Rosh Hashana Reader (Orthodox)

Sounding of the Shofar. Alex Levin.
Jerusalem, Israel. Art Levin / artlevin.com
HIGH
HOLIDAY
READER
C O N G R E G AT I O N K E H I L AT H J E S H U R U N / 5 7 8 1
ii
PREFACE
P r eface / K J H I GH H O L I DAY RE AD ER
Light of The Torah

Alex Levin
Jerusalem, Israel
Art Levin / artlevin.com
K J H I GH H O L I DAY RE AD ER / P r eface iii
iv P r eface / K J H I GH H O L I DAY RE AD ER
PREFACE like this: “I can’t believe that I haven’t talked in shul

for five months!”
RA B B I C H A I M S T EI N M E T Z
But, like almost everything that has impoverished
The High Holidays will be different this year. The our lives during this plague, there is a positive side.
services will be shorter, the singing will be subdued, In our solitude, there are opportunities. One of
and the sermons will be omitted; and so many of us them is the ability to pray at our own pace without
will be staying at home. The prayers and sermons having to keep up with the hectic - shall I say
that are meant to mark the spiritual high point of breakneck - pace of the tzibbur. There is a chance
the year have now been condensed to their bare to focus more on the words, to consult the English
minimum. How do we, as a congregation, maintain a translation - or commentaries - to actually think
high level of inspiration despite these constraints? about what we are saying; to allow our prayers to
redirect our thoughts and our behavior; to realize
It is because of this challenge that we have
that, when we are reciting the Amidah, we are quite
compiled this High Holiday reader. Collected here
literally standing before God.
are timeless commentaries that offer profound
insights into Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. It Speaking personally, I have hardly ever appreciated
was a collaborative effort of our entire clergy team, davening as much as I have during the past few
each of whom have made multiple contributions to months. I daven much more slowly and intensely
it, and has been co-edited by Rabbi Meyer Laniado and with much greater kavannah. I have discovered
and myself. We thank Vanessa and Ray Chalme’ meanings in the prayers that I never noticed before.
for sponsoring this reader. In it are commentaries I have felt closer to God - and, strangely, to myself
about the prayers and the Torah readings of the - in my davening on weekdays and especially on
High Holidays. Use it as a companion to your Shabbat. There are no distractions, no skipping in
Machzor, as a guide to the prayer experience; and order to keep up with the tzibbur, no time limits;
you can also read from it at any time, for a few just the privilege of praying in the presence of the
moments of learning and insight. Ribbono Shel Olam.
We miss seeing you in synagogue. But if you cannot The approaching High Holy Days fill me with
make it to KJ, KJ will come to you. It is our hope excitement. Despite my age and vulnerability, I am
that this reader brings a bit of the KJ spirit to your determined to be in shul to do some of the things
home, and adds a new dimension to your High there that God has blessed me to be able to do.
Holiday experience. Make no mistake about this: I am inspired by this
opportunity and grateful to be able to fulfill my role.
With blessings for a New Year filled with health, joy But, on Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, while I will
and goodness, be thrilled to daven with my community, I will miss
davening alone, often with Audrey, and the special
Chaim Steinmetz meaning it has given to us.
So, if you are not coming to shul for the Yamim

PR AYER AT HOME Nora’im this year, you will certainly miss the
inspiration of davening b’tzibbur, but please
RA B B I H A S K E L LO O KS T EI N
embrace the special inspiration that comes with
One of the greatest losses inflicted upon us by davening alone: slowly, intently, and with attention
the Coronavirus is the inability, for many of us, to to the words and the ideas. There can be much
pray in shul, even now. It is, first and foremost, a joy, pleasure and satisfaction from the experience.
Halakhic loss because tefillah b’tzibbur - communal Please God, next year, your davening in shul will be
prayer - is a greater fulfillment of the mitzvah of so much richer for the experience of davening, this
tefillah than is praying alone. It is also a social year, alone!
hardship because davening in shul contributes to
social cohesion and solidarity. One of the funniest
Haskel Lookstein
lines circulating during this awful pandemic goes R A B B I LO O KS T EI N ’ S P R AY ER AT H O M E G U I D E : PAG E 61 .
K J H I GH H O L I DAY RE AD ER / P r eface v
INTRODUCTION istrative team contributed their unique talents, al-

lowing us to share with you a plethora of rich sourc-
RA B B I M E Y ER L A N I A D O
es on the high holidays, including artwork, articles,
We are excited to present to you a unique High sermons, paintings, sculptures, historical artifacts,
Holiday reader that incorporates visual elements photographs, and more. We hope this diverse col-
to express the themes and messages of the High lection of materials brings more meaning to your
Holidays. We sought to enhance the written word High Holiday experience.
and inspire and engage in a way that words alone
cannot. Every member of the KJ clergy and admin- Meyer Laniado
Contents TESHUVAH 32
The Four Steps of Teshuva 34
Teshuva: Reinventing Yourself 35
Rosh Hashanah 1 Viduy 36
PRAYERS 3 TORAH READINGS 37

Gaonic Additions 3
Yom Kippur Day: The Temple Service 37
Malchiot, Zichronot & Shofarot:
Maftir Yonah 41
Kingship, Remembrance, and the
Sounding of the Shofar 6
THIRTEEN MIDDOT 44
Unetaneh Tokef 8
NEILAH 44
TORAH READINGS 10
Rosh Hashanah, Day I 10
Rosh Hashanah, Day II 13
Sermons 45
Haftarah, Day I & II 18 What Do You Have When
You Have Nothing? 47
SHOFAR 19
A Halakhic Approach to Suffering 50
Why Do We Blow The Shofar? 20
Where is God? Ayeh M’kom K’vodo? 54
Aspects of The Shofar 21
Why Thank You is Not Enough 57
Yom Kippur 23
Resources 59
HEALTH ON YOM KIPPUR 25
Rabbi Lookstein’s Guide
KOL NIDREI 26 to Prayer at Home 61
Kol Nidrei: Powerful or Problematic? 27 Rabbi Daniel and Rachel Kraus’s
Interpersonal Forgiveness 30 Questions on Torah Readings 64
ROSH
HASHANAH
The Holiday Series, Rosh Hashanah

Arthur Szyk. New Canaan, CT; 1948.
CC BY-SA / creativecommons.org/
licenses/by-sa/4.0
K J H I GH H O L I DAY RE AD ER / Rosh H ash a n a h 2
PRAYERS 3 Rosh Hashanah, Day II 13
GAONIC ADDITIONS 3 BINDING OF ISAAC: AKEIDAH 13

- “The Akeidah,” a poem by Rabbi Ephraim
Understanding Zokhreinu leHayyim ben Jacob of Bonn (12th century)
and Kotbeinu beSefer Hayyim 3 - Talmud Rosh Hashanah 16a (4th – 6th century)
- Rabbi Soloveitchik, Divrei Hashkafa
Hayom Harat Olam: What’s It About? 5

FAITH AND MORALITY 14
RA B B I DA N I E L & RAC H E L K RAU S
- Bereishit Rabbah 65:10
- Talmud Ta’anit 4a
MALCHIOT, ZICHRONOT & SHOFAROT:
- Kierkegaard, Fear and Trembling
KINGSHIP, REMEMBRANCE, AND THE “Preamble from the Heart”
SOUNDING OF THE SHOFAR 6
- Eugene Korn, “Tselem Elokim
- Rabbi Gedaliah Shor, Ohr Gedaliyahu and the Dialectic of Jewish Morality”
- Rabbi Yaakov Medan, The Themes of - Rabbi Abraham I. Kook, Letter 379
Malchiot, Zichronot, and Shofarot - Leon Kass, The Beginning of
- Rabbi Avigdor Nebenzahl, Thoughts for Wisdom: Reading Genesis
Rosh Hashanah
AKEIDAT YITZCHAK IN ART 16
- Remembered as God’s Beloved Child
- Alhatorah.org
- Rabbi Avraham of Sochatchov, Ne’ot Desheh
- Rabbi Yaakov Medan, The Themes of
Malchiot, Zichronot, and Shofarot
Haftarah, Day I 18
- Rabbi Yehuda Felix, “Hannah, the Mother of Prayer”
UNETANEH TOKEF 8
Haftarah, Day II 18
- Talmud Yerushalmi, Ta’anit 2
- Rabbi Mendel Hirsch
- The Legend, R. Isaac of Vienna
SHOFAR 19
TORAH READINGS 10
WHY DO WE BLOW THE SHOFAR? 20
Rosh Hashanah, Day I 10
Rabbenu Sa’adia Gaon’s Ten Reasons for Shofar 20
Angels at the Door 10 - Rabbi David Avudraham (14th century Seville)
RA B B I C H A I M S T E I N M E T Z
ASPECTS OF THE SHOFAR 21
And Hannah Wept: Infertility, Adoption,
- Talmud Yerushalmi, Ta’anit 2:1
and The Jewish Couple 11
- Rav Mosheh Lichtenstein, “The Human
RA B B I M I C H AE L G O L D
Dimension of Shofar”
- Pesikta d’Rav Kahana 20.1 - Rambam, Mishneh Torah, Laws of Repentance 3:4
- Rabbi Jonathan Sacks, Covenant and - Talmud, Rosh Hashanah 16a
Conversation, “The Miracle of a Child”
- Pirkei d’Rabbi Eliezer, 32
Laughing at Logic 12 - Tanna debe Eliyahu Zutta 22

RA B B I C H A I M S T E I N M E T Z - Vayikra Rabbah 29:3
3 Rosh H ash a n a h / K J H I GH H O L I DAY RE AD ER
PRAYERS
GAONIC ADDITIONS
From Rosh Hashanah through Yom Kippur we recite gaonic additions in our Ami-
dah which express our desire to be remembered for life, and written in the Book of
Life. While this is generally understood literally, Rabbi Laniado reads these passag-
es metaphorically, revealing a powerful message for how we can live our lives.
EXCERPT ON THE TOPIC FRO M “ WHAT IT M E ANS TO RE AL LY L IVE”
UNDERSTANDING ZOKHREINU LEHAY YIM AND

KOTBEINU BESEFER HAY YIM / RABBI MEYER LANIADO
What do you want more of in life: more years or more quality of life? This is the question we should ask
ourselves when we say on Rosh Hashanah zokhreinu lehayyim, remember us for life, or kotbeinu besefer
hayyim, write us in the book of life. Is the hayyim, life, we are praying for the length of years or the quality
of its moments?
Our Hakhamim describe hayyim, life, and living, as the striving for a goal greater than ourselves,
to help our society, and positively impact one another. It is how Ya’akov, our forefather, achieved
immortality. As the Talmud Bavli (Babylonian Talmud) states: Ya’akov Avinu lo met, Ya’akov our
father did not die (Ta’anit 5b).
This famous statement was said by Ribbi Yishak, quoting his teacher Ribbi Yohanan, to Rav Nahman
over a shared meal. Ribbi Yishak had come from Israel and was visiting with Rav Nahman, the
Exilarch, the political leader of the Jewish community in Babylonia. Rav Nahman was shocked by
the statement that Ya’akov Avinu did not die. The Torah says that he was embalmed and buried
(Bereshit 50:3-13). In response, Ribbi Yishak makes a creative eisegetical point on a sentence in
Yirmiyahu. The sentence speaks to Ya’akov and Yisrael and says you will be saved, moshiakha, as
well as your children, zarakha. So, just as the children are alive, beHayyim, the nation of Yisrael, so
too Ya’akov, their forefather is living, beHayyim (Yirmiyahu 30:10). This is a creative point, but the
message is not yet clear.
Before Ribbi Yishak and Rav Nahman part ways, they bless each other. Ribbi Yishak said: You
already have Torah, wealth and children. Therefore, may it be God’s will that your offspring be like
you. That is what he meant by the statement Ya’akov did not die. He lives on because of his family
who carry his legacy.
This is what the perplexing phrase that ‘the righteous, even after their passing are called ‘hayyim’
means (Talmud Bavli Berakhot 11-12). These righteous individuals, during their lifetime, instilled in
others the value of appreciating hasdei Hashem, the favors God bestows upon us. So, when these
people acknowledge the graciousness of God and say a berakha, they are keeping the memory of
the righteous alive. This is in contrast to the reshaim, who, by definition, do not make a positive
K J H I GH H O L I DAY RE AD ER / Rosh H a sh a n a h 4
Festival prayer book (mahzor). North Africa, 15th century. Initial-word panel decorated with penwork and pen-flourishing at the beginning
of the section for the New Year. The British Library; Oriental 5600.
impact on others, do not have a continued legacy, and furthermore, are considered dead even while
they are living, as the text continues:
‘The rasha, while living, is considered dead since they see the sun rise and set and they do not
recognize The Creator. They eat and drink and do not recognize the source of their sustenance.’
They are not focused on contributing to others and society.
So, hayyim is more than living on because one has a child with their name as in the eisegesis
about Ya’akov. Hayyim is a life that positively transforms another. This point becomes clearer with
Rambam’s explanation of the term ben, son. He explains that it is not solely biological. The term for
a biological son is yeled, while ben specifically refers to someone whose life was shaped, whether
biological or not (Mishneh Torah Hilkhot Talmud Torah 1:2 and Moreh Nevukhim 1:6).
This hayyim is what Abraham Maslow called self-transcendence. It is experienced when we make
an impact, transform the life of another or have a purpose beyond the self. He explains in his later
works that self-transcendence is the ultimate human experience and the pinnacle of our existence
when life is “motivated by values which transcend self.”
When we are praying on Rosh Hashanah zokhreinu lehayyim... kotbeinu beSefer hayyim, we are really
asking God for quality moments where we can create value in the lives of others and not just for
ourselves.
5 Rosh H a sh a n a h / K J H I GH H O L I DAY RE AD ER
Photo by Richard Goodbody, Inc. Photo credit: The Jewish Museum, New York / Art Resource, NY.
Ink on paper 22 1/2 x 31 in. (57.2 x 78.7 cm). Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Albert A. List, JM 88-72.
Today Is the Birthday of the World, 1955. Ben Shahn (1898-1969). © VAGA at ARS, NY.
Hayom Harat Olam: What’s It About?
RA B B I DA N I E L & RAC H E L K RAU S
One of the many familiar themes associated with Rosh Hashanah is the idea that Rosh Hashanah is the
birthday of the world. Three times throughout the Musaf on Rosh Hashanah we recite – Hayom Harat Olam,
Today is the day of creation of the world.
Many commentators have suggested that this tefilah is recited three times to remind us of three periods
where a new reality was created for the world – the initial six days of Creation, the era following the Great
Flood, and the era following Matan Torah – the giving of the Torah at Sinai.
Following each of these great events the world was transformed and experienced the birth of a new reality –
a renewal.
The great mystic the Arizal suggests that Hayom Harat Olam is not referring to the renewals of the past, rather
that Hayom – Today – on this day of Rosh Hashanah each and every year, we are given the opportunity to
experience a global reset, a worldwide reboot or IOS reboot. Today mankind was created and we celebrate our
birthday by looking in the mirror and confronting the truth of who we are without any cognitive dissonance,
rationalization or justifications. We confront the good, the bad and the ugly so that we can take pride in the
positives in our character and more importantly, we can correct the deficiencies that are inevitably and
invariably there as well. We are given the opportunity to re-create ourselves, refresh our relationships with
one another and with God, and are granted the ability to create a new reality for our entire world.
May each of us be blessed in this coming year to experience that renewal and regeneration, personally,
interpersonally, communally and for the entire world.
MALCHIOT, ZICHRONOT & SHOFAROT:

KINGSHIP, REMEMBRANCE, AND THE
SOUNDING OF THE SHOFAR
The Musaf service of Rosh Hashanah is unique, with three sections that contain
verses that relate to God as our King (Malchiot), the remembrances of the past
(Zichronot), and the use of the in prayer and in history (Shofarot). Each of these
themes has a profound connection to Rosh Hashanah as a Day of Judgement.
Malchiot
Mahzor’). Germany, last quarter of 14th century.
The primary task of Rosh Hashanah is

Festival prayer book (aka ‘Dragon’s Head
accepting God as our King

Rabbi Gedaliah Shor, Ohr Gedaliyahu
The British Library; Oriental 42.
Moadim, p. 2
A person’s foremost task on this day is to focus on ac-
cepting upon oneself the sovereignty of God. The degree
to which one accepts God’s reign determines how merito-
rious he emerges in the day’s judgment. For this reason
we do not find mention of personal requests in the Rosh
HaShanah liturgy, rather the majority of the prayers focus
on honoring Divine Kingship.
Rabbi Yaakov Medan, The Themes of Malchiot, Zichronot, and Shofarot

The blessing of Malchiot accepts as a given that everything that God gives us is really a gift from Him; we do not
deserve anything at all. Even the most basic elements of our lives – health, for instance – are not to be taken for
granted. Everything we have is a result of God’s kindness.
Another central point of Malchiot is the blowing of the shofar. The blowing of the shofar expresses kingship in the
strongest manner; ..(it appears) in the context of the coronations of Shlomo, Yehu, and others...
Zichronot
In calling upon God to remember the past heroism of our ancestors, we are asking Him to
consider those events while judging us.
Rabbi Avigdor Nebenzahl, Thoughts for Rosh HaShanah
When referring to “remembrance” as applied to God, we must realize that we are merely borrowing a term from
our own experience to aid our understanding. Thus, when we mention reminding God of the covenant that He
made with our forefathers, we realize that He always “remembers” it. Instead, we are referring to God’s presently
activating this idea that is in His constant memory and putting it into action by applying the efforts of our ances-
tors’ meritorious acts in today’s world …
[In our prayers] we say, “For it is You … Who eternally remembers all forgotten things” and “There is no forget-
fulness before Your throne of glory.” From this we understand that God always remembers everything, but we
immediately add, “May You mercifully remember today the Akeidah (binding) of Yitzchak (Isaac) for the sake of
his offspring.” This means that while God perpetually

remembers everything, nevertheless on Rosh HaSha-
Shofarot
nah He decides to act on the basis of this memory so The shofar creates an indelible impression
that the Akeidah will be a mitigating factor enabling a for the entire year.
favorable judgment for His children.
Remembered as God’s Beloved Child

S.Y. Agnon - A Treasury of Jewish Wisdom for
Reflection, Repentance, and Renewal on the
High Holy Days
This is a beautiful story about a joyous tune used by the
Berditchever Chasidim during Rosh Hashanah prayers.
How can one be joyous on a day of judgement? Let Rav
Israel of Pikov explain:
When the pious Rabbi Levi Isaac of Berditchev (18th

cent.), and some say his pious son Rabbi Israel of
Pikov, of blessed memory, would come to these vers- Shofar. North Africa, Yemen, or India; 19th - early 20th
es at the end of the Remembrances: And by the hands century. Kudu horn: engraved and pierced.
The Jewish Museum, New York / Public domain
of your servants, the prophets, it is written, saying, “I
will remember My covenant with thee in the days of
Rabbi Avraham of Sochatchov, Ne’ot Desheh
thy youth, and I will establish unto thee an everlast-
ing covenant” (Ezek. 16:60), and it is said, “Is Ephraim Vol. I, p. 153
my precious son…” (Jer. 31:20), he would chant with It should have been enough to accept God as King in
a pleasant melody sweeter than honey and a special
our hearts. However, this would not leave a lasting im-
movement. (The reason why is explained by the follow-
pression. Only through the act of blowing the shofar
ing story.)
is this feeling able to last and influence us throughout
My father, of blessed memory, told me: the year.
Once a woman came to me, crying bitterly.
I asked her: Why are you crying?
She replied: My head hurts me very badly. The blessing of shofarot represents the
I said to her: But if you cry, your head will hurt covenant between God and Israel.
even more.
She said to me: How shall I not cry? Here the Rabbi Yaakov Medan, The Themes of Malchiot,
Days of Awe are coming, and I have an only son, Zichronot, and Shofarot
and I am afraid that he will not be found meritori-
ous in the time of judgment. The thrust of the blessing … deals with two topics:
I said to her: It is a father’s way to have compas- the giving of the Torah on Mt. Sinai and the future re-
sion on his son, especially if he is an only son and demption. The verses cited from the Torah discuss the
precious, as it is said (Jer. 31:20): “Is Ephraim my giving of the Torah, while the verses quoted from the
precious son? Is he my darling child? For as often books of Prophets discuss the future redemption.
as I speak against him, I cherish his memory
still. Therefore my heart yearns for him; I must What do these two themes have in common? ...The re-
have pity upon him, saith the Lord.” (And just like lationship between God and the nation of Israel. This
the mother has mercy on her child, God will have relationship is epitomized by two points in history:
mercy on all of Israel, his precious child, on Rosh the giving of the Torah and the future redemption. It
Hashanah, along with this woman’s child. - C.S.)
seems here that the meaning of the shofar is first and
The melody that the zaddik used to sing is still wide- foremost representative of the constant “conversa-
spread among his Hasidim. tion” between God and Am Yisrael.
UNETANEH TOKEF
This powerful liturgical poem plays a formed. The lords and the archbishop began to de-
mand that he convert to their religion, and he refused
central role in Ashkenazic liturgy. Its to listen to them. And it came to pass, after they had
central idea, that one can change di- spoken to him day after day and he would not listen to
them, though the archbishop himself was urging him,
vine judgement through repentance, that one day he said to them, “I wish to take counsel
prayer and charity is found in the Tal- and to think about this matter for another three days.”
mud Yerushalmi. Although the actual He said this to put them off.
text of Unetaneh Tokef was written And it came to pass, that the moment he had left the
presence of the archbishop he took it to heart that he
centuries earlier, it owes some of its had allowed a word of doubt to leave his lips, as though
popularity due to its association with he needed to take counsel and thought to deny the liv-
medieval martyrdom, through the ing God.
legend of Rav Amnon; and for genera- So he went home, and would neither eat nor drink, and
fell sick. And all his near ones and loved ones came
tions, the hope was that as God consid- to console him, but he refused to be consoled. For
ers who to inscribe in the Book of Life, he said, “I shall go down to the grave mourning, be-
He should first remember the sacrifices cause of what I have said.” And he wept, and was sad
at heart.
generations of Jews have made for His
And it came to pass on the third day, while he was in
name’s sake. pain and anxiety, that the archbishop sent after him.
And he said, “I shall not go.” And his foe continued
Talmud Yerushalmi (Jerusalem Talmud), to send many and ever more distinguished lords. But
Ta’anit 2 Rabbi Amnon still refused to go to the archbishop.
R. Eleazar said: Three things nullify the evil decree and
they are, prayer, charity and repentance and all three Then the archbishop said, “Bring Amnon against his
are derived from the same verse (Divrei HaYamim II will immediately.” So they hurried and brought him.
7:14), “If My people upon whom My name is called, shall And he said to him, “What is this, Amnon? Why have
humble themselves and pray,” this refers to prayer, you not come to reply to me and to do my desire at the
“and seek My face,” this refers to charity, “and return end of the time you set for yourself in which to take
from the their evil ways,” this refers to repentance. counsel?”
And Amnon answered and said, “I shall pronounce my

