This High Holy Day season is unlike any in our memory. I write this on Monday, the first anniversary of the October 7 terrorist attack, and one year into a war that seems to have no end, but rather is escalating. Over 100 hostages are still in captivity, it is unknown how many are still alive. Over 100,000 Israelis are still displaced from their homes, not knowing if or when it will be safe to return. Antisemitism is rising at an alarming rate here in the US and around the world. As we contemplate the year that has ended and look to the new year to come, where do we find light and hope amid the darkness?
One of the centerpieces of the High Holy Day liturgy is the U’netaneh Tokef prayer. You know, the one that goes ‘who shall live and who shall die’. It is a reminder to us of the fragility of life and the reality that circumstances can change with no notice.
We might think the message of the prayer is one of futility and powerlessness. But then we get to the end, which assures us - “But repentance, prayer and righteousness avert the severity of the decree.” In other words, nothing is set in stone, nothing is foreordained. We cannot control all the vicissitudes of life, but we can control our own actions and the impact we have in the world. We can perform acts of repentance for our own misdeeds and work to improve our own behavior. We can find comfort in prayer and in our communal worship. And we can work to bring righteousness to the world, through acts of lovingkindness and social justice.
May the new year be one of peace for us, for all Israel, and for all the world.
-Rabbi Bonnie Margulis
Comentários