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For most Americans, “the holidays” generally refer to the two celebrations of Thanksgiving and Christmas. From November through December, the holiday spirit reigns with all energy focused on the festivities.
But to the Jewish people, “the holidays” refer to the three fall celebrations which occur over a fifteen-day period: Rosh HaShana, Yom Kippur, and Sukkot. In English, this translates into The Feast of Trumpets, the Day of Atonement, and the Festival of Booths, respectively.
The level of frenzy is often the same!
My own family was not considered “religious.” But no matter what else we did or didn’t do to express our Jewish-ness, observance of these holidays identified us and kept us within the Jewish community. Some things we dared not question…this was one of them!
Then and now, the most serious part of this festival time is the “Days of Awe” --the ten-day period between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. The Days of Awe begin and end with the blast of the shofar. During these days, attitudes of reverence and sobriety towards God and respect for men are cultivated. Reflection, repentance, restoration – words which calm and sober the spirit pour over the land.
I still ponder these things.
Here in Israel and within religiously observant communities, the seriousness of the Days of Awe is followed by the joyous eight days of Sukkot.1
ROSH Ha SHANA
Perhaps because the Bible gives us so little explanation of this holiday, tradition filled in the gaps. For example, without any biblical or cultural basis, Rosh HaShana is considered the beginning of the Jewish calendar although the Bible dictates observing it on the first day of the seventh month. This tradition is furthered by the designated name: Rosh HaShana, meaning “head of the year.” Thus Passover, which God considers the beginning of the biblical calendar has become the beginning of the religious year and Rosh HaShana has become the beginning of the civil year.2
The rabbis tell us that many things happened on this day, including but not limited to:
God’s creation of the world and of Adam
Adam’s sin against God
Cain and a twin sister were born
Abel and a twin sister were born
Cain and Abel made their offerings to God
Abraham was born and died (but not in the same year)
We are also taught that after the golden calf “incident,” Moses went up to Mt. Sinai during Rosh Hashanah to receive the second set of tablets while the people spent time in repentance. Moses then returned to camp on the day of Yom Kippur when the people had completed their repentance (and were ready to receive the second set of tablets).
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Rosh HaShana is also a time of feasting (based on
Nehemiah 8:10). Apples dipped in honey and other rich
foods are used to reflect hopes for a sweet year. Rather than the braided challah (bread) which is used for Sabbath, a sweet and fruit-filled round is often eaten.
YOM KIPPUR
How different is Yom Kippur! Instead of feasting, a simple meal is prepared to be eaten before sundown. Somberness prevails. Instead of reflection, repentance and judgment hovers in the air.
On the first evening of Yom Kippur, the Jews chant the Kol Nidrei prayer. The Kol Nidrei was written in response to forced conversions of the Jewish people during the time of the Inquisition. While outwardly many Spanish Jews lived as Catholics, when they sung Kol Nidrei they were saying to God that they would never believe in Jesus! Amazingly, the renunciation only pertained to religious vows while vows and promises made to men were still in effect.
Fasting from sundown to sundown was meant to be an affliction to one’s soul, eliminating the comfort and distraction of food, in order that all the individual and corporate areas of life infested with sin could be faced, and repentance sought!
Yom Kippur as the culmination of the “Days of Awe” stands as the most singular and solemn of all the holidays. Biblically, it’s taught to be the one day of the year when, as a COMMUNITY, the Jewish people stand before God for His judgment.
But again, tradition deviates from biblical instruction. The Jewish people now observe this as a day of PERSONAL judgment. It is believed that at the end of Yom Kippur, God decides who will live for the next year. (!)
Small wonder the translation of the Hebrew greeting during this time is, “May the end be a good signature.”
These holidays impacted my life as a Jewish child. Over the years I began to take them more seriously. I took time to reflect on my attitudes and actions over the previous year. I did actually ask some people for forgiveness. I really did try to change. To this day certain memories remain alive:
I remember my anger at the way many people entered the Temple for the holiday services. It seemed that some people came more to see and be seen then to worship. I remember complaining to my mother, “Why don't these people take God more seriously? This is supposed to be God’s house!” Even though I had never read a word of the Bible, I knew that God deserved more respect than we were giving Him.
I remember the Yom Kippur I spent in Brooklyn with Lenny. We stayed with his Orthodox parents who lived within the prescribed distance from the schul (Yiddish for synagogue).
I’d been both nervous and excited about participating in a more religious observance. I’d both hoped and feared I’d get a greater understanding and sense of the Presence of God.
Because the rabbis interpret the biblical command “you shall do no work” to include walking too far, driving or riding in a car, and even turning on lights, every light switch in the apartment was taped - either to ON or OFF. In that way, no one would inadvertently “work” by turning on or off the light.
