Unetaneh Tokef.

An anonymous, medieval prayer-poem declaring the holiness of Rosh Hashanah, fountain of the New Year, the Day of Judgment.

All creatures pass before You. You open the book of chronicles. Yes, it’s true, we human beings write the book in our own personal handwriting. But you, God, issue the verdict.

On Rosh Hashanah it is written, and on Yom Kippur it is sealed.

How many will pass away? How many will be born? Who will live peacefully? Who will be agitated? Who will be in trouble with the law? Who will experience earthquake, fire or flood?

Teshuvah (repentance), tefillah (prayer), and tzedakah (righteous giving) avert the evil of the decree.

A legend has grown up around the origins of Unetaneh Tokef. Rabbi Amnon of Mainz, Germany, is a crusades-era Jewish leader. One day shortly before Rosh Hashanah, the Archbishop of Mainz sends for Rabbi Amnon and says, “I order you to convert to Christianity.” Rabbi Amnon says, “Let me think about this for three days.” When Rabbi Amnon fails to return, the archbishop sends for him. Rabbi Amnon, deeply upset that he expressed a willingness to consider conversion, asks that his tongue be cut out. But the archbishop decides instead to cut off Rabbi Amnon’s hands and feet. Rabbi Amnon asks to be carried to synagogue on Rosh Hashanah. There he presents the poem he has just written, Unetaneh Tokef. He does not survive the day.

Before you cry: the story is not true. Rabbi Amnon was not a real person; Unetaneh Tokef was not written in Europe; and the Christian establishment of Mainz during the Crusades was not anti-Jewish.

But the story invites creative interpretations of the poem. For example: Rabbi Amnon’s final actions and words teach that we, even in the face of suffering, are always free to respond with teshuvah, tefillah and tzedakah.

What does the poet mean by these terms? Does teshuvah require a change of inner perspective or a new plan of action? Is tefillah self-examination or ritual communal prayer? Is tzedakah a financial donation or a righteous action or both? Is the “decree” a divine plan or the ordinary course of cause and effect? And how can these three  activities avert the evil of a decree?

Contrast the poet’s statement with one of its sources.

The Yerushalmi (Jerusalem) Talmud says:

“Three things cancel the difficult decree, and they are: prayer, righteous deeds, and repentance” (Ta’anit 2).

In the Yerushalmi’s version, the decree is cancelled, while in Unetaneh Tokef, the evil of the decree is averted. In the Yerushalmi, prayer is the first step; in Unetaneh Tokef, teshuvah is first. The Yerushalmi seems to suggest that, through prayer, a person could connect with the Divine Mind and, by force of will, redirect material cause and effect.

With only a subtle shift, Unetaneh Tokef says the opposite. Through a change in perspective, people can affirm their freedom even in a world of cause and effect. Much of what happens in life lies beyond our control; even the most innocent and most careful experience loss and pain. Our response to events, however, is within our control. We can affirm our power, examine our situation, and support each other.

Teshuvah (change in perspective), tefillah (self-examination), and tzedakah (righteous deeds of all kinds) avert the evil of the decree.

Imagine Rabbi Amnon as the author: his poem Unetaneh Tokef invites us to live all year as he did on his last day: exercising our freedom to repair the world.

— Thanks to members of the August 17 Shabbos Tisch at Or Shalom for a discussion of these issues. Thanks to scholar Daniel Golinkin for an analysis of the sources of Unetaneh Tokef. Image: bmchabad.com