A sermon by Rev. Fern Cowan Stanley
Preached at Unity Temple Unitarian Universalist Congregation
September 15, 2002
In ancient times, Rosh Hashanah was simply a time of rest and renewal. It was only after their captivity in Babylon and then, the return of some of the people to Israel, that Rosh Hashana began to reflect a concern with the sins of the people. The particular sins that caused this concern were first, the fact that the people seemed to have forgotten their God, and second, the consequent unfaithfulness of the people to their covenant with their God. The Prophets believed that only such sins as these could possibly explain how God's chosen people could have been defeated and captured. And so there came a time, on the first day of the seventh month, when one of the prophets, Ezra, gathered the people together and spoke to them of their sins. He pleaded with them to hear and understand the Torah once more, the core of the teachings they seemed to have forgotten. The people began to cry as they realized how far they were from living their lives according to these teachings. But, Ezra told them not to cry but to celebrate, instead, their rediscovery of the Torah, and the opportunity to turn, to change their lives, and to renew their covenants with God.
Over time, Rosh Hashanah became a much more complex event. It became the occasion of an annual enthronement of God as the "King of Kings," one deserving of obedience and indeed, worship, from the people. It also became a time of judgement, a time when God either renewed life, or passed sentence of death on human beings. Those who were thoroughly good had their names inscribed in the Book of Life at this time, while those who were thoroughly evil were written off as dead. For those in-between, the decision was delayed until Yom Kippur. At a still later time, the idea of the necessity of obedience to God as King, became a metaphor for human relationships. After all, if everyone is a child of one transcendent God, then all owe to each other the respect due to equals. And, if such respect is owed to one another, then, it follows that sins against one another must be addressed and forgiven by the individuals involved, and this needed to be consciously and intentionally done each year at this time.
Rosh Hoshannah takes place on the first two days of the month connected with the fall equinox, beginning at sunset. For these two days, special services are held along with special feasts and other celebrations. In one of the services, certain sections of the Torah are read, followed by the blowing of the ram's horn, the shofar, the special symbol of Rosh Hashanah. Then come the Days of Awe, the time between. Arthur Waskow describes the progression from Rosh Hashana to Yom Kippur thusly, "If the barely visible new moon at Rosh Hashanah is the moment of birth, then the oval moon (at Yom Kippur) is the moment of developed identity. It is when we are grown up enough to face God.Yom Kippur is the moment when most Jews individually and the Jewish people collectively experience the strongest sense of partnership and covenant with God-the strongest sense that if the people have striven with all their energy to redress the wrongs they have done, God will forgive them and give them a sense of harmony and wholeness."
In ancient times, this day of atonement included blood sacrifice at the altar for the purging of the Shrine from the sins of the priest and his household, and from the sins of the Israelite people collectively. A goat was then sent out into the wilderness symbolically carrying the individual sins of the people.
By the time of the Second Temple, this sacrificial ceremony had been replaced by one that included the high priest coming before the people three times, and reciting a formula of confession. The first confession concerned his own sins and those of his household; the second, the sins of the tribe as a whole; and the third, the sins of all the people as individuals. After each confession, the people responded by proclaiming the glory of God as King. This ceremony was meant to cleanse the people of all their sins, permitting them to begin the new year afresh. This is a major idea of the High Holy Day - starting anew, and after the services had ended, the mood of the people shifted from one of solemn awe, to one of joyful celebration.
After the Second Temple had been destroyed, and the people scattered, the observance of Yom Kippur, Day of Atonement, became even more important to the Jewish community as a High Holy Day, and so it continues. In modern times, we still hear echoes of the ancient temple ritual - such as the three responses proclaiming the glory of the kingdom. But, the emphasis has changed from the idea of atonement being made on behalf of the people to an inward search by each individual for whatever separates them from being at one with their God. A part of the modern service is a recitation by the congregation at the beginning of the 25 hours of prayer and fasting at the evening service of Kol Nidre. This service is in the form of a court scene in which an argument for the defence and forgiveness of the people is made to God. The congregation recites a passage which asks for forgiveness for both past and future sins, and I invite you now to read this passage with me. It is the first congregational reading printed in your order of service:
"All vows, obligations, oaths or anathemas, pledges of all names, which we have vowed, sworn, devoted, or bound ourselves to, from this day of atonement, until the next day of atonement (whose arrival we hope for in happiness) we repent, aforehand, of them all, they shall all be deemed absolved, forgiven, annulled, void and made of no effect; they shall not be binding, nor have any power; the vows shall not be reckoned as vows, the obligations shall not be obligatory, nor the oaths considered as oaths."
