:23) — these are Bnei Yisrael, who accept His kingship willingly (b'ratzon).

Accepting the yoke of Hashem's kingship is itself an act of redemption; "His servants" whom Hashem redeems are Bnei Yisrael, who take His sovereignty upon themselves out of genuine will.

ובאמת פירוש נפש עבדיו הוא הרצון הפנימי בלב איש ישראל לעבדו באמת.

And in truth, the meaning of "the soul of His servants" is the inner will (ratzon penimi) in the heart of a member of Bnei Yisrael to truly serve Him.

The "soul" that is redeemed is the deep inner desire within every Jew to serve Hashem in truth — the penimius of his ratzon.

כי בני ישראל נאמר עליהם עבדי הם.

For concerning Bnei Yisrael it is said: "they are My servants" (Vayikra 25:55).

Bnei Yisrael are essentially Hashem's servants — that bond is their innermost identity.

אך הרצון נכסה מרוב תלאות הגוף.

But this will is concealed by the many travails of the body (tela'os ha'guf).

The inner desire to serve Hashem is hidden beneath the burdens and distractions of physical life.

ובר"ה הקב"ה פודה זה הנפש והרצון.

And on Rosh Hashanah the Holy One, Blessed is He, redeems this soul and will.

Rosh Hashanah is the day Hashem liberates this buried inner will, freeing it from the concealment of the body.

וז"ש יום תרועה יהי' לכם.

And this is the meaning of "it shall be a day of teruah (shofar-blast) for you" (Bamidbar 29:1).

The Sefas Emes reads the verse about the day of the teruah as pointing to this very redemption of the inner will.

תרועה היא הרצון.

The teruah is the [revealing of the] will.

The broken cry of the shofar gives voice to that hidden inner ratzon, drawing it out into the open.

תרועת מלך בו.

"The teruah of the King is in him (teru'as melech bo)" (Bamidbar 23:21).

This verse links the teruah directly to Hashem's kingship — the shofar-cry is the proclamation of the King who dwells within Bnei Yisrael.

והוא מתגלה בפועל בזה היום:

And it [the inner will and the King within] is revealed in actuality on this day.

On Rosh Hashanah, through the teruah, the hidden inner will to serve Hashem and the kingship of Hashem within the Jew become actively revealed.

Summary: The Sefas Emes teaches that on Rosh Hashanah, by accepting Hashem's kingship (Malchiyos) willingly, Bnei Yisrael are redeemed — for "Hashem redeems the soul of His servants" refers to the inner will (ratzon penimi) in every Jew's heart to truly serve Him, a will normally hidden beneath the burdens of physical life. The teruah of the shofar is the revealing of that buried will and of the King within ("teru'as melech bo"), so that on this day the Jew's deepest desire to serve Hashem is brought into actuality.