The Legend, R. Isaac of Vienna
own sentence. Let the tongue that spoke and lied to
Sefer Or Zarua 12c. you be cut out.” For Rabbi Amnon wished to sanctify
cited by S.Y. Agnon - A Treasury of Jewish God, because he had thus spoken.
Wisdom for Reflection, Repentance, and Renewal
on the High Holy Days Then the archbishop answered and said, “No, the
tongue I shall not cut out, for it spoke well. But the feet
I found a manuscript by Rabbi Ephraim ben Jacob that did not come to me at the time you set I shall lop
of Bonn (12th cent.) describing how Rabbi Amnon of off, and the rest of the body I shall punish.” Then the
Mainz came to compose the liturgical poem beginning, oppressor commanded, and they lopped off the fin-
“And we shall express the powerful sanctity,” after a gers of Rabbi Amnon’s hands and his feet. At every
misfortune that had happened to him. The manuscript finger they asked him, “Will you be converted, Am-
follows: non?” and he said, “No.”
This is the story of what happened to Rabbi Amnon of And it came to pass when they had finished lopping
Mainz, who was one of the great men of his generation off his fingers, that the wicked man ordered Rabbi
and rich, and of good family, and handsome, and well- Amnon to be laid on a shield, with all his fingers at
his side. And he sent him home. He was rightly called same fingers of his hands and his feet might rise be-
Rabbi Amnon (“the faithful one”), for he had faith in fore God, as well the memory of the entire incident.
the living God and lovingly suffered severe afflictions, And he said, “And the seal of every man’s hand is on
simply because of one word he had spoken. it… and You remember the soul of every living thing,”
for his fate was so decreed on Rosh Hashanah. When
After these events, the Days of Awe approached, and
he had ended, his own end came, and he vanished
Rosh Hashanah arrived. Rabbi Amnon asked his rela-
from the earth before the eyes of all, for God had tak-
tives to bear him to the House of Prayer just as he was,
and to lay him down near the Reader. They did so. And en him. Of him it is said (Ps.31:20): “O how abundant is
it came to pass, when the reader came to recite the Thy goodness, which Thou hast laid up for them that
Kedushah (Sanctification), that Rabbi Amnon said to fear Thee.”
him “Hold, and I shall sanctify the great Name of God.”
Three days after Rabbi Amnon had been called to the
And he cried in a loud voice.
Academy on High, he appeared to Rabbi Kalonymos
“And thus may the sanctification ascend to you,” that ben Rabbi Meshullam (ca.1100) in a dream at night,
is to say, I have sanctified your Name for the sake of and taught him the liturgical poem beginning, “And
your Kingship and your Unity. And afterward he said, we shall express the powerful sanctity of the day.” And
“And we shall express the powerful sanctity of this he ordered him to send it to all the Diaspora, to be his
day.” And he said, “It is true that you are the Judge testimony and remembrance. Rabbi Kalonymos did so
and Arbiter,” in order to justify the verdict, that those (Or Zarua, Hilkhot Rosh Hashanah).
Feast of Trumpets I. Alexander Gierymski, 1884. Oil on canvas. Painting of Chasidic Jews performing tashlikh (ritual washing away of sins)
on Rosh Hashanah, placed on the banks of the Vistula River in Warsaw. Public domain.
TORAH READINGS
Rosh Hashanah, Day I
The Torah reading for the first day of Rosh Hashanah tells us of the birth of Isaac.
Abraham and Sarah have Isaac after a lengthy struggle with infertility, and they are
not the only characters who struggle this way. Rebecca and Rachel, two of the other
matriarchs, face similar struggles, as does Hannah, who is the subject of the Haftar-
ah. The Talmud and Midrash ask: Why were the patriarchs and matriarchs barren?
This is one of the issues we must consider when studying today’s Torah reading.
The readings below explore communal responses to infertility, as well as the name
of Isaac, the first Jewish child.
EXCERPT ON THE TOPIC
ANGELS AT THE DOOR / RABBI CHAIM STEINMETZ

Sometimes, even rationalists like me feel the presence of angels.
My wife Lisa and I had struggled to have children into the third year of our marriage. One Friday
night, after a long week, we chose to have dinner at home alone. During Kiddush, we heard a
knock on the door. Outside was a young Chassidic man with his very pregnant wife. They had
gotten stuck in traffic, and had to get off the highway before Shabbat began. After finding their
way to the local Reform Synagogue, they got directions to our home over a mile away.
We had not prepared for guests, but happily shared our home with our unexpected visitors. Lisa
and I felt that taking in unexpected guests was our special obligation; after all, that Shabbat was
the Parashah where Abraham and Sarah show exceptional hospitality to three strangers.
It turns out that the three strangers who visit Abraham and Sarah are actually angels. It also
turns out that the angels are coming to tell the old couple that they will finally have a child.
Abraham and Sarah have a son one year later. And, as it turns out, after inviting in unexpected,
pregnant guests, Lisa and I had twin boys ten months later.
This young couple weren’t angels; but there’s no doubt in our minds that they were malakhim,
messengers from God. They arrived with the message that it’s important not just to fill our
homes with children, but also to open our homes to guests.
They were everyday angels carrying an extraordinary message.

Many of the major characters in the Tanakh

struggled with childlessness.
Pesikta d’Rav Kahana 20.1
“He sets the childless woman (akarah) among her
AND HANNAH household/As a happy mother of children (banim)”
WEPT: INFERTILITY, (Psalm 113:9). There were seven such barren women:
Sarah, Rebecca, Rachel, Leah, Manoah’s wife, Han-
ADOPTION, AND THE nah, and Zion (Jerusalem). Hence the words, “He sets
JEWISH COUPLE the childless woman (akarah) among her household”
apply to Sarah [since we read] “Now Sarai was bar-
RABBI MICHAEL GOLD ren (akarah)” (Gen. 11:30), but the words “As a happy
mother of children (banim) also apply to our mother
Rabbis have cried out from pulpits and in Sarah: “Sarah suckled children (banim)” (Gen. 21:7).
written articles on the desperate need for
Jewish children. Hearing a sermon on the Rabbi Jonathan Sacks, Covenant and
low Jewish fertility rate only intensifies the Conversation, “The Miracle of a Child”
pain for the infertile couple, particularly the … Judaism is a sustained discipline in not taking life
couple who care about their Jewish identity for granted. We were the people born in slavery so
and want nothing more than to have chil- that we would value freedom. We were the nation al-
dren. Mixed in with their sadness is often a ways small, so that we would know that strength does
feeling of guilt… not lie in numbers but in the faith that begets cour-
age. Our ancestors walked through the valley of the
I recall one incident that particularly remind-
shadow of death, so that we could never forget the
ed me of Hillel’s dictum, “Do not judge your
sanctity of life.
fellow until you stand in his place.” I decided
one year on Rosh Hashanah to speak about Throughout history, Jews were called on to value chil-
the importance of having children because dren. Our entire value system is built on it. Our cita-
they are part of God’s plan for the world. I dels are our schools, our passion, education, and our
spoke about the danger that zero popula- greatest heroes, teachers. The seder service on Pe-
tion growth presented to the Jewish com- sach can only begin with questions asked by a child.
munity … As I prepared my sermon for that On the first day of the New Year, we read not about
Rosh Hashanah, I had in mind one couple in the creation of the universe but about the birth of a
particular, both successful professionals in child – Isaac to Sarah, Samuel to Hannah. Ours is a su-
their mid-thirties. They had two lucrative ca- premely child-centered faith.
reers, had recently bought a new home, and
were living the suburban good life. Children That is why, at the dawn of Jewish time, God put Abra-
seemed the farthest thing from their minds. ham and Sarah through these trials – the long wait,
I spoke passionately that Rosh Hashanah the unmet hope, the binding itself – so that neither
about the purpose of a Jewish marriage and they nor their descendants would ever take children
the need for Jewish families. It was one of my for granted. Every child is a miracle. Being a parent
more successful holiday sermons, and sever- is the closest we get to God – bringing life into being
al people requested copies. I was particularly through an act of love.
pleased when this couple made an appoint-
ment to see me shortly after the holidays. Today, when too many children live in poverty and il-
“We need your help,” they told me. “We have literacy, dying for lack of medical attention because
been trying unsuccessfully to have a baby for those who rule nations prefer weapons to welfare,
over five years. We have tried every medical hostage-taking to hospital-building, fighting the bat-
test in the book. We want to adopt a baby, tles of the past rather than shaping a safe future, it is
but where can we turn?”… a lesson the world has not yet learned. For the sake of
humanity it must, for the tragedy is vast and the hour
is late…
EXCERPT ON THE TOPIC To a social or political scientist, the possibility

that a wealthy superpower like Sodom will dis-
appear, or that an elderly couple will produce
LAUGHING AT the future regional superpower seems ludicrous.
LOGIC But this strange outcome is precisely what oc-

curs. Abraham and Sarah have a child, through
RABBI CHAIM STEINMETZ whom they become the ancestors of Klal Yisrael
(the people of Israel). Meanwhile, the mighty city
Why do certain nations thrive, while others dis-
of Sodom is destroyed.
appear? Pundits and historians will tell you
about political, economic and military factors. The double reference to laughter demonstrates
that both events are improbable to the point of
However, our Torah informs us that ethical fac-
tors are far more consequential. Powerful na- being funny.
tions fall if they are immoral, while weak ones Why were Abraham and Sarah chosen and So-
succeed if they maintain moral excellence.
dom condemned? What factor gave rise to one
The Hebrew word tzachak, meaning to laugh, and led to the other’s destruction?
is employed several times in Parashat Vayera,
The Torah points to hospitality: Abraham in-
most notably in relation to the birth and nam-
vites nomads, who turn out to be angels, into
ing of our patriarch Yitzchak [Isaac]. The term
is also used when Lot tells his sons-in-law that his home and is told of his future as the father
their home city of Sodom is about to be de- of the Jewish people. Lot, too, invites angels into
stroyed. They do not believe him, for his words his home and is saved from destruction. But the
are “like a joke (kimitzacheik) in their eyes.” people of Sodom, who sought to abuse Lot’s
guests, are destroyed. Even Lot’s wife, who was
half hearted in her hospitality, does not survive.
The citizens of Sodom not only act violently

toward strangers, they express contempt for
justice as well. “Are you, the stranger, going to
judge us?” one of the Sodomites asks Lot.
Abraham, on the other hand, demonstrates his

just behavior by arguing with God over His deci-
sion to destroy Sodom.
Hospitality and justice elevate Abraham and

Sarah to the beginnings of a great nation, while
intolerance and misanthropy destroy Sodom.
It is “not strength, not might, but God’s spirit”

(Zechariah 4:6) that lifts and lowers nations. The
moral and spiritual course chosen by a people
determines its future.
The Torah realizes that this sounds funny, but

Sarah Hears and Laughs. James Jacques Joseph Tissot,
c. 1896-1902. The Old Testament Series. Gouache on board. funny is also the name of the first Jewish child,
The Jewish Museum, New York / Public domain. Yitzchak.
Rosh Hashanah, Day II

BINDING OF ISAAC: AKEIDAH
The binding of Isaac is an extremely controversial biblical narrative. On the one
hand, Abraham’s courage and his deep religious faith are extremely inspiring. On
the other hand, human sacrifice is ethically abhorrent, and something that the Bi-
ble sharply condemns elsewhere. The following sources provide food for thought
about this complicated yet important narrative.
A Poetic Point of View

“The Akeidah,” a poem by Rabbi Ephraim
ben Jacob of Bonn (12th century)
In Medieval Europe, Jews were on occasion given
the choice between conversion to Christianity and
death. The vast majority chose to be martyrs. This
text shows how medieval Jews saw the martyrdom
of their contemporaries as a continuation of the
Akeidah story.
O Righteous One, do us this grace!

You promised our Father’s mercy to Abraham.
Let then their merit stand as our witness.
And pardon our iniquity and our sin, and take us
for Thine inheritance.
Recall to our credit the many Akeidahs.
The saints, men and women, slain for Thy sake.
Remember the righteous martyrs of Judah,
Those that were bound of Jacob.
Be Thou the shepherd of the surviving flock
Scattered and dispersed among the nations.
Break the yoke and snap the bands
Binding of Isaac. Sculpture by Simon Troger in Brescia, Italy. Of the bound flock that yearns toward Thee.
Ivory and rosewood. Photo by Wolfgang Moroder.
CC BY-SA / creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0
Talmud Rosh Hashanah 16a (4th – 6th century)

The following source discusses the centrality of the Akeidah to future Jewish generations.
Why do we have the custom to use a ram’s horn for the shofar? God said, blow the horn of ram, so I can remember
the binding of Isaac (which was followed by the sacrifice of a ram in Isaac’s place), and I will treat it as if you have
bound yourself before me.
Faith and Morality

Rabbi Soloveitchik, Divrei Hashkafa
pp. 254-255
I recoil from all talk that goes round and
round a single topic: that the observance
of mitzvot is beneficial for digestion, for
sound sleep, for family harmony, and for
social position.
The religious act is fundamentally an

experience of suffering. When man
meets God, God demands self-sacrifice,
which expresses itself in struggle with
his primitive passions, in breaking his
will, in accepting a transcendental “bur-
den,” in giving up exaggerated carnal
desire, in occasional withdrawal from
the sweet and pleasant, in dedication to
the strangely bitter, in clash with secular
rule, and in his yearning for a paradoxical
world that is incomprehensible to oth-
ers. Offer your sacrifice! This is the fun-
damental command given to the man of
religion. The chosen of the nation, from
the moment that they revealed God, oc-
cupied themselves in a continual act of
sacrifice.
God says to Avraham: “Take now your

son, your only one, whom you love, Isaac,
etc.” That is to say, I demand of you the
greatest sacrifice. I want your son who
is your only son, and also the one whom
you love. Do not fool yourself to think
that after you obey Me and bring your
son up for a burnt-offering, I will give you
another son in place of Yitzchak. When
Sketch for “Sacrifice” Yitzchak will be slaughtered on the altar
Jacques Lipchitz, 1946. Ink and and ink wash on paper.
All Rights Reserved - Estate of Jacques Lipchitz. – you will remain alone and childless. You
will not have another child. You will live
your life in incomparable solitude. I want
your only son who is irreplaceable. Neither should you think that you will succeed to forget Yitzchak and remove
him from your mind. All your life you will think about him. I am interested in your son whom you love and whom
you will love forever. You will spend your nights awake, picking at your emotional wounds. Out of your sleep you
will call for Yitzchak, and when you wake up you will find your tent desolate and forsaken. Your life will turn into a
long chain of emotional suffering. And nevertheless, I demand this sacrifice.
Clearly the experience, which was rooted in dread and suffering, ended in ceaseless joy. When Avraham removed
his son from the altar at the angel’s command, his suffering turned into everlasting gladness, his dread into per-
petual happiness. The religious act begins with the sacrifice of one’s self, and ends with the finding of that self.
But man cannot find himself without sacrificing himself prior to the finding.
Bereishit Rabbah 65:10 Rabbi Abraham I. Kook, Letter 379

This source underlines the tragic nature of the Akeidah. Rav Kook has a novel view on this. To him, human
sacrifice is a crude, pagan and materialistic version
When Abraham bound his son on the altar, the angels
of divine worship. However, human sacrifice has one
cried, and the tears fell into Isaac’s eyes, and marked
advantage: the enormous emotional zeal that can be
them, and when he got old he went blind (from the
original tears), and that is why it says “and it was when found in paganism, due to direct connection we all
Isaac got old, and eyes dimmed.” make to material objects. So the Akeidah is an attempt
to show that one can still find that emotional fervor,
Talmud Ta’anit 4a even when using the refined, monotheistic divine
service.
This source grapples with the ethical problem with
human sacrifice - something the Bible usually That deep addiction to paganism which, to primi-
associates with pagans. tive man, was the main ideal [of life], overcoming
even parental mercy, and making cruelty to sons and
And it is written (Jeremiah 19:5) (God says) “They have
daughters an established institution of the worship
also built the high places of Baal, to burn their sons
with fire for burnt offerings to Baal, which I did not of Moloch and the like, is a nebulous outcome of the
command or speak, nor did it come into My mind”…. realization deep within the recesses of man’s heart
“nor did it come into My mind” refers to the binding of that the divine is the most precious of all things, and
Isaac. all that is pleasant and loved is naught in comparison
to it. When it became necessary for divine illumination
Kierkegaard, Fear and Trembling “Preamble to appear in its purity, it was revealed in its mighty
from the Heart” splendor in the trial of the Akeida, which showed that
fervor and addiction to the divine idea does not ne-
Soren Kierkegaard was a 19th century Danish
cessitate that the perception of the divine should be
theologian. In his essay Fear and Trembling, he argues
so covered in shameful trappings as those of pagan
forcefully that the experience of faith is personal, [image] worship, where the spark of divine goodness
unique and untranslatable, and one that therefore takes totally loses its way, but it [the same fervor and sub-
precedence over the universal experience of ethics. mission] can also be reached by a pure perception …..
But what did Abraham? He arrived neither too early The outstanding novelty is that there is no dimming
nor too late. He mounted his ass and rode slowly on of ardent devotion when one relates to the divine in
his way. And all the while he had faith, believing that this enlightened manner.
God would not demand Isaac of him, though ready all
the while to sacrifice him, should it be demanded of Leon Kass, The Beginning of Wisdom: Reading
him. He believed this on the strength of the absurd; for Genesis
there was no question of human calculation any lon- Kass argues that in a larger sense, the concept of
ger. And it was indeed absurd of God, who made this “sacrifice” is actually the reality of every parent.
demand of him, and recalled his demand the very next
moment. Truth be told, all fathers devote (that is “sacrifice”)
their sons to some “god” or other-to Mammon or
Eugene Korn, “Tselem Elokim and the Molech, to honor or money, pleasure or power, or,
Dialectic of Jewish Morality” worse, to no god at all. True, they do so less visibly and
If so, perhaps the Jewish meaning of the Akeida- is less concentratedly, but they do so willy-nilly, through
not Kierkegaard’s message of the antithesis of God the things they teach and respect in their own homes;
and ethics at the beginning of the episode. Rather, it they intend that the entire life of the sons be spent in
is the opposite teaching that comes with the trial’s service to their own ideals or idols, and in this sense
resolution when Isaac is spared: murder is never a they do indeed spend the life of the children. But a
legitimate way to worship the God of Israel because true father will devote his son to-and will self-con-
true avodat Hashem entails valuation together with sciously and knowingly initiate him into-only the righ-
obedience. teous and godly ways.
Akeidat Yitzchak in Art

Reprinted with permission from Alhatorah.org
It is not surprising that Akeidat Yitzchak (Bereshit 22), sacrifice is interrupted by the angel. The paintings
a story replete with both religious significance and evoke very different emotions in the viewer, as they dif-
emotional turmoil is a favorite subject of many Bibli- fer significantly in their portrayals of each of Avraham,
cal artists. The three renderings shown here, the oil Yitzchak, the angel, and the ram. The contrast between
painting by Caravaggio, 1; the mosaic from the Beit these vivid images also succeeds in raising awareness of
Alfa Synagogue, 2; and the work by Paolo Veronese, 3; some of the ambiguities of the Biblical text and their im-
all depict the climax of the story, when Avraham’s plications for understanding the episode.
Contrasting Images
Caravaggio
Caravaggio’s painting is the most graphic of the three,
filled with both pathos and horror. The three protago-
nists completely fill the canvas. Avraham stands in the
center, one hand grasping the knife, the other holding
a clearly terrified Yitzchak by the neck. A very human
looking angel grabs onto Avraham’s arm as if to re-
strain him, perhaps frightened that otherwise he will
carry through with the deed. Only the head of the ram
makes its way into the painting. It waits by Yitzchak
Sacrifice of Isaac. Caravaggio, c. 1603. Public domain. but its gaze is intent on Avraham.
Beit Alfa Mosaic

The Beit Alfa Mosaic is devoid of all emotion, belying
the complexity of the narrative it tells. It relays the
three scenes of the story linearly, but out of chrono-
logical order. On the viewer’s left the two servants
hold onto the donkey. On the right, Avraham raises a
small Yitzchak onto the altar, while the arm of an angel
stretches outward, the words “‫ ”אל תשלח‬etched un-
derneath. The ram is given center stage as it hangs
Sacrifice of Isaac. 6th century, Beit Alfa mosaic. Public domain. from a tree by a rope.
Veronese
In contrast to the other artists, Veronese chooses
to place the altar, here depicted as part of a bigger
sanctuary, at the center of his work. To the right, an
adult Yitzchak kneels with his arms crossed, perhaps
in prayer. Avraham is grasping Yitzchak’s head, but
looking upward towards the angel who is attempting
to wrest the knife from Avraham’s hand. In the fore-
ground, the ram is depicted peeking out through the
shrubbery. On the other side of the shrine, there is
only one figure depicted. A man stands with his don-
key, facing away from the scene, seemingly unaware
Sacrifice of Isaac. Paolo Veronese, c. 1580. Public domain. of the drama transpiring a mere few feet away.
Relationship to the Biblical Text this true of Mt. Moriah? Was there a history of sacri-
ficial worship at the site, and perhaps even an entire
The artists’ choices reflect certain ambiguities in the sanctuary? Rambam (Maimonides), following Chazal,
Biblical text and different possible interpretive stances: suggests that the altar “built” by Avraham was previ-
ously utilized by Adam, Kayin and Hevel, and Noach,
Yitzchak’s Age and thus sanctified from time immemorial.
While the mosaic depicts Yitzchak as a young child,
Caravaggio renders him as a teenager, and Veronese Yitzchak: A Willing Participant?
portrays him as a young adult. Which is closer to the While Veronese sets Yitzchak in a submissive pose, al-
Biblical text? The episode is not dated making it im- most as if he were in the midst of prayer, Caravaggio’s
possible to know with certainty. The opening of the Yitzchak is a mask of horror. What was Yitzchak feel-
chapter, “‫האֵלֶּה‬
ָ ‫דבָרִ ים‬ ַ ‫ ”וַיְהִי אַחַר‬might connect it to
ְּ ‫ה‬ ing throughout the episode? Was he a willing sacrifice,
the previous one in which Yitzchak is born and weaned, viewing the act as the ultimate show of devotion, or
making Yitzchak a toddler or young boy. In contrast, was he acted upon against his will?
various Midrashim link the story to the
death of Sarah in the next chapter,
making Yitzchak thirty seven. Ibn Ezra
takes a middle position, suggesting
that Yitzchak was a teenager. The ram-
ifications of the different suggestions
are significant. Was Yitzchak an active
partner in the test? How aware was he
of what was taking place? Could he
have resisted?
Witnesses to the Event

