Today's class is dedicated in memory of Mrs. Adele Setton ah, Adel bat Bahieh, by her family. As we approach Rosh Hashana, I'd like to discuss the general topic of Malchuyot /God is king, Zichronot / God remembers us, and Shofarot , which refers to the blowing of the shofar at Har Sinai. As we have said in the past, these are the three fundamentals of our belief. Although the Rambam has 13 principles, the Sefer Ikarim puts it under the umbrella of three: 1-God exists and created the world 2-God is watching us and He rewards and punishes, which we call Hashgacha Pratit/Schar V’Onesh 3- God connects to the Jewish people and He gave us the Torah. (which is the third part of Musaf, Shofarot, referring to the shofar of Har Sinai) These are the main themes of our long Musaf prayers, because God wants us to have the proper Hashkafa/the proper outlook, the proper mindsets on Rosh Hashana, when we're judged. Rabbenu Bachyeh, in his Sefer Kar HaKemach , on the topic of Tefilin, says that in order for the proper mindsets to be inculcated in man, it's not enough to believe it; you have to actually act on it, and do something with your hands, that will cause that mindset to be set steadfast in your heart. He goes through these three principles and discusses the three corresponding Mitzvot that we do. Number one is belief in the concept that God created the world, something from nothing; that God is the Creator, which is the Mitzvah of Shabbat. By keeping Shabbat, we're testifying that God created the world in six days and rested on the seventh. So we're acting out that mindset. Next is belief in God's Hashgacha Pratit/ Divine supervision over human beings, specifically the Jewish people. That comes from the Mitzvah of Mezuzah, which signifies that God protects a person and that the world is not a free-for-all. The Mezuzah is on our door, with Keriat Shema inside it, which also reminds us of the blood on the doorposts when the plague of the killing of the first born occurred, where the Egyptians died and the Jews were saved. It’s clear that God was supervising and differentiating between the Jewish homes and the Egyptian homes. That is our second principle, and every time we walk in or out of our homes and kiss the Mezuza, we remind ourselves of God's Hashgacha. This is what the famous acronym, Shadai (God's name, which is on the Mezuzah), stands for: Shin/ Shomer, Protecting Daled/Daltot/ the Doors of Yud/ Yisrael , God protects the doors of the Jewish people- that's God's Hashgacha. And lastly, God’s Shechina cleaves to the Jewish people, which is symbolized by the Mitzvah Tefilin. Tefilin is all about connection. Our tefilin says in it, Hashem Echad/ whereas God's Tefilin, as if to say, says, Mi El Kamocha/ who's like the Jewish people, Goy Echad. Furthermore, Rabbi Bachyeh says that Tefilin have a ש shin on them, as God told Moshe at Sinai. He says that Shin stands for Shechina , because God's Shechina dwells on the Jewish people; God connects to the Jewish people, as we said, through the Torah. That's why we read, every day, the Parasha of Tefilin, which signifies the importance of learning Torah. The importance of these three Mitzvot: Shabbat, Mezuza and Tefilin , is that they are the way that we strengthen our Emuna in these three areas. And since, as we always say, we're supposed to be doing things before Rosh Hashana to prepare ourselves, for the next few days, as we enter the last week of the year (this is the last Monday of the year) let’s try to focus on these three Mitzvot and strengthen these three important beliefs, that are going to take us through Rosh Hashana. To recap: Number one is Shabbat, (and we can do this not just on Shabbat, but every day; when we say the Shir Shel Yom, we are counting down the week according to Shabbat. It's not Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, but Yom Rishon .. Yom Sheni... So every day of the week, you think about Shabbat. You're preparing, you're buying you're shopping for Shabbat. That is a way to remember this important concept, that God created the world. God is the king. God is the boss- Malchuyot . Number two: Every time we walk in and out of our houses and kiss the Mezuzot, we should be thinking about Hashem’s Hashgacha. Number three- when a man puts Tefilin, he is supposed to be thinking of the Shechina that connects itself to the Jewish people. B’Ezrat Hashem, we will think of these important principles as we prepare ourselves for Rosh Hashana. Have a wonderful day.