When God Judges All Mankind

Rabbi Moshe Ben-Chaim

Just as a person's merits and sins are weighed at the time of his death, so too the sins of every inhabitant of the world together with his merits are weighed on the festival of Rosh Hashannah. If one is found righteous, his [verdict] is sealed for life. If one is found wicked, his [verdict] is sealed for death. One of in-between status, his verdict remains tentative until Yom Kippur. If he repents, his [verdict] is sealed for life. If not, his [verdict] is sealed for death. 

(Maimonides, Laws of Repentance 3:3)

Rosh Hashanna—the Jewish New Year—is not a Jewish matter: God judges all mankind each year, not only Jews. And this is perfectly sensible as God wants the good for all peoples, since He created all peoples. 

With Rosh Hashanna, God gives mankind an advance warning to repent so we can live and correct our ways. No one lives eternally, so we must take to heart that our earthly stay is brief. Our eternal life must be our greatest concern. And that eternal life is earned by our ideas, values and actions here and now. We correct those through God’s Torah (Bible) guidance. It’s the only book verified as divine in origin. All other religions are mere belief, and to risk your afterlife on unproven beliefs is the worst decision, as its impact is fatal and eternal. 

Torah is replete with histories of God’s reward and punishments for both individuals and nations. God spared Noah but the world was destroyed. God saved Lot and destroyed Sodom. God saved the Jews and destroyed Egypt. God saved Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, the 12 Tribes, Joseph, Moses, Joshua and so many others. 

This validates that our actions meet with either good or evil, as Moses teaches, “I place before you life and death…and choose life” (Deut. 30:19). 

To earn the afterlife, our ideas about God must be true, not fantasy. Maimonides formulated the 13 Principles to this end. We must also practice proper morality. If we have wronged another, we must obtain his forgiveness. If we cheated, we must return what we stole. If we don’t follow any command, we must ask God’s forgiveness and abandon our poor ways and commence immediately to adhere to all commands. And if we have not studied God’s Torah, the greatest mitzvah, we must engage in it at once and permanently, reducing our working hours and maximizing our hours of study. We must teach our family and others all the above. 

Following this path, God will be kind and generous to us, just as He was to the patriarchs and matriarchs. He will bless us here, and in the next world. 

May you all find the clarity to follow God’s Torah for your own benefit, abandon your false religions, repent, and may God bless you all.