Today is Yom Kippur. It is a solemn day. It is also the day when Moses came back down Mount Sinai with the second set of Ten Commandments. For this we give thanks. All day today, in recognition of this, we chanted the Thirteen Attributes. The very words that Moses heard on Mount Sinai. The very words that G-d told Moses to use to ask for forgiveness. The very words that Nehemiah used for Yom Kippur and that Amram Ga’on codified in the 9th century.

Adoani, Adonai, El Rachum v’ Chanun…The Lord, the Lord G-d is merciful and compassionate. Please G-d in your mercy, grant us atonement, grant us peace. And G-d answers these pleas, I have pardoned you according to your word.” G-d is indeed rachum v’chanun, although sometimes it seems we need to remind G-d, sometimes over and over again. Sometimes between services you would come up and ask a question about these words. Why does Harlow translate Emet as faithfulness and not truth? Why does Adonai, Adonai repeat? How do we count 13?

Each time through I learned something more or reflected on the words we have written together. Early this summer when I was planning this blog series and beginning to ask people to add their voices, I was asked wehter Yom Kippur was a joyous holiday. This answer lies in the liturgy itself. As part of the Selichot portion, the very part where we chant the 13 Attributes, we are assured of G-d forgiveness. “I will sprinkle you with clean water and you will cleaned from all your impurities.” (Ezekiel 36:25). We seem to be back the beginning. Back to Genesis where the water is gathered together. Where there is a play on words between gathering and hope. This clean living water, mayyim hayyim is the hope of Israel, mikveh Israel. So we are back to the water of the womb where we are clean, fresh, reborn, renewed. Over and over again we chant these verses. Over and over again. Assured of G-d’s forgiveness, we experience G-d’s loving presence. Having gone through the five services, I can say, Yom kippur is solemn but joyous. Once we are assured of G-d’s love and forgiveness how can it be anything but joyous.

G-d is indeed compassionate and merciful, abounding in lovingkindness, chesed. G-d will take us back in love. In Yom Kippur Readings there is a story from Rachel Naomi Remen, MD who wrote Kitchen Table Wisdom. She tells a story of hearing a prominent rabbi talk on Yom Kippur talk about forgiveness. He began by taking his infant daughter from his wife’s arms and bringing her onto the bimah. He then began his rather traditional and somewhat boring sermon. The baby girl smiled and everyone’s heart melted. She patted him on the check with her tiny hands. He smiled fondly at her and continued with his customary dignity. She reached for his tie and put in her mouth. She grabbed his nose and the whole congregation chuckled.  He said, “Think about it. Is there anything she can do that you would not forgive her? Heads nodded in agreement. She grabbed his glasses. Everyone laughed. He waited for silence and then said, “When does that stop. When does it get hard to forgive? At three? At seven? At sixteen? At forty five? How old does someone have to be before you forget that everyone is a child of God?”

I would add, created b’tzelem elohim, in the image of God, with the divine spark inside. Naomi added that for her, God’s forgiveness was easy to understand but that personal forgiveness was difficult. If we are supposed to be like God and follow in God’s footsteps, isn’t this the message? It is not that G-d never gets angry. G-d does. We have seen that—with the Golden Calf and in AJ’s upcoming Haftarah. But if we remind G-d that G-d is patient and abounding in love, G-d will forgive. Isn’t that what we should be doing too?

And so we are done. We are forgiven. A new year stretches before us.

We have been enriched in this process and our conversation as a a community has deepened. 18 of you participated in writing and studying. Still more of you read and discussed. When we chant the Thirteen Attributes again I am not sure any of us will ever think about them quite the same way.