Rosh Hashana / haazinu

On Rosh Hashana we eat certain symbolic foods as a good omen for the year. One of the foods we eat is the pomegranate, for which we say the prayer that we should be full of mitzvos like a pomegranate, שנהיה מלאים מצוות כרימון. The Pri Chadash asks what kind of request is that? We know that chazal explain the posuk כפלך הרימון רקתח to mean that even the emptiest Jew is still full of mitzvos like a pomegranate. If that's the case, why do we ask for that as a sign for the year; that's practically a given; shouldn’t we ask for more?

The Ben Ish Chai takes the question a step further and asks if we say that these people are full of mitzvos like a pomegranate, then why do we call them empty ones? They are not empty. He explains that the mitzvah of tzedaka is referred to as mitzvos in the plural because there are times the giver can merit many mitzvos by his one act. For example, when a person gives someone charity, it can literally save his life, so if one does that, then he inherits all of that person's subsequent good deeds on his account.  With your one act of charity, one merits a lifetime of good deeds. Therefore, even one who is empty from Torah and mitzvos, but does one act of tzedaka can be full of mitzvos like the pomegranate.

He takes this a step further and explains what it means that even the empty ones are full of mitzvos. If someone inspires the public, then the merit of the public goes to him. Therefore if a person doesn't do much but takes one mitzvah and does it with excitement, then people will see and say, “look at him; he isn't the most meticulous mitzvah observer yet he's doing this mitzvah so nicely; we should do it too." So this one mitzvah that he did gets him credit for all those that were inspired by him.

Our prayer is that besides these other ways of indirectly getting mitzvos, we should be worthy of getting them directly by doing them ourselves.

At the end of the parsha, Hashem tells Moshe to go up the mountain where he is going to die.  וידבר ה’ אל משה בעצם היום הזה לאמר עלה אל הר העברים הזה, "Hashem spoke to Moshe in the middle of that day, saying, ascend to this mountain." Rashi says there are three times when the Torah says בעצם היום הזה, in the middle of the day. One was by Noach, the people said there is no way we will let him enter the ark and Hashem said I'll show you and brought him in right in the middle of the day. Also, when Hashem took us out of Egypt the Torah says the middle of the day, for the Egyptians had said that they would never let it happen, so again Hashem showed them and took us out right in the middle of the day. The third time is here by Moshe; when Hashem said that Moshe was to die, the Jews said we won't let him, so again Hashem did it in the middle of the day to show that no one can stop Him. How do we understand this? By the first two it makes sense that the Egyptians would try to stop us from leaving or the people would try to destroy the ark but how could the people think they could stop someone from dying? Is that in their control? 

Reb Chaim Shmulevitz says it means that the Jewish people would daven so much and beg Hashem not to take him, that He wouldn't be able to take him because the Jews davened so much for it. This shows us the awesome power of prayer. Even though it was Moshe's time to go, had the Jews been able to daven so sincerely that he be spared, he wouldn't have died. 

As we are entering the days of judgment when our prayers are of utmost importance, we must know that no matter who we are or what our year has been like, now is the opportunity to change it. Even if we aren't the most pious, but now we pray with devotion, other people will look at us and be inspired and they'll pray better too adding to our merits and theirs. Together we can grow until we are full of mitzvos like the pomegranate on our own merit to enter us into a year of only blessing, health and happiness!