Rosh Hashana is commonly known as Yom Hadin (Judgment Day), a term which generates a natural sense of "yirah" (awe). What exactly is the nature of this judgment on Rosh Hashana? What are its ramifications, and how do we prepare for it?

The Rambam writes (Hil. Teshuva 3:1-3):

Each and every person has merits and sins. Someone whose merits are more than his sins is a "tzaddik." Someone whose sins are more than his merits is a "rasha." Half and half is a "beinoni" (mediocre) ...

A person whose sins outnumber his merits dies immediately in his wickedness ... This calculation is not according to the number of merits and sins, but according to their greatness. There is a merit which balances a number of sins, ... and there is a sin which balances a number of merits ... This calculation is only in the Mind of G-d, and He knows how to weigh the merits against the sins ...

Just as a person's merits and sins are weighed at the time of his death, so too, each and every year, the sins of each and every person are weighed with his merits on the holiday of Rosh Hashana. One who is found to be a tzaddik is sealed for life; one who is found wicked is sealed for death; the beinoni is suspended until Yom Hakippurim. If he repents, he is sealed for life; if not, he is sealed for death.

This passage of the Rambam raises two fundamental questions. First, the Rambam's assertion that the wicked are sealed for death and the righteous are sealed for life does not seem to reflect reality. For example, Hitler became Chancellor of Germany in 1933. He had no merits and all possible sins, and yet, many Rosh Hashanas passed until he died in 1945. Conversely, there are many righteous people who suffer or die in their youth. Clearly, we cannot understand the Rambam's statement simply. What, then, does it mean?

Second, why does this judgment follow the majority of a person's actions? Why is each merit and sin not rewarded or punished for individually?

The basis of the answer to these questions can be found in Tosfot (Rosh Hashana 16b). The gemara there quotes the statement of Rav Kruspedai in the name of R. Yochanan that three books are opened on Rosh Hashana, one of the completely righteous, one of the completely wicked, and one of the beinonim. The righteous are written and sealed immediately for life, etc. Tosfot (s.v. v'nechtamin) comments that sometimes the righteous are sealed for death and the wicked for life, so that this gemara must be referring to "chayei Olam Haba," the life of the world to come. This requires explanation, however. How can a person be judged for his chayei Olam Haba every Rosh Hashana? That judgment should be made at the conclusion of one's life! What does Tosfot mean?

Tosfot's statement can be explained based on a principle of Rav Eliyahu Dessler, zt"l, that "Ratzon ha'adam zehu mahuto -- A person's real desire is his essence." Every person has a "tzura ruchanit," a spiritual form, which is the product of his ambitions and his goals, of the things that fascinate him and that grab him. These true desires form his essence, his true self.

We generally consider the creation of the world as "yeish mei'ayin" (ex nihilo), something from nothing. The Ba'al Hatanya writes, however, that spiritually the world is "ayin miyeish," nothing from something. Originally, G-d's presence filled the world completely. At the time of creation, his presence constricted so that it would no longer be perceived everywhere. Our goal in avodat Hashem is to restore the "yeish," to bring about once again that the Divine Presence should be felt throughout the world.

Therefore, if a person's goals are spiritual, "yeish," this is called in the language of Chazal and the rishonim "chayim" -- true life, whereas if a person's goals are purely physical, "ayin," this is called "mavet" -- death. Thus, it says, "The righteous, even after their death, are called alive; the wicked, even in their lifetime, are called dead." (Berachot 18a) This essence of a person is what Tosfot means by "chayei Olam Haba," because this "mahut" or form, which is not always noticeable in this world, is what remains with a person even after his death, and becomes evident in Olam Haba.

In this manner we can explain the dispute in the gemara (ibid.) whether the dead know what is happening in this world. The gemara relates the story of a certain "chasid" who slept in a cemetery on Rosh Hashana and overheard two spirits talking to one another about matters of this world. This story indicates that the dead are aware of, and interested in, worldly events, as well as in the activities and talk of people. Similarly, the gemara states that worms are as painful to the dead as a needle is to a living person. Other passages quoted in that gemara, however, indicate otherwise, that the dead are not aware of worldly occurrences.

R. Yonatan Eibschutz, in Ya'arot Dvash, explains that there is merit to both sides of the issue. (This is true also in Halacha, but is particularly true in aggada, that often there is no real disagreement. Each side of the dispute is just expressing a different aspect of the issue.) When a person dies, his essence does not change from this world to the next. People who are concerned only with spiritual issues in their lifetime, and view their bodies merely as tools for the service of Hashem, have no further concern with this world when they die. They do not identify themselves, their essence, with their body and material possessions, and no longer have a need for these tools to experience closeness with G-d. In contrast, people who seek physical goals in their lifetime remain concerned about worldly affairs even after their death.

When Avigail came to meet David and appease him, she said to him, "May my lord's soul be bound up in the bond of [eternal] life, with Hashem, your G-d, and may He hurl away the soul of your enemies [as one shoots a stone] from a slingshot." (Shmuel I 25:29) While we understand Avigail's blessing that David's soul be bound eternally to G-d, what did she mean that the soul of his enemies should be slung from a "slingshot?"

The Kabbalistic works state that the wicked after their death, even prior to Gehenom, are slung with a "slingshot" from one end of the earth to the other. Rav Dessler explains that when a person chases worldly pursuits -- "ayin" -- in his lifetime, he continues to chase these luring imaginations after his death as well. Since in the next world he is unable to find them, as they do not exist there, his craving for them increases, and he has an awesome hunger for them which only subsides over time. Similarly, R. Chaim Volozhoner writes in Nefesh Hachayim on the verse, "that soul shall be cut off, its sin is in it" (Bamidbar 15:31), that sin itself is its own punishment, because it becomes a part of the soul's essence.

