Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, begins tonight at sunset. Rosh Hashanah, the Day of Judgement, begins at ten day period of self examination and repentance called, Yamim Noraim , or the Days of Awe, which culminate in Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement. The Days of Awe are also called the High Holy Days because they are the most important in the Jewish Calendar.

Rosh Hashanah is the only major Jewish holiday that is not directly sanctioned and uniquely described in the Torah[1]. Leviticus (23:23-26) and Numbers (9:l-6), command an unnamed festival on the first day of the seventh month called Tish-ri. This is a little odd since the first month of the Jewish year is in the spring when Passover is celebrated. Historically, this was a source of controversy among the Rabbis trying to determine just which month the world really began. The Biblical texts offer scant details for celebrating Rosh Hashanah except directions to refrain from work, observe the day as a sacred occasion and bring certain sacrifices. These are the same directions for most of the other festivals. The only distinctive part is the commandment to blow the Shofar, the ram's horn.

Tradition has it that between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, God opens the Book of Life, judges all humanity and inscribes the names of those who will be blessed with another year. We are given a chance to demonstrate to God that we are remorseful for our sins, willing to make restitution for the wrongs we have done, and plead for forgiveness. Symbolically, the whole world is begun again creating a yearly second chance to make a morally regenerated new start on life.

The image often found in liturgical poetry for this Day of Judgment is the courtroom. The courtroom is a familiar setting for Rabbis and poets in Talmudic Judaism. Humanity is seen as standing in the divine courtroom, pleading its case. We need the mercy of the court because none of us are perfect. During the past year we have all fallen short of our ideals, values and morals. Even if we haven't made big mistakes, we have made small ones, human nature being what it is. "There is no human being in the world" , says Ecclesiastes, "so righteous who does [only] good and never sins" (Ecclesiastes 7:20) None of us appear blameless before the judgment seat.

Thankfully, God is believed to be merciful as well. In the Jewish tradition, God is seen as both Judge and loving Father Thus while God may be judging us, God also loves and has feeling for us. God wants to forgive.

Yet in an interesting turnabout, neither has God been completely good to us. God hasn't exactly delivered us into a paradise. We have suffered injustice. We have suffered bad fortune. We have suffered wrongl. God is reminded in the liturgical poetry of what was promised to our ancestors when the covenant was made with Abraham and Moses. Yes, our behavior may have been wanting, but so has yours O Lord our God. Ellie Wiesel recounted a grim accusation in his Holocaust memoir Night which was the basis for his play, "The Trial of God." "On Rosh Hashanah, from the depths of their sorrow and despair, the inmates of Auschwitz called God to judgement and condemned him for allowing such evil and suffering in His world.[2]"

If one is an atheist or if one believes that God is immutable, unchanging and eternal, this whole idea of bargaining with God can seem pretty ridiculous. Who are we, lower than a speck of dust in the magnitude of this great universe, to be telling the Almighty what to do? The Calvinists believed God had already selected who would be saved and who would be damned. Nothing the penitent sinner could do would affect this predestined outcome. Universalists believed no one would be damned because Jesus' atonement was for all humanity, the final atonement which convinced God we were okay and unconditionally worthy of love and forgiveness.

Talking about heaven and hell reminds me of an error in the Book of Genesis. The whole original sin idea actually started with Adam. Here is what really happened:

Adam, in the Garden of Eden, began to grow restless and bored. "God," he said, "this is very beautiful, the flowers, the stream, the parrots,* but there's something missing. Do you know what I mean?"

"Yes, Adam," replied God, "I sympathize. I will think about it..."

The next day God summoned Adam and said: "Adam, I have just the thing for you. I'm going to create woman for you."

"What's woman?" asked Adam.

"Woman ... is everything sweet and nice. She will be your constant loving companion. She will make your home for you. She will cook and sew for you, and bear your children. She will show you constant devotion and make your life happy and fulfilled."

"That sounds great," said Adam. "When does she arrive?"

"Well, you know Adam, like everything else in life, there is a price for such perfection. I'm afraid that, to have woman as I have described, it will cost you one arm, one leg, and one eye."

Adam was perplexed. "Hmmm, I don't know about that. I shall have to think very carefully."

So Adam thought and thought, and eventually he reached a bargaining position.

"God, let's get this straight. Woman, who is perfection and all things sweet and gentle, will be mine for ... one arm, one leg, and one eye?"

"That's right, Adam."

"Hmmm," said Adam. "Tell me, what do I get for one rib?"

The origin of the idea of bargaining with God is Biblical. In the 18^th chapter of Genesis, three men come before Abraham's tent. Abraham greets them and bows low to the ground recognizing one as the Lord and invites them in. After some cakes, curds, and calf and the humorous foretelling of the birth of Isaac to Sarah, the Lord, his companions and Abraham go outside and look toward Sodom. The Lord wonders about telling Abraham he is about to destroy it. He does decide to tell him saying, "There is a great outcry over Sodom and Gomorrah. Their sin is very grave. I must go down and see whether their deeds warrant the outcry which has reached me. I am resolved to know the truth." When the Lord does tell Abraham, Abraham draws close to the Lord and asks, "Wilt thou really sweep away bad ... and good together? Suppose there are fifty good men in the city; wilt thou really sweep it away, and not pardon the place because of the fifty good men? Far be it from thee to do this -to kill the good with the bad together; for then the good would suffer with the bad. Far be it from thee. Shall not the judge of all the earth do what is just?"

