A religious poem that is meant to strike fear in us.
By Rabbi Reuven Hammer
Though this article mentions Rosh Hashanah specifically,
it should be noted that the Unetanah tokef is also part of the Yom Kippur
liturgy. This article is excerpted from Entering the High Holy Days.
Reprinted with permission from the Jewish
Publication Society.
On both days [of Rosh Hashanah], the magnificent Unetanah
tokef (we shall ascribe holiness to this day) is chanted prior to the Kedushah.
Although there are popular legends concerning the origin of this piyyut, we do
not know who wrote it. What is certain is that the poet was extremely gifted.
The structure of the poem and its language suggest that it was composed during
the Byzantine period.
The concepts on which it is based come from Jewish
apocalyptic literature and parallel Christian writings based on similar
sources, the most famous of which is the Dies irae (day of wrath)-‑found
in the requiem mass-‑which offers a vivid description of the day of
judgment for all humankind. In Unetanah tokef, however, the subject is not the
final judgment but the much more immediate, yearly day of judgment--Rosh
Hashanah. The text of this piyyut follows.
We shall ascribe
holiness to this day.
For it is awesome
and terrible.
Your kingship is
exalted upon it.
Your throne is
established in mercy.
You are enthroned
upon it in truth.
In truth You are the
judge,
The exhorter, the
all‑knowing, the witness,
He who inscribes and
seals,
Remembering all that
is forgotten.
You open the book of
remembrance
Which proclaims
itself,
And the seal of each
person is there.
The great shofar is
sounded,
A still small voice
is heard.
The angels are
dismayed,
They are seized by
fear and trembling
As they proclaim:
Behold the Day of Judgment!
For all the hosts of
heaven are brought for judgment.
They shall not be
guiltless in Your eyes
And all creatures
shall parade before You as a troop.
As a shepherd herds
his flock,
Causing his sheep to
pass beneath his staff,
So do You cause to
pass, count, and record,
Visiting the souls
of all living,
Decreeing the length
of their days,
Inscribing their
judgment.
On Rosh Hashanah it
is inscribed,
And on Yom Kippur it
is sealed.
How many shall pass
away and how many shall be born,
Who shall live and
who shall die,
Who shall reach the
end of his days and who shall not,
Who shall perish by
water and who by fire,
Who by sword and who
by wild beast,
Who by famine and
who by thirst,
Who by earthquake
and who by plague,
Who by strangulation
and who by stoning,
Who shall have rest
and who shall wander,
Who shall be at
peace and who shall be pursued,
Who shall be at rest
and who shall be tormented,
Who shall be exalted
and who shall be brought low,
Who shall become rich and who shall be
impoverished.
But repentance, prayer and righteousness
avert the severe decree.
For Your praise is in accordance with Your
name. You are difficult to anger and easy to appease. For You do not desire the
death of the condemned, but that he turn from his path and live. Until the day
of his death You wait for him. Should he turn, You will receive him at once. In
truth You are their Creator and You understand their inclination, for they are
but flesh and blood. The origin of man is dust, his end is dust. He earns his
bread by exertion and is like a broken shard, like dry grass, a withered
flower, like a passing shadow and a vanishing cloud, like a breeze that blows
away and dust that scatters, like a dream that flies away. But You are King,
God who lives for all eternity! There is no limit to Your years, no end to the
length of Your days, no measure to the hosts of Your glory, no understanding
the meaning of Your Name. Your Name is fitting unto You and You are fitting
unto it, and our name has been called by Your Name. Act for the sake of Your
Name and sanctify Your Name through those who sanctity Your Name.
These
words lead directly into the Kedushah, the
prayer of the sanctification of God's name.
Many consider this poem to be the pinnacle of the
Rosh Hashanah liturgy. The poet has painted a picture of the most solemn day of
the year, which to him is Rosh Hashanah, not Yom Kippur. All other concepts
associated with the day have been stripped away. "Awesome and
terrible" are the only fitting words to describe it. The poet's primary
concern is with the Mishnah's description of the first of Tishre as the day
when humanity is judged. And he fills in the details that the Mishnah only
hints at to spread before us a terrifying spectacle of heaven and earth called
to judgment.
But
this is not a day of suffering without hope. No matter what one has done, says
the poet, the severe decree‑-the penalty of death‑-can be averted.
Indeed, one need only follow the advice of the Sages, "Three things cancel
the decree, and they are prayer, charity, and repentance" (Genesis Rabba
44:12). This rabbinic teaching is not confined to Rosh Hashanah but speaks in
general terms of what one must do to avert the consequences of sin. The poet
has set it correctly in the context of the day of judgment, focusing on the ten‑day
period from the beginning of Rosh Hashanah until the end of Yom Kippur as a
time when these three actions must be undertaken to change the outcome of the
trial.
There
is a further note of hope expressed in this poem. God is depicted as a merciful
judge who understands the frail nature of human beings. The pathetic
description of the transitory nature of life and the heartrending comparison
between eternal God and human beings who are no more than "a dream that
flies away" or a speck of dust that is gone with the wind are not intended
to depress us but to impress God, as it were, and make Him incline toward
forgiving us.
It is
little wonder that this poem gave birth to legend. It is said that it was
recited by Rabbi Amnon (Mainz, c. 11th century), who had failed to reject a
proposal of apostasy immediately and instead asked for three days to consider
it. When he did not agree to give up his faith, he was taken away and tortured
brutally. It was Rosh Hashanah, and he asked his disciples to take him to the
synagogue, where he interrupted the service and recited this prayer in order to
sanctify the name of God. Upon completing the recitation, he died. Later, the
legend continues, he appeared to Rabbi Kalonymus in a dream and asked that this
prayer be recited each year. Moving as this legend is, it should not distract
us from the piyyut itself, the subject of which is not martyrdom, but human
responsibility and the possibility for change, as we face the judgment of our
creator.
Rabbi Reuven Hammer holds a doctorate in theology from
the Jewish Theological Seminary of America. He teaches Jewish studies and
special education in Jerusalem.
