Same, Same: Unetaneh Tokef

מחזור אשכנז לראש השנה, תפילת מוסף, יום ראשון של ראש השנה, חזרת הש"ץ מ״ב-מ״ד

(מב) וּנְתַנֶּה תֹּקֶף קְדֻשַּׁת הַיּוֹם. כִּי הוּא נוֹרָא וְאָיוֹם. וּבוֹ תִנָּשֵׂא מַלְכוּתֶֽךָ. וְיִכּוֹן בְּחֶֽסֶד כִּסְאֶֽךָ. וְתֵשֵׁב עָלָיו בֶּאֱמֶת. אֱמֶת כִּי אַתָּה הוּא דַיָּן וּמוֹכִֽיחַ וְיוֹדֵֽעַ וָעֵד. וְכוֹתֵב וְחוֹתֵם וְסוֹפֵר וּמוֹנֶה. וְתִזְכֹּר כָּל הַנִּשְׁכָּחוֹת. וְתִפְתַּח אֶת סֵֽפֶר הַזִּכְרוֹנוֹת. וּמֵאֵלָיו יִקָּרֵא. וְחוֹתָם יַד כָּל אָדָם בּוֹ. וּבְשׁוֹפָר גָּדוֹל יִתָּקַע. וְקוֹל דְּמָמָה דַקָּה יִשָּׁמַע. וּמַלְאָכִים יֵחָפֵזוּן. וְחִיל וּרְעָדָה יֹאחֵזוּן. וְיֹאמְרוּ הִנֵּה יוֹם הַדִּין. לִפְקֹד עַל צְבָא מָרוֹם בַּדִּין. כִּי לֹא יִזְכּוּ בְעֵינֶֽיךָ בַדִּין. וְכָל בָּאֵי עוֹלָם יַעַבְרוּן לְפָנֶֽיךָ כִּבְנֵי מָרוֹן. כְּבַקָּרַת רוֹעֶה עֶדְרוֹ. מַעֲבִיר צֹאנוֹ תַּֽחַת שִׁבְטוֹ. כֵּן תַּעֲבִיר וְתִסְפֹּר וְתִמְנֶה. וְתִפְקֹד נֶֽפֶשׁ כָּל חָי. וְתַחְתֹּךְ קִצְבָה לְכָל בְּרִיּוֹתֶֽיךָ. וְתִכְתֹּב אֶת גְּזַר דִּינָם:

(מג) בְּרֹאשׁ הַשָּׁנָה יִכָּתֵבוּן וּבְיוֹם צוֹם כִּפּוּר יֵחָתֵמוּן. כַּמָּה יַעַבְרוּן. וְכַמָּה יִבָּרֵאוּן. מִי יִחְיֶה. וּמִי יָמוּת. מִי בְקִצּוֹ. וּמִי לֹא בְקִצּוֹ. מִי בַמַּֽיִם. וּמִי בָאֵשׁ. מִי בַחֶֽרֶב. וּמִי בַחַיָּה. מִי בָרָעָב. וּמִי בַצָּמָא. מִי בָרַֽעַשׁ. וּמִי בַמַּגֵּפָה. מִי בַחֲנִיקָה וּמִי בַסְּקִילָה. מִי יָנוּחַ. וּמִי יָנֽוּעַ. מִי יִשָּׁקֵט. וּמִי יִטָּרֵף. מִי יִשָּׁלֵו. וּמִי יִתְיַסָּר. מִי יֵעָנִי. וּמִי יֵעָשֵׁר. מִי יִשָּׁפֵל. וּמִי יָרוּם:

(מד) וּתְשׁוּבָה וּתְפִלָּה וּצְדָקָה מַעֲבִירִין אֶת רֽוֹעַ הַגְּזֵרָה:

Machzor Rosh Hashanah Ashkenaz, Musaf, First Day of Rosh Hashana, Reader's Repetition 42-44

