At sundown on Wednesday, Jews all over the world began celebrating Rosh Hashana, the new year according to the Hebrew calendar. It will be followed by Yom Kippur on Oct. 11, the Day of Atonement, the holiest day of the year.
Oct. 7, which no Jew can ever forget, falls midway between the two holidays. As of this writing, war still rages, hostages are still being held captive and Israeli society is bitterly divided.
Legend has it that on Rosh Hashana, God inscribes each of us in the Book of Life for either a good or a bad year. On Yom Kippur, what was inscribed earlier, is sealed. Even if a person is inscribed for a bad year, depending on what they do during the time between the two holidays, the bad decision can be reversed and a good seal entered.
I predict that especially on this year, Jews will flock to synagogues seeking some respite from what seems like an ongoing nightmare. There will be prayers, hymns, scriptural readings and, on Yom Kippur, a 24-hour fast. Many who have not set foot in a synagogue over the previous 12 months will show up on these days to seek divine guidance.
Will it work? Can one curry favor with God just by praying, singing, kneeling or fasting?
The prophet Isaiah said no. Although ancient modes of worship differed from ours in some respects, Isaiah proclaimed that God was fed up with what the people were doing, abhorred their festivals and would not listen to their prayers. Ditto for fasting.
The problem was that people’s worship was not accompanied by justice, which in Isaiah’s opinion meant care for the poor, the homeless and the oppressed — what some people today would call society’s losers.
Judaism is hardly alone when it comes to trying to please God. Most religions have their own prayers, hymns, holidays, special clothes or special foods. But the same question arises: Is this all that God wants? Have today’s practitioners done everything that can be asked of them, or are they just as guilty of letting the the most vulnerable fend for themselves?
People still go hungry in the richest country in the world. Immigrants lack the clothing needed to survive the winter months. Unjustly accused people still go to jail. Women and children are still beaten and abused. Gun violence is out of control.
The point is not that the prayers and rituals should be abandoned. Many are quite beautiful. They unite people and help induce a mood of reverence. A religion with no prayers, hymns or rituals would have a hard time attracting followers.
The point is rather that these things serve their purpose to the degree that they lead to better behavior. Ezekiel, another prophet, made this point by saying that God calls on each of us to replace a heart of stone with a heart of flesh.
There are people who find no meaning in sacred rituals. For those of us who do find meaning, if we are serious about pleasing God — in whatever way our tradition prescribes — when we say the prayers, sing the hymns and celebrate the holidays, it would be a good idea to stop for a minute and ask ourselves what it would be like to have a heart of flesh.
To return to Israel and the Middle East, rather than asking for God to intervene in a decades-old conflict, maybe it would be better for both sides to ask themselves whether the God they pray to approves of continual warfare. Warfare is a direct consequence of the heart of stone. Can there be any doubt that a God of mercy wants something else?
Kenneth Seeskin is professor emeritus of philosophy and the Philip M. and Ethel Klutznick professor of Jewish civilization at Northwestern University.
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