The command to afflict one’s soul was also taken to the extreme as a full fast was enforced. That meant neither brushing my teeth that night nor rinsing my mouth out the next morning, lest I ingest some water in the process!
Lenny’s synagogue’s services began at sundown and lasted about three hours that first night…almost twice as long as the ones I was used to. Shortly after sunrise the next day, we were back in the synagogue again! There we remained until sundown. The entire service was in Hebrew, which I couldn’t understand. Everything was unfamiliar. What made this day especially hard was that I couldn’t even sit with my friend. [Religious communities strictly enforce separation between men and women. In this synagogue they were separated by a fence and could not see each other.]
I remember the “Confession of Sins” we recited each year. The Sidur (prayer book) carefully listed them for all of us: “For the sin which we have sinned against Thee . . .”
under stress or through choice;
openly or in secret
in stubbornness or in error
in the evil meditations of the heart by word of mouth
by abuse of power
by the profanation of Thy name
by disrespect for parents and teachers
by exploiting and dealing treacherously with our neighbor
“For all these sins O God of forgiveness, bear with us! Pardon us! Forgive us!”
But I don’t remember feeling forgiven. I had tried so hard to be righteous. And yet, as I left, I had no more assurance that my name had been inscribed in the Book of Life than before I came. Not surprisingly, soon after that I stopped observing Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur.
What was the use?
I remember that I did think it was a good idea to spend the “Days of Awe” mending broken relationships. It was hard and sometimes humiliating as I had to often admit that I was wrong and apologize even to those who had offended me! But eventually I stopped doing that as well.
I remember the day I asked the Rabbi, “What assurance do we have that God hears our prayers?” “None," he answered. I pressed the issue: “But Rabbi, what about Yom Kippur when we plead with God to forgive our sins? If He doesn’t hear us, how do we know that our sins are forgiven? How do we know that our names will be written in the book of life?”
I thought those were pretty good questions! I was shocked when he said, “We don’t. We don’t know that He hears. We don’t know that He forgives. We don’t know that He writes. We just act as if He does."
The internal conflict is best seen through the lives of two of Judaism’s most esteemed teachers.
Rabbi Akiva wrote:
“Happy are you Israel! Who is it before whom you become clean? And who is it that makes you clean? Your Father which in heaven, as it is said, ‘And I will sprinkle clean water upon you and you shall be clean.’ And it further says, ‘Thou hope of Israel, the Lord!’ Just as the fountain renders clean the unclean, so does the Holy One, Blessed be He, render clean Israel.
However, on his own deathbed, Rabbi Jochanan Ben Zaccai’s dying words expressed the angst of his soul because he didn’t have any assurance of God’s forgiveness. When his scholars came to visit him, he began to weep. To whom they said,
‘O thou light of Israel, thou right-hand pillar, thou strong hammer, whence are those tears?’ To whom he replied, ‘If men were about to carry me before a king of flesh and blood, who today is here, and tomorrow is in his grave, -- if he were angry with me, his anger is not everlasting, if he should cast me into bonds, his bonds are not eternal; if he should kill me, his killing would not be eternal; and I might perhaps pacify him with words, or soften him with a gift.
But they are ready to lead me before the King of kings, the Lord, holy and blessed, who lives and lasts forever and ever; who if He be angry with me, His anger is eternal; if He bind me, His bond is eternal; if He kill me, His killing is eternal; and whom I cannot either appease with words or soften with a gift. And moreover, there are two ways before me, one to paradise, another to hell; and I know which way not they will lead me. Should I not weep?” (Bab Beracoth, fol 28.2)
I am grateful that I do not find myself in this quandary.
Though I pondered these questions as a Jewish child, I know now as a Jewish adult, that God has made a provision for me. I may know with complete assurance which way I will go upon my natural death. I need not weep. My God has given me Jesus Christ, His only begotten Son, who died for me upon the cross; so that I may live today, and forever.
Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. Earth and sky fled from his presence, and there was no place for them. And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Another book was opened, which is the book of life. The dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded in the books. The sea gave up the dead that were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead that were in them, and each person was judged according to what he had done. Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. The lake of fire is the second death. If anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.
Nothing impure will ever enter it, nor will anyone who does what is shameful or deceitful, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb's book of life. (Rev 20:11-15; 21:27)
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1The holiday of Sukkot will be considered in another article.
2Surprisingly despite the national observance of Rosh HaShana as the New Year throughout Israel, most fiscal calendars revolve around December 31st!
3For a more detailed study, visit www.ariel.org.
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