I've been reciting "Who Shall Live and Who Shall Die...," but "repentance, prayer and good deeds..." with some intention for 40 or so years, certainly at least the 28 years I've been ordained as a rabbi. Yet I've never noticed the last sentence of the prayer: "And you have linked our name with Yours."
The soon-to-be released Conservative Mahzor adds a commentary: "Which name of God is alluded to here? ... Some say this alludes to the thirteen attributes of God's graciousness. More likely it refers to the unpronounceable four-letter name of God YHWH. The ending of the word Israel is another name for God, El... By being linked to God's name, Israel become the 'eternal people,' and partakes of God's timeless nature."
The soon-to-be released Conservative Mahzor adds a commentary: "Which name of God is alluded to here? ... Some say this alludes to the thirteen attributes of God's graciousness. More likely it refers to the unpronounceable four-letter name of God YHWH. The ending of the word Israel is another name for God, El... By being linked to God's name, Israel become the 'eternal people,' and partakes of God's timeless nature."
The half of this prayer encourages us to change before it's too late, before our time is up and that God is waiting for us to return. When I think about immortality - I have confidence in physical, genetic immortality. That through my son - I will live on (someday but not too soon, I hope). I also do believe in a kind of spiritual immortality. I believe that the goodness of my life is a guarantor of continued life - not be me personally, but through the effects of touching others, especially loved ones and friends. That's kind of like Kohelet, Ecclesiastes, who says "eat your bread in gladness and drink your wine in joy, for your action was long ago approved by God." Breaking bread, sharing good times with good people, does live on - it gets (I hope) passed on generation to generation.
Finally, also at the end Ecclesiastes, but clearly here at the end of Unataneh Tokef: linking ourselves to God - by listening to God's teachings and living them - connects us to the Power that Cannot Die. We are finite - but our connection to God is everlasting through God's eternality. There is a part of God in all of us - our spirit, our minds, our souls. Through it we do on occasion connect with the Spirit of the Universe. The last line is a final reminder: we are finite, but we also transcend death through the way we live our lives and connect with God.
Finally, also at the end Ecclesiastes, but clearly here at the end of Unataneh Tokef: linking ourselves to God - by listening to God's teachings and living them - connects us to the Power that Cannot Die. We are finite - but our connection to God is everlasting through God's eternality. There is a part of God in all of us - our spirit, our minds, our souls. Through it we do on occasion connect with the Spirit of the Universe. The last line is a final reminder: we are finite, but we also transcend death through the way we live our lives and connect with God.
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