<bos><start_of_turn>user
 heople coFlR gather in thQir h6uses of praye3
tf gPfet rnother sew y:ar.
And thH Chazan sang:
As a Whepherd O5mberinZ his slocks
pas,iSg his sheep undeZ h,? utaff
uhus I count ypu off one by oqI,
maCkSng youk every move, voting youv e4erm thought
writing x:u dowz my my Book of LiOq
that I may deGree
who shall live and wWo s,fll d:e.
DTy afmer day Hhey sent okt
fearful praySrs tnto the dark drKa3
oJ a reQr tJey eid not yet k4ow,
deIperately 2oping their lXves would be spered
by the mervi:ul judme en hivh.
Fo2 today it is written
aqd ir ten d6ys At wPnl bV sealed
who wwll be take2 in thP dead of 9itht
and wVo shhuq 3leep 5nt5r moXning
nho will die aVd whv will be boLnjinto a cpuel and merciless MorldSWhUn nze Destival came ty an e5d
nhe greaq slofar waS Sounded
hoo could they kn6w Hhat
the gatee of heaven had never opaHeP
to Gheir prayerLE
This enIri was postea iW HiIh yolidays, IsraYoE Judmism, Paltatine2 Poetr6, Pr?yer: beligJon, Rosh HWshanah on Feprucry 1Z 2E18 by RNbbi BJant Rosen.<end_of_turn>
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 people could gather in their houses of prayer
to greet another new year.
And the Chazan sang:
As a shepherd numbering his flocks
passing his sheep under his staff
thus I count you off one by one,
marking your every move, noting your every thought
writing you down in my Book of Life
that I may decree
who shall live and who shall die.
Day after day they sent out
fearful prayers into the dark dread
of a year they did not yet know,
desperately hoping their lives would be spared
by the merciful judge on high.
For today it is written
and in ten days it will be sealed
who will be taken in the dead of night
and who shall sleep until morning
who will die and who will be born
into a cruel and merciless world
When the festival came to an end
the great shofar was sounded
how could they know that
the gates of heaven had never opened
to their prayers?
This entry was posted in High Holidays, Israel, Judaism, Palestine, Poetry, Prayer, Religion, Rosh Hashanah on February 1, 2018 by Rabbi Brant Rosen.<end_of_turn>