As we move through these Days of Awe, we hope that these readings and excerpts from Sha’ar HaShamayim, our Stephen Wise Temple machzor, will deepen your worship and High Holy Days experience.
We are entering the holiest moments of the Jewish year. For Kol Nidrei and Yom Kippur to have their greatest meaning, it is not the words of the rabbi, the voice of the cantor, or the prayers in the machzor that are paramount.
Those words, melodies, and prayers, we trust, will inspire us to stand uncovered before God, discovering the deepest recesses of our souls.
We ask forgiveness for our sins from those we have wronged and then seek forgiveness from God. During services we pray, sing, study—at times we may laugh and even cry. Ultimately, the deepest meaning of these hours comes from that inner voice that begs permission to be heard.
The power of this day is in our hands. Let us each, with great honesty, respond: What parts of my life do I want to be different in the coming year? And what do I need to change in my life to get there?
May we reflect on these questions throughout Yom Kippur. Then, when the final shofar blast is sounded tomorrow night, with God at our side, we will leave with gratitude for the year gone by. May we go forth with an unbridled desire to embrace this new year with confidence in a bright tomorrow.
— Rabbi David Woznica