Abraham is pretty bold to be questioning God's motives and reminding God of his commitment to justice! Notice though that the Lord hasn't made up his mind whether to destroy the place or not. The Lord responds, "If I find in the city 50 good men I will pardon, I will pardon the whole place for their sake." But Abraham isn't satisfied. What about if there are only 45? What about only 40? 30? 20? Each time the Lord lowers the bar until finally Abraham asks, "I pray thee not to be angry, O Lord, if I speak just once more: suppose ten can be found there?" He said, "For the sake of ten I will not destroy it." Every time Abraham asks his prayer is answered. This God doesn't bargain back but grants each request suggesting God's willingness and desire to offer forgiveness even when tested.

This Biblical sanction to bargain has somehow gotten connected to the stereotype of a Jewish person always trying to get the lowest price. Within this stereotype is the assumption that the Jewish person is trying to cheat the other person out of a fair price. Nothing could be further from the truth. For example, there was a fellow named Ginsberg in the old country. Ginsberg never paid his bills and was seen bargaining with a supplier. "Hey, Ginsberg," his friend asked him, "why are you knocking that man's prices down? You're never going to pay him anyway." "Listen," answers Ginsberg, "He is a nice chap. I just want to keep down his losses!"

I've never had Ginsberg's chutzpah. I like this joke because one reason I was never much of a business man is I feel uncomfortable bargaining with people. If they really think their product is worth that price, then I ought to pay it. But what is a fair price anyway? Capitalism says whatever the buyer will offer and the seller will accept. Is the morality of the marketplace ethical? If I can get someone to clean my house for 6 dollars an hour, should I still pay a living wage? If I start thinking about morality and bargaining, I find it all starts getting complicated especially if you want both the buyer and the seller to be happy. Can you really get discounted forgiveness from God? From your neighbor?

This all seems rather familiar today as our President appears to be bargaining with the American people for our forgiveness seeing how little we will accept as the price. First he says, "I didn't do it with that woman. I've been wronged by a right wing conspiracy." He recruits all his friends and allies to lie for him. Seven months later, realizing he is in a corner as DNA testing reveals his intimate connection to a blue dress, he comes forward with a confession of being wrong--sort of. There was something unspecified that was wrong in his relationship with that woman Monica, but there was a whole lot more wrong with this right wing conspiracy headed by the OIC, the Office of the Independent Counsel. I may have done something wrong but they're out to get me! Not until Joseph Leiberman stood up on the Senate floor did his confession of doing wrong start to sound like something worse than squeezing the wrong woman's rear end.

Now our President has told us that he is more than a wrongdoer. He is a sinner and is asking for our forgiveness. He timed his dramatic confession at a prayer breakfast to coincide with the delivery of Kenneth Starr's report which goes into great detail about the nature of his sins. Of course we have only Monica's testimony to go on and the salacious report is written to make a strong case to drive him out of office. As the President's rebuttal points out, there are many flaws in this report. Still, Clinton's pleas for forgiveness seem a little too calculated and self-centered.

I don't particularly want to argue this morning about whether Clinton should be written into the Book of Life as President for another year or not. I have my opinions about it I'd be happy to share privately. I am deeply concerned about the effect this scandal has on his ability to lead the nation. I'm angry that a President who looked so promising as he was sworn into office has come to this. God may forgive him his sins but I doubt if many in Congress are of like mind even if the nutty opinion polls say the American people want to forget about it. Repentance must be paired with reparation. A change of heart must be followed by a change in action.

This is the beauty of the Days of Awe. After striking their best bargain with God, people have ten more days to make good on their promises of repentance. Indeed, actions such as prayer, good deeds such as charity and seeking reconciliation with people one may have wronged is thought to be able to change what was just written in the Book of Life.

These actions must be sincere and heart-felt. The Mishnah or Babylonian Talmud, says the miracle of divine forgiveness will not be extended to those who abuse the system of repentance.[3]

For example, if someone says, "I will sin and then repent so that I will be forgiven and thus obtain the fruits of evil without being punished," then that person will have no opportunity to repent, for this would make a mockery of the system. The person would be exploiting God's mercy to get away with a crime. This is intolerable and forgiveness is denied.[4]

The mechanics of all this and whether or not God forgives is not of great concern to our Universalist side. Most of us are not too concerned with whether or not we can convince God to forgive our sins. Those of us who are believers in God embrace the vision of a loving rather than a vengeful God. For us the goal of these Days of Awe is not to convince God we are worthy of redemption, but rather to convince ourselves.

Most of us are our own harshest critic and judge. We pour more condemnation on ourselves than any other could do. And if we aren't judging ourselves then surely a relative, co-worker, or friend is more than happy to enumerate our faults. Keeping a rosy view of one's inherent worth and dignity can be very trying at times. Whether or not we agree with our inner or outer critics, it is hard not to be influenced by them.

Whatever our religious faith or lack of faith, the restorative value of this Jewish holiday is worth our attention. The cyclical nature of Rosh Hashanah brings us back again and again to review the ways we have missed the mark. For our psychological as well as spiritual health, we need to empty our bag of troubles and make a fresh start. We need to be reminded to let go of our past mistakes, make amends and move on renewed by our recommitment to our best intentions.

In closing, I invite you now to participate in a litany of Atonement. Please turn to the person next to you, preferably someone you know well, and repeat to each other these words when I pause in the litany[5]:

We forgive ourselves and each other; we begin again in love.

For remaining silent when a single voice would have made a difference