While there are no bystanders present
in Caravaggio’s rendering of the epi-
sode, Veronese paints a man standing
with a donkey in the foreground of his
work, presumably one of the two ser-
vants who accompanied Avraham. Ac-
cording to the Biblical text, however,
these servants did not follow Avraham
all the way to the site of the sacrifice.
The choice to nonetheless include him
raises an interesting issue regarding
the story: Were there any witnesses
to the event? This relates to the larger
question of the purpose of the whole
trial: was it intended for Avraham
alone, or did it contain a message for
the outside world as well?
The Altar
The altar in the Beit Alfa mosaic is a
fairly simple structure, sharply con-
trasting with the shrine painted by Ve-
ronese. The latter suggests that the
site of the sacrifice had previous re-
ligious significance, and perhaps had Binding of Isaac. Depiction on a ketubah (marriage contract), 1804. The Education
served others as a house of worship. Is Center of the National Library of Israel / CC BY-SA (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0).
Haftarah, Day I
The Haftarah has a similar theme to the Torah reading, with a child being born to
Hannah after years of waiting. Rabbi Yehuda Felix explains how there is a deeper
connection between this Haftarah and Rosh Hashanah.
Rabbi Yehuda Felix, “Hannah, the Mother of Prayer”
Why do we read the story of Hannah on Rosh Hashanah?...
What is the concept of Rosh Hashanah? Prayer. On Rosh Hashanah the additional prayer (musaf) is the largest one
with the most impact. It includes many additions, including the repeated blowing of the shofar. We want God to
hear the sound of our pleadings.
Hannah is the one who had the ability to communicate with God with the full range of giving and receiving. Prayer
and prophecy.
Rosh Hashanah is rooted in prayer. The sound of the shofar itself is kind of prayer, a kind of crying. One of the
themes of Hannah’s prayer is kingship, and it is on this day that we crown God as our king.
On this day of prayer, right before musaf, the biggest prayer, we read the haftarah, to experience the epitome of
prayer – a flow back and forth between us and God – the prayer of Hannah.
Haftarah, Day II
Rabbi Mendel Hirsch
Consolation and encouragement to Israel.. (in) exile.. (are in) the words of the Prophet in this Haftorah....But these
are thoughts which are expressed in so many other speeches of the prophets. The reason why just this chapter
has been chosen for the Haftorah for Rosh Hashanah lies deeper. The choice was fixed out of an extremely deli-
cate consideration, out of the deepest feeling of brotherhood. We, who are assembled as members of the House
of Jacob before our Father (in heaven), ... all descend from the exiles of the Kingdom of Judah. The ten broth-
er-tribes, who earlier had already set aside the bond of the Torah, … have been missing for thousands of years….
Is it not then a stroke of touching tenderness that the wise arrangers of our Divine Service should have taken care
that the sons of Judah – assembled before their God on Rosh Hashanah – after the figures of their great ances-
tors, Abraham and Isaac on Mount Moriah, have been called up before their eyes as everlasting shining examples,
should also remember in love their missing brethren? For that, they chose this word of the Prophet which, as no
other, announces just the future also of these children of the House of Jacob who have been estranged so long. It
sees them, how they “come up” to Zion, to God, to our God from the mountains of Samaria..! It shows us Ephraim,
from whom the defection started, as God’s “firstborn,” and the Kingdom of Israel coming back to God as one of
His children; shows us Rachel weeping for her children – alas, just the tribe of Joseph, coming from her, who were
the first in the defection….
Rachel is also our mother, her children are also our brethren, on Rosh Hashanah we remember them, and long for
the time of reunion to arrive. … We look forward to the time when they too: v’shavu banim l’gvulam will come back,
“as children, to their original home” back to the ground of God’s Torah.
That is the thought of reunion and peace which, at the beginning of every New Year, makes the sons of Judah
who have remained faithful … hope and pray for the time of their reunion with all their brethren of the House
of Israel.
SHOFAR
The shofar ritual stands at the very center of Rosh Hashanah. Yet the meaning of
this ritual is enigmatic. What is the message of the shofar? To whom is the sho-
far speaking? Below you will see a selection of commentaries on the shofar, which
discuss elements of this
symbolism.
As you will see, the
shofar is both a word-
less prayer and a call to
action. It is connected
to the present, in de-
claring Rosh Hashanah
as a day of judgment,
and at the same time
reminds us of the past
and looks forward to-
wards the future. The
shofar is particularly
connected to the Akei-
dat Yitzchak, because
Avraham sacrifices a
ram in place of his son
Yitzchak; it is for this
reason that a ram’s
horn is the preferred
type of shofar. The
simple sounds of the
shofar bear a complex
message, filled with
multiple historical con-
nections.
Blowing the Shofar In Preparation
for Rosh Hashanah. Michelle Gaynor.
Chicago, IL, c. 2018. Reprinted with
permission of the artist and Chabad.org.
WHY DO WE BLOW THE SHOFAR?
Rabbenu Sa’adia Gaon’s upon his own head … whereas if he had taken warn-
ing, he would have delivered his soul.”
Ten Reasons for Shofar 5. The fifth reason is to remind us of the destruction
Rabbi David Avudraham (14th century Seville) of the Temple and the battle alarms of the foe, as it is
said (Jer. 4:19): “Because thou hast heard, O my soul,
cited in S.Y. Agnon - A Treasury of Jewish Wisdom for
the sound of the horn, the alarm of war.” When we
Reflection, Repentance, and Renewal on the High Holy Days
hear the sound of the ram’s horn, we beseech God to
1. The first is, because Rosh Hashanah marks the be- rebuild the Temple.
ginning of Creation, on which the Holy One, be bless- 6. The sixth reason is to remind us of the Binding of
ed, created the world and reigned over it. Kings do the Isaac, who offered himself to heaven. So ought we to
same, who have trumpets and horns blown to let it be be ready at all times to offer our lives for the sancti-
known and heard everywhere when the anniversary of fication of his Name. And may our remembrance rise
the beginning of their reign falls. So we, on Rosh Ha- before Him for our benefit.
shanah, accept the kingship of the Creator, be bless-
ed. Thus said David: “With trumpets and sound of the 7. The seventh reason is that, when we hear the blow-
horn about ye before the King, the Lord” (Ps.98:6). ing of the ram’s-horn, we fear and tremble and bend
our will to the will of the Creator – for such is the ef-
2. The second reason is that, since Rosh Hashanah is fect of the ram’s horn, which causes shaking and
the first of the ten days of teshuvah, the ram’s horn
trembling, as it is written (Amos 3:6): “Shall the horn
is blown to announce their beginning, as though to
be blown in a city, and the people not tremble?”
warn: Let all who desire to turn in teshuvah, turn now;
and if you do not, you will have no reason to cry injus- 8. The eighth reason is to remind us of the great Day
tice. Kings do the same: first they warn the populace of Judgment, that we may all fear it, as it is said (Zeph.
in their decree, and whoever violates the decrees af- I: 14-16): “The great day of the Lord is near, it is near
ter the warning complains unheeded. and hasteth greatly… a day of the horn and alarm.”
3. The third reason is to remind us of our stand at 9. The ninth reason is to remind us of the gathering
the foot of Mount Sinai, as it is said (Exod. 19:19): of the dispersed of Israel, that we may passionately
“The voice of the horn waxed louder and louder,” in long for it, as it is said (Isa. 27:13): “And it shall come
order that we may take upon ourselves that which to pass in that day, that a great horn shall be blown;
our forefathers took upon themselves when they said and they shall come that were lost in the land of As-
(Exod.24:7): “We will do and obey.” syria.”
4. The fourth reason is to remind us of the words of 10. The tenth reason is to remind us of the revival of
the prophets, which were compared to a ram’s horn, the dead, that we may believe in it, as it is said (Isa.
as it is said (Ezek.33:4-5): “Then whosoever heareth 18:3): “All ye inhabitants of the world, and ye dwellers
the sound of the horn, and taketh not warning, if the in the earth, when an ensign is lifted up on the moun-
sword come, and take him away, his blood shall be tains, see ye; and when the horn is blown, hear ye.”
ASPECTS OF THE SHOFAR

A Call From the Heart
Talmud Yerushalmi, Ta’anit 2:1
“Why do we blow [the shofar] using horns? To say: Relate to us as if we are bellowing like animals before You.”
Rav Mosheh Lichtenstein, “The Human Dimension of Shofar”

When we think about shofar blowing, we intuitively imagine a primal cry that breaches the boundaries of language
and makes it unnecessary to spell out the message in clear-cut and precise terms.
Repentance
Rambam, Mishneh Torah, Laws of Repentance 3:4
Even though the blowing of the shofar on Rosh Hashanah is a Biblical decree, it hints at something, i.e., “Wake up,
sleepers, from your sleep! And slumberers, arise from your slumber! Search your ways and return in teshuvah and
remember your Creator! Those who forget the Truth amidst the futility of the moment and are infatuated all their
years with vanity and nothingness that will not help and will not save, examine your souls and improve your ways
and your motivations! Let each of you abandon his wicked ways, and his thoughts which are no good.”
Akeidat Yitzchak
Talmud, Rosh Hashanah 16a
Says R’ Abahu why do we blow with the horn of a ram? Said the Holy One: blow before me with a ram’s horn in or-
der that I remember for you the binding of Isaac son of Abraham, and I will consider it as if you bound yourselves
before me.
Blowing the Shofar on the walls of the Old City of Jerusalem. 1971. Digital image of photograph by Uzi (full name
not provided by Israel Sun Ltd.) / Israel Sun Ltd., from the Judaica Collection of the Harvard Library, Harvard University.
Pirkei d’Rabbi Eliezer, 32

When Abraham came from Mount Moriah, Samael [Satan] was furious that he had failed to realize his desire to
stop Abraham’s sacrifice. What did he do? He went off and told Sarah, “Oh Sarah, have you not heard what’s been
happening in the world?” She replied, “no.” He said, “Your old husband has taken the boy Isaac and sacrificed him
as a burnt offering, while the boy cried and wailed in his helplessness [lit., for he could not be saved].” Immedi-
ately, she began to cry and wail. She cried three sobs, corresponding to the three Teki’ah notes of the Shofar, and
she wailed three times, corresponding to the Yevava, staccato notes of the Shofar. Then, she collapsed and died.
Abraham came and found her dead, as it is said, “Abraham came to mourn for Sarah and to bewail her.”
Redemption
Tanna debe Eliyahu Zutta 22
“… It is the shofar that the Holy One, blessed be he, is destined to blow when the son of David, our righteous
one, will reveal himself, as it is said (Zech. 9:14): “And the Lord God will blow the horn.” It is also the shofar that
the Holy One, blessed be he, is destined to blow when he leads the exiles of Israel into their land, as it is said (Isa.
27:13): “And it shall come to pass in that day, that a great horn shall be blown; and they shall come that were lost in
the land of Assyria, and they that were dispersed in the land of Egypt; and they shall worship the Lord in the holy
mountain at Jerusalem.”...
Evoking Mercy
Vayikra Rabbah 29:3
Rabbi Yehuda son of Rabbi Nachman opened and said, “God ascends in acclamation (lit. in truah), The Lord in the
call of the shofar” (Psalms 47:6). In the moment when the Holy Blessed One sits on the Throne of Judgement, He
ascends with (the intention of) judgement. What happens? At the time when Israel takes their shofarot and sound
them before the Holy Blessed One, then God stands up from the Throne of Judgement and sits on the Throne of
Mercy, … and then He is filled with mercy and has mercy on them, and switches their treatment from the attribute
of judgement to the attribute of mercy.
Shofar for the Sabbath Yemenite Jew. Between 1934 and 1939.
Willard Fineberg Blowing the Shofar at Mount Zion Temple.
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division Washington,
Israel, 1956. Jewish Historical Society of the Upper Midwest.
D.C. 20540 USA / Public domain
YOM
KIPPUR
Jews Praying in the

Synagogue on Yom Kippur
Maurycy Gottlieb
Vienna, 1878
Public domain
K J H I GH H O L I DAY RE AD ER / Yom K ippu r 24
HEALTH ON YOM KIPPUR 25 - Halakhic Man, Rabbi Joseph B. Solovietchik
- S.Y. Agnon — A Treasury of Jewish Wisdom - Rav Kook, Orot Hateshuvah

for Reflection, Repentance, and Renewal on
the High Holy Days
VIDUY 36
- Psalms 32:5
KOL NIDREI 26
- S.Y. Agnon — A Treasury of Jewish Wisdom - Proverbs 28:7
for Reflection, Repentance, and Renewal on - Shemuel 2 12:13
the High Holy Days
- Rambam, Laws of Repentance 1:1
Kol Nidrei: The Power of Our Words 27
CA N TO R C H A I M B ER S O N TORAH READINGS 37
My Problem with Kol Nidrei 28

Yom Kippur Day: The Temple Service 37
- Rambam, Guide for the Perplexed, III:46
Reminiscence: An American Farmer - Nachmanides, Commentary to Leviticus 16:8
- Shishim Shenot Hayyim 29
I S RAE L K A S OV I C H
THE SCAPEGOAT 39
- Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik, On Repentance
INTERPERSONAL FORGIVENESS 30
- Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch, Collected Writings
- Mishnah Yoma 8:9
- Rabbi Joseph B. Solovietchik, Man is Vulnerable
- From Tefillah Zakah, instituted by Rabbi
Avraham Danzig, 18th century Vilna
Maftir Yonah 41
Do You Forgive Me? Should I Forgive You?
The Concept of Mechilah 30 Introduction to Yonah 41
RA B B I E L I E W E I N S TO C K RA B B I DA N I E L A N D RAC H E L K RAU S
- Beit Yosef, Orach Chaim 622:2:1

TESHUVAH 32
- Radak on Yonah 1:1:1
- Ezekiel 18:23
- Jerusalem Talmud Makkot 7a:1
- Rambam, Mishneh Torah, Laws of Repentance
- Abarbanel Yonah 2
- Mishnah Yoma 8:9
- Pesikta d’Rav Kahana 24:11
“Please, God, I Have Sinned” -
- Jerusalem Talmud Sanhedrin 56b:3
Does That Make Any Sense? 33
RA B B I H A S K E L L O O K S T E I N
THIRTEEN MIDDOT 44
THE FOUR STEPS OF TESHUVAH 34 - Talmud Bavli Rosh Hashanah 17b
- Chovot HaLevavot 7:4, Bachya ibn Pakuda, - Radbaz, Metzudat David Zimra, Mitzvah #11
11th century Saragossa
NEILAH 44
Teshuvah: A Guide for the Newly Observant Jew 34
- Rambam Hilkhot Tefillah 1:7
TESHUVAH: REINVENTING YOURSELF 35 - Mishnah Berurah 623:3

25 Yom K ippu r / K J H I GH H O L I DAY RE AD ER
The Importance of Protecting

HEALTH ON YOM KIPPUR
S.Y. Agnon — A Treasury of Jewish Wisdom for Reflection, Repentance, and Renewal on the High Holy Days
During the epidemic, God preserve us, the pious Rabbi Shalom of Belz (19th cent.) announced that all who felt faint
ought to eat and drink as much as they needed. (Rav of Spinka, Orhot Hayyim)
Where the law allows a sick man to eat, and he does not wish to, that is a foolish kind of piety, of which it was said,
“And surely your blood of your lives will I require” (Gen. 9:5). It is also said, “Be not righteous overmuch” (Eccles.
7:16); so the sick man is fed against his will. (Mateh Efrayim)
The Gaon Rabbi Hayyim of Brisk (19th cent.) used to be lenient with the sick in the matter of eating on Yom Kip-
pur. He was asked, “How is it that the master is so lenient when it comes to Yom Kippur?” Said he, “Not that I am
lenient when it comes to Yom Kippur, but that I am strict when it comes to saving a life.” (Oral communication by
Rabbi Samuel Bialoblotzki)
During a Cholera Epidemic

When there was a cholera epidemic in 1848, Rabbi Israel Salanter posted announcements in all the Houses of
Prayer of Vilna on the eve of Yom Kippur, urging the people not to fast on that holy and awesome day, and to cut
short the recitation of the liturgical poems of the day, and to go walking in the fresh air. After the Morning Prayer
on Yom Kippur he took a roll in his hand and stood on the pulpit and after making the blessing ending “who cre-
ates various kinds of foods,” ate the roll before the eyes of the entire congregation, that the people might see him
and follow his example for much is permitted where there is mortal danger, and the life of a single person was
dearer in his eyes than all the wealth in the world. (Ir Vilna)
Festival prayer book (mahzor). North Africa, 15th century. Initial-word panel decorated with penwork
and pen-flourishing at the beginning of the section for Yom Kippur. The British Library; Oriental 5600.
KOL NIDREI and forgiveness from the Holy One, blessed be he, in
which we plead with him to forgive us for the iniqui-
ty of our vows. Such is the version (Shibbole ha-Leket,
No. 317) quoting from Rav Hai Gaon (10th-11th cent.).
The Kol Nidrei service is the high point Rabbi Jacob Tam (12th cent.) also introduced changes
of the entire high holidays. What is puz- in the popular version.
zling is that the words of this service The custom of reciting Kol Nidre has already spread
are dry and legalistic, and have been into every country. It is the Ashkenazic and Sephardic
custom to say it in Aramaic, and the custom in the Bal-
subject to centuries of controversy. Be- kans and in Italy to say it in Hebrew.
low there is a selection about
the history of the controversy,
and the differing perspectives
of Rabbi Steinmetz and Can-
tor Berson on this prayer.
S.Y. Agnon — A Treasury of Jewish
Wisdom for Reflection, Repentance,
and Renewal on the High Holy Days
Rav Hai Gaon bar Nahshon Gaon (9th
cent.) wrote..: “We do not annul vows ei-
ther on Rosh Hashanah or on Yom Kip-
pur, and we have not heard that our rab-
bis ever did so. You too ought to be strict
like us, and not depart from the practice
of the academies.” (Kol Bo; see Tur Orah
Hayyim, No. 619)
The same is true of Rabbi Isaac Alfasi (11th

cent.) and Rabbi Moses ben Maimon (12th
cent.), who omitted any discussion of Kol
Nidrei from their decisions, for it seems
they thought it ought not to be said at all.
Rabbi Isaac ben Sheshet Barfat (14th cent.),

too, wrote in a responsum on the subject of
Kol Nidrei that it is best not to say Kol Ni-
drei at all, and that such was the custom in
Catalonia. (Bet Yosef, Tur Orah Hayyim, No.
619)
But since the custom had become rooted

in the people and it was hard to uproot it,
a few of the sages changed the version
Festival prayer book (aka ‘Dragon’s Head Mahzor’). Germany, last quarter of 14th
slightly, so that the prayer might be less century. Initial word kol (all) inhabited by dragons and hybrids, at the beginning of
like an annulment than a plea for pardon Kol Nidrei for Yom Kippur. The British Library; Oriental 42.
KOL NIDRE: POWERFUL

KOL NIDREI: THE POWER of composers beyond the Jewish community.
Composers began to use the tune in various
OF OUR WORDS instrumental pieces. Many of these works featured
CA N TO R C H A I M B ER S O N the cello as the chosen instrument (such as in Max
Bruch’s concerto for cello, Op. 37) to express and
It is that moment when you feel the intensity and emote a human cry. In the 20th century Kol Nidrei also
excitement. It is the most solemn night of the entire found its way to the arts and popular culture. The first
Jewish year. You watch as men, women and children Jazz Singer movie (1927) featured Kol Nidrei davening
somberly file into the sanctuary. Your mood is heavy as representing the pull of tradition in the conflict
with the gravity of the moment as you contemplate between devotion to Judaism and assimilation into
the high stakes and the profound effects this evening American society.
holds for the year ahead. A sea of white kittels
immerses you. The Chazzan, the Parochet, and the Paired with this emotional tune, one would expect
Sifrei Torah are also draped in white. an equally emotional text, perhaps an opening
beseeching God to inscribe us in the Book of Life. Yet,
A hush descends upon the room as the Chazzan and compared to this poignant melody, the text that has
Rabbis ascend the bimah accompanied by prominent become the nom de plume of this evening is rather
members of the synagogue tightly hugging the holy mundane. It is not even a prayer. It represents a legal
Sifrei Torah. They stand at either side of the Chazzan formula for the annulment of certain types of vows –
as he slowly raises his head heavenward and begins the actual meaning of Kol Nidrei (all vows).
Kol Nidrei reminds us that words uttered have the

power to bind us even after they leave our tongue.
to utter the hauntingly emotional, ancient tune which, Why then were these lyrics chosen to be the ones
like nothing else, represents the inauguration of the chanted at the opening of the holiest day of the year?
holiest day of the year, Yom HaKippurim. It doesn’t This question has been answered in different ways. I
matter where you are or where you came from. You would like to offer an additional idea that has guided
know this tune augurs the start of the most holy day me throughout my career as a Chazzan. The answer
of prayer and introspection. is that words have power. Kol Nidrei reminds us that
words uttered have the power to bind us even after
The Kol Nidrei tune is one of the oldest in Jewish
they leave our tongue. As we enter the day of Yom
musical liturgy. It traces back to at least the early
Kippur, we will spend the next 25 hours employing
Middle Ages and is therefore often referred to as
our words to acknowledge our sins, express our
“MiSinai” (melodies from Mount Sinai) together with
regret for our actions, make commitments to correct
other canonic High Holy Day melodies. The tune is an
amalgam of musical motifs, but the most recognizable our behavior in the year to come, and finally, to beg
is the iconic opening kopfmotiv (head-motif). This for forgiveness. We will recount the Yom Kippur
melody has been loaded with the profound spirit of service with words that replace the actions in the Beit
Yom Kippur and the emotions evoked by repentance. Hamikdash. We will open the gates of Heaven with our
words. May the words we use and all our prayers be
In the late 19th century, this haunting tune traversed accepted by the Almighty and may we all be granted a
the sanctuary threshold when it caught the attention Shanah Tovah Umetukah.
OR PROBLEMATIC?
MY PROBLEM WITH with Jewish identity reduced to the soundtrack of
Fiddler on the Roof, brisket, and satin kippahs. This
KOL NIDREI superficial cultural Judaism offers no rationale for
RA B B I C H A I M S T EI N M E T Z continuity, and no true link to spirituality.
Because of this, I saw content and culture as

