Kavannah: A meditation
A meditation on the Rosh Hashanah prayer, “Who Will Live and Who Will Die” (Unetaneh Tokef).Uv’shofar gadol yitaka, v’kol d’mama dakah yishama.A great shofar is sounded, and a still, small voice is heard.The scream—then the silence before the sirens.K’vakoras ro’eh edro, ma’avir tzono tachat shivto.As a shepherd inspects his flock, making his sheep pass beneath his staff.Each of the slain; a face not a number.B’Rosh Hashanah yikateivun, u’v’Yom Tzom Kippur yechateimun.On Rosh Hashanah it is written, on Yom Kippur it is sealed.Twenty-five years written, sealed, never forgotten … always present.Kamah ya’avorun v’chamah yibarei’un.How many will pass from the world, how many will be born into it.Widows carrying children who would never know their fathers.Who will live and who will die.Seconds. A missed train, a caught train. The whole difference.Mi v’kitzo u’mi lo v’kitzo.Who at their appointed end, who before their time.Young and old, all before their time.Flames bursting from the…
This article reflects on the 25th anniversary of 9/11, which coincides with Rosh Hashanah, through a meditation on the Jewish prayer "Unetaneh Tokef" ("Who Will Live and Who Will Die"). It draws parallels between the prayer's verses and the events of 9/11, contemplating themes of life, death, and divine judgment. The author connects the sounding of the shofar to the "scream—then the silence before the sirens" and the inspection of a flock to remembering each victim as "a face not a number." The piece concludes by invoking the power of "repentance, prayer and charity annul the severity of the decree," transforming fate into destiny, and expresses hope for redemption for America, Israel, and the world.
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