Ten Days of Repentance.
With Rosh ha-Shana being earlier this week and Yom Kippur later next week, the time in between, according to the Jewish calendar, is known as the "ten days of repentance" or the "ten days of awe." Here's a good reminder of the season:
During the weeks before Rosh ha=Shana, and continuing through Yom Kippur, Jews traditionally greet one each other with "Le-shana tova teekataivu - May you be inscribed with a good year." The "inscription" referred to is based upon a verse in Psalm 69.29 which speaks of a "book of life" into which God inscribed the names of the righteous. Jewish folklore teaches that God writes down the names of all who will live through the coming year into this Book of Life.
Of course, Judaism does not believe in a literal Book of Life. God's memory presumably suffices to recall each person's fate; He does not need to write down names. Nonetheless, folk imagination has long endowed the Books of Life and Death with a tangible existence, and during prayers many Jews imagine the two books open in front of God. The Talmud itself speaks of three books: Those who are clearly righteous are immediately inscribed in the Book of Life, those who are clearly wicked in the Book of Death, and all others are classified as beinonim (in the middle), and their fate is decided between Rosh ha-Shana and Yom Kippur. In Jewish tradition today, all Jews are advised to consider themselves beinonim.
For that reason, the days between Rosh ha-Shana and Yom Kippur assume tremendous significance; how one acts during these days may well influence God's decree. This ten-day period is known as the "Ten Days of Repentance" (Aseret Y'mei Teshuva), and during this time, religious Jews takes special care to give to charity, to avoid gossiping, and to be helpful to others. If one has a big favor to ask of a religious Jew, it is not a bad idea to wait to until Aseret Y'mei Teshuva to do so.
[Taken from Jewish Literacy: The Most Important Things to Know About the Jewish Religion, Its People, and Its History by Rabbi Joseph Telushkin, pp. 625-6.]
Of course, Judaism does not believe in a literal Book of Life. God's memory presumably suffices to recall each person's fate; He does not need to write down names. Nonetheless, folk imagination has long endowed the Books of Life and Death with a tangible existence, and during prayers many Jews imagine the two books open in front of God. The Talmud itself speaks of three books: Those who are clearly righteous are immediately inscribed in the Book of Life, those who are clearly wicked in the Book of Death, and all others are classified as beinonim (in the middle), and their fate is decided between Rosh ha-Shana and Yom Kippur. In Jewish tradition today, all Jews are advised to consider themselves beinonim.
For that reason, the days between Rosh ha-Shana and Yom Kippur assume tremendous significance; how one acts during these days may well influence God's decree. This ten-day period is known as the "Ten Days of Repentance" (Aseret Y'mei Teshuva), and during this time, religious Jews takes special care to give to charity, to avoid gossiping, and to be helpful to others. If one has a big favor to ask of a religious Jew, it is not a bad idea to wait to until Aseret Y'mei Teshuva to do so.
[Taken from Jewish Literacy: The Most Important Things to Know About the Jewish Religion, Its People, and Its History by Rabbi Joseph Telushkin, pp. 625-6.]
"May you be inscribed with a good year."
Dude, its actually pretty funny that this week is Rosh ha-Shana because I ended up teaching on the Cross twice. I had to explain the whole Day of Atonement thing and it was great to be able to link it up with something that the kids knew was going on. Good deal. Thanks for the post.
Posted by: Derek Rishmawy | October 01, 2008 at 02:37 PM