Kol Nidrei should have disappeared a long time antagonists. To me, bagels, lox, and cream cheese
ago. From its introduction in the 800s, it was Judaism was the opposite of the Judaism that
sharply opposed for the next 400 years by Rabbinic nurtured me in Yeshiva. And even the melodies like Kol
authorities who saw it as a meaningless gesture. In Nidrei were just superficial enhancements, pleasant
the 1100s, a debate emerged over which vows, future but ultimately unimportant.
or past, Kol Nidrei refers to. And in the 19th century,
because of anti-Semitic claims that it enabled Jews But I was wrong. Culture is important too. Melodies,
to violate oaths, many reformers (and even, for short foods, even jokes have a role in preserving Judaism.
time, Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch) removed Kol
In the language of Halakha, we call these elements
Nidrei from the service. Kol Nidrei is a problematic prayer.
a minhag, or a custom. Minhag is about the little
distinctive cultural touches that make observance
What my overly intellectual more fascinating. Rabbi Maimon (the father of the
perspective had missed is this: Rambam) wrote about the importance of respecting
that the little things, the aromas, customs like eating donuts (sfinj) on Chanukah. Indeed,
it is often the customs, with their distinctive tastes,
tastes, colors, and melodies, are aromas, colors and melodies that inspire us, in ways we
a powerful way of conveying the are not fully aware of.
content, the great ideas I so love. What my overly intellectual perspective had missed is
this: that the little things, the aromas, tastes, colors,
So why is Kol Nidrei still part of the service? Only and melodies, are a powerful way of conveying the
content, the great ideas I so love. Culture can create an
because of the melody. There are moving tunes,
emotional connection unavailable in the world of ideas.
both in the Ashkenazic and Sephardic tradition, for
Kol Nidrei. No matter what, Kol Nidrei is here to stay And this is the power of Kol Nidrei, the power of
because the tunes are majestic and awe-inspiring. singing the same song as our grandparents, even if the
words are obscure. And even the intellectually inclined
This was my problem with Kol Nidrei. I was trained
among us should never overlook it.
in Lithuanian-style Yeshivot to think about serious
Jewish content, about Talmudic texts and theological In 1913, a young intellectual decided to convert to
sources; Kol Nidrei is the opposite of that. Kol Nidrei Christianity. As a final farewell to Judaism, he decided
is a ritual that hangs by less than a thread of hair, with to go to Yom Kippur services. But after listening to
an inferior Halakhic pedigree, and is only preserved Kol Nidrei, he left a transformed man. In the years
because of its tune. It bothered me that Kol Nidrei is that followed, this man, Franz Rozensweig, became
religious fluff, all musical culture and minimal religious a prominent Jewish philosopher, and inspired many
content. So why did it find a place of honor leading off others to make their journey back to Judaism.
the Yom Kippur liturgy?
Ironically, a great intellectual was drawn back to
Frankly, contemporary Judaism is overstocked with Judaism by Kol Nidrei, a prayer that is more melody
religious fluff. There was an advertisement many years than meaning. And even today, otherwise alienated
ago from a yeshiva in Jerusalem that had a picture Jews show up for Kol Nidrei, drawn in by the inspiring
of a bagel, lox, and cream cheese sandwich with the melody. Now, if we could only teach these alienated
caption: “Is this the culmination of 3,000 years of Jews how to love the content, to engage the ideas of
Jewish history?” This sadly is all too often the case, Judaism as well...
REMINISCENCE: AN AMERICAN FARMER -

SHISHIM SHENOT HAY YIM ISRAEL KASOVICH
Israel Kasovich was on a Jewish farming settlement in Connecticut in the 1920s
I will never forget the beautiful scene that took place during Kol Nidrei. The quorum assembled in the
house of one of the farmers. The house was surrounded by trees; the windows were open, and a soft,
refreshing breeze was blowing. The menfolk looking very healthy stood in one room, wrapped in their
prayer shawls, while the women stood in the other with sunburnt faces and white dresses. The sad
and pleasant Kol Nidrei melody flowed into the silence of the night. It seemed as though nature itself
was listening to the song of the eternal wanderer, who had at last found a place to rest his head. I re-
membered the Kol Nidrei that my forefathers had chanted hiding in dark cellars in Spain. There they
poured forth their hearts before their God. Their groaning and moaning were contained in the damp,
cold earth, until such time as the Inquisitors came and drew the miserable folk out of the bowels of
the earth into the beautiful sunshine-and cast them into the fire. Only then could a Jew freely cry the
powerful words, “Hear, O Israel.”
The cantor lifted his voice and chanted Kol Nidrei for the third time. I seemed to awake from a terrible
dream. I saw a beautiful world lying before me. The birds under the window were assisting the cantor
with their song, and Heaven and the earth, those witnesses of all that had happened to the people of
Israel, were joining in song.
Our creator, Thou art eternal, and Thy folk Israel is eternal.
Jewish Soldiers at Yom Kippur Military Service Minyan, De Aar Yom Kippur
Germany, between 1914 and 1918. World War I. South Africa, 1900. Public domain.
The Importance of Requesting and Offering

INTERPERSONAL FORGIVENESS
Teshuvah cannot bring atonement from God unless One has first received forgiveness
from his fellow man.
Mishnah Yoma 8:9
Yom Kippur atones for transgressions between a person and God, but for a transgression
against one’s neighbor, Yom Kippur cannot atone, until he appeases his neighbor.
Thus R. Eleazar ben Azariah expounds the text, “From all your sins before the Lord shall ye be clean”: For trans-
gressions between a person and God, Yom Kippur atones, for transgressions against one’s neighbor, Yom Kippur
cannot atone, until he appeases his neighbor. R. Akiva says, Happy are you, Israel! Before whom are you purified,
and who purifies you [of your transgressions]? Your Father Who is in heaven. For it is said, “Then will I sprinkle
clean water upon you, and ye shall be clean”; and it is also said, “The ‫‏‬ritual bath‎ of Israel is the Lord”; even as a
ritual bath purifies the unclean, so does the Holy One, Blessed be He, purify Israel.
From Tefillah Zakah, instituted by Rabbi Avraham Danzig, 18th century Vilna
Tefillah Zakah is a prayer recited in many communities before Kol Nidrei. What is notable about it is that each person
voluntarily offers forgiveness to anyone who may have offended them, to enable everyone to be fully forgiven by God
on Yom Kippur.
Master of the universe! I hereby forgive anyone who has angered or vexed me, or sinned against me, either physically or
financially, against my honor or anything else that is mine, whether accidentally or intentionally, inadvertently or delib-
erately, by speech or by deed … any member of the Jewish people; may no one be punished on my account.
EXCERPT ON THE TOPIC mocheil me? I am mocheil you” exchange. It may

have been a little formulaic, but this was the
most effective and fastest way to ask for for-
DO YOU giveness from people – especially so as to avoid
getting bogged down with whatever the specific
FORGIVE ME? transgression was and to say it aloud.
SHOULD I FORGIVE We refer to Yom Kippur as a day of selichah,
YOU? THE CONCEPT mechilah, and kapparah – forgiveness, pardon,
and atonement. What’s the difference between
OF MECHILAH these terms?
RABBI ELIE WEINSTOCK
Forgiveness is granted for sins committed by
Growing up, before Yom Kippur, our teachers mistake. Pardon is granted for sins committed
would remind us that we need to ask each oth- on purpose. Atonement is the wiping away of
er forgiveness. Yom Kippur is a Day of Atone- any vestige of sin; we get a clean slate. Kapparah
ment for sins between people and God, but we is the unique purpose of Yom Kippur. We should
each must ask those we may have wronged for always try to correct our mistakes or misdeeds.
forgiveness. This led to what I call the “Are you On Yom Kippur, we have the special privilege of
being granted atonement if we utilize the day This presents us with two models of mechilah.
properly.
1. According to Rashi, asking for forgiveness
I’d like to explore the concept of mechilah a little is to alleviate the victim’s current state of dis-
more deeply. comfort and to alleviate their present emotional
In addition to being examined in connection with state. Mechilah is a form of emotional reconcili-
Yom Kippur, the Talmud discusses mechilah in ation.
the context of damages. The Mishnah in Bava
Kamma (92a) states:
2. According to the Meiri, asking for forgiveness
is a form of compensation for the past. Mechilah
Despite the fact that the assailant who is a form of repayment for a debt.
caused damage gives to the victim all of the
required payments for the injury, his trans- This leads to some interesting questions which
gression is not forgiven for him in the heav- may impact whether one must actually ask for
enly court until he requests forgiveness from mechilah. For example:
the victim…And from where is it derived that
if the victim does not forgive him that he is • Does one need to apologize for anguish that
cruel? As it is stated: “And Abraham prayed has been forgotten?
to God; and God healed Abimelech, and his
• Is forgiveness effective if the victim express-
wife, and his maidservants; and they bore
es absolution, but does not genuinely feel it?
children” (Genesis 20:17).
It is not enough to compensate the injured indi- • What if a victim forgives quickly for a
vidual. One must ask for mechilah. The Gemara semi-forgotten offense, and then later regrets
expands on this: doing so, after recalling the acute pain that was
felt?
The Sages taught: All these sums that in the
previous mishnah they said one is liable to • What if forgiveness was granted under false
pay for humiliating another are the compen- pretenses? For example, what if one claims an
sation for his humiliation, for which there is a intentional slight was unintended?
set amount. But for the victim’s pain caused
by the assailant, even if the assailant brings • What if the victim grants a perfunctory, gen-
as offerings all the rams of Nebaioth (see eral mechilah (as described at the beginning of
Isaiah 60:7) that are in the world, which are this article) in response to an unspecific request,
of the best quality, his transgression is not not realizing that the perpetrator actually com-
forgiven for him in the heavenly court until mitted a genuine offense, for which significant
he requests forgiveness from the victim… appeasement would be needed?
Rashi explains that one needs to be explicitly All of the above scenarios can be analyzed using
pardoned since the victim continues to worry the views of Rashi and Meiri.
and feel aggrieved about their suffering. One
must ask for forgiveness because of the pain the At the end of the day – or, more accurately, by
victim feels at present. the time Yom Kippur ends, we learn from mechi-
Rabbi Menachem Meiri understands the need to lah that we must take our interpersonal interac-
explicitly ask for forgiveness is because of the tions seriously. If Jewish law is willing to analyze
pain felt at the time of the injury. Asking for for- mechilah so deeply, it behooves us to fully ex-
giveness is required for what was felt in the past amine our past interactions and resolve to make
and not related to the victim’s present state. them as positive as possible.
TESHUVAH
The concept of repentance is the subject of much discussion. It is seen by Bachya ibn
Pakuda as a way of asking God for forgiveness, while others associate it with acts of pen-
ance and even self affliction. The Rambam and Rav Soloveitchik see it as a method of
personal transformation. Rav Kook takes this a step further, and sees teshuvah as being
larger than repairing sin, and being the very force which inspires personal growth.
Ezekiel 18:23 f) to travel in exile from his home. to repent from these, similarly, he
Exile atones for sin because it causes must search after the evil character
Is it my desire that a wicked person
a person to be submissive, humble, traits he has. He must repent from
shall die?—says the Lord God. It is
rather that he shall turn back from his and meek of spirit. anger, hatred, envy, frivolity, the
ways and live. pursuit of money and honor, the
2:9 | Teshuvah and Yom Kippur only
pursuit of gluttony, and the like. He
atone for sins between man and
must repent for all [of the above].
Rambam, Mishneh Torah, Laws God; for example, a person who
of Repentance ate a forbidden food or engaged in
forbidden sexual relations, and the These sins are more difficult than
2:2 | What is repentance? The like. However, sins between man those that involve deed. If a person is
sinner shall cease sinning, and and man; for example, someone attached to these, it is more difficult
remove sin from his thoughts, and who injures a colleague, curses a for him to separate himself. In this
wholeheartedly conclude not to colleague, steals from him, or the context, [Isaiah 55:7] exhorts: “May
revert back to it, even as it is said: like will never be forgiven until he the wicked abandon his path and the
“Let the wicked forsake his way” (Is. gives his colleague what he owes crooked man, his designs.”
55.7); so, too, shall he be remorseful him and appeases him.
on what was past, even as it is said:
“Surely after that I was turned, I 7:4 | A baal teshuvah (one who has
[It must be emphasized that] even repented from his sins) should not
repented” (Jer. 31. 19). In addition if a person restores the money that
thereto he should take to witness consider himself distant from the
he owes [the person he wronged],
Him Who knoweth all secrets that level of the righteous because of
he must appease him and ask him to
forever he will not turn to repeat that forgive him. the sins and transgressions that
sin again, according to what it is said: he committed. This is not true. He
“Say unto Him.… neither will we call Even if a person only upset a col- is beloved and desirable before the
any more the work of our hands our league by saying [certain] things, he Creator as if he never sinned.
gods” (Hos. 14.3–4). It is, moreover, must appease him and approach him
essential that his confession shall be [repeatedly] until he forgives him. Furthermore, he has a great reward
by spoken words of his lips, and all for he has tasted sin and yet,
that which he concluded in his heart If his colleague does not desire to
separated himself from it, conquering
shall be formed in speech. forgive him, he should bring a group
of three of his friends and approach his [evil] inclination. Our Sages
2:4 | Among the paths of repentance him with them and request [for- declared: “In the place where baalei
is for the penitent to: giveness]. If [the wronged party] is teshuvah stand, even the completely
not appeased, he should repeat the righteous are not able to stand.” The
a) constantly call out before God, process a second and third time. If he level of baalei teshuvah transcends
crying and entreating; [still] does not want [to forgive him], the level of those who never sinned
b) to perform charity according to his he may let him alone and need not at all, for they overcome their [evil]
potential; pursue [the matter further]. On the inclination more.
c) to separate himself far from the contrary, the person who refuses to
grant forgiveness is the one consid-
object of his sin;
ered as the sinner.
Mishnah Yoma 8:9
d) to change his name, as if to say “I One who says, “I will sin, and then
am a different person and not the 7:3 | A person should not think that repent, I will sin [again], and then
same one who sinned;” repentance is only necessary for repent,” will not receive an opportuni-
e) to change his behavior in its those sins that involve deed such ty to repent; [for one who says] “I will
entirety to the good and the path of as promiscuity, robbery, or theft. sin, and Yom Kippur will atone,” Yom
righteousness; and Rather, just as a person is obligated Kippur will not atone.
EXCERPT ON THE TOPIC On the contrary, our rabbis insist that the gates
of repentance are never closed. We always have
a right to enter them. But we have to ask per-
“PLEASE, GOD, I mission. We don’t barge into Yom Kippur and
say: OK, God. Here I am again. I’m ready to re-
HAVE SINNED” pent - and then beat our breasts and say all the
- DOES THAT MAKE right things with all the sincere feelings. No, we
need permission to invoke God’s grace and say
ANY SENSE? I am sorry, I admit, I’ll try better the next time,
RABBI HASKEL LOOKSTEIN please forgive me.
That permission is in the word: “Ana,” “Please.”

On Yom Kippur, during the Musaf service, we
Please, God, let me do teshuvah. Take me back.
re-enact the Avodah - the Service of the High
Give me another chance, a clean slate and an
Priest in the Temple. The centerpiece of the opportunity to make up for the things that I
Avodah is the declaration of the High Priest, may have done wrong and the good things that
drawn literally from the Mishnah in Yoma: “Ana I failed to do. Ana; Please! That is why the High
Hashem, chatati, aviti, pashati lefanecha ...” Trans- Priest introduces his confession as he does.
lation: “Please, God, I have sinned, I have done
wrong, I have rebelled before You...” This is the And, says the Rav, since our confession is mod-
way the Mishnah taught the High Priest - and us eled after that of the High Priest, we have to do
- to confess before God when we are about to do the same.. And so he instructed us to insert the
teshuvah - repentance. word, “Please” into the beginning of our confes-
sion service all nine times that we confess on
There is one word in this declaration that seems Yom Kippur and in all our Selichot services. We
out of place: “Ana,” “Please.” Please, God, I have begin the confession with the words “E-loheinu
sinned, transgressed, rebelled? Better, for sure, v’e-lohei avoteinu, tavo lefanecha tefillateinu...”
to say: “I’m sorry, God, I have sinned...” Our God and the God of our fathers...(Koren
Machzor, Mincha, Erev Yom Kippur, bottom of
Rav Soloveitchick, in one of his most memorable page 25). The Rav teaches us to insert the word
shiurim, addressed himself to this seeming mal- “Ana,” “Please,” immediately after the word
apropism. He said that we tend to take our abil- “avoteinu” “our fathers” as we begin our request.
ity to repent for granted. We assume that it is We then say: “Please, let our prayer come be-
built into the God-human relationship. God loves fore you... for in truth, we and our fathers have
us as a father or mother and, therefore, when we sinned.” The instruction of the Rav to amend our
make a mistake we can confess it, apologize for text is important because most machzorim do
it and promise never to do it again, and God will not have the word “Ana” in their text, although
forgive us. some put it in parentheses. The Rav, in effect,
corrected what he saw as an error of omission in
Said the Rav, it isn’t that simple. Teshuvah is not
our texts, and it makes perfect sense.
a human right; teshuvah is a privilege. Teshuvah
is an act of grace on the part of a loving God to For the High Priest of old and for us today, te-
give us another chance; not to say that if you shuvah is not a right, but a privilege. Whenever
sinned there is no possibility for correction, or, we begin our confession we have to ask God’s
as the Prophet says: “Hanefesh hachoteit hi tam- permission: Ana - Please! May God grant us this
ut - the soul that sinneth shall die.” (Ezekiel, 18:4) privilege this year and in the years to come.
THE FOUR be the strongest factor for his

fellow’s granting him forgiveness.
…. Similarly we can observe
among human beings, that if one
STEPS OF 2. Abandonment (of sin) is a sign
wrongs his fellow, and afterwards
humbles himself towards him, and
TESHUVAH of his firm faith in reward and pun-
ishment, as written: “The wicked
admits that he sinned against him
and wronged him and beseeches
Chovot HaLevavot 7:4, shall give up his way, and the man
forgiveness from him, and the
Bachya ibn Pakuda, 11th of iniquity his thoughts, and let
fellow recognizes that he truly
century Saragossa him return to the Lord, who shall
regrets the wrong he committed,
have mercy upon him, and to our
The author of the Chovot the fellow will not refrain from
God, for He abundantly pardons”
HaLevavot sees teshuvah as similar forgiving him and will overlook
(Yeshaya 55:7). ... Similarly we can
to the way one offers an apology the wrong-doing, and the grudge
observe among human beings,
to someone you have offended. He in his heart against him will be
that if one has wronged his fellow,
divides teshuvah into four actions, removed.
and along with expressing regret,
each of which is meant to fix man’s ceases to wrong him, then it will 4. The resolution not to repeat
relationship with God. be proper to forgive him and over- [the sin] reflects his understand-
look the misdeed. ing of the wickedness of his deed
The essential components of
repentance are four: and the gravity of his sin, as writ-
ten, “If I have committed iniquity,
• That he should regret the past
I will do no more” (Iyov 34:32),
sins he committed.
….And similarly we can observe
• That he abandon and turn away
among human beings that when
from them.
one who wronged his fellow takes
• That he confess them and
beseech forgiveness for having on himself not to wrong him
committed them. again, and demonstrates that he
• That he take on himself with Day of Atonement Buckle. Lviv, regrets and abandons his sin and
Ukraine, 1839. The National Museum confesses it, this will complete the
heart and soul not to repeat them. in Warsaw. Photograph by Zev Radovan.
Courtesy of the Center for Jewish Art grounds which lead to forgiveness
1. Regret is a sign that the sin is at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. and removal of his iniquity, and
disgraceful in his eyes, as written: cancelling the punishment from
“He who knows will return and 3. Beseeching forgiveness him.
regret and leave a blessing behind demonstrates submission and
him” (Yoel 2:14)...... We ourselves humility before God, and confes- When the penitent combines
can see in relationships between sion of one’s sin is a ground for these four components along with
human beings, that when one who forgiveness, as written: “he who their conditions, …. the Creator
wronged his fellow shows regret confesses and renounces them will forgive the sinner his iniquity,
for having wronged him, this will will obtain mercy” (Mishlei 28:13). and overlook his transgression.
Teshuvah: A Guide for the Newly Observant Jew

