Wednesday, September 15, 2004
Rosh Hashanah (Days of Awe - part 1)
L'shanah tovah tikatevi v'taihatemi
May you be inscribed and sealed for a good year!
Tonight began Rosh Hashanah, Yom Ha-Zikkaron (the day of remembrance), or Yom Teruah (the day of the sounding of the shofar), the new year.
It's the birthday of the Earth! 5765 years ago today (or 15 Billion +, depending on how you look at it) , the Earth was created. Rosh Hashanah also marks the beginning of "The Days of Awe" in which Y'hu, our blessed God, judges the world, inscribing in his 3 books who will live and who will die, who will prosper and who will not this coming year. These books are to be sealed on Yom Kippur (the day of atonement). We are entering a time of introspection, a time to make right those things which were made wrong, a time to examine ourselves and redirect our lives toward God, a time to give charity to those around us. This is a time to celebrate as well, for those of us who know, love, and seek after our God, El Elyon.
"May it be Your will that the sounding of the shofar which we have done will be embroidered in the veil by the appointed angel, as You accepted it by Elijah of blessed memory and by Yeshua, the Prince of the Face (Prince of God's Presence) and the one who sits on God's throne. May You be filled with compassion toward us. Deserving of praise are You, Lord of compassion."
~Birnbaum, Behind The Curtain, p.282 -From an Orthodox Jewish prayer book, to be prayed on Rosh Hashanah.
For those who don't know, this is probably the one time of the year that I actually tend to sound religious.
