We are now in our special Rosh Hashanah Musaf series. We up to our 9th pasuk of Zichronot , a pasuk that really stirs the heart- Yirmiyah 31,19, where Hashem says, הֲבֵן֩ יַקִּ֨יר לִ֜י אֶפְרַ֗יִם אִ֚ם יֶ֣לֶד שַׁעֲשֻׁעִ֔ים כִּֽי־מִדֵּ֤י דַבְּרִי֙ בּ֔וֹ זָכֹ֥ר אֶזְכְּרֶ֖נּוּ ע֑וֹד עַל־כֵּ֗ן הָמ֤וּ מֵעַי֙ ל֔וֹ רַחֵ֥ם אֲֽרַחֲמֶ֖נּוּ נְאֻם־יְהֹוָֽה׃ My dear son Efraim (referring to the Jewish people) He is a child of My delight. When I speak about him, I mention him again . Therefore, My insides are stirring. Mercy will have mercy upon him, Ne'um Hashem. The Midrash Tanhuma in Tetzaveh chapter one, tells us, When is a child dear to his father? In the days of old (and maybe for some, more recently) fathers did not really connect with their children while they were infants. Once they started to talk, they would start talking and connecting with them, at about 3-4 years old. So too, Hashem says, I look at this child like a father who has a son that he enjoys playing with and starts to connect to him. 'That's how I look at the Jewish people.' This refers to Hashem treating us as children throughout our history. The midrash in Batei Midrashot , a collection of midrashim , says that Hashem treated us like a child from the beginning. He took us on the clouds of glory, like the famous mashal of Rashi, of a father walking around with his son on his shoulders. Every step of the way, Hashem treated us like His only child. The Chida in sefer Rosh David in Parashat Behar says this pasuk of Ben Yakir Li Efraim, brings out the concept that we are children of Hashem. A child can never become a non-child. A marriage, heaven forbid, can end in a divorce, but the parent-child relationship is always there. A child can always come back. That is the special love that Hashem has for us. What does it mean, When I speak about them, I continue to mention them? The Chida in sefer Nachal Kedomim in Bamidbar 8,19 tells us there is a pasuk where Hashem mentions the Jewish people five times in one pasuk, to show how much He loves them. He mentions them the amount of times of Hamisha Humshei Torah (this is brought down in Rashi) and the Chida says that when someone dislikes somebody, he can't even mention their name. But when you like somebody, you keep saying their name. Just saying someone's name can be a term of endearment. There are people that are careful not to call another woman by their first name because that in itself is an endearment. There are offices where they're careful to say Mrs Cohen not , Hi, Shirley. There's something about mentioning someone's first name, that suggests a connection. So Hashem says, I'm talking about the Jewish people, I could just say ' them ,' but I don't want to say ' them .' I want to keep on saying Yisrael , Yisrael …I love them so much. I just love saying their name. The Chatam Sofer offers a very beautiful thought, another diyuk in this pasuk ( the more we understand the pasuk, the more we arouse ourselves and our prayers are better). He asks, Why the double terminology? מִדֵּ֤י דַבְּרִי֙ בּ֔וֹ זָכֹ֥ר אֶזְכְּרֶ֖נּוּ / Remember , I will remember him again, רַחֵ֥ם אֲֽרַחֲמֶ֖נּוּ I have mercy on him. I'll have mercy on him. Why the double Lashon ? The Chatam Sofer, in his sefer Torat Moshe on Rosh Hashanah, cites the Zohar that there are two days of Rosh Hashanah. The first day is a stricter judgment, which is really for the sadikim who can get by on their own. The second day is for the people that can't really get by their own. They're necessary as part of the larger picture. We could have a great Sadik but he needs 20 students. So the Sadik is judged on day one but the students are judged on day two because we need them there to create the class (this a simple mashal I'm using to make the point). When Hashem judges us, He looks at everyone on the first day, and says, I think that person would do better on the second day. That's what means zachor ezkerenu. Remember, I'll remember. It means I'll save him for tomorrow . And there's a double mercy because I'm having mercy on him on day one by deciding to judge him on day two when he can have more mercy. This shows how Hashem wants us to pass this test. Finally, the Chafetz Chaim, in his sefer Chomat HaDaat chapter eleven where he is bothered by the wording of the pasuk- Haben yakir li efraim/For him, he's my beloved one , Im Yeled Sha'ashu'im / If he a child of my delight Why does it say If ? What does that mean? To explain, thr Chafetz Chaim gives a mashal of a great rabbi who came to a a town. He's 80 years old, and he meets a young man, thats about 30. And he says, " Come pour some wine for this boy ." And they ask him, " You're a great rabbi, you're a gadol hador. Why are you getting so excited about this young man?" And he says, " This young man is my student. I see how great he became. I'm so excited with my student. I taught him so much. We learn together and I love him! The Chafetz Chaim says the same is true with us. Who is our teacher? We say every single day, Hamelamed Torah L'AmoYisrael . God taught us the Torah . Not only that, as we're learning Torah, God's talking with us. The Chafetz Chaim says, that is what it means that Hakadosh Baruch Hu says, " He's My beloved son. " When? Im Yeled Sha'ashu'im. If he's the son of My Torah. The Torah is called Sha'ashu'im . David Hamelech says it's a delight . It says the Torah is called God's plaything . God's delight . So when a person learns Torah, yes, he does other mitzvot, but God says, I am the One that taught him the Torah. I'm learning with him now, and when he learns , we have a special connection. The father and son connection is strengthened. That's why the Nefesh HaChaim says, when we say Hashivenu Avinu L'Torahtecha/ Return us God to your Torah , it says God, our Father/Hashivenu Avinu . It's the father's responsibility to teach his son Torah, and God is our Father. It's His responsibility to teach us Torah. Like a great Rosh Yeshiva that loves his students. He sees his students 20-30 years later and they still have a special bond- I learned with him. That is how Hashem feels for the person that is involved in His Torah. Of course, everyone is Banim atem Hashem, we are all Hashem's children . Yet we say in HaYom Harat Olam, Im Kibanim, Im Kavadim. Some are treated like sons and some are treated like servants. The more that we are connected to the Torah and the learning of the Torah, the more we have that concept of sons. This is such a wonderful, beautiful pasuk.