Adin Steinsaltz, ed. and trans. by Michael Swirsky (New York: Free Press, 1987), 3-4.
Broadly defined, teshuvah is more than just repentance from sin; it is a spiritual reawakening, a desire to
strengthen the connection between oneself and the sacred. The effectiveness of teshuvah is thus fre-
quently a function of one’s sense of distance from the sacred. The greater the distance, the greater the
potential movement towards renewed connectedness. As one Jewish sage put it, A rope that is cut and
re-tied is doubly strong at the point where it was severed.... All forms of teshuvah, however diverse and
complex, have a common core: the belief that human beings have it in their power to effect inward change.
TESHUVAH: the shadows of a dead past, nor does he grapple with

deeds that have faded away into the distance. Simi-
REINVENTING larly, his resolve is not some vacuous decision made
with regard to an obscure, distant future that has not
YOURSELF as yet arrived. Halakhic man is concerned with the im-
age of the past that is alive and active in the center of
Halakhic Man, Rabbi Joseph B. Solovietchik his present tempestuous and clamorous life and with
In this fascinating passage, Rav Soloveitchik articulates a pulsating, throbbing future that has already been
a vision of teshuvah as a recreation of one’s identity. “created.” There is a living past and there is a dead
Rav Soloveitchik explains that understanding of our past. There is a future which has not as yet been “cre-
ated,” and there is a future already in existence. There
past and our vision for our future are fundamental to
is a past and there is a future that are connected with
our identity. If we change our attitude to our past and
one another and with the present only through the law
our vision for the future, we change who we are.
of causality – the cause found at moment A links up
Here there comes to the fore the primary difference with the effect taking place at moment B, and so on.
between the concept of repentance in Halakhah and However, time itself as past appears only as “no more”
the concept of repentance held by homo religious and as future appears as “not yet.” From this perspec-
(i.e., a person who is deeply religious, but not guided tive repentance is an empty and hollow concept. It is
by Halakhah). The latter views repentance only from impossible to regret a past that is already dead, lost
the perspective of atonement, only as a guard against in the abyss of oblivion. Similarly, one cannot make a
punishment, as an empty regret which does not create decision concerning a future that is as yet “unborn.”
anything, does not bring into being anything new. A Therefore, Spinoza (Ethics IV, 54) and Nietzsche (in
deep melancholy afflicts his spirit. He mourns for the Geneaology of Morals) – from this perspective – did
yesterdays that are irretrievably past, the times that well to deride the idea of repentance. However, there
have long since sunk into the abyss of oblivion, the is a past that persists in its existence, that does not
deeds that have vanished like shadows, facts that he vanish and disappear but remains firm in its place.
will never be able to change. Therefore, for homo reli- Such a past enters into the domain of the present and
gious, repentance is a wholly miraculous phenomenon links up with the future. Similarly, there is a future that
made possible by the endless grace of the Almighty. is not hidden behind a thick cloud but reveals itself
now in all its beauty and majesty. Such a future, draw-
But such is not the case with halakhic man! Halakhic ing upon its own hidden roots, infuses the past with
man does not indulge in weeping and despair, does strength and might, vigor and vitality. Both – past and
not lacerate his flesh or flail away at himself. He does future – are alive; both act and create in the heart of
not afflict himself with penitential rites and forgoes the present and shape the very image of reality. From
all mortification of body and soul. Halakhic man is en- this perspective we neither perceive the past as “no
gaged in self-creation, in creating a new “I.” He does more” nor the future as “not yet” nor the present as “a
not regret an irretrievably lost past but a past still in fleeting moment.” Rather past, present, future merge
existence, one that stretches into and interpenetrates and blend together, and this new threefold time struc-
with the present and the future. He does not fight ture arises before us adorned with a splendid unity.
Rav Kook, Orot Hateshuvah

5:5 | Even if a person consistently stumbles, damaging his righteousness and ethical behavior, this does not
damage his fundamental perfection. A person’s fundamental perfection is found in his longing and desire to
achieve perfection, a desire which is the foundation of teshuvah, and which continually governs his path in life.
5:3 | The world is guaranteed to come to full repentance. The world is not static; it continues to develop. True,
complete development must bring about total physical and spiritual health, which will bring with it the light of the
life of teshuvah.
VIDUY Shemuel 2 12:13

David said to Nathan, “I stand guilty before the Lord”.
Beginning at the Mincha prior to Yom Kippur and And Nathan replied to David, “The Lord has remitted
through all of the prayers of the day, we recite the con-
your sin; you shall not die”.
fession (viduy). This is a part of teshuvah; one must ar-
ticulate what one did wrong before being able to change
a behavior and seek forgiveness. Below is a selection of Rambam, Laws of Repentance 1:1
sources on the importance of viduy. All of the commandments in the Torah: whether they
be the positive commandments, or the negative com-
Psalms 32:5 mandments; if a person transgressed any of them,
Then I acknowledged my sin to You; I did not cover up whether he did so intentionally, whether he did so un-
my guilt; I resolved, “I will confess my transgressions to
intentionally, when he repents and returns from his sin
the Lord,” and You forgave the guilt of my sin.
- he is obligated to confess before God, blessed be He,
Proverbs 28:7 as it says (Numbers 5:6-7), When a man or a women does
He who covers up his faults will not succeed; He who any of the sins of man...and he shall confess his sin that he
confesses and gives them up will find mercy. committed... - this refers to a verbal confession.
41 15/16 in. (82.6 x 106.3 cm). Commission: Mr. and Mrs. Albert A. List New Year’s Graphic Fund, JM 32-73.
Introspection - 5733, 1972. Will Barnet (1911-2012) © VAGA at ARS, NY. Screen print on paper, 32 1/2 x
Photo by Richard Goodbody, Inc. Photo credit: The Jewish Museum, New York / Art Resource, NY.
TORAH READINGS
Yom Kippur Day: The Temple Service
It is a Temple service that is both disturbing and awe inspiring.
Two goats are chosen together to be sacrificed on Yom Kippur. Lots are drawn to
decide which goat is to be sacrificed “for God” and which one is “for Azazel.” The
one designated “for God” is sacrificed, and its blood is brought into the Holy of Ho-
lies. The other one, designated “for Azazel,” is sent far away into the wilderness,
ultimately to be pushed off a cliff.
This unusual service inspires awe, be-
cause it is the one time a year that the
High Priest enters the Holy of Holies.
(The Holy of Holies is where the Ark of
the Covenant, which contained the two
tablets with the Ten Commandments
was placed.) This moment symbolizes
the unique closeness between man and
God on Yom Kippur.
Yet at the same time, a goat is sent to the Mount Azazel. Avi Deror, 2010.
Azazel, the wilderness. This is unique to CC BY-SA / creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0
the Temple service in that an animal is

sacrificed outside of the Temple. While
that may not seem like much, in the times of the Temple, it was forbidden to sacri-
fice outside of the Temple, and outside sacrifices were usually to idols and demonic
forces.
The “Seir L’Azazel,” the goat that is sent to Azazel, has provoked much commen-
tary. Here are several commentaries, from Rambam, Nachmanides, Rabbi Samson
Raphael Hirsch and Rabbi Joseph Ber Soloveitchik. Note the dramatically different
views of Rambam and Nachmanides, as well as Rav Soloveitchik’s attempt to find
a less mystical interpretation of the Ramban. In addition, note the very different
views of Rav Hirsch and Rav Solovietchik on the topic of the lots.
Rambam, Guide for the Perplexed, III:46 … Now the Torah has absolutely forbidden the
Inasmuch as the he-goat that was sent forth into the acceptance of (angels) as deities and all service to
wilderness served wholly to atone for great sins, so them. But the Holy One, blessed in He, commanded
that there was no sin-offering of the congregation that on Yom Kippur we send a he-goat in the desert
that served as atonement in as great a measure as to the celestial minister who rules in the desolate
that goat, which was as it were the bearer of all the places, and the desert is what is fitting for Samael
sins, it was not to receive at all such treatment as be- (another name for Satan - C.S.) because he is its
ing slaughtered or burnt or sacrificed, but had to be master, and from the emanation of his power comes
removed to as great a distance as possible and sent destruction and desolation. For he is the source of
forth unto a land that is cut off, I mean one that was power of the stars of the sword, blood wars, quarrels,
separated from habitation. No one has any doubt that wounds, plagues, division and destruction, ….Now
sins are not bodies that may be transported from the the intention regarding the he-goat that is sent to
back of one individual to that of another. But all these Azazel is not that it is an offering from us to Samael,
actions are parables serving to bring forth a form in heaven forbid! Rather, our intention should be to
fulfill the will of our Creator Who commanded us to
do so. The parable to shed light on this matter would
be that it is like one who makes a feast for the king
and the king commanded the man making the feast,
“Give a portion to my servant So-and-so.” In such a
case it is clear that the person making the feast is not
giving anything of his own to that servant, nor is he
dealing with him for the sake of enhancing his honor;
rather, it is considered that the host of the feast is
giving everything to the king, and the king is giving
a gift to his servant, and this one (the person making
the feast) is simply observing the command of the
king, and out of respect for the king he does all that
he has commanded him. However, the king, out of
consideration for the host of the feast, wished that
all the king’s servants benefit from the feast, so that
they should all speak in praise of the host and not in
the soul so that a passion toward repentance should his disparagement….And this is the reason for the
result: We have freed ourselves from all our previous casting of lots on the goats as well. – For if the priest
actions, cast them behind our backs, and removed were to sanctify them verbally “for Hashem” and “for
them to an extreme distance. Azazel,” it would seem as if he were performing a
service to Azazel and vowing an offering to his name.
Nachmanides, Commentary to Leviticus 16:8 Instead, to avoid conveying this impression, (the
This commentary is controversial, and has sparked priest) would stand the two he-goats before Hashem,
much commentary of its own. The Ramban suggests at the entrance of the Tent of Meeting for both of
that the goat sent to Azazel is actually there to appease them were a gift for God. And therefore, i.e., because
Satan, so he will not offer negative attacks on Yom it is not an offering to Samael, we do not slaughter it
Kippur.. See Rabbi Soloveitchik’s commentary on this altogether as would be done to a sacrifice, but rather
Ramban, quoted in the following text. “send it into the desert.”
THE SCAPEGOAT cause of the empty vanities to which he devoted his life
– the Almighty accepts him as though the anguish he
Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik, On Repentance now felt was due to his devotion to God. It is seen as
an offering to the Almighty and not, as it was in truth,
In this passage, “And Aaron shall cast lots upon the an offering to Satan…...Although sacrifices were
two goats; one lot for the Lord, and the other lot for
made here, they were directed to Satan rather than
Azazel,” the Almighty revealed the great mystery of
to God. On the Day of Atonement the scapegoat (Seir
the quality of mercy which is operative on the Day of
le’Azazel) “intercedes,” which demonstrates the fact
Atonement.
that on this day the Almighty also accepts sacrifices of
Go and see the feelings of sorrow, of disappointment, the type made to Satan, sacrifices that are made out-
of frustration and of distress that man endures, not side the Temple as well as those offered inside it. We
through devotion to the Almighty but for the sake of have here a sacrifice which ends up in the breakage
petty human cupidity, financial covetousness, and the of limbs through attempting, unsuccessfully, to scale
craving for honors. Then go and see this man as he high cliffs. Had the goat not climbed to such heights,
gets to a state of terrible isolation, when society turns it is possible that not all of its limbs would have been
its back upon him, when his children are contemptu- broken. The scapegoat represents the sacrifice made
ous of him, and his grandchildren are alienated from unintentionally, the suffering endured not for God’s
him, when he feels impoverished, neglected and aban- sake. All year round, when an individual makes sacri-
doned - and not as the result of excess devotion to fices that are not for God’s sake, they are rejected; but
God. A man who all his life studies the Torah and faith- on the Day of Atonement the whole of Israel offers up
fully serves God will not feel ignored and isolated even just such a sacrifice to Azazel and it is accepted.
when he grows old. This terrible feeling of alienation
and loneliness usually overcomes man due to an ex- When a Jew comes to the synagogue on the Day of
cessive pursuit of futile vanities. The spiritual anguish, Atonement and says, in the language used for the
despair and frustration endured by man are not the High Priest’s confession, “I have sinned, I have trans-
The scapegoat symbolizes man who suffers because

of his own failures. If he feels remorse and has second
thoughts of repentance because of them, these failures
are then regarded as a sacrifice offered up to God.
consequence of the “lot for the Lord” but of “the lot gressed, I have acted perversely,” and he is wracked
for Azazel.” The special measure of grace, of the divine by suffering as he says this and this anguish is due to
quality of loving-kindness of the Day of Atonement, a sense of spiritual emptiness and disaster which are
then intercedes and rules that all those sacrifices of- related to acts of sin and are not consequent upon his
fered up by man to Satan which he regrets on the Day devotion to God – on this day the Almighty accepts
of Atonement and repents – these must all be regard- such suffering as a qualified sin-offering His sins are
ed retroactively as if they had been cast as a “lot for considered atoned for and he can now “repurchase”
the Lord” and the Almighty receives them as if from himself and make a new start in life
the beginning they were meant for Him.
The scapegoat symbolizes man who suffers because
A penitent who has suffered much because of his sins of his own failures. If he feels remorse and has second
and now comes broken and downcast before the Al- thoughts of repentance because of them, these fail-
mighty – after he has been abandoned and isolated be- ures are then regarded as a sacrifice offered up to God.
Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch, Collected Writings Let no one blame his standing, his material circum-
Volume II, Page 108-9 stances or his position in life, if he has chosen the
path “for Azazel”. Whether a man is endowed with
In front of them stands an urn containing two lots, both
grace or not, whether strong or weak, rich or poor,
of the same size and made of the same material. One
living in whatever time or whatever place, no outside
of these lots says “for God,” the other “for Azazel.”
influence should ever have an impact so compelling as
The High Priest steps up to the animals, reaches into to override his free will. Each one of us is placed in the
the urn and draws for one animal the lot “for God’’ and entrance of the Sanctuary, facing the Sanctuary, and
for the other the lot “for Azazel.” And so these two is handed both of the two lots…
animals stand together at the same spot, face in the
same direction and are identical in every respect. But
how diametrically opposed are their destinies.
These are the two paths between
which every one of us must
The animal marked “for God” will become an offer-
ing. Its blood immediately assumes a symbolic role of choose ... Each one of us has the
atonement and consecration. It is received in the ves- same opportunity to choose
sel of the Sanctuary and is borne into the Holy of Ho-
lies. There, in the Holy of Holies before the Ark of the either the path “for God” or the
Covenant of the Law, it is symbolically consecrated by path “for Azazel”.
being sprinkled toward it and then toward the curtain
of the Ark and toward the altar.
The animal marked “for Azazel” does not meet its

Rabbi Joseph B. Solovietchik,
death as an atonement offering. It remains alive and
intact, it remains standing erect, untouched while its
Man is Vulnerable
companion is being offered as a sacrifice. The two male goats were identical… but their fates led
them in opposite directions, as determined by chance
However “the man of its fate” has been prepared for (goral) decisions, entirely beyond their control. The
it in advance. When the atonement of its companion casting of lots decreed which was to go Lashem, to be
which died as an offering has been completed, the an-
sacrificed within the Temple, and which to Azazel, to
imal that has not become an offering is turned over
be cast out of the camp of Israel, ignominiously to be
intact, in the fullness of life, to the man who leads it
destroyed. The secret of atonement is thus indicated
away from the Sanctuary into the open, to a high rock.
in the ceremonious casting of the lots. It reflects the
There it stands, alive, free and erect. But then, sud-
denly, it topples backwards; it hurtles down a preci- basis for the penitent’s claim to forgiveness, that his
pice behind it, of which it was not aware. moral directions were similarly influenced by forces
beyond his control, that his sinning was not entire-
These are the symbols of the two paths between ly a free and voluntary choice. Only the Almighty
which we are to choose. It is the eloquent, solemn and can evaluate the extent of human culpability in sit-
forceful proclamation of the great principle by which uations which are not entirely of man’s making. Only
the whole Law of God, and our own consecration, God knows to what extent a man was a free agent in
stands and falls; namely, the principle of free will, the making his decisions. The Avodah is thus a psychodra-
freedom given to every one of us to decide his own matic representation of the penitent’s state of mind
future, the freedom to mark ourselves, of our own and his emotional need. Only by entering such a plea
free will, either “for God” or “for Azazel.”
can man be declared “not guilty.”
…
Yom Kippur is in this respect like Purim, both involving
These are the two paths between which every one of a goral. The compelling intrusion of the unknown and
us must choose. The urn stands before each one of us. irrational is basic to man’s existential condition and it
Each one of us has the same opportunity to choose ei- is precisely this weakness which qualifies him to re-
ther the path “for God” or the path “for Azazel”. ceive God’s compassionate forgiveness on Yom Kippur.
Maftir Yonah
INTRODUCTION TO YONAH (JONAH)
RA B B I DA N I E L A N D RAC H E L K RAU S
At the climax of Yom Kippur, we read the famous, yet thoroughly baffling, story
of Yonah. The Book opens with God sending Yonah as a divine messenger to the
huge Assyrian metropolis of Nineveh. The city had descended to a level of deca-
dence that was simply intolerable, and destruction was imminent. Only immediate
repentance would bring about a reprieve. Yonah, however, does not want to under-
take this mission, and he attempts to flee from God. He books passage on a ship
which will carry him far away from Nineveh, but a sudden storm threatens to tear
the ship apart. The sailors cast lots, and Yonah is tossed into the sea, where he is
swallowed by a whale.
From the belly of the whale, Yonah cries out to God in there a deeper significance in the central theme of the
anguish and despair and pleads for deliverance. God story, which revolves around Yonah’s attempt to extri-
answers Yonah’s prayer. The whale spits him out onto cate himself from his mission?
the shore, and he sets off at once for Nineveh, where
his message is greeted with consternation. The people The commentators explain that Yonah certainly had
don sackcloth and repent, and the city is spared. no illusions about thwarting the divine plan. If God
wanted to warn Nineveh that only repentance could
The question begs to be asked - Yonah was undoubt- save them, He undoubtedly would. However, Yonah
edly a very holy man if God granted him the gift of had such an overpowering love for the Jewish people
prophecy. How then and why did he refuse to serve as that he could not bear to be the agent of their misfor-
the messenger of God? tune. In desperation, he resolved to flee so that God’s
will would be fulfilled through some other channel. Jo-
Our Sages tell us that Yonah was concerned for the
nah was fully aware of the magnitude of his act and
welfare of the Jewish people. If the people in the city
the dire consequences he would probably suffer for
of Nineveh repented their wretched ways, God would
his disobedience, but the alternative was unbearable.
forgive them. The inhabitants of Nineveh would, in the
future, become the enemy of the Jewish people, de-
stroy the Temple, and exile the Jews.
In our own lives, we sometimes
bend the rules to suit our
This particular Haftarah is read at Mincha time, as the
sha’arei shamayim, (Gates of Heaven) are preparing to convenience. We fall into the trap
close. It is meant to highlight the conflict between Yo- of “situation ethics,” seeking a
nah and God and encourage us to rethink our relation-
ships with both God and ourselves.
middle ground between our desires
We are about to enter the precious final moments of
and the dictates of our Creator.
the holiest day of the year. Why read the Book of Yo- We rationalize. We equivocate. We
nah? What lessons are we meant to derive from this compromise. Like Yonah, we seek
story in these final climactic moments of Yom Kippur?
Is it only meant to present us with another example to escape the strictures imposed on
of disaster avoided through timely repentance or is it us by our innermost conscience.
meant to show us the power of repentance itself? Is
God chose not to send a different messenger to found lesson: concern for humanity. While the sailors
Nineveh. Instead, He sent storms and whales to force of the storm-tossed ship cry out to their gods in fear,
Yonah to return and accept his mission. The mes- Yonah descends into a deep sleep – an escape of sorts.
sage to Yonah was very clear, and it resonates down He is even criticized by the captain who asks him ‘how
through the ages to reach us every Yom Kippur. Yonah can you sleep so soundly? Arise call to your God! Per-
had no right to weigh the pros and cons of obeying haps he will pay us mind and we will not perish!”
God’s command. He did not have the option of decid-
ing whether or not to obey. If he was commanded to The captain’s call is, in a sense, a wake-up to under-
go to Nineveh, then that was what he was obliged to stand one’s role in the world. One’s responsibilities to
do, and no amount of rationalization could change it. his fellow man. Can we sleep soundly while others suf-
fer? Do we slumber? Do we remain silent?
In our own lives, we sometimes bend the rules to suit
our convenience. We fall into the trap of “situation eth- Yom Kippur is not just about the individual. The story
ics,” seeking a middle ground between our desires and of Yonah is read on Yom Kippur because it demands of
the dictates of our Creator. We rationalize. We equivo- us to think of the other. We pray for the entire world.
cate. We compromise. Like Yonah, we seek to escape And this year in particular, our prayers for the entire
the strictures imposed on us by our innermost con- world have greater resonance for all humanity as we
science. But in actuality, as Jonah discovered so pain- continue the fight to gain control of COVID-19. Let us
fully, it is not for us to make value judgments. each consider, like Yonah, what we can do for our com-
munity and what we can contribute to humanity. Like
Furthermore, the Rav, Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik Yonah, today we must immerse ourselves in honest in-
explained that the story of Yonah teaches us a pro- trospection and calculated soul-searching.
Jonah and the Whale. Carlo Antonio Tavella, mid 17th century. A powerful storm scene incorporating a
genre subject and the dramatic biblical story of Jonah and the whale. Royal Museums Greenwich / Public domain.
Beit Yosef, Orach Chaim 622:2:1 HaShem and promised in his heart to fulfill His com-
...[The reason we read] maftir Yonah is because it has mand regarding Nineveh. But he was comforted in his
in it the measure of the power of teshuvah. realizing that the people of Nineveh were worship-
pers of nothingness and, so, even if they did teshuvah
Radak on Jonah 1:1:1 because his call, they would not be steadfast in their
There isn’t even mention of Bnei Yisrael?! One can repentance— after a few days, they would leave their
explain that this is written as mussar to Israel, that a righteousness and return to their evil.
gentile nation who aren’t from Israel do a full teshuvah
with one rebuke, and Israel receive many rebukes and Pesikta D’Rav Kahanna 24:11
do not return from their wickedness...Also to teach .... Reish Lakish taught: The people of Nineveh did a
that God has mercy on all those who repent, regard- liar’s repentance. What did they do? R’ Chunyah in the
less of which nation they are from. name of R. Shimon ben Chalafta taught: They stood
the calves inside and their mothers outside. And these
Jerusalem Talmud Makkot 7a:1
were crying inside and these were crying outside.
It was asked of Wisdom, “What happens to the sin- They said, if you do not have mercy on us, we will not
ner?” Wisdom answered, “Evil pursues the wicked!” It
have mercy on them...
was asked of Prophecy, “What happens to the sinner?”
Prophecy answered, “The sinful soul shall perish!” It “And let each person turn from his evil way”: R. Yo-
was asked of Hashem, “What happens to a sinner?” chanan taught that what was in hand, they returned,
Hashem answers, “Do teshuvah and he will be forgiven!” and what was used in construction or a tower, they did
not return.
Abarbanel Yonah 2
The truth of the matter is that Yonah regretted fleeing Jerusalem Talmud Sanhedrin 56b:3
One who suppresses
his prophecy. Like Yo-
nah ben Amitai, Rebbe
Yonah says Yonah was
a true prophet... at
the time that God told
him, “Get up and go
to Nineveh...” Yonah
said, “I know that the
non-Jews are close
to repentance and I
will go and prophe-
cize to them and they
will repent and God
will come and hurt
Scenes from the Story of Jonah. Étienne Delaune, 1569. the ‘enemies of Israel.’
Engravings on paper. The Jewish Museum, New York / Public domain.
What should I do? Run
away.” And Yonah got
up to run to Tarshish...
THIRTEEN Were it not explicitly written in the verse, it would be

