As we approach Rosh Hashana and the Yom Hadin, just days away, perhaps we need to stop for a moment and think about what we are witnessing around us.

Chazal tell us that although the four misos Beis Din are no longer administered by a Beis Din as they were in the past, the din itself has not disappeared. The forms of misas Beis Din can still come about in different ways. Mi b’eish, mi b’mayim, mi b’chaya etc — the din remains very real.

Over the past year, we have unfortunately witnessed events that should shake us to our core. Tragedies, disasters and unimaginable suffering have unfolded in different parts of the world. When we see the most recent tragic events in Nepal, where lives were tragically lost and even many of those who were spared were left without their homes and possessions, it should not simply be another news story that we read and move on from.

These are things that should cause us to pause.

We don’t know the cheshbonos of Shamayim, and certainly cannot point to any particular person or event and say why something happened. But as Yidden, we are taught to look at what happens in the world and take a message for ourselves.

The Yom Hadin is approaching. We will soon stand before the Melech HaMishpat and ask to be written for another year of life, health, parnassah, nachas and yeshuos.

Perhaps the events we have witnessed throughout this year are meant to be a wake-up call.

The din is real. The world is not hefker. And the fact that we don’t see a Beis Din carrying out misos Beis Din in the way it once did does not mean that the concept of din has disappeared.

As we prepare for Rosh Hashana, let us not allow these events to pass by without internalizing the message. Let us use these final days to strengthen ourselves, improve our bein adam l’chaveiro, our bein adam laMakom, our tefillah and our commitment to Torah and mitzvos.

May we all merit to approach the Yom Hadin with genuine teshuvah and achdus, and may Hashem grant each and every one of us, our families and our community a kesivah v’chasimah tovah, a year of life, health, peace and bracha.

Kesivah V’Chasimah Tovah.

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