Daf Yomi - Rosh Hashana 16 - Why Rosh Hashana is in Tishrei

Why is man judged on the first of Tishrei? The Ran explains that people are judged on Rosh Hashana since that is the day that the world was created according to Rabbi Eliezer. He offers a different reason according to Rabbi Yehoshua who maintains that the world was created in Nissan. Hashem wanted that Klal Yisroel should be judged favorably and therefore the first of Tishrei was chosen as the Day of Judgment since it is close to Yom Kippur which is the day that has been designated for forgiveness and atonement for all future generations.

The Maharsha asks that the Ran didn’t explain completely why the judgment begins ten days prior to Yom Kippur. The Maharsha writes that since we learned previously that Hashem decreed that Sara, Rochel and Leah will bear children and this was the day that Yosef was released from prison, it is fitting that Rosh Hashana was designated to be the Day of Judgment.

The Tzlach answers that Rabbi Yehoshua maintains that Hashem thought about creating the world in Tishrei but he didn’t actually create it until Nissan. The reason the first of Tishrei was chosen over Nissan is because the first of Tishrei is close to Yom Kippur which is the day designated for forgiveness.

Abudraham writes in the name of the Rambam that Hashem is not like a regular king. A human king judges his friends when he is in a good mood and judges his enemy when he is angry. Hashem judges the entire world in the month of Tisrei which is a time of apeasement due to all the mitzvos and festivals contained in that month.

Meshech Chochma in Parshas Emor cites a Medrash that Rosh Hashana is immediately after the harvest season indicating that it is in the merit of the mitzvos of sustaining and providing the poor from one's grain even without checking the poor person’s credentials (they didn't need a green card, Hashem provides life to all even if they might not deserve it.

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Daf Yomi - Rosh Hashana 16 - So Many Judgments

The Mishna states that there are four occasions in the year that the world is judged. On Pesach for the grain, on Shavuos for the fruits of the tree, on Rosh Hashanah all the people pass before Hashem and on Sukkos there is a judgment on water.

The commentators ask that if man is judged on Rosh Hashana, it would be assumed that the judgment includes anything which affects him. What is the necessity to have other days to judge how much rain will fall on his field or how well his grain will grow when the judgment for this was issued on Rosh Hashana?

The Ran answers that on the other three junctures of the year, the world as a whole is judged as to how much rain will fall in the entire world and how much grain will all field produce. On Rosh Hashana, each person is judged individually as to what percentage of the world's rain or grain will affect him.

We recite in the tefilos on Rosh Hashana "Who will have a year of famine and who will merit a plentiful year?" This prayer would seem to indicate that there is a specific judgment regarding grain or rain to every person. The Ritva writes in the name of Rabbeinu Tam that this tefillah can be referring to the hunger pangs that a person can feel when he would eat and remain unsatisfied. We are praying that the food with which we have should be able to sustain us.

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