impossible to say this, as it would be insulting to God’s
MIDDOT
honor. The verse teaches that the Holy One, Blessed
be He, wrapped Himself in a prayer shawl like a prayer
leader and showed Moses the structure of the order of
Attributes Of Mercy the prayer. He said to him: Whenever the Jewish peo-
ple sin, let them act before Me in accordance with this
order.
Our modern Yom Kippur service is re- The verse continues: “The Lord, the Lord,” and it
plete with repetition, from phrases, to should be understood as follows: I am He before a per-
entire sections, but none as frequent son sins, and I am He after a person sins and performs
repentance, as God does not recall for him his first
as The Thirteen Attributes of Mercy sins, since He is always “God, merciful and gracious”
which is declared twenty-six times. The (Exodus 34:6).
source of these attributes is Biblical, and Rav Yehuda said: A covenant was made with the thir-
is God’s self-description, in response to teen attributes that they will not return empty-hand-
ed, meaning that if one mentions them, he will certain-
Moses’s request to gain an understand- ly be answered, as it is stated in this regard: “Behold, I
ing of His glory (Exodus 34:6). make a covenant” (Exodus 34:10).
Rabbi David ben Zimra, the RADBAZ, accurately notes Radbaz, Metzudat David Zimra, Mitzvah #11
that the text states to perform before me, and not to re- Moshe’s prayer was not accepted just because he
cite before me. The intention is not an incantation, but mentioned God’s Attributes. What the Sages meant
rather a personal transformation. Rabbi Moshe Cordo- when they said that “a covenant was sealed with the
vero in his book Tomer Devorah describes how each of Thirteen Attributes, that we will not be left emp-
these attributes of God can be actualized within our own ty-handed,” and when they said that “we learn that
character. God wrapped Himself up like a chazzan and said that
‘whenever the Jewish people act like this, I will pardon
Talmud Bavli Rosh Hashanah 17b them,’” the intent is that they should act in accordance
The verse states: “And the Lord passed by before him, with His Attributes, not merely mention them verbally
and proclaimed” (Exodus 34:6). Rabbi Yohanan said: [italics added]
NEILAH the Heavenly judgment that was written for each per-
son on Rosh Hashanah is sealed, whether for good or
for bad.
Rambam Hilkhot Tefillah 1:7 One should make a great effort to motivate himself
So, too, they instituted a service to be recited after during this prayer, for it is the culmination of both the
the afternoon service, close to sunset, but only on a Ten Days of Teshuvah and of Yom Kippur, since one’s
fast day, the purpose being to add petitions and sup- fate is decided by the sealing of the judgment. And if
plication on account of the fast. This Service is called not now, when?
“the Closing” [service]—an allusion to the fact that the
sky is closed to the sun which is at that hour of the day Therefore, even if one is weak from fasting, neverthe-
invisible—this service being recited near sunset. less he should strengthen himself to pray with pure
and clear thoughts, and to take upon himself the com-
Mishnah Berurah 623:3 mitment to do teshuvah sincerely and truthfully. For
In the Neilah prayer we ask that God “seal” us instead one who comes to purify himself is assisted by Heaven
of “inscribe” [us in the Book of Life]. For during Neilah [Yoma 38b] and will be sealed in the Book of Good Life.
45
SERMONS
S er mons / K J H I GH H O L I DAY RE AD ER
Morning Prayers
Ernest Kathelin
Second half 19th century
Public domain
K J H I GH H O L I DAY RE AD ER / S er mons 46
What Do You Have When You Have Nothing? 47 Where is God? Ayeh M’kom K’vodo? 54
RA B B I C H A I M S T E I N M E T Z RA B B I E L I E W E I N S TO C K
A Halakhic Approach to Suffering 50 Why Thank You is Not Enough 57

RA B B I H A S K E L L O O K S T E I N RA B B I M E Y ER L A N I A D O
47 S er mons / K J H I GH H O L I DAY RE AD ER
What Do You Have When

You Have Nothing?
Since the middle of March the world has wrestled with a disastrous pandemic. Like every-
one else, loss, grief and uncertainty has struck our community. We have lost beloved family
and friends, and the economic situation has had a difficult impact on so many of us. And all
of us sit at home frustrated, unable to go about our ordinary lives, unable to shake hands or
hug someone from outside of our own household.
During some of the more difficult moments in these last few months, I have thought about a
question I discussed in a Rosh Hashanah sermon a few years ago. What happens when you
lose some of the most precious things in your life? What do you still have? At a time when
it feels like so much is slipping out of our reach, it is important for us to remember that the
most significant things in life can never be taken away from us.
My mother was sixteen when she was sent to the who had every reason to emotionally collapse,
Kolozsvár Ghetto. There, as she and her family were exhibited remarkable character. If you asked these
stripped of their remaining possessions, she expe- survivors the question: “What do you have when you
rienced her first taste of the torture the Nazis would have nothing?” The answer would be: “You have a lot.”
inflict on her. Men were taken out at night by Hungar-
ian guards and members of the Gestapo, and a flame The Roman orator and statesman Cicero wrote: Omnia
was held to their feet to get them to reveal the where- mea mecum porto - I am carrying all my things with me.
abouts of any gems or gold they might have hidden. Rav Azriel Hildesheimer, at the opening of the Berlin
From that point on, things only got worse. She was de- Rabbinical Seminary in 1873, related this quote from
ported from the ghetto to Auschwitz, then sent to a Cicero to a Talmudic passage that says “Blessing
labor camp a few weeks later, and finally, towards the rests only on a thing which is hidden from sight.”
end of the war, escaped while on a death march. Rav Hildesheimer explains that “the only blessing
is that which is invisible, that is, of the spirit and the
Those first moments of freedom must have been idea,” and that the lesson of Jewish history is that
frightening for my mother. How does a 17-year-old “the scorned, sold and mortgaged Jewish servant,
girl look forward to life without a home, a country, a who has been driven out at the whim of others, was
single possession? What do you have when you have continuously reminded, again and again, that his only
nothing? true belonging was that which he carried with him
constantly, which no one could separate him from.”
As my children were entering their teens, I would
emphasize to them the contrast between their This lesson is what I learned from my mother’s
childhood and my mother’s. I used to think of this example: the greatest gifts are the ones you carry
contrast only in one direction, as in how much more in your heart. These survivors, these penniless,
my children have than their grandmother did at their unfortunate, persecuted refugees possessed
age: freedom, security, and material comfort. something invaluable: their heart. And that is all that
mattered.
Now, I think there is another contrast: my children’s
generation, with all of its material advantages, But what do you carry in your heart? First of all, you
still struggles with resilience and character. The carry your education with you; nothing could be more
generation of survivors, the people who had nothing, practical. Kohelet (4:13) writes: “Better to be a wise
and poor youth, than a foolish and well established The wandering Jews of Europe needed an asset they
elder statesman.” In the end, wisdom is the most could monetize anywhere; and so they relied on their
valuable commodity, and education has always been a education to support themselves whenever they had
Jewish priority. to find a new home.
A perfect example is the Jewish interest in medicine, But the lesson of Omnia mea mecum porto refers to
a field Jews still dominate today. Dr. Avram Mark more than education. It reminds us that the mindset
Clarfield offers an anecdote that underlines how we carry determines our happiness. This lesson, one
unusual the Jewish dominance of medicine is: that was stressed by the Stoics, finds expression in
the Mishnah that says “Who is the mighty one? He
Several years ago, while talking to a group of physicians who conquers his impulse...Who is the rich one? He
in an Edinburgh hospital, we got to discussing which who is happy with his lot.” Strength and wealth are
nation had the monopoly on first-class medical primarily a matter of mindset. When facing challenges
research. courage is more important than strength; in everyday
“It’s clearly the Germans,” offered a Scottish physician. living, contentment is more important than wealth.
“Why?” I asked. All of us would nod our heads in agreement when

hearing these lessons. However, this is not the
“Because the authors of most of the articles in the way we actually live. An abundance of material
most prestigious American journals all have names like comfort doesn’t diminish material desires, but on
Levine, Glickman, Berliner and Feinstein--obviously all the contrary, makes us more materialistic. The
of German origin.” Talmud sees the wealth the Jews took out of Egypt
as a corrupting influence, and the motivating cause
I smiled to myself. behind the Golden Calf. Similarly, material success
has reoriented the way Americans think. Tim Kasser
This lesson is what I learned from notes that contemporary Americans think that the
my mother’s example: the greatest “goods life” is the path to the “good life.” This mistake
leads to a great deal of unhappiness. Kasser notes
gifts are the ones you carry in multiple studies that show that the more materialistic
your heart. These survivors, these someone is, the less happy they are likely to be.
penniless, unfortunate, persecuted That is why the lesson of the Mishnah is so significant:
refugees possessed something How many people actually are happy with their lot?
invaluable: their heart. And that is The experience of having nothing teaches us how
all that mattered. to be grateful for everything. One of my mother’s
favorite sayings was “hunger is the best cook.” She
said that the food she ate right after being liberated
was the best meal she ever ate in her life, because the
This keen interest in medicine goes back to the overwhelming hunger she experienced at the time
Middle Ages. Joseph Shatzmiller in Jews, Medicine, brought out the best in the bland food she ate. With
and Medieval Society, tells of countries where less the right outlook, any piece of food is exceptional; and
than 1 percent of the population was Jewish, yet Jews the mindset of one who has nothing sees life as a gift,
were over 50% of the doctors. Clearly, education not a given.
was important to Jews, and in particular, medical
education. Some have speculated that this is because Beyond education and mindset, the final (and most
that “by providing Jewish practitioners with a craft important) item to carry is: values. (Before discussing
they could “carry” with them whenever they had to this further, it needs to be noted that for a Jew, faith
leave their homes and establish themselves in a new in God is a given, a spiritual oxygen that sustains us
place, the practice of medicine also eased the harsh every day. And faith is an all-encompassing value, and
circumstances that stemmed from imposed migration all other values are just a commentary on faith. But
(evictions and expulsions).” what are those other values?)
David Brooks, (based on The Lonely Man of Faith by her eyesight if she would have a small operation; but
Rabbi Joseph Ber Soloveitchik), coined terms for because she was on a fixed income, she lacked the
the two types of virtues a person can have: “resume resources to pay for this expensive procedure. Inspired
virtues” and “eulogy virtues.” to action, the girl went home and told her mother
that she was going to do a fundraiser to pay for the
Some virtues are about work: can you compete? Are elderly woman’s operation. The mother smiled at her
you pragmatic? A good leader? A financial wizard? daughter’s good intentions, but assumed, like most
Other virtues are about the types of accomplishments parents, that her daughter’s naive dream would soon
people speak about at a funeral: Did you volunteer? disappear.
What type of father were you? Were you idealistic? I
would point out this contrast between the domains The next day, the girl went to school and began to raise
of “resume” and “eulogy” is not just about virtues; it money. She went from class to class, from teacher to
is about priorities and values, about the content and teacher, and at the end of the day, after all the change
purpose of life. had been exchanged into bills, the girl had a grand total
of 83 dollars. She took the thick envelope stuffed with
This lesson is found in Jeremiah (9:22-23), who singles, and ran off to her elderly friend. Not knowing
inspires the Mishnah in its comments on the much about contemporary medical economics, the girl
worthiness of strength, wisdom and wealth: announced to her elderly friend that she had raised
the money for the operation! So, the young girl and
Thus says the Lord: the elderly woman took a short walk over to the local
Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, ophthalmologist’s office.
Let not the mighty man glory in his might,
The doctor examined the elderly woman, and said yes,
Nor let the rich man glory in his riches; she is a candidate for the procedure, and he can do it
But let him who glories glory in this, right away. At that point, the young girl chirps up and
That he understands and knows Me, says that she will pay for the procedure, and produces
the envelope with the 83 dollars.
That I am the Lord, exercising lovingkindness, justice,
and righteousness in the earth. For in these I delight,” The doctor performs the operation.
says the Lord.
The girl comes home, and reports to her mother the
Jeremiah offers a harsh appraisal of human success. day’s events. The mother is mortified; she assumes that
Do the resume virtues of wisdom, strength, or wealth her daughter has somehow misled the doctor. She runs
matter? No, they are not important. What matters to the doctor’s office to apologize, and to negotiate a
are the values love, justice and righteousness; what way to pay him the balance. As the mother continues
matters are eulogy virtues, which are a blueprint to to talk, the doctor cuts her off in the middle, and opens
the meaning of life. For this reason, Rambam at the his jacket. In his inside pocket is the envelope, stuffed
end of his great philosophical work, The Guide for with singles; he had not put the cash away. He told the
the Perplexed, offers an exposition of this verse in mother that this envelope was far more precious to
Jeremiah, because he sees these values are the very him than any amount of money, because this envelope
purpose of our lives. reminded him of the goodness of humanity and why he
became a doctor in the first place.
Love, justice and righteousness are most compelling
when you experience them directly. These eulogy This is a story about values: the values of a mother,
virtues matter because we intuitively understand a daughter and a doctor. They all understand the
that they endow our lives with meaning. Dr. David lesson of Omnia mea mecum porto, that it is what you
Pelcovitz told me a powerful story about a 9-year-old carry in your heart that matters; and if your heart is
girl that illustrates how inspiring eulogy virtues are. filled with love, justice and righteousness you have
everything you need. And if there is one lesson I want
A 9-year-old girl, encouraged by her mother, started my own children to remember it is this: what you need
to volunteer by visiting an elderly woman who had lost most in life cannot be put in a suitcase. Just carry
most of her eyesight. One day, while chatting with the your education, carry your character, and carry your
young girl, the woman explained that she could recover values, then you will have everything you need.
A Halakhic Approach
to Suffering
RA B B I H A S K E L LO O KS T EI N
Based on a lecture of Rav Soloveitchik published in the Torah U’Madda Journal, Vol 8, 1998-99.
On Rosh Hashanah 2001, I preached a sermon entitled, “An Halakhic Approach to Suffering.”
I was attracted to that subject because my sister, Dr. Nathalie Friedman, of blessed memory,
was losing a six and-a-half year battle with cancer during the summer of 2001. Her suffering
was very much on my mind. I had no way of knowing that on September 11, exactly one week
before Rosh Hashanah, our entire world would change due to the monstrous attack of 9/11.
Today, humankind all over the world, confronts an evil that has caused unimaginable suffering
for masses of people, in the form of the coronavirus pandemic and the efforts to mitigate it.
I have been thinking about this subject all summer and it prompted me to return to my sermon
of nineteen years ago and reformulate it. I hope the Rav’s message will be helpful to all of us as
we confront the various kinds of evil and suffering which are besetting us right now and which
are inevitably faced by all of us in our personal and national lives.
I. is metaphysical. It essentially “Declare if you know it all!”

denies evil entirely. The Book of
What is the Halakhic approach Job is fundamentally a refutation This metaphysical approach
to tragedy and suffering? The of evil in the world. What the book of Judaism says that our
subject is often raised when says, in effect, is that if Job really understanding is limited. If we had
personal tragedy occurs. It gains understood the world he would God’s understanding we would
particular relevance, however, in come to terms with evil and he realize that evil in the form of
the suffering through which our would understand that it doesn’t suffering and tragedy does not
world is going and has gone for exist. This is clearly expressed exist.
over half-a-year. in God’s oration to Job near the And, furthermore, if we had
conclusion of the book. eschatological vision, we would see
Does God play a role in this natural
evil? Is He responsible for it or, “And God answered Job out of the this even more clearly. The Talmud
at least, for not preventing it? whirlwind.” (Kiddushin 40b) teaches: “To what
The question is not new, nor can are the righteous compared in
it be adequately answered. But “Who is this who gives dark this world? To a tree standing in a
I found an approach that Rav counsel with words devoid of place of tahara (ritual purity) but
Soloveitchik presented almost understanding?” whose branches overhang into a
sixty years ago at a symposium on place of tum’ah (impurity). Cut off
“Where were you when I created the branches and the tree stands
Religion and Mental Health. I think the world?...”
that approach can be instructive entirely in tahara. Similarly, God
for us on this difficult, sad and “Did you ever command the brings suffering on the righteous
frightening Rosh Hashanah. morning to arrive?...” in this world so that they might
inherit the future world…” The
There are basically two religious, “Have the gates of death been Rav explains that this approach
Jewish approaches to the problem revealed to you? Have you seen is embarrassed by evil and so it
of suffering. The first approach the portals of darkness?” responds by disposing of it.
Human suffering is an illusion. Such a metaphysical approach, the terrible, monstrous, absurd.
A fuller understanding would show Rav says, “has worked miracles One tears one’s garments in the
that suffering, tragedy and evil do with our people whose history is a face of death. One sits on the
not actually exist. continuous tale of martyrdom and ground for seven days and denies
suffering.” The Jewish community oneself bodily comforts in a total
Our sages actually codified this found, in this metaphysic of evil, expression of mourning and
approach into the Halakha of relief, hope and courage. bereavement. If the pragmatic
prayer. In the morning, we quote a Halakhah had agreed with the
verse from Isaiah: However, such an approach, the metaphysical approach then why
Rav writes, does not bring solace tear clothing? Why sit shiva? Why
‫יוצר אור ובורא חשך עשה שלום‬ and comfort to a human being recite a berakha “Barukh dayan
‫ובורא רע‬ who finds himself or herself in ha-emet?” The pragmatic Halakhic
crisis, facing the monstrosity of approach faces evil and suffering
“I form light and create darkness; I evil either in the historical arena squarely, in all of its poignancy and
make peace and create evil.” of war and terrorism (or rioting, absurdity.
burning and looting) or in the
But the way our sages formulated
personal arena of illness. The In summary, says the Rav, the
this in our morning prayers
Rav acknowledges something Halakhic ethic of suffering rests
introduces a subtle change.
very interesting: “I can state upon three propositions: First, evil
‫‫יוצר אור ובורא חשך עושה שלום‬ with all candor that I personally does exist, and it is bad. The world
have not been too successful in which we live is not free from
‬‫הכל‬
‫ובורא את הכל‬
in my attempts to spell out this deformities and inadequacies.
metaphysic in terms meaningful People develop illness, suffer
“God who forms light and creates
to the distraught individual accidents, are in the wrong place,
darkness, who makes peace and
who floats aimlessly in an all- at the wrong time. None of this
creates all things.” The word
encompassing blackness, like a makes sense but it is a reality and
“ra” – “evil” – was replaced with
withered leaf on a dark autumnal it is indisputable and it must be
the word “ha-kol” – “all things.”
night, tossed by wind and rain. I faced honestly.
In the perspective of totality, evil
vanishes. tried but failed, I think, miserably,
One must never acquiesce in evil.
like the friends of Job.
When illness strikes it must be
Those familiar with Plato’s
II. attacked with the best scientific
dialogue, Phaedo, will recall that
tools and personnel available.
Plato quotes an oration delivered And so there is another approach When enemies or terrorists assault
by Socrates on the day of his
to Judaism. We might call it the us from without or from within
execution, saying the same thing.
pragmatic approach of Halakhah. they must be opposed with all the
“Death is nothing,” he says, “but
This approach is interested in political and military force which
the deliverance of man from the
pragmatic man, his body and we can muster. Suffering is not
cave, from the valley of shadows.
soul, his day-to-day activities, his good and it should be overcome by
Death is an ascent to the heights
small, narrow world, unrelated every effort we can summon.
from which many behold the ideas,
to metaphysics. The pragmatic
the true Being… the real, true, There have been religious views
Halakha acknowledges boldly
genuine Being.” The same idea is that did not agree with this. They
the reality of evil and accepts
articulated by Rambam at the maintain that if a person gets
the absurdity of evil. It faces
conclusion of The Guide to the sick that’s what God wants and
it squarely and does not try to
Perplexed. During life, the soul is, we shouldn’t fight it. Judaism
explain it away.
as it were, limited by the body and firmly rejected that approach.
bodily needs. At death, the soul is The Halakhot of mourning The same is true of poverty. As
liberated and enabled to live a exemplifies this realistic approach. Tevya said: “It is not a blessing
purely spiritual existence - ‫נהנה‬ Death is not the liberation of to be poor;” one should avoid
‫ מזיו השכינה‬- basking in the Divine the human being to some kind it at all costs. The same is
presence. So death is not evil. of an ideal existence. Death is true of resistance to terror, to
persecution, and to anti-Semitism. What is the difference between start every berakha with the words
The Halakhah has never been able equanimity and dignity? Rav “Barukh ata Hashem” – Blessed are
to accommodate a philosophy Soloveitchik suggests that you O’God. “You” is in the second
of passive resistance to evil. equanimity is a psychological person singular, the familiar, the
Rather, we are commanded “to term, while dignity is a religious close, the intimate. And then we
fight evil in the manner in which category. Dignity comes from always change to the third person
our forefather, Jacob, engaged our relationship with God. We singular in the rest of the berakha:
in combat with the mysterious are created b’tzelem E-lokim – in “ha-motzi lechem min ha’aretz” –
antagonist on a dark night on the image of God. We are able who brings forth bread from the
the other side of the river.” to commune with God, to reach earth. Or “she’asa li kol tzorki”
Him in the most personal and – who has provided for all of my
‫הבא להרגך השכם להרגו‬ intimate way in prayer and in a needs. This grammatical shift from
life of mitzvot. This is part of the
Halakhah expects us to accept suffering in dignity, a dignity

which reflects our understanding that in our relationship
with God and the world we have to be able to live with the
tension between victory and defeat, accomplishment and
withdrawal, achievement and helplessness.
glory of a human being of whom the second person to the third