(42) Let us describe the great holiness of this day, for it is awesome and frightening. On this day, Your Kingship is uplifted,⁷His Kingship is uplifted through our saying of “מַלְכֻיּו‍ֹת—זִכְרו‍ֹנו‍ֹת—שׁו‍ֹפָרו‍ֹת” and the sounding of the shofar. and Your throne is established with kindness,⁸Hashem rules with kindness. and You sit upon it in truth.⁹See Yeshaya 16:5. Truth in this sense might refer to Hashem’s permanence (Metsudas Dovid) or to Hashem’s love of truth (Malbim). True that You are judge, admonisher, knower and witness; and You inscribe, seal, record and count, and recall all forgotten things.¹⁰Forgotten things refer only to things we may have forgotten, for there is no forgetfulness before Hashem. You open the book of records and it reads of itself; and the signature of every man is in it. A great shofar is sounded, and a silent, gentle voice is heard; and the angels are alarmed, pangs of fear and trembling seize them,¹¹See Job 4:18, “הֵן בַּעֲבָדָיו לֹא יַאֲמִין וּבְמַלְאָכָיו יָשִׂים תָּהָלָה” Behold! He puts no trust in His servants, and His angels, He charges with foolishness.” and they declare, “behold the Day of Judgment.” The heavenly host is arraigned in judgment, for they are not guiltless in Your eyes in judgment.¹²See Job 15:16, “הֵן בִּקְדו‍ֹשָׁיו לֹא יַאֲמִין וְשָׁמַיִם לֹא זַכּוּ בְעֵינָיו” Behold! “He puts no trust in His holy ones, and even those in the heavens [angels] are not guiltless in His eyes.” All mankind pass before You like young sheep.¹³See Mishnah, Maseches Rosh Hashana 1:2. “All mankind passes before Hashem to be judged individually, like young sheep who pass through a small opening in the corral as they are counted for tithing. Bartenura As a shepherd inspects his flock, making his sheep pass under his rod, so do You cause to pass, count, number, and review the soul of every living being, determining the life-span of every creature; and You record the decree of their judgment.

(43) On Rosh Hashana their decree is inscribed, and on Yom Kippur it is sealed,¹⁴This formula of judgment is only for those who are considered בֵּינו‍ֹנִים, neither righteous nor wicked. The truly righteous are inscribed and sealed for life on Rosh Hashana, and the wicked also receive their full verdict on Rosh Hashana. Thus it is only the בֵּינו‍ֹנִי, one in between, who is given time until Yom Kippur to mend his ways and be judged for life. Talmud Yerushalmi, Maseches Rosh Hashana 1:3. how many will pass away and how many will be created, who will live and who will die; who will come to his timely end, and who to an untimely end; who will perish by fire and who by water; who by the sword and who by beast; who by hunger and who by thirst; who by earthquake and who by the plague; who by strangling and who by stoning; who will be at rest and who will wander about; who will have serenity and who will be confused; who will be tranquil and who will be tormented; who will become poor and who will become wealthy; who will be brought to a low state and who will be uplifted.

(44) Congregation followed by Chazzan:
But repentance, and prayer and charity mitigate the evil of the decree.¹⁵This is based on Midrash Rabbah, Bereishis 44:13.

ראש השנה ט״ז א:ו׳-ז׳

דתניא הכל נידונים בר"ה וגזר דין שלהם נחתם ביוה"כ דברי ר"מ ר' יהודה אומר הכל נידונין בר"ה וגזר דין שלהם נחתם כל אחד ואחד בזמנו בפסח על התבואה בעצרת על פירות האילן בחג נידונין על המים ואדם נידון בר"ה וגזר דין שלו נחתם ביוה"כ ר' יוסי אומר אדם נידון בכל יום שנאמר (איוב ז, יח) ותפקדנו לבקרים רבי נתן אומר אדם נידון בכל שעה שנא' (איוב ז, יח) לרגעים תבחננו

Rosh Hashanah 16a:6-7

The Gemara explains: As it is taught in a baraita: All are judged on Rosh HaShana, and their sentence is sealed on Yom Kippur; this is the statement of Rabbi Meir. Rabbi Yehuda says: All are judged on Rosh HaShana, and their sentence is sealed each in its own time: On Passover the sentence is sealed concerning grain; on Shavuot concerning fruits that grow on a tree; on the festival of Sukkot they are judged concerning water; and mankind is judged on Rosh HaShana, and the sentence is sealed on Yom Kippur. Rabbi Yosei says: A person is judged every day, and not just once a year, as it is stated: “You visit him every morning” (Job 7:18), meaning that every morning an accounting is made and a judgment is passed. Rabbi Natan says: A person is judged every hour, as it is stated: “You try him every moment” (Job 7:18).

