Q&A: In Yeshiva or with the Family?
In Yeshiva or with the Family?
Question
Hello Rabbi,
I am a 20-year-old yeshiva student. This year, extended family are coming to my home to celebrate Rosh Hashanah. I am debating whether it would be better to stay in yeshiva, because it’s less appropriate for me and the guests to sit around and talk on Rosh Hashanah, or whether there is also an aspect that Rosh Hashanah is, after all, a holiday, and it is okay to eat, drink, and rejoice. (Honestly, I would prefer to be at home, but I don’t know whether that is the right thing to do.)
Answer
I assume your family expects you to be there, and therefore it is proper that you should be. There is an obligation to one’s family. If you feel that this would significantly harm your service of God, then perhaps not. But note that the Rosh Hashanah experience does not have value in and of itself. The question is about essential aspects and the implications for your service of God going forward. Rosh Hashanah is a festival day, and one eats and rejoices on it, as is written in Nehemiah.
Discussion on Answer
If the topic interests you, you’re welcome to read the columns and the second book in the trilogy.
“As is written in Nehemiah”?!! Didn’t you write two questions ago that there is no content that can be extracted from the Hebrew Bible (Tanakh)?!