Wednesday, September 24. 2014
Rosh Hashana 2 - How to Get Written in The Book Of Life
There is a book, it is called the Book of Life. On Rosh Hashana, our liturgy tells us, we are written down for life - we hope. The evildoers are written for death. On Yom Kippur, it is sealed. How do we merit to be written for life? What does the writing-sealing process mean? And who is actually reading this "book"? Why not just say that God decides who shall live and who shall die, and leave the publishing industry out if it?
Further, why is the phrase "they shall be written" used? Why not use the active tense together with the subject and state that "God will write?" This is clearly hinted at by the strange phrase in the prayer Unetaneh Tokef: "And the signature of every hand is in it (the Book)." In other words, WE are the ones doing the writing. If this is so, why would anyone be written down for death? Who would do that to themselves? What does this mean?
Further, why is the phrase "they shall be written" used? Why not use the active tense together with the subject and state that "God will write?" This is clearly hinted at by the strange phrase in the prayer Unetaneh Tokef: "And the signature of every hand is in it (the Book)." In other words, WE are the ones doing the writing. If this is so, why would anyone be written down for death? Who would do that to themselves? What does this mean?
I need not go into the challenges we are currently facing in the world with terrorism, wars, cruelty and fear. One may think of how Rosh Hashanah must have felt in Poland in 1939, and appreciate how real the words of the liturgy may seem. Our prayers are with our brethren in Syria and Iraq, in Ukraine, and in the areas affected by the latest Hamas war. "And of the states it will be said which to the sword and which to peace." We pray that all of our lands be blessed with peace.
How are we to deal with all of this? It's easier if you're Prime Minister, because you can take actions. But what about the rest of us? Is worry, and prayer, all there is left to do? Certainly prayer is powerful and crucial, so that's nothing to make light of. But I think there is something in addition that has great potential to electrify our prayers and make them into powerful forces.
The Rambam, in the Laws of Repentance, gives us a striking perspective to take when contemplating a sin or a mitzvah. Imagine, he says, that you are 50-50, half sins and half merits. One action either way will tilt the scales. Coming out on the good side means life, and vice (no pun intended!) versa. Then, he says, go a step further. Imagine now that the whole world is similarly balanced, and one action of your will tip the balance for all humanity!
Powerful, no? But wait a second, I don't really buy that this is the truth. In truth, we are probably far more meritorious than guilty, and so forth. So why imagine a situation that isn't accurate? Is this just a motivational technique?
We have a similar one in the Talmud, where we are urged to repent one day before we die. Does a person know when that is going to be? The Talmud answers that because indeed one does not, they will repent every single day. Again, same question. The overwhelming odds are that the person who is here today will still be here tomorrow. So why imagine a non-realistic situation?
To both questions one could say that yes, we aren't sure, but it may indeed be so that the whole world is at 50-50, and indeed tomorrow might be The Day. Therefore, why risk the world and eternity? Acceptable answer, for sure. I wish to add my take on this.
Life can mean the presence of a pulse, or it can mean much much more. The Righteous, say our sages, are considered alive even though they may have passed centuries ago. And the wicked are considered dead, even though they are currently posting internet videos. Dead and alive do not refer to biological state. They refer to Influence.
A Living person is a constructive influence on the world. Their teachings, their example changes people, brings light to the world. Even if they lived 2000 years ago, their words may continue to inspire. Thus, in the Torah sense, they are very much Alive. A wicked person, who causes others to sin, who sows hatred, violence and decay, adds nothing to life. The opposite, he detracts from it. Thus, even if he's being interviewed on the news, he is spiritually dead.
And that is the key question of Rosh Hashanah. What kind of influencer are we planning to be? We influence with our words, but even more with our deeds. We influence with who we are, our totality. That influence goes horizontally, to our family, our associates, and it goes vertically, to our children and forward into the future. People respect us, learn from us, or can use us as an excuse. People can be helped by us, uplifted by us, or shot down by us.
The famous prayer Unetaneh Tokef concludes its message of being inscribed for life or death with the emphatic declaration, "Repentance, Prayer and Charity cause the bad decree to pass." Why "to pass"? Why not simply "to be torn up"?
Perhaps it is because it is not God who changes the decree, it is US. As we said earlier, we are the ones who write in the book, and if we wrote ourselves down for death, we can cause that to pass by rewriting our entry through repentance, prayer and charity.
