Unetaneh Tokef

1.

Unetaneh Tokef

This is a prayer for the high holidays Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur.  As I stayed solitary on Yom Kippur I recited some prayers privately. This prayer, somewhat severe, is not for everyone. It stands though as part  of Rabbinic history.

A Rabbi Amnon Of Mainz during the ll century was friendly with a Catholic Archbishop who wanted him to convert.  He gave him three days to make a decision and the Rabbi did not respond, buying time.  The Archbishop sought him out and asked him if he would convert and was refused.  The Rabbi's limbs were cut off one by one and while dying he was carried to a synagogue where he recited the above prayer which later became part of the liturgy for the holidays. Below is the second part of the prayer that came from him.

This is the only mention of Rabbi Amnon and the story became a legend.

Legends don't apply to our lifes today. However, legends provide a contrast to the trivialization of experience in these times by adding the element of the heroic. Our perspeciive is broadened.

Unetaneh Tokef

"All mankind will pass before You like a flock of sheep. Like a shepherd pasturing his flock, making sheep pass under his staff, so shall You cause to pass, count, calculate, and consider the soul of all the living; and You shall apportion the destinies of all Your creatures and inscribe their verdict.
 
On Rosh Hashanah will be inscribed and on Yom Kippur will be sealed – how many will pass from the earth and how many will be created; who will live and who will die; who will die after a long life and who before his time; who by water and who by fire, who by sword and who by beast, who by famine and who by thirst, who by upheaval and who by plague, who by strangling and who by stoning. Who will rest and who will wander, who will live in harmony and who will be harried, who will enjoy tranquility and who will suffer, who will be impoverished and who will be enriched, who will be degraded and who will be exalted. But Repentance, Prayer, and Charity annul the severe Decree."

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Interestingly, the late Leonard Cohen, singer/songwriter, wrote a song called 'Who by Fire' previous to his passing.  The cadence and words appear rooted in this prayer.  His upbringing included extensive exposure to Jewish thought and ritual.

I heard this and another song, 'You want it darker,' became included in one synogagues service. When invited to a Rosh Hashanah dinner by a very progressive friend and some non-Jews, we played the singer's song after dinner and discussed its meaning. Sharon thought it referred to ways of death, a subject on Mr. Cohen's mind no doubt as disease ravaged his body.  While I enjoy some of his songs in the past, at dinner that night with an aging audience the fit seemed a bit forced.  Even so, thread from the prayer to the holiday to Leonard Cohen is a curious one.