ראש השנה ט״ז ב:י״ב

א"ר כרוספדאי א"ר יוחנן שלשה ספרים נפתחין בר"ה אחד של רשעים גמורין ואחד של צדיקים גמורין ואחד של בינוניים צדיקים גמורין נכתבין ונחתמין לאלתר לחיים רשעים גמורין נכתבין ונחתמין לאלתר למיתה בינוניים תלויין ועומדין מר"ה ועד יוה"כ זכו נכתבין לחיים לא זכו נכתבין למיתה

Rosh Hashanah 16b:12

§ The Gemara goes back to discuss the Day of Judgment. Rabbi Kruspedai said that Rabbi Yoḥanan said: Three books are opened on Rosh HaShana before the Holy One, Blessed be He: One of wholly wicked people, and one of wholly righteous people, and one of middling people whose good and bad deeds are equally balanced. Wholly righteous people are immediately written and sealed for life; wholly wicked people are immediately written and sealed for death; and middling people are left with their judgment suspended from Rosh HaShana until Yom Kippur, their fate remaining undecided. If they merit, through the good deeds and mitzvot that they perform during this period, they are written for life; if they do not so merit, they are written for death.

ראש השנה ט״ז ב:ו׳

וא"ר יצחק ד' דברים מקרעין גזר דינו של אדם אלו הן צדקה צעקה שינוי השם ושינוי מעשה צדקה דכתיב (משלי י, ב) וצדקה תציל ממות צעקה דכתיב (תהלים קז, כח) ויצעקו אל ה' בצר להם וממצוקותיהם יוציאם שינוי השם דכתיב (בראשית יז, טו) שרי אשתך לא תקרא את שמה שרי כי שרה שמה וכתיב וברכתי אותה וגם נתתי ממנה לך בן שינוי מעשה דכתיב (יונה ג, י) וירא האלהים את מעשיהם וכתיב (יונה ג, י) וינחם האלהים על הרעה אשר דבר לעשות להם ולא עשה

Rosh Hashanah 16b:6

And Rabbi Yitzḥak said: A person’s sentence is torn up on account of four types of actions. These are: Giving charity, crying out in prayer, a change of one’s name, and a change of one’s deeds for the better. An allusion may be found in Scripture for all of them: Giving charity, as it is written: “And charity delivers from death” (Proverbs 10:2); crying out in prayer, as it is written: “Then they cry to the Lord in their trouble, and He brings them out of their distresses” (Psalms 107:28); a change of one’s name, as it is written: “As for Sarai your wife, you shall not call her name Sarai, but Sarah shall her name be” (Genesis 17:15), and it is written there: “And I will bless her, and I will also give you a son from her” (Genesis 17:16); a change of one’s deeds for the better, as it is written: “And God saw their deeds” (Jonah 3:10), and it is written there: “And God repented of the evil, which He had said He would do to them, and He did not do it” (Jonah 3:10).

Place Yourself: An Unetaneh Tokef
By Trisha Arlin
from https://www.ritualwell.org/ritual/place-yourself-unetaneh-tokef
PLACE YOURSELF in front of the fear.
You will be judged, you will die.
Place yourself in the center of the universe,
You earned that spot simply by existing.
Place yourself under obligation to God
However you understand or don’t understand God.
Place yourself on the path of holiness and joy and truth.
Bless and be blessed by HaMakom, the Place where we find ourselves.
REMEMBER
Remember what you did wrong
Remember what you did right.
Remember those who came before you.
Remember that you are responsible for those who come after you.
Remember your history.
Remember Torah.
Bless and be blessed by Shaddai, remembering us.
DECLARE YOURSELF
Because the truly evil are already condemned,
The truly good are already blessed,
And then, there’s the rest of us.
It is said that on Rosh Hashanah God decides your fate: life or death.
And the ten days until Yom Kippur are your opportunity to change God’s mind.
So don’t blow it.
This is a powerful day, a fantastic opportunity!
Declare yourself for holiness and joy and truth.
Bless and be blessed by Shekhinah, listening.
NOW WE DECLARE
And as a congregation, we proclaim:
Let the holiness rise up!
On Rosh Hashanah it is written
On Yom Kippur it is sealed.
And let us declare together:
We understand nothing.
All that is physical ends.
We die.
But not today.
Except sometimes, today.
We fret about the past and worry about the future
And forget to live with where we are now.
And then we die.
We understand nothing.
But
Teshuvah, tefilah, & tzedakah
Restore us to our place.
Teshuvah, when we return to our true selves;
Tefillah, when we stop time in holy conversation;
Tzedakah, when we transcend self;
And that’s when God decrees.
Bless and be blessed by Ruakh Ha-olam, breathing mindfulness.
THE DAY IS HOLY
Listen to the shofar as it announces:
Awesome and sacred is this sweet day!
The world is filled with the Divine, we are surrounded!
Hear us, know us.
Love us, enjoy us.
Remember us, rouse us.
Forgive us, inspire us,
Bless and be blessed by Elohim, the Creator, the Created, Creating.
We place ourselves in front of the fear,
On the path of holiness and joy and truth.
Amen.