[HIGH HOLY DAYS | Rabbi Howard Laibson ]
Sometimes circumstances call us to respond with kindness, at other times with fairness. It’s not always easy to know which response is most appropriate.
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The period of time from Rosh HaShanah through Yom Kippur is known as The Ten Days of Awe, as I alluded to above. The Hebrew word for awe (norah) is also the word for fear. Once upon a time, Jews truly feared that they would be judged unfavorably for their sins during these ten days, and that they would not be written in The Book of Life for the coming year. I am not suggesting that we ought to view the Holy Days in this manner. But I can assert this: the more seriously we seek out as nearly perfect a balance between kindness and fairness as we can, the more likely we are to experience the awe of God’s Presence. I believe on studied faith that there is nothing more affirming than that!
From my family to yours, shanah tovah u-m’tukah – May you have a sweet and good New Year!
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