I was inspired to choose the theme Choosing Life in Recovery because Rosh Hashanah starts a few days after our September 21 worship service. The Unetanah Tokef was written about the judgment of God when we die, but also on that day of judgment that occurs for Jews once a year. You dont need to believe literally in a judgment to recognize that addiction leads us into death, whether by water, fire, sword, or any of the other ways the poem describes. On Rosh Hashanah it is inscribed, And on Yom Kippur it is sealed. How many shall pass away and how many shall be born, Who shall live and who shall die, Who shall reach the end of his days and who shall not, Who shall perish by water and who by fire, Who by sword and who by wild beast Who by famine and who by thirst, Who by earthquake and who by plague, Who by strangulation and who by stoning . . . How do we avoid this death? Repentance, prayer, and righteousness. We have to repent (recognize that all our attempts to create happiness through our addiction fail and decide to choose another path), pray (open ourselves to help from someone or something outside of ourselves), and be righteous (make amends, be rigorously honest, chase our recovery, follow the eightfold path, whatever it is that allows us to live according to our values rather than according to our addiction).
Posted on: Mon, 15 Sep 2014 19:00:01 +0000
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