[THE HIGH HOLY DAYS | Rabbi David Cantor ]
A New Year's Greeting
Every year, at Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, we read these words:
On Rosh Hashanah it is written, and on the Fast of the Day of Atonement it is sealed:
How many will pass on, and how many will be born;
who will live and who will die;
who will live a long life and who will come to an untimely end.
As I read these words this year, I find myself thinking of
our brothers and sisters in Israel. What must it be like each morning, to contemplate if this is the day that the mortar will land, the bullet will find its mark? To end the day giving thanks that your house hasn’t been destroyed, your son or daughter or mother or father or spouse serving in Tzahal is still alive, your country still exists? Can it be that, last year at Rosh Hashanah it was already determined, and sealed at Yom Kippur, who shall live and who shall die?
We take so much for granted here in America, and yet we too are not immune from such fears and concerns: is this the year the earthquake will find us, or cancer, or an accident, or old age? Is this why the High Holidays, the “Days of Awe” are so important to us, so powerful for us? Because it forces us to ask these questions?
Life is a gift, and it is so easy to take it for granted. To awaken in the morning, go about our day, retire in the evening without pausing to consider the miracle of our existence, the weight of the moment, the value of our day.
Each year, at Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur we are reminded of this.
This year, as we consider these words, contemplate the tenure of our time in this world, may we be inspired to remember to make each and every moment count, to count our blessings, and bring blessing to our lives and the lives of others.
May we all be inscribed for a sweet and profoundly meaningful year.
Rabbi David Cantor
Temple Beth Shalom