“If someone comes to kill you,”
the Psalmist says: “You have made person reflects the intimacy and
says the Talmud, “rise up early in
him only a little less than the the withdrawal within the space of
the morning and kill him first.” In
angels.” It indicates our potential a single blessing pronounced over
the fight against Amalek – root
for achievement, accomplishment, food, over a mitzvah, or over an
evil – prevention, interdiction
control of the world and, yes, experience. Rambam, in his Yad
and eradication are mandated.
extensive power. ha-Chazakah, summarizes this
They are just as essential as
are inoculations against polio, tension in describing the essence
However, as soon as we experience of the love and fear of God.
chemotherapy against cancer and the fullness of this power and
vaccines against Covid-19. “When a person contemplates His
accomplishment, as soon as we great and wondrous works and
Evil, therefore, exists and it is bad. achieve victory, as it were, in our creatures…, he will immediately
Evil must be fought persistently relationship with God, we have to love Him, praise Him, glorify Him
and heroically. But what happens be able to withdraw and recognize and long… to know His great
when we lose the battle? At that that, as close as we are to the name. But when he ponders these
point, the pragmatic Halakhah angels, we are also, in the words of matters he will recoil, frightened,
instructs us to accept defeat Abraham, afar va’efer – dust and and realize that he is but a small
with dignity and humility. The ashes – when compared to the creature, lowly and obscure,
Rav stresses the word dignity Almighty. endowed with slight and slender
rather equanimity. Mental health intelligence, standing in the
There is a strange confirmation of
professionals advise us to resign presence of Him who is perfect in
this tension between power and
ourselves to an evil that we knowledge (Hilkhot Yesodai Ha-
powerlessness, victory and defeat,
cannot defeat, with stoicism Torah II:2).
and equanimity. The Halakhah achievement and withdrawal in
prescribes dignity. every berakha that we make. We In conclusion, the dignity of the
human being and his or her divine frightening story of Akeidat historical or personal, the
character assert themselves, Yitzchak – the binding of Isaac. pragmatic Halakhic approach is
on the one hand, in triumph and Abraham had it all, ‫וה׳ ברך את‬ of greater help. It consists, first
power and, on the other, in defeat ‫אברהם בכל‬. of all, of a realistic acceptance of
and failure. evil. Second, it urges us to prevent
“And God blessed Abraham it or overcome it to whatever
This dialectic, which is so closely with everything,” especially the extent possible and to take every
related to our acceptance of an blessing of a son for whom he measure available to us to fight
evil that we cannot overcome, is longed. Isaac was his heir, his it and defeat it. Finally, when we
taught to us through many of the future, his continuity. With his cannot defeat it, the pragmatic
mitzvot. For example: kashrut is a birth, Abraham had reached Halakhah expects us to accept
way of saying that we have a right the pinnacle of achievement, suffering in dignity, a dignity which
to enjoy the world fully except that accomplishment and power. reflects our understanding that in
there are limits beyond which we And just at the moment when our relationship with God and the
may not go. We can have almost he reached it, God commanded world we have to be able to live
everything but there are certain him to offer Isaac as a burnt with the tension between victory
things which we may not enjoy. offering on “a mountain that I and defeat, accomplishment and
Possession and withdrawal! shall show you.” And Abraham withdrawal, achievement and
rose early in the morning to do helplessness.
In the world of carnal pleasures,
God’s bidding. At the moment of
Judaism has always considered ‫ה’ נתן וה’ לקח יהי שם ה’ מבורך‬
reaching the pinnacle, Abraham
sexual activity to be a mitzvah
knows how to withdraw and how
and a very important part of a “The Lord gives and the Lord takes
to accept defeat. In the end,
marital relationship; but there away, blessed be the Name of the
there was no sacrifice, there was
are limits and rules concerning Lord.”
no tragedy, but Abraham was
which we must accept defeat and
prepared to accept tragedy, not We learn to do this through the
denial – it is to be enjoyed only in
with equanimity, but with dignity, world of mitzvot, with kashrut,
marriage, and, even in marriage,
with the understanding that in taharat ha-mishpacha and Shabbat.
only in accordance with the rules
our relationship with God there We understand it in the Biblical
of niddah and mikvah. Embrace and
will always be a tension between narrative of Abraham and Isaac.
retreat!
victory and defeat, achievement And then we hope that this way
Shabbat is another example. God and withdrawal. of life will help us to deal with
said to us “Rule over the earth personal tragedy and national
What, then, is an authentic
and conquer it,” which we do six calamity, individual suffering and
Jewish approach to suffering?
days a week. “Ach et shabtotai universal evil, with the dignity
Rav Soloveitchik suggests that
tishmoru” – “However, keep my that is the blessing of humanity,
there are two. The metaphysical
Shabbat.” Enjoy the world, exploit created in God’s image.
approach essentially denies
it, and rule over the entire earth,
the existence of suffering and Let us hope that the old year
but on Shabbat, withdraw, restrain
evil. This may be adequate or with its terrible excesses of evil,
yourselves, and accept the fact
even consoling as we look at the suffering and tragedy will end and
that the world doesn’t belong to
broad sweep of history. However, that the New Year will usher in a
us, but to God.
for the individual human being period of health, happiness, peace
All of this, says the Rav, is who experiences pain, anguish, and blessing for us, for all Israel,
encapsulated in the thrilling and suffering and evil, whether and for all humankind. Amen.
Where is God?
Ayeh M’kom K’vodo?
RA B B I E L I E W EI N S TO C K
It is a question we often ask – especially It is not just in our Modern Orthodox community
where God has a tough time. The Pew Forum’s U.S.
in difficult or challenging times: Where Religious Landscape Survey conducted in 2014 found
is God? that 63% of the US population is absolutely certain
in their belief in God. Another 20% are fairly certain
It is a question we ask each and every with 5% saying they just believe without the certainty.
That’s 88% overall. For Protestants, the numbers are
Shabbat: Ayeh m’kom k’vodo? Where is 66, 25, and 4 for 95% in total. Evangelicals were 88,
the place of God’s glory? 10, and 1 for 99%, and Catholics were 64, 27, and 5 for
96% in total.
The answer is simple. How about the Jews? The percentage of those with
absolute faith is 37%, while another 27% are fairly
Hashem is here, Hashem is there, Hash- certain with 14% just believing. That’s just 78% in
total, significantly less faithful than the average
em is truly everywhere. American and adherents of other religions.
In all seriousness, what does it mean to Why is this so? What happened to the nation described
as ma’aminim bnei ma’aminim, believers who are the
seek the place where God’s glory can be children of believers? The issue was addressed by
found? Furthermore, think of the para- Rabbi Joseph Lookstein in the late 1960s or early
dox of asking God to identify the place 1970s in a sermon entitled “Looking for God in the
Right Places.” It was “not intended to be a theological
to find His glory. It is bad enough we essay. Our concern is with a practical matter of faith.”
don’t know, but we make matters worse The sermon is directed to the period in which it was
delivered, but the sentiment is relevant today. Rabbi
by drawing attention to our ignorance. Lookstein stated:
The question of ayeh m’kom k’vodo is typical of the
The God of the philosophers will not do. He is too
complex relationship we have with God. We turn
impersonal. Even the Ein-Sof, the ineffable deity of
to God in times of need, but don’t recognize God
the mystics, cannot satisfy. He is too vague. Nor, dear
when we get what we want. With regard to faith, it
young people, will Zen Buddhism or similar oriental
is something to have, but it is difficult to articulate.
cults resolve the anguish, the fright, and the despair of
A number of years ago, I attended a meeting for 40
modern man…It is futile to look for God in the wrong
Orthodox rabbis in Orlando, Florida. One session was
places.”
devoted to the rabbis in the room sitting in a circle,
each weighing in with the greatest need facing their As time goes by, there seem to be more and more
community. The issues ranged from trying to get more wrong places. Rabbi Norman Lamm, in his Faith and
volunteers for committees, to increasing membership, Doubt, describes what he calls “excused doubt.” Today,
to adding more meaning to Judaism. The last rabbi more than ever, people do not believe as in the past,
said, “I find it interesting that no one felt that God and Jewish law has responded by not holding people
is an issue that warrants attention in the Modern as accountable for lapses in faith as in earlier times.
Orthodox community.” I have been thinking about this
idea ever since. In a similar vein, Dennis Prager notes that, nowadays,
people are just not theologically, intellectually, and of God’s glory? Where in complex times do our lives
emotionally prepared to deal with all the unjust reflect an awareness of the Divine?
suffering in the world. He posits that, nowadays,
maybe we’ve had it too good for too long. God is actually right in front of us in three ways.
Have the past six months of the Covid pandemic 1) We find God within the Jewish people. We are
turned people more towards faith? The Pew Research evidence of God’s existence.
Center studied this as well. The results were mixed.
Charles Murray is the sociologist who wrote the oft-
Some people have become more religious and others
quoted and respected book, “The Bell Curve.” Four
less so. Unsurprisingly, as with faith, Jews are less
years ago, in an article in Commentary Magazine
religiously awakened than other groups during these
entitled, “The Jewish Genius,” Mr. Murray concludes
times.
that there is only one way to possibly explain the
Throughout the High Holiday liturgy, we loudly declare exceptionalism of the Jews: “They are God’s chosen
our belief in God, King of the Universe. We declare, people.”
“V’ata hu melech keil chai v’kayam – You, God, are
Murray’s conclusion is shared by other writers
the everlasting King!” We proclaim “Aneinu Answer
and thinkers throughout history. Mark Twain and
us, Lord!” and call out to God to show us mercy and
John Adams are but two of those who saw Divine
compassion. During this period, we don’t have a
Providence in our survival as a nation. Charles
problem communicating our relationship with the
Murray is not Jewish! The others aren’t Jewish.
divine. But what about the day after? Where is God
in our lives then? Is God not at the very foundation of Unfortunately, Jews don’t talk this way! We don’t think
our lives? As committed Jews, we may not all behave that way anymore. It is considered too “parochial” and
exactly the same, but our Judaism all originates “particularistic.”
from God. How can we minimize or ignore our Divine Our problem is that we know we are Jewish; we just
aren’t sure what being Jewish means to our faith in
Our very identification God. The late Shlomo Carlebach, reflecting on his
years of visiting students on college campuses around
as Jews attests to God’s the world, recounted:
presence. Our faith is I ask students what they are. If someone says, “I’m a
Catholic,” I know that he’s a Catholic. If they say, “I’m a
expressed by our very Protestant,” I know that she’s a Protestant. If they say,
“I’m just a human being,” I know that’s a Jew.
existence. We are m’kom We need to acknowledge what others recognize in us:
k’vodo, proof of God’s God. Our very identification as Jews attests to God’s
presence. Our faith is expressed by our very existence.
presence. We are m’kom k’vodo, proof of God’s presence.
2) Ayeh m’kom k’vodo is not a question. It is a

statement. We find God in our struggle with the
connection? It is not all right for Judaism to be devoid questions of faith.
of the Divine. We must find a way to make relevant our
Rabbi Jonathan Sacks notes that faith in God is
relationship with God. It is essential to our living as
strengthened through questioning and rigorous
engaged Modern Orthodox Jews.
debate. There are no shortcuts, and it is good to be
During the High Holidays, it is appropriate to pay challenged. He describes leaving university for study
attention when we ask the question: Ayeh m’kom in a rabbinical seminary in Israel. The highest form
k’vodo - Where is God’s presence found? We should of praise there was, “du fregst a gutte kasha – you’re
begin the New Year by exploring what God means to asking a good question.” The best thing for our faith is
each of us. Ayeh m’kom k’vodo? Where is the place to ask and confront.
Rabbi Sacks quotes American Buber was polite with the young Is it not strange that our search for
playwright Wilson Mizner: “I man, even friendly, but he was God ends with man? God is king,
respect faith. But doubt is what also hoping to soon get back to but his throne is in our hearts…A
gets you an education.” He then his meditations. The two spoke for paraphrase of [R.] Yehuda Halevi
comments: a short time and then the young seems to sum up our thought:
man left. Buber never saw him
To ask is to believe that again because he died shortly I have sought Thy nearness;
somewhere there is an answer… thereafter in World War I. Later,
With all my heart I call Thee,
Far from faith excluding questions, Buber learned from a mutual
questions testify to faith – that friend that the young man had But going out to meet Thee
the world is not random, life is not come to him that day in need
chance. of basic affirmation, had come I found You dwelling in me
looking for guidance. He had not
Ayeh, the very act of asking and As we affirm God as ruler of the
recognized the young man’s need
struggling to find God, is m’kom world during the High Holidays,
at the time because he had been
k’vodo, where God is found. we must also embrace that God
concerned to get back upstairs to
must be prevalent and pertinent
God is in us, and God is to be found his prayers and meditation. He had
in our religious lives. The core
within our struggle with our doubts been cordial, but he had not been
relationship with God need not be
to understand. fully present. That’s when Buber
on a high mountaintop, poring over
realized how potentially artificial
the great truths of the universe.
3) God is found in connecting with the mystical high can be.
We have a very accessible
other people.
This story highlights the difference relationship with God.
The Talmud (Shabbat 127a) states: between a God experience and
We can find God when we fully
being in a relationship with God.
‫אמר רב יהודה אמר רב גדולה‬ appreciate who we are as the
Having a God experience is, at its
Jewish people.
‫הכנסת אורחין מהקבלת פני שכינה‬ core, all about you. It is selfish.
Being in a relationship with We find God as we struggle with
Welcoming guests is more God, like being in a relationship the questions of faith.
important that communing with with a person, comes with
the Divine. We learn this from responsibilities. What is a And we find God when we
Avraham, who interrupted talking responsibility? It comes from a recognize the supreme value in
to God to greet the angels who combination of the words able responding to others.
came to visit him. and respond. When we think
If we are successful, we will have
about God, if it doesn’t open us
Responding to the needs of others invited God to play a role in our
up to hearing the call to duty, if it
supersedes one’s Divine service. religious identities. We will have
doesn’t increase one’s ability to
shown that God is a very real and
respond, it is having an experience,
The transformative event in Martin relevant force in our lives all the
but it is not encountering God in a
Buber’s life was a knock at the time in the same way we proclaim
real relationship.
door. He had been upstairs in his throughout our liturgy. Maybe we’ll
room fully engaged in a deeply This is how Judaism expects us to even increase the Jewish faith
religious moment, when there make God a real part of our lives. numbers in the next Pew poll. And
was a knock at his front door A relationship with God is as much, when we say the Kedushah, we will
downstairs. He was taken out of if not more, about increasing love have a new, deeper understanding
his spiritual reverie and went down and sensitivity towards others than of the question of ayeh m’kim
to see who was at the door. It it is about the spiritual experience k’vodo: Hinei m’kom k’vodo! Right
was a young man who had been a – as lovely as it is. Rabbi Lookstein here in front of us, as part of our
student and a friend, and who had concludes his sermon with this lives in the real world, rests the
come specifically to speak with him. thought: glory of the Living God.
Why Thank You is Not Enough

During this challenging time, it is so difficult source. This is increasingly more difficult in the “Me
to appreciate what it is that we do have. With Generation” or “iGeneration,” those born between
1980 and 2000. This group has been taught to focus
so much uncertainty and stress, our focus
on the self, and that the world is theirs for the taking.
is on what we are lacking and what we are Dr. Jean Twenge in her book Generation Me: Why
afraid to lose. How can we shift our mindset, Today’s Young Americans Are More Confident, Assertive,
and the culture within our homes, to start Entitled--and More Miserable Than Ever Before presents
this new year with a more positive perspec- her studies which show this generation having an over-
tive, one of genuine gratitude for what we inflated sense of self. Therefore, how can one expect
have been blessed with? someone from the “Me Generation” to even begin the
process towards expressing gratitude? They believe it
How can we instill genuine gratitude in our children? was theirs for the taking.
We teach them to say “thank you,” but this often
Why is this negative? One can be a great scientist,
remains as a superficial expression of politeness.
doctor, lawyer, businessman, or any other profession
Unfortunately, without more depth, these children
without having a sense of gratitude. So, why should
may perceive the world in mechanistic terms. They
gratitude be a value that we seek to instill within our
may say: “If I want a cookie, I need to say ‘please,’ and
children? Dr. Emmons and Dr. Stern make a compelling
if I want another, either now or in the future, I need to
case in their article “Gratitude as a Psychotherapeutic
say ‘thank you.’” This should be of no surprise since we
Intervention.” They wrote: “Gratitude has one of the
call these “the magic words.”
strongest links to mental health and satisfaction
We tell our children to “just say the magic word” as with life of any personality trait—more so than even
we hold the toy or candy in front of them, and by so optimism, hope, or compassion.” If we want our
doing, they can get whatever they want. As these children to experience the “higher levels of positive
children grow older, they may become more adept, emotions such as joy, enthusiasm, love, happiness, and
learning how to use a larger cadre of “magic words” to optimism,” then we need to teach them to be grateful.
get what they seek. While this will help them achieve This is not to mention the benefits of improved and
success in some areas, it may lead to egocentrism and strengthened relationships and collaboration.
entitlement, believing everything is there for them, if
So, how do we teach our children to recognize that
they just say “the magic words.” What we would like is for
the world does not owe them? It is not just through
these words to reflect a genuine expression of gratitude.
teaching them to say “please” and “thank you,”
Before continuing, we need to first define gratitude. because as important as these words are, if used
Its root is the Latin gratia, meaning favor or goodwill, alone, they risk becoming a tool, a coin in a vending
“not compelled by legal right (Merriam-Webster).” The machine. These words need to be expanded to
receiver of this gratis experiences the equivalent of elaborate on why our children are thankful.
the Hebrew hanun (favor), and hessed (kindness) - the
feeling that they are incurring more benefit than one This may be the reason why the Thanksgiving
deserves or expects, to which the response should be offering of the Todah is obligatory. One may think
hoda’ah (thankfulness/acknowledgment). that a Thanksgiving offering should be voluntary and
brought only when one feels emotionally grateful,
This is a two-part progression as noted by Dr. Robert but according to numerous Jewish commentators
A. Emmons of the University of California. First, in and legalists, it is mandatory. The same is true
recognizing that one has obtained a positive outcome, with the blessing birkat haGomel which is recited to
and that this positive outcome came from an external acknowledge God’s hessed after surviving one of four
scenarios: surviving a journey at sea or through the must invite guests who will be ever curious: “Why
desert, being released from prison or recovering from are you celebrating?” The individual holding the
a severe illness. This blessing is not only thematically festivities, knowing this, will have to prepare some
connected, but also takes the place of the korban thoughts or maybe even a speech to present to his
(Tur Oreh Hayyim 219). Since the Gemara in Berakhot guests.
54b says there are four who must recite this blessing,
and, as we learn from the Tur, it is in place of the This exercise forces us to articulate that which we are
Thanksgiving offering, then these same scenarios grateful for, the undeserved blessing we received from
would necessitate a korban Todah, and vice versa. God and others. Similarly, the birkat haGomel must be
said in public so that we can respond to those who ask,
As important as these words “Why are you saying Gomel?” While not as powerful as
explaining why one is hosting a banquet, the process
are, if used alone, they risk should cause one to articulate why they are thankful,
becoming a tool, a coin in a developing genuine gratitude.
vending machine. A study by Emmons and McCullough in their article

“Counting Blessings Versus Burdens: An Experimental
Investigation of Gratitude and Subjective Well-Being
Alongside the animal offering, the person must bring in Daily Life,” demonstrates that a weekly journaling
forty loaves of bread. There are four different types of schedule to note specific reasons why one was
loaves, one of each is given to the Kohen. This leaves grateful led to participants feeling more grateful and
the individual with thirty-six loaves. These loaves, optimistic. The reason is that participants needed to
along with the meat of the sacrifice, must be eaten find specific experiences to express in writing. That is
before the next morning. Each loaf was the volume the message of the korban Todah. To develop genuine
of over forty-three eggs, about the size of three egg gratitude, we need to specify precisely why we are
cartons. How long would it take you and your family grateful. This is even before the appreciation is felt.
to eat 36 loaves of bread equal to the volume of 129 The exercise of writing necessitates the enumeration
cartons of eggs?! Is it even conceivable to consume of specific circumstances we should appreciate.
that much bread in the one-day time limit? The Creating regular routines, whether verbally or written,
Abarbanel, commentating on the Torah’s description teaches children to be appreciative. That is why it is
of the korban Todah, expresses that he thinks it is important to create gratitude routines. Too often,
not possible, and that is exactly the point. This large children hear their parents complaining: “I can’t
volume of food forces one to invite others to share in believe they didn’t give me X or do Y for me.” That just
the meal. As Abarbanel articulates: “They will ask each furthers the feeling of entitlement. Instead parents
other what is his Thanksgiving offering for? And he should say: “Wow, look at what X has done. I am so
will relate to them the miracles and wonders that were grateful.” That conveys that one is receiving more
done with him... (Abarbanel Vayikra 7:11)” With this than deserved, and it is appropriate to articulate that
understanding, Rashi’s comments become clearer. realization.
Rashi, in his comment on the same source, connects When sitting around the table for a weeknight or
the korban Todah with Psalms 107, thereby making Shabbat dinner, a parent can ask their children to tell
the connection between the offering and verbally them to share something good that happened that day.
recounting God’s deeds. The Psalm states: “VeYizbehu
zibhhei Todah - and they shall slaughter sacrifices My wife, Talia, and I have a weekly gratitude routine
of thanksgiving, viSaperu maAsav beRina - and they during Havdalah, within the haslihenu section, where
shall recount of His deeds with joyous song.” The we ask for God to help us out. We take a moment to
person brings the sacrifice and then praises God. express to each other what we are grateful for. When we
The mandatory nature of the offering compels an have guests, we ask if they would like to share. We have
individual to find a reason why they are thankful, found that this instills in us a favorable feeling towards
beyond the ritual of saying “thank you” or simply God and others. We hope that our daughter Adina,
bringing an offering. With the shared meat, extra seeing this ritual every Saturday night, will recognize
loaves, and short time-limit for its consumption, one the blessings we have and feel genuine gratitude.
59
RESOURCES
R e sou r ce s / K J H I GH H O L I DAY RE AD ER
Procession of the Law

