Awesome Days

In Parashat Vayelech (Deut. 31:1–30), Moshe gathers the people and warns them of the future. He calls heaven and earth as witnesses and sets the Torah beside the Ark. The narrative echoes the Days of Awe, reminders of an enduring covenant that allows us to return and be embraced by HaShem. Just as Moshe called Israel to assemble, we gather our thoughts in prayer, while worldwide, the Jewish People assemble in their shuls to experience the Days of Awe.

On Rosh HaShanah we approach God as subjects before the King. The tone is awe, formality, majesty. There is no mention of sin in the liturgy, rather the focus is on His greatness, not our failings.

The Ten Days are our chance to adjust before the final verdict. On Yom Kippur, judgment is sealed. The focus shifts from proclaiming God’s sovereignty to cleansing ourselves from sin. It is the one day when we are likened to angels—fasting, abstaining, wearing white, entering the inner sanctum of our souls. We approach HaShem as children before a compassionate Father. The tone is closeness, intimacy, confession. We strip away pretense and say: “We have sinned, forgive us.”

Rabbi Avraham Sutton, in his book Days of Awe, Awesome Days, writes:“If Rosh HaShanah is the head, Yom Kippur is the heart. Rosh HaShanah is the highest consciousness of the Godly Light breaking through and illuminating our mind. Yom Kippur is internalizing this in our heart, the holy of holies of our being, which parallels the Holy of Holies in the Temple into which the Kohen Gadol entered on Yom Kippur. But the True Judge is also the Father who forgives.”

Rav Samson Raphael Hirsch reminds us that Israel’s observance of Yom Kippur serves as a model to the nations: reconciliation with God is possible, and justice is always tempered by mercy. The late Rabbi Jonathan Sacks underscores the depth of God’s love by extending salvation to non-Jew and Jew alike:“Yom Kippur is a day that speaks to all humanity. We are not condemned to be what we were. We can change. We can act differently tomorrow from how we acted yesterday. We can be forgiven. We can be free.” (Covenant & Conversation: Yom Kippur)

Let us strengthen our hearts and our hope by recalling Psalm 27:1:“The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?”