The answer is that the Book of Life is, in truth, the book of life-giving influencers. Who is such? Well, that's up to us. We can choose to live our lives as good influencers, and thus be alive, even for hundreds of years, through our good character, deeds and teachings. On Rosh Hashanah, we can choose to live a life of positivity for the world. Thus, we write ourselves in that book. What is written is not just our name, it is our character, our essence. On Rosh Hashanah, it is our commitment and our potential.
But that is not enough. Good intentions without good deeds don't go very far. For that, we have Yom Kippur, the day of actions. On Yom Kippur we go through our behavior with a fine tooth comb, improving every aspect of how we fulfill the mitzvot and how we behave. Couple pure intentions with scrupulous actions, and the writing in the Book of Life becomes permanent, becomes Sealed.
May we all choose to be great influencers, and then commit to walk the talk. May we write ourselves in the Book of Life, read by all with whom we come in contact, and be sealed in it.
How are we to deal with all of this? It's easier if you're Prime Minister, because you can take actions. But what about the rest of us? Is worry, and prayer, all there is left to do? Certainly prayer is powerful and crucial, so that's nothing to make light of. But I think there is something in addition that has great potential to electrify our prayers and make them into powerful forces.
The Rambam, in the Laws of Repentance, gives us a striking perspective to take when contemplating a sin or a mitzvah. Imagine, he says, that you are 50-50, half sins and half merits. One action either way will tilt the scales. Coming out on the good side means life, and vice (no pun intended!) versa. Then, he says, go a step further. Imagine now that the whole world is similarly balanced, and one action of your will tip the balance for all humanity!
Powerful, no? But wait a second, I don't really buy that this is the truth. In truth, we are probably far more meritorious than guilty, and so forth. So why imagine a situation that isn't accurate? Is this just a motivational technique?
We have a similar one in the Talmud, where we are urged to repent one day before we die. Does a person know when that is going to be? The Talmud answers that because indeed one does not, they will repent every single day. Again, same question. The overwhelming odds are that the person who is here today will still be here tomorrow. So why imagine a non-realistic situation?
To both questions one could say that yes, we aren't sure, but it may indeed be so that the whole world is at 50-50, and indeed tomorrow might be The Day. Therefore, why risk the world and eternity? Acceptable answer, for sure. I wish to add my take on this.
Life can mean the presence of a pulse, or it can mean much much more. The Righteous, say our sages, are considered alive even though they may have passed centuries ago. And the wicked are considered dead, even though they are currently posting internet videos. Dead and alive do not refer to biological state. They refer to Influence.
A Living person is a constructive influence on the world. Their teachings, their example changes people, brings light to the world. Even if they lived 2000 years ago, their words may continue to inspire. Thus, in the Torah sense, they are very much Alive. A wicked person, who causes others to sin, who sows hatred, violence and decay, adds nothing to life. The opposite, he detracts from it. Thus, even if he's being interviewed on the news, he is spiritually dead.
And that is the key question of Rosh Hashanah. What kind of influencer are we planning to be? We influence with our words, but even more with our deeds. We influence with who we are, our totality. That influence goes horizontally, to our family, our associates, and it goes vertically, to our children and forward into the future. People respect us, learn from us, or can use us as an excuse. People can be helped by us, uplifted by us, or shot down by us.
The famous prayer Unetaneh Tokef concludes its message of being inscribed for life or death with the emphatic declaration, "Repentance, Prayer and Charity cause the bad decree to pass." Why "to pass"? Why not simply "to be torn up"?
Perhaps it is because it is not God who changes the decree, it is US. As we said earlier, we are the ones who write in the book, and if we wrote ourselves down for death, we can cause that to pass by rewriting our entry through repentance, prayer and charity.
The answer is that the Book of Life is, in truth, the book of life-giving influencers. Who is such? Well, that's up to us. We can choose to live our lives as good influencers, and thus be alive, even for hundreds of years, through our good character, deeds and teachings. On Rosh Hashanah, we can choose to live a life of positivity for the world. Thus, we write ourselves in that book. What is written is not just our name, it is our character, our essence. On Rosh Hashanah, it is our commitment and our potential.
But that is not enough. Good intentions without good deeds don't go very far. For that, we have Yom Kippur, the day of actions. On Yom Kippur we go through our behavior with a fine tooth comb, improving every aspect of how we fulfill the mitzvot and how we behave. Couple pure intentions with scrupulous actions, and the writing in the Book of Life becomes permanent, becomes Sealed.
May we all choose to be great influencers, and then commit to walk the talk. May we write ourselves in the Book of Life, read by all with whom we come in contact, and be sealed in it.
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