After we welcome the New Year together, we have about a week between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur.

These in-between days are part of the Aseret Yamei Teshuvah, the ten days of repentance.  These days are a period of time for reflection and continuing the spiritual work we began on Rosh Hashanah.

They are not, though, like the intermediate chol ha'moed days of Passover and Sukkot.  Chol ha'moed days are almost half-holidays.  They are considered, in some communities, to be days that we avoid working and putting on tefillin as on regular days.  The ten days of repentance are fully regular days, but they are regular days at a critical time in the life of Jewish individuals and Jewish communities around the world.

The Rabbis of the Talmud describe these in-between days this way:

Three books are opened in heaven on Rosh Hashanah, one for the completely wicked, one for the completely righteous, and one for those in between.  The completely righteous are immediately inscribed in the book of life.  The completely wicked are immediately inscribed in the book of death.  The fate of those in between is suspended until Yom Kippur.  If they do well, they are inscribed in the book of life.  If not...

(The last line follows the logic of the opening lines and since I think this is all metaphorical, let's leave out the grisly conclusion.)

I believe this extended metaphor of the three open books offers us hope and reassurance.  Most people do not find themselves at the extremes of "completely" on one side.  Most of us find ourselves somewhere in the middle.  This selection from the Talmud (Tractacte Rosh Hashanah, page 16b) reassures us that most of us are in the in between place and that we have time and opportunities in the days leading up to Yom Kippur to strengthen our standing before God and to do similar work in our relationships to other people and also ourselves. 

There is a great deal of hope, then, for us as we hope and yearn for a life that fully reflects and fulfills the potential within all of us.  These days between the two High Holidays are an invitation to begin the work that will slowly and gently bring us forward toward the people we hope to become in the New Year.  We are thankful to have more than one day, slightly more than a week to get started in this direction since it is by no means an easy task. 

It is a task that really will take many months, if not the entire New Year, to accomplish.  It may feel like we're digging into the well of the self to bring out the person who is hidden within us-like the courageous workers who are slowly and gradually working to dig toward the trapped miners in Chile.  It is a job that requires a thorough look into our selves.  It is a process that will expose our vulnerabilities, imperfections, and failings.  It will also, though, remind us of our hopes, longings, goals and blessings. 

The "Ten Days" of Rosh Hashanah through Yom Kippur are a good time to begin this work.  We're all in the same frame of mind as we think about the issues of forgiveness, return, repentance, and atonement.  It's a great time to launch into what will certainly be a difficult but rewarding process for us all.  We should not forget at this time that God has put on God's special cloak of compassion that tempers all God's judgments.  As we contemplate the space between the self we are today and the self we hope to be down the road, we can feel a sense of safety as we reach out our hands to God to walk with us and feel God's hand offered in return.

Shanah Tovah v Shabbat Shalom,

Rabbi Tow