Solomon Alexander Hart
1845
Jewish Museum London / Public domain
K J H I GH H O L I DAY RE AD ER / R e sou r ce s 60
An Order Of Service For Rosh Hashanah &

Yom Kippur For Those Worshiping At Home 61
C O M P I L E D BY RA B B I H A S K E L L O O K S T E I N
Thought Provoking Questions on

the High Holiday Torah Readings 64
61 R e sou r ce s / K J H I GH H O L I DAY RE AD ER
An Order Of Service For Rosh Hashanah &

Yom Kippur For Those Worshiping At Home
CO M P I L E D BY RA B B I H A S K E L LO O KS T EI N
The following is an outline for an abbreviated service for those who wish to pray at home in this era of Covid-19.
I have included page numbers from the Koren Machzor for easier identification. I have also provided some
suggestions for expanding the service somewhat and enriching it, while still not overextending it.
ROSH HASHANAH The Penitential Psalm - L’David
Morning Blessings
261
267-269
EREV ROSH HASHANAH
Pesukei d’Zimrah
F R I D AY, S E P T E M B E R 1 8
a. Barukh She’amar 301-303
Mincha b. Ashrai through Barukh Hashem l’olam amen v’amen 327-335
A full Mincha without Kaddish 13-39 Nishmat through the Silent Amidah 343-395
Follow instructions in the Machzor regarding the different
Candle Lighting at 6:40 pm 11
order of the prayers for Shabbat and a weekday 355
Avinu Malkeinu (omit on Shabbat) 449-453

Ma’ariv | First Night
Add Mizmor Shir l’Yom haShabbat 49 Torah Reading
Barukh ata A-donai through end of Amidah 53 - top of 83 First Day 467-471 and top of 475
Add V’Sham’ru, on the first night, Shabbat 65 Second Day 737-741 and middle of 743
On Shabbat, add Vayechulu paragraph after Amidah 83 Haftarah

First Day 477-481
Aleinu 91
Second Day 745-749
The Penitential Psalm - L’David 95
Ashrai 503-507
Before dinner, recite kiddush being careful to
begin with Yom haShishi (for Shabbat) 105-107
Musaf
At dinner, after the Motzi and the eating of challah dipped in The Silent Amidah
honey, slice an apple, dip it in honey, recite the blessing over First Day 515-549
it, take a bite and then recite the prayer Yehi ratzon 107 Second Day 771-803
There is no repetition of the Amidah, but you might want to say

ROSH HASHANAH DAY
Unetaneh Tokef
S AT U R D AY- S U N D AY, S E P T E M B E R 1 9 - 2 0
First Day 565-569
Second Day 809-811
Shacharit
Psalm of the Day Aleinu
On Shabbat bottom of 259-261 First Day 649-651
On Sunday 255 Second Day 883-885
YOM KIPPUR
EREV YOM KIPPUR
S U N D AY, S E P T E M B E R 2 7
Mincha
Follow the Machzor from Ashrai
through the Amidah and Aleinu 7-39
Kol Nidrei will be on Zoom from

The Main Synagogue at 2:30 pm
Candle Lighting before 6:25 pm 45
Ma’ariv
From Barukh ata A-donai through the Silent Amidah 81-119
Suggested Prayers following the Amidah

a. Ya’aleh 125-127
b. Amnam Kein 145-149
c. Ki Hineh Ka-chomer 151
Shema Koleinu 161
Viduy (confession)
Mahzor (Festival Prayer Book)
Printer: Anton Schmid. Date & Place: Book - Vienna, Austria; 1823. a. E-loheinu middle of 165 through bottom of 167
Cover - Italy, first half 20th century. Medium: Silver - pierced,
repousse, traced, engraved, and cast; ink printed on paper. I strongly recommend adding the prayer that takes up all of
Jewish Museum Collection / Public domain. 169. It is a reminder of how we should all be thinking about
ourselves, our lives and our world on Yom Kippur and -
hopefully - throughout the year. One can say it in Hebrew or
English not only tonight but - as I shall note - in Shacharit,
Kiddush before lunch
Musaf and Mincha tomorrow.
First Day 655 b. Al Chet end of first paragraph, 173-179
Second Day 889
Avinu Malkeinu 189-193
Mincha 893-933
Aleinu 199-201
(Omit Avinu Malkeinu on Shabbat)
The Penitential Psalm - L’David 205
Candle Lighting for Second Day after 7:34 pm 11
YOM KIPPUR DAY

Ma’ariv | Second Night M O N D AY, S E P T E M B E R 2 8
Follow the order for the First Night, however:
• omit the portions for Shabbat Shacharit
• add the section for Havdalah The Psalm for the second day of the week 461
in the Amidah 75
and in the Kiddush 107 The Penitential Psalm - L’David 467
Morning Blessings 475-477 Viduy (confession)
Pesukei d’Zimrah a. E-loheinu in its entirety, 949
a. Barukh She’amar 511-513 I recommend, again, the beautiful prayer

from last night and this morning 951
b. Ashrai through Barukh Hashem l’Olam Amen v’Amen 537-545
c. Nishmat through the end of the Silent Amidah 551-611 b. Al Chet everything but last paragraph, 953-959
(Omit all Shabbat additions}
Mincha
There is no repetition of the Amidah, but you might want to say
Torah Reading 993-997
L’E-l Orech Din 659-661
Shema Koleinu first paragraph on 679 Haftarah (entire Book of Yonah) 999-1009
Viduy (confession) Silent Amidah 1015-1039
a. E-loheinu middle of 681 through end of There is no repetition of the Amidah but one should add
Shema Koleinu top paragraph, 1069
second paragraph - Hirshanu - 683
I recommend, again, the inspiring and humbling Viduy (confession)

prayer suggested last night middle of 683 to middle of 685 a. E-loheinu bottom of 1071 - first three paragraphs 1073
I recommend, again, the very meaningful prayer from the last
b. Al Chet 687-693, to end of second paragraph
paragraph of Page 1073 almost to the end of Page 1075.
Avinu Malkeinu 711-715 b. Al Chet end of first paragraph, 1077-1083
Torah Reading 727-735 and 737

Neilah
Haftarah 739-743 Ashrai 1105-1107
This passage from Isaiah contains the prophet’s
Silent Amidah (no repetition of the Amidah) 1113-1135
interpretation of the true purpose of our Yom Kippur Fast.
Viduy (short confession) not including last two paragraphs 1179
Ashrai 765-767
Avinu Malkeinu 1191-1195
Musaf Shema (once) 1199
Silent Amidah 877-801 Barukh Shem (three times) 1199
There is no repetition of the Amidah, but you might want to say Hashem hu... (seven times) 1199
a. Unetaneh Tokef 843-845
b. The beautiful prayer of the Kohain Gadol after he emerged Ma’ariv

from the Holy of Holies and prayed for all the things that are Barukh ata A-donai through end of the Amidah 1203-1233
most precious to us. May this prayer be answered favorably
for all of us. 899 Aleinu 1243-1245
c. Shema Koleinu middle paragraph 945 The Penitential Psalm - L’David 1249
Next year in Jerusalem, please God, or, at least, back in shul!!!!!

G’mar Chatima Tova!
Thought Provoking Questions on

the High Holiday Torah Readings
ROSH
HASHANAH,
DAY I
1st Aliyah / Rishon
What does it mean that God
remembered? Does it imply that
He forgot? Can God forget?
Every single verse in the first

Aliyah has active verbs:
‫פָ ַק֥ד‬ ּ = remember, ‫ = וַיּ֧ ַע ַׂש‬He did,

‫תלֶד‬ ּ֨ ֵ ַ ‫ = ו‬she gave birth, ‫ = וַיִּקְרָ ֨א‬and
he called, ‫ = ו ַ ּ֤י ָמָל‬and he
circumcised.
Is there a reason to emphasize all

the action?
2nd Aliyah / Sheni

Is laughter a weakness or a
strength?
3rd Aliyah / Shelishi

When self-reflecting on Sarah’s
directive to banish Yishmael and
Hagar, Avraham was upset
ְּ ‫ = עַ֖ל אֹו ֹד֥ת‬about his son. In the

‫בנֹֽו‬
very next verse, when God inserts
Himself into the conversation he
refers to Yishmael as ֙‫בע ֵינ ֶ֙יָך‬ְּ ‫אַל־י ֵרַ ֤ע‬
‫ = ע ַל־ה ַּ֣נ ַע ַר‬don’t be distressed
over the lad. Why does God
respond with a different term? Hagar and the Angel in the Desert. James Jacques Joseph Tissot, c. 1896-1902. The
What is the difference? Old Testament Series. Gouache on board. The Jewish Museum New York / Public domain.
The text refers to ‫ה֑ם‬ ְּ =

ָ ָ‫בע ֵינ ֵ֣י אַבְר‬
that the idea was bad in the “eyes

of Avraham.” And God responds ROSH God Himself to sacrifice Yitzchak,
why does Avraham heed to the
with another reference to the eyes,
ְּ ‫ = אַל־י ֵרַ ֤ע‬don’t be
֙‫בע ֵינ ֶ֙יָך‬
HASHANAH, directive of an angel?
distressed in your eyes. What can

be learned from the repletion of
DAY II Why doesn’t God Himself tell
Avraham not to harm Yitzchak?
the word eyes? 1st Aliyah / Rishon
The pasuk uses the phrase 4th Aliyah / Revi’i
4th Aliyah / Revi’i “֔‫וְלְֶ֨ך־לְָך‬,” “go for yourself” in the When blessing Avraham that his
In describing where Hagar sat, the mandate to Avraham to take children will be “as many as the
Yitzchak to be sacrificed. These stars and as many as the grains of
verse states, ‫שב לָּ֜ה מ ִּ֗נ ֶג ֶד‬
ֶ ׁ‫ת‬
ּ֨ ֵ ַ ‫תלְֶך֩ ו‬
ֵּ ַ ‫ו‬
words were in the initial call to sand,” the pasuk ends, ֔‫וְי ִרַ ׁ֣ש ז ַרְ עֲָך‬
= she went and sat opposite. What
Avraham when he embarked on his
insight can we extract from the ‫בֽיו‬ ֥ ַ ׁ ‫“ אֵ֖ת‬and your children
ָ ְ ‫שע ַר ֹאֽי‬
monotheistic life journey. Why
description of how and where will inherit the cities of their
does the Torah employ this phrase,
Hagar sat? enemies.” How does this blessing
sending reverberating echoes to
fit as part of the overall blessing of
The verse states that Hagar lifted Avraham?
children and specifically in the
her voice and cried and the very
The pasuk states, ‫שנ ֵ֤י‬ ְ ׁ ‫ק֞ח אֶת־‬
ּ ַ ִּ ‫וַי‬ aftermath of this test of Avraham?
next verse says that ֮‫מ֣ע אֱלֹהִים‬
ַ ‫ש‬
ְ ׁ ִּ ‫וַי‬
֒‫ = אֶת־קֹ֣ול הַנַּעַר‬God heard the ‫בנֹ֑ו‬ ָ ְ ‫“ נְע ָרָ יו֙ אִּתֹ֔ו וְאֵ֖ת יִצ‬And he
ְּ ‫ח֣ק‬ In the last pasuk of this Aliyah, the
voice of the lad. What are we took his two young men, and his
verse states, “֙‫הם‬ ָ ָ ׁ ‫ ”ו ַ ּ֤י‬and
ָ ָ‫שב אַבְר‬
meant to understand from the son Yitzchak with him.” The word
Avraham returned, why is this in
raising of her voice, but God hears ‫ בן‬appears 9 times over this Torah singular form? Shouldn’t it read,
and responds to the boy’s voice. reading, why does the Torah need
‫ וישבו‬and they returned, both
to incessantly repeat that Yitzhak
Avraham and Yitzchak?
was his son?
5th Aliyah / Chamishi
How does Hagar’s reaction to her
2nd Aliyah / Sheni 5th Aliyah / Chamishi
son’s situation differ from Sarah’s This Aliyah sets the stage for
reaction to her son’s situation? When Hashem calls to Avraham in
the next part of history and the
the first Aliyah, Avraham responds
What coping tools and strategies next link in Jewish history, the
‫ה ִּנ ֶ֣נ ִּי‬, “here I am.” In this Aliyah,
can be extracted from their birth of Rivka. Why is this section
when Yitchak calls to Avraham,
respective responses? necessary to include in the Rosh
Avraham responds in the identical
Hashanah reading in the aftermath
manner, ‫ה ִּנ ֶ֣נ ִּי‬. What is the
of the harrowing story of Akeidat
6th Aliyah / Shishi significance of Avrahams identical
Yitzchak?
response to both God and
God’s presence with Avraham was Yitzchak?
evident to Avimelech; ֔‫מָך‬ ּ ְ ִ ‫ה֣ים ע‬
ִ ֹ ‫אֱל‬
‫שׂה׃‬
ֽ ֶ ‫ת֖ה ֹע‬
ּ ָ ַ‫שר־א‬
ֶ ׁ‫א‬ ְּ = Avimelech
ֲ ‫ב ֹכ֥ל‬ The phrase ‫דֽו‬ָּ ‫ח‬
ְ ַ ‫ה֖ם י‬ ְ ׁ ‫ו ַ ּֽי ֵלְכּ֥ו‬, “the
ֶ ‫שנ ֵי‬
told Avraham, “God is with you in
all that you do,” how does one
two walked together,” appears
twice in this Aliyah. Why does the
Enjoyed this
become a person who embodies a Torah emphasize their walking Reader?
visible presence of God? together?
For extra copies,
contact Riva Alper
7 th Aliyah / Shvi’i 3rd Aliyah / Shelishi at [email protected] or
Why does Avraham plant a tree When about to sacrifice Yitzchak, visit ckj.org to view
at the culmination of the promise an angel calls out to Avraham to digitally.
forged between himself and stop and not to harm Yitzchak.
Avimelech? Having been asked directly by
YOM KIPPUR 3rd Aliyah / Shelishi

After describing the process of
need to change clothes. What can
we learn from the emphasis on the
clothing worn?
atoning for the sins and absolving
1st Aliyah / Rishon the people of their sins, the verse
What is the connection between continues, ‫א֣הֶל מֹועֵ֔ד‬ ֹ ְ‫שה֙ ל‬ ֶׂ ֲ ‫וְכֵ֤ן יַע‬ 5th Aliyah / Chamishi
‫ ּכ ַ ֹפּרֶ ת‬, the term used for the cover ‫תֽם׃‬
ָ ‫מ ֹא‬
ְ ‫בתֹ֖וְך ֻט‬
ְּ ‫ת֔ם‬
ּ ָ ִ‫שׂכֵ֣ן א‬ ַ Aharon
ֹ ‫ה‬
of the Ark, and Yom Kippur? Why The one who escorts the goat to
will do the same for the “tent of
would the ark covering and the Azazel and the one who burns the
meeting which abides with the
name of the day share the same remains of the other offering are
people in the midst of their
root word? both instructed to “wash their
impurity.” Why was it necessary to
add “in the midst of their clothes, rinse the body in water
Why was it necessary to mention and afterwards can come in to the
the death of Aharon’s two sons in impurity”? This entire process is to
absolve impurity, what does the camp,” ‫שרֹ֖ו‬ ָׂ ‫ב‬
ְּ ‫ח֥ץ אֶת־‬ ַ ָ‫בג ָ ָד֔יו ו ְר‬
ְּ ‫ב֣ס‬ ֵּ ַ ‫יְכ‬
describing the holy work Aharon
was to perform? text want us to understand? ‫מחֲנ ֶֽה‬
ּ ַ ֽ‫ה‬
ַ ‫מ֑י ִם וְאַחֲרֵ י־כֵ֖ן יָבֹ֥וא אֶל־‬ ַּ , why
ָּ ‫ב‬
do these individuals have to
Each Aliyah has ended with the change, bathe and only then return
2 nd
Aliyah / Sheni phrase ‫בּיתֹ֔ו‬
ֵ ‫בעַ֣ד‬
ְ ‫בע ֲדֹו֙ ּו‬ ּ ִ ‫ – וְכ‬why
ַּֽ ‫פֶ֤ר‬ to the camp? What is the
does each Aliyah end with this significance and symbolism of that
What is the significance of two
same phrase? process?
identical goats?
Why would a lottery be the

mechanism for designation of the
4th Aliyah / Revi’i 6th Aliyah / Shishi
goats; one for God and one for Why does the text emphasize that
Why is Yom Kippur referred to as
Azazel? Aharon had to place both hands on
‫בתֹ֥ון‬
ָּ ‫ש‬
ַ ׁ ‫ב֨ת‬ ַ ׁ , the Shabbatot of all
ַּ ‫ש‬
the goat? ‫ת֣י י ָ ָד֗יו‬
ֵּ ‫ש‬
ְ ׁ ‫ה ֹר֜ן אֶת־‬
ֲ ַֽ‫מְ֨ך א‬
ַ ‫ס‬
ָ ְ‫ו‬
What is the symbolism of the goat Shabbatot? We do not observe
֘‫שע ִיר‬
ָ ׁ‫ה‬
ַ ‫ע ַל־ ֹר֣אׁש‬
sent to Azazel and why are we Shabbat in a way that reflects the
specifically told ‫אתֹ֛ו לַע ֲז ָאז ֵ֖ל‬
ֹ ‫ש ּלַ֥ח‬
ַ ׁ ְ‫ל‬ The Torah emphasizes in both the rituals or practices performed on
‫בֽרָ ה‬
ָּ ‫מ ְד‬ ַ to send the goat
ִּ ‫ה‬ first and fourth aliyot about the Yom Kippur, so why would this day
specifically to the wilderness? clothing that Aharon wore and the be characterized as ‫בתֹ֥ון‬ ָּ ‫ש‬
ַ ׁ ‫ב֨ת‬ ַ ׁ?
ַּ ‫ש‬
Acknowledgements
Thank you to all those who contributed to this reader and made this publication possible.
Co-Editors
Rabbi Chaim Steinmetz and Rabbi Meyer Laniado
Content Contributors Copy Editing Layout &

Rabbi Elie Weinstock Leonard Silverman Image Curation
Rabbi Haskel Lookstein Riva Alper Talia Laniado
Rabbi Daniel Kraus Joe Bierman
Rachel Kraus Dina Farhi Printing
Cantor Chaim Dovid Berson Esther Feierman The Print House
S P O N S O R E D I N L OV I N G M E M O R Y O F E L L I O T R . C H A L M E ’ B Y H I S FA M I LY
Congregation Kehilath Jeshurun
125 East 85 Street, New York, NY 10028
ckj.org | 212.774.5600

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Sounding of the Shofar. Alex Levin.

Jerusalem, Israel. Art Levin / artlevin.com

Light of The Torah

PREFACE like this: “I can’t believe that I haven’t talked in shul

So, if you are not coming to shul for the Yamim

INTRODUCTION istrative team contributed their unique talents, al-

PRAYERS 3 TORAH READINGS 37

The Holiday Series, Rosh Hashanah

PRAYERS 3 Rosh Hashanah, Day II 13

GAONIC ADDITIONS 3 BINDING OF ISAAC: AKEIDAH 13

Hayom Harat Olam: What’s It About? 5

Laughing at Logic 12 - Tanna debe Eliyahu Zutta 22

EXCERPT ON THE TOPIC FRO M “ WHAT IT M E ANS TO RE AL LY L IVE”

UNDERSTANDING ZOKHREINU LEHAY YIM AND

MALCHIOT, ZICHRONOT & SHOFAROT:

The primary task of Rosh Hashanah is

accepting God as our King

Rabbi Yaakov Medan, The Themes of Malchiot, Zichronot, and Shofarot

his offspring.” This means that while God perpetually

Remembered as God’s Beloved Child

When the pious Rabbi Levi Isaac of Berditchev (18th

And Amnon answered and said, “I shall pronounce my

EXCERPT ON THE TOPIC

ANGELS AT THE DOOR / RABBI CHAIM STEINMETZ

They were everyday angels carrying an extraordinary message.

Many of the major characters in the Tanakh

EXCERPT ON THE TOPIC To a social or political scientist, the possibility

LOGIC But this strange outcome is precisely what oc-

The citizens of Sodom not only act violently

Abraham, on the other hand, demonstrates his

Hospitality and justice elevate Abraham and

It is “not strength, not might, but God’s spirit”

The Torah realizes that this sounds funny, but

Rosh Hashanah, Day II

A Poetic Point of View

O Righteous One, do us this grace!

Talmud Rosh Hashanah 16a (4th – 6th century)

Faith and Morality

The religious act is fundamentally an

God says to Avraham: “Take now your

Bereishit Rabbah 65:10 Rabbi Abraham I. Kook, Letter 379

Akeidat Yitzchak in Art

Beit Alfa Mosaic

Witnesses to the Event

WHY DO WE BLOW THE SHOFAR?

ASPECTS OF THE SHOFAR

Rav Mosheh Lichtenstein, “The Human Dimension of Shofar”

Pirkei d’Rabbi Eliezer, 32

Jews Praying in the

HEALTH ON YOM KIPPUR 25 - Halakhic Man, Rabbi Joseph B. Solovietchik

- S.Y. Agnon — A Treasury of Jewish Wisdom - Rav Kook, Orot Hateshuvah

My Problem with Kol Nidrei 28

- Beit Yosef, Orach Chaim 622:2:1

THE FOUR STEPS OF TESHUVAH 34 - Talmud Bavli Rosh Hashanah 17b

TESHUVAH: REINVENTING YOURSELF 35 - Mishnah Berurah 623:3

The Importance of Protecting

During a Cholera Epidemic

The same is true of Rabbi Isaac Alfasi (11th