We can now explain the meaning of Tosfot, and, based on this, the nature of the judgment of Rosh Hashana. As explained, each person has a "mahut" -- an essence or form of what he really is -- which is called "chayei Olam Haba," since this is all that remains in the world to come. Tosfot means that this "mahut" is determined and sealed on Rosh Hashana. Rav Yisrael Salanter, zt"l, thus explains that the judgment of Rosh Hashana involves evaluating a person's spiritual goals, and decreeing the degree of "siyata dishmaya" (Divine assistance) that he will receive in attaining them, along with the corresponding resources in Olam Hazeh.

A "tzaddik" is one who enters Rosh Hashana prepared with teshuva and spiritual goals. He is written and sealed immediately for life, i.e., the necessary help to continue his learning, chesed and spiritual life. A "rasha" is someone who has no connection whatsoever with spiritual goals, but is oriented in the opposite direction. He is sealed for death, i.e., he is not given any help in religious pursuits. Essentially, this is the ultimate expression of "mitzvah goreret mitzvah." Depending on a person's "mahut," he will be granted siyata dishmaya to continue that same path of "life" or "death.

With this understanding, we can proceed to answer our second question, why is it necessary to judge based on the majority? The mitzvot that a person performs build up his "mahut," and, unfortunately, the sins destroy it. The Rambam writes (Iggeret Teiman) that mitzvot are not merely symbolic actions, but have intrinsic power to bring a person to what the mitzvah is all about. For example, wearing tzitzit, whose purpose is "so that you may remember all the commandments of Hashem and perform them," (Bamidbar 15:40), arouses a person to want to fulfill all of the mitzvot. Taking the lulav and etrog, which is a way to "rejoice before Hashem" (Vayikra 23:40), inspires each person to feel simcha in his personal manner of avodat Hashem. Just as the body needs healthy food to nourish it and allow it to grow (even though the effects of the food cannot be seen daily), so too the mitzvot and proper midot build a person's "yeish." The opposite is true of sin.

The sum total of one's actions create a complete product, and together make a person into either a tzaddik or a rasha, giving a certain direction to his life. This is why the judgment and evaluation of one's "mahut" follows the majority. This evaluation can only be done by G-d, though, since it is not dependent just on the number of mitzvot, but on their greatness to the person involved. Only G-d knows what impact each mitzvah or sin has on the person, and the degree of exertion or toil he expended on it.

We can ask, though, why does this calculation have to be done every year? The answer is, the knowledge that we are being judged NOW awakens us, and gives us the opportunity to correct our path and refocus our goals continuously throughout our lifetime.

The ramifications of this judgment of Rosh Hashana are monumental. While every choice that we make in life has ramifications that are eternal, some choices have only local ramifications. Others choices involve "bechira clalit" (general choice), with major ramifications on a person's whole life, such as whether to study in Yeshiva or to attend a secular college or go straight to work. The judgment of Rosh Hashana is such a "bechira clalit," because it determines what "siyata dishmaya" and resources will be available throughout the year. This is especially relevant for talmidim who are undergoing a critical year of growth and development.

What can a person do if he find himself always in a contradiction, if there are things pulling him in both directions? On the one hand, he seeks spiritual growth; on the other, he is also attracted to worldly issues. This is the state of all of us, beinonim. A mere decision to focus on the spiritual is insufficient, since a person's "mahut" is not determined in his mind, but in his heart and actions!

There is a seemingly simple answer, but that answer has a basic problem. The simple answer is to do teshuva. Let him have remorse, confess, correct the wrong he has done, and accept not to do so anymore. Let him increase his mitzvot and good deeds. The Kabbalists teach that each date in the month of Elul is a microcosm of that date in all the other months, and can serve as a rectification for them. The Arizal writes, as well, that each day in the last week of the year serves to rectify all the corresponding days throughout the year. [The same is true regarding the seven days of Aseret Yemai Teshuva between Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur. That is why the Rambam writes (Hil. Teshuva 3:4), "It is the practice of Israel to increase tzedaka and good deeds, and to do mitzvot from Rosh Hashana until Yom Kippur more than the rest of the year."] The Mishna Berurah adds that the last day of Elul can serve to rectify the entire year. A person who does teshuva, learns and davens well, and performs chesed on that day can achieve a tikkun for the whole year!

The problem with this solution, though, is that sometimes even this is not enough to change one's "mahut." It can take years to learn how to daven properly, and so too it can take years to develop an appreciation for the importance of Torah and a love of it. What can be done in the interim?

R. Yonah writes very clearly and bluntly in Shaarei Teshuva about the gravity of sin and the extent needed to completely eradicate the effect of sin. He writes, however, that when a person hears mussar from "chachamim and mochichim" (wise men and rebukers), and accepts upon himself to do and follow whatever they instruct him, "This person, in a single moment goes out from darkness to a great light," and his teshuva is valid. (2:10) This is because by doing so, the person plants in himself the seeds to be a tzaddik, and G-d considers it as if he is already righteous with a direction in life towards the spiritual.

Who are our "chachamim and mochichim?" The sifrei mussar. They teach us what the correct actions and traits are. They show us and implant in our hearts the proper path in Avodat Hashem. The commitment to learn these sefarim daily, seriously and consistently, is our acceptance to listen to the "chachamim and mochichim." This is how we can prepare ourselves for Rosh Hashana, and with this "fortunate is he, for he has vindicated himself in a single moment," and we will certainly be written and sealed "lechayim tovim ul'shalom," for a good life and for peace!