While we can easily understand asking forgiveness for past sins, it may be puzzling to some of us, this asking in advance not to be held to any promises made. This practice may have arisen because of the persecution Jews experienced in Christian countries. Some practiced their religion only in private, pretending in public to be Christians. This prayer may have been an recognition of this harsh reality. Another possibility is that by revoking future vows and promises, one is left to be virtuous from choice, not by obligation. One thing that is very clear in these Jewish ceremonies is that, though God forgives sins against Life or the Divine, conflicts among people must be settled between those involved. The Rev. Joyce Smith has written, "In this respect, the Ten Days of Awe are more effective preparation for the (Jewish) high holy day than the Lenten season is for Good Friday and Easter in the Christian calendar, for (this process) aims at reconciliation between friends and relatives and neighbors who have quarreled or harmed each other. It attempts to reestablish a whole web of interdependent relationships broken by hurts and wrongs, real or imagined." In repairing this web, it is important to note that not only must each individual seek forgiveness for wrongs done to others, each must also grant forgiveness to others for wrongs they feel have been done to them.
As I intimated in the Children's Focus, this is a lesson I think could benefit us all. For we do need to let go of the past. I think it must be mentally, emotionally, spiritually, and even physically healing to periodically give up all resentments we have harbored; to stop feeling like a victim, even when we have been victimized by other people or by impersonal forces such as illness or accidents. For I believe that to forgive others and to forgive life itself can be an enormous relief and release. Another lesson we can all learn has to do with collective guilt and forgiveness. And that is difficult for many of us UU's. With our sometimes extreme individualism, while we accept responsibility for our personal behavior, to accept the sins of society as our own is harder for many of us. I think we need to remember that we, as individuals, do make up "society as a whole," and failing to take responsibility for its wrongdoings is likely to mean that we do little to try and change them.While many religious groups believe only God can create a just society, most UU's believe that it is our task to establish justice, in co-creation with all that is.
As mentioned earlier, the ancient emphasis on sacrifices which cover the sins of the people has changed. The "escape" goat carrying such sins and sent into the wilderness to die, has given way to an emphasis on an inward seeking. The realization has emerged that the practice of scapegoating is neither helpful nor healthy for individuals or society as a whole. And yet it continues. All over the world one group of individuals blames another group for the ills of their society. And I believe it is vitally important that we learn to give this up. While we can under-stand this very human need to blame others for our own weaknesses, to have someone or something upon which to project our own violent and damaging thoughts and behaviors, we can also understand the enormous harm that has been done, and is still being done, by such practices. The persecution of the Jewish community in so many times and places; the subjugation and abuse of people of color all over the world that still continues today; the blame heaped on the heads of the poor in this country, that supports passage of laws that continue to lower and threaten to totally remove, barriers to a poverty so deep as to be utterly shameful, inhumane and unacceptable in country as rich as this one is; and, the blaming and persecution of homosexuals by heterosexuals that continues to deny basic rights for so many people. All these examples, and I'm sure we can think of many others, clearly illustrate the dangers of scape-goating, for individuals and for society as a whole, the society of which each of us is a part.
May we, then, as individuals and as part of this society as a whole, concentrate during this time and throughout the year on the work of the High Holy Days. I invite you again to read with me - from Isaiah 58, the 2nd congregational reading in your order of service:
"Is not this the fast that I choose. To loose the bonds of injustice, to undo the thongs of the yoke, to let the oppressed go free, and to break every yoke? Is it not to share your bread with the hungry, and bring the homeless poor into your house; when you see them naked, to cover them, and not to hide yourself from your own kin?
Then shall your light break forth like the dawn, and your healing shall spring up quickly, If you remove the yoke from among you, the pointing of the finger, the speaking of evil, if you offer your food to the hungry, and satisfy the needs of the afflicted, You shall be like a watered garden, like a spring whose waters never fail."
Again, from Joyce Smith, "...life is awesome; beautiful, scary, difficult, .confusing. Life is not easy. Often, it is not fair. Sometimes, it is terribly unfair. Sometimes, we do not get what we have earned; we fail to get what seems to be owed us for our efforts. However, life is often also more than fair. It is miraculous; it is full of grace; we get love, friendship, good luck that we did not earn, that nobody and nothing owed us."
May all of us, during this time, repent our mistakes of the past year that involve other people. May we remember conflicts, and particularly our part in themÐwith no excuses, no rationalizationsÐjust recognition of our own errors. May we do all possible to make up for those errors, seeking harmony with all. May we not only say we are sorry where that is appropriate, but also determine to change our ways. And, may we also perhaps, think about what I believe to be sins against life itself - such as, taking life and all its goodness for granted. Have we failed to appreciate the beauty of the earth? Have we assumed we deserve all the love and caring our friends and loved ones so freely give? Have we assumed that our good fortune as to where we were born, our economic circumstances, our successes in our careers, are solely due to our own strivings, and truly deserved by us? While we rail against life for the tragedies visited upon us, such as illness, accidents, and failures, have we neglected to notice all that is good in our lives? If so, then may we turn and make needed changes. May we notice the beauty that surrounds us each day. May we forgive, both ourselves and others, working to reconcile and regain harmony. Thus do we help to repair and rebuild the circle of life.
