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The Charlotte Jewish News - September 2012 - Page 33 At-One-Ment: High Holy Days, 5773 By Rabbi Dr. Barbara Thiede, Temple Or Olam Once a year on the tenth day of the sev enth month, the Kohein Gadol, the High Priest, cleansed the sanctuary. His work completed, he went before the peo ple and announced, simply and surely: Mikol khatoteykhem lifnei Adonai titharu, “Before Adonai you shall be cleansed from all your sins” (Leviticus: 16:30). Torah tells us: God responded by granting the community complete forgiveness. But Torah makes no mention of any process of teshuva to be observed between Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur. The text doesn’t actually connect the two holidays. Neither does Torah depict God decreeing who shall live and who shall die in the year to come - not on either day. Torah texts on the High Holy Days are spare. Most of our obser vance has emerged from rabbinic texts and folkway additions. Still, many of us assume that our rites follow a prescribed tradition with a trajectory of almost 2,000 years. But Judaism is neither static nor one-dimensional. For Ashkenazi Jews, Unetaneh Tokef, the prayer in which we describe a day of judgment that evokes fear even in the angels, is pivotal. Unetaneh Tokef was a late addi tion to Ashkenazi liturgy and probably became widespread only following the 10th century. Many Jews consider it a centerpiece of their devotion, unless they belong to the many Sephardic communi ties that do not don’t recite the prayer. Our liturgy, our practice, and our understanding of the purpose of Jewish festivals change over time and are affected by geogra phy. The phrase aserety’mei t shu- va (ten days of repentance) proba bly entered our vocabulary when the Arbah Turim was published in the 13th century. Verses on Zichronot and Shofarot may have been acceptable liturgical ele ments by the writing of Mishnah, but the rabbis argue about whether to add verses about Malchut. Ashkenazim of some European lands disputed with their rabbis on Sabbath Shuva. The Jews of Poland, according to Seva Ratzon, did no such thing: “It is an encour agement to the will to [do] evil.” In Hungary, so their descen dants write, Chassidic rabbis of the 17th and 18th centuries walked to the House of Prayer for Kol Nidre in such trepidation that even their earlocks trembled with fear. But words like “awe,” “fear,” or “judgment” are completely absent from a 1663 stele describ ing how Jews in Kaifeng observed Yom Kippur. Instead, the stele describes Yom Kippur as a day when “desires are forgotten, attainments are put aside, and all apply themselves to preserving the heart and nourishment of the mind, so that through direction there may be a restoration of goodness.” There are many more such examples. Jews have differing practices where our High Holy Days are concerned - even differ ent perspectives on their purpose. These differences transcend time, location, and gender. Why regard them as any thing more than curiosities? Because they demonstrate two critical issues we must contend with in our own time. Do today’s Jews believe that God is a stem judge who decides each year who shall live and who shall die? Has God pointed the finger of death at the child dying of hunger in the Sudan, and rewarded the child whose home is in Ballantyne with life? How are we to contend with this theological perspective after the Holocaust? What would happen if we observed the kind of Yom Kippur the Kaifeng Jews enjoyed, a day in which “man remains at rest [so that] his heav enly nature will reach perfection”? Moreover, recognizing the rich diversity we are heirs to reminds us to be conscious - and to appre ciate - the extraordinary diversity we represent today. Jews have made and remade their traditions for centuries. They have respond ed to their times and to their ancient texts with new readings and with abiding reverence. A story: One year on Kol Nidre, Rabbi Meir of Apt arrived at the synagogue to find his congrega tion in tears: “Jews,” he said, “this is not what I desired; I wish you to turn to God in joy!” And he began to chant the hymn “Majesty and faithfulness are God’s who lives forever” with such enthusiasm and pleasure that they all stopped cry ing and took one another by the hand and danced for an hour in a great circle. Then they began Kol Nidre. May we turn to God with open hearts this New Year, in the pur suit of goodness and kindness. May we live out our joy - in who we are, who we have been, and who we are yet to be.^ Our Best Wishes For A Happy And Healthy New Year Sandra & Leon Levine A Happy and Healthy New Year This new year we are proud to represent exclusive custom jewelry designed by Israeli artists. Come view this exciting new collection To All Our Friends from Etti & Uri Krause Quality Products & Friendly Service at Affordable Prices VIA VENETO MORE THAN JUST A SHOE STORE 704-556-0710 LADIES SHOES, CEOTHING & ACCESSORIES Phillips place • fairview rd. charlotte, n.c.
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