Reflections on 'The Days of Awe'

This weekend marks the end of the Jewish High Holydays, also known as the 'Days of Awe'. This post is an account of my personal feelings about these very significant festivals and does not necessarily resemble traditional Jewish practise or ideas.

First off, I am basically a secular Jew, but with a spiritual twist. I am not particularly fond of going to any synagogue, whatever its religious orientation, and do not observe religious traditions in any formal sense. On the other hand, my basic moral code is generally in accord with many common Jewish ideas and I do, when possible, enjoy taking part in family-style celebrations of various religious festivals.

There are a number of different holydays observed during this period, but I will concentrate on just two of them: The New Year (Rosh Hashanna) and the Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur).

This time of year is a time of reflection on where ones life has gone during the previous year and where it is heading. A time to make decisions on directions and relationships with other people and, if one believes, the Divine. I use the term Divine here rather than God because I am not sure what it is that I am referring to; only that I believe in some power (or powers) which have a reality beyond that of each person and indeed of the physical world.

Rosh Hashanna starts this period and is concerned, not surprisingly for a New Year festival, with the idea of renewal (Tikkun Olam - literally 'repairing the world'). This concept of renewal is often interpreted by the less traditional as a call to look after our planet's ecology in all its manifestations. The more traditional interpretation refers primarily to spiritual renewal, but these different views are not necessarily inconsistent. The sense of renewal can be seen in the round challah (bread) which is part of the festival meal, in the eating of apples dipped in honey and of honey cake - the idea of a sweet new year to come!

With Yom Kippur, the main idea is to spend the day in a contemplative state, traditionally enhanced by fasting. The aim of this contemplation is to reflect upon ones relationship to fellow humans, the rest of the physical world and to the Divine. There is no concept of absolution, even if a person is totally contrite in their repentance. Each person MUST repair any problems with other people by themselves. On this day we are encouraged to admit our own shortcomings, not least to ourselves. The next step is, traditionally, to ask the Divine to help give one the strength and courage to face and negotiate issues with others and to help restore ones personal spiritual balance.

This is one of the things that I really love about Judaism: the idea that each individual is totally responsible for their own fate and that each of us must, in our own ways, work at our lives; tending them as a good gardener looks after their plants. This work involves, among other actions, fixing problems when they happen, apologising to others when we mistreat them and above all respecting the world around us. There is no intermediary between the individual and the Divine - it is a direct conversation. I believe that if we harm another person we also slight the Divine by this action. However, only we ourselves can right any wrongs we have inflicted on others; only those aggrieved by our actions can offer forgiveness, not the Divine or some agent of the Divine.

In a secular approach we should reappraise the way we live, our relationships to all around us and try to live a good, responsible life dealing fairly with all people we meet. If we approach this period of the year with a more religious mindset, the goal could be for each of us to live a more righteous life in the sight of the Divine.

The beauty of these ideas is that they transcend any particular religious tradition and can help each of us to work, in our own ways, at renewing the world in all its aspects.

I wish you and yours a healthy and peaceful year and the inner strength to achieve what you wish for yourself and others.