So in a little less than an hour, another year will be over and done. Of all the prayers that we recite during the upcoming holidays, perhaps the most powerful and timely is the U'netaneh Tokef, which reminds us of the awesome decisions that are made on high during the High Holy Days:
On Rosh Hashanah will be inscribed and on Yom Kippur will be sealed how many will pass from the earth and how many will be created; who will live and who will die; who will die at his predestined time and who before his time; who by water and who by fire, who by sword, who by beast, who by famine, who by thirst, who by storm, who by plague, who by strangulation, and who by stoning. Who will rest and who will wander, who will live in harmony and who will be harried, who will enjoy tranquillity and who will suffer, who will be impoverished and who will be enriched, who will be degraded and who will be exalted. But repentance, prayer and charity remove the evil of the Decree.
May we all be inscribed for a peaceful, prosperous and healthy New Year.
Shana tova.
