A series of inspirational messages on the weekly Torah portion by members of the UJC Rabbinic Cabinet

UJC Rabbinic Cabinet Chair: Rabbi Bennett F. Miller, D.Min.
Vice Chair: Rabbi Ronald Schwarzberg
President: Rabbi Harold J. Berman
Director: Rabbi Eric M. Lankin, D.Min.
Mekor Chaim Editor: Lisa Kleinman
Coordinator: Rachel Ain

Rosh Hashanah
By Rabbi Vernon Kurtz

In their book Preparing Your Heart for the High Holy Days, Rabbis Kerry Olitzky and Rachel Sabath comment on the major themes of the High Holy Day period, atonement and forgiveness.

They write: "Forgiveness is difficult whether you are the one who asks for forgiveness or grants it.  Even simple words of apology seldom come easily, especially when we are peering into the hidden recesses of our own souls and we know that God is looking in the same place.  While it is certainly difficult to say, ‘I'm sorry,' and mean it, such words of remorse are also hard to accept.... But we need to recognize that regret is the first step to real change.  Without earnest introspection and forgiveness of ourselves and others, we will not change.... Our tradition calls this process of self-reflection heshbon hanefesh, literally ‘making an accounting of the soul.'  It's what the month of Elul is all about."
 
Many psalms focus on atonement and forgiveness, but our rabbis chose Psalm 27 to be recited throughout this entire High Holy Day period, from the beginning of Elul, the month proceeding Rosh Hashanah, until the conclusion of Hoshana Rabbah.  Why was this psalm, which says nothing of repentance, chosen? The words themselves offer us a hint: The word "loolay," which appears in line 13, is Elul spelled backward.
 
However, there are more compelling reasons.  The ArtScroll commentary on the Book of Psalms suggests that this psalm combats sin by teaching how to prevent it at its source.  The commentator writes, "The mind which is fully engrossed in single minded dedication to God's service has no room for sin."  The author exhorts us not to be distracted from concentrating on this one goal. Reciting Psalm 27 reminds us to come close to God and to abandon sin, echoing some of the major themes of the High Holy Day season.
 
Rabbi Martin Samuel Cohen, in his recent book Our Haven and Our Strength, The Book of Psalms, writes: "At the time of year when people find their thoughts turning more and more frequently to their relationship with God, it is both bold and brave to read Psalm 27 over and over as part of public worship, almost as though its message were in need of intense inculcation.  And what is that message?  Simply that God may be known even today in the normal way human beings know each other, that God must be served to be known, and that even the most assiduous performance of rites and rituals must be deemed meaningless in the absence of faith in a God who can be encountered, and not merely obeyed." 

These are weighty messages for us to ponder as we commence our preparations for the High Holy Days. We are asked to remove ourselves from sin and iniquity, to ask for forgiveness and atonement for those transgressions that we have committed, and to reflect upon our relationship with the Divine Presence in our lives.  Perhaps we can take our cue from the last verse of the psalm: "Hope in the Lord.  Be strong and may your heart be of good courage; hope in the Lord."  May we grow in our faith during this High Holy Day Season, may we be strong in our convictions to create a better world here on Earth, and may we have the courage to live lives based on the values of our faith and the teachings of our tradition. 

Rabbi Vernon Kurtz, D.Min., a Past Chair  of the UJC Rabbinic Cabinet, is rabbi of North Suburban Synagogue-Beth El, Highland Park, IL.