Describe our visit to see electrifying staging of Agatha Christie's "Witness for the Prosecution" staged at the London County Hall (this past summer).
It was staged in a courtroom and they even had audience members sitting as the Jury.
One became completely immersed in the proceedings, from the moment it started until the very end.
I am reminded of this when I look at the text of the repetition of Musaf that I will shortly recite - particularly, the sublime "Unetaneh Tokef" prayer:
(א) וּנְתַנֶּה תֹּקֶף קְדֻשַּׁת הַיּוֹם כִּי הוּא נוֹרָא וְאָיֹם וּבוֹ תִּנָּשֵׂא מַלְכוּתֶךָ וְיִכּוֹן בְּחֶסֶד כִּסְאֶךָ וְתֵשֵׁב עָלָיו בְּאֱמֶת
(1) We lend power to the holiness of this day. For it is tremendous and awe filled, and on it your kingship will be exalted, your throne will be established in loving-kindness, and you will sit on that throne in truth.
(ב) אֱמֶת כִּי אַתָּה הוּא דַּיָּן וּמוֹכִיחַ וְיוֹדֵעַ וָעֵד וְכוֹתֵב וְחוֹתֵם וְסוֹפֵר וּמוֹנֶה וְתִזְכֹּר כָּל הַנִּשְׁכָּחוֹת וְתִפְתַּח אֶת סֵפֶר הַזִּכְרוֹנוֹת וּמֵאֵלָיו יִקָּרֵא וְחוֹתָם יַד כָּל אָדָם בּוֹ
(2) It is true that you are the one who judges, and reproves, who knows all, and bears witness, who inscribes, and seals, who reckons and enumerates. You remember all that is forgotten. You open the book of records, and from it, all shall be read. In it lies each person's insignia.
(ג) וּבְשׁוֹפָר גָּדוֹל יִתָּקַע וְקוֹל דְּמָמָה דַקָּה יִשָׁמַע וּמַלְאָכִים יֵחָפֵזוּן וְחִיל וּרְעָדָה יֹאחֵזוּן וְיֹאמְרוּ הִנֵּה יוֹם הַדִּין לִפְקֹד עַל צְבָא מָרוֹם בַּדִּין כִּי לֹא יִזְכּוּ בְּעֵינֶיךָ בַּדִּין וְכָל בָּאֵי עוֹלָם יַעַבְרוּן לְפָנֶיךָ כִּבְנֵי מָרוֹן כְּבַקָּרַת רוֹעֶה עֶדְרוֹ מַעֲבִיר צֹאנוֹ תַּחַת שִׁבְטוֹ כֵּן תַּעֲבִיר וְתִסְפֹּר וְתִמְנֶה וְתִפְקֹד נֶפֶשׁ כָּל חָי וְתַחְתֹּךְ קִצְבָה לְכָל בְּרִיָּה וְתִכְתֹּב אֶת גְּזַר דִּינָם
(3) And with a great shofar it is sounded, and a thin silent voice shall be heard. And the angels shall be alarmed, and dread and fear shall seize them as they proclaim: behold! the Day of Judgment on which the hosts of heaven shall be judged, for they too shall not be judged blameless by you, and all creatures shall parade before you as a herd of sheep. As a shepherd herds his flock, directing his sheep to pass under his staff, so do you shall pass, count, and record the souls of all living, and decree a limit to each persons days, and inscribe their final judgment.
(ד) בְּרֹאשׁ הַשָּׁנָה יִכָּתֵבוּן, וּבְיוֹם צוֹם כִּפּוּר יֵחָתֵמוּן. כַּמָּה יַעַבְרוּן, וְכַמָּה יִבָּרֵאוּן, מִי יִחְיֶה, וּמִי יָמוּת, מִי בְקִצּוֹ, וּמִי לֹא בְּקִצּוֹ, מִי בַמַּיִם, וּמִי בָאֵשׁ, מִי בַחֶרֶב, וּמִי בַחַיָּה, מִי בָרָעָב, וּמִי בַצָּמָא, מִי בָרַעַשׁ, וּמִי בַמַּגֵּפָה, מִי בַחֲנִיקָה, וּמִי בַסְּקִילָה, מִי יָנוּחַ, וּמִי יָנוּעַ, מִי יִשָּׁקֵט, וּמִי יְטֹּרֵף, מִי יִשָּׁלֵו, וּמִי יִתְיַסָּר, מִי יַעֲנִי, וּמִי יַעֲשִׁיר, מִי יֻשְׁפַּל, וּמִי יָרוּם. וּתְשׁוּבָה וּתְפִלָּה וּצְדָקָה מַעֲבִירִין אֶת רֹעַ הַגְּזֵרָה.
(4) 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 in good time, and who by an untimely death.....
As we hear these words, how can we, here relate to them?
How can we immerse ourselves into the Heavenly Courtroom that is the location for this Yom Hadin? Day of Judgement.
This beautiful, ancient shul, whose warmth and character envelopes us, is the complete antithesis of a cold, imposing and terrfying Court of Law.
Yet, here we are, in our Cheltenham Synagogue Courtroom - about to plead for our lives in the next twelve months.
We are going to pray for many different reasons.
In more than one language.
For those who are here with us and those who aren't able to make it.
For ourselves and our families, our friends and colleagues, for peace in Israel, for unity in this country.
Through thoughts that may not have existed in our minds a year ago, but have ingrained themselves into our subconscious.
Here, in this Synagogue come courtroom.
How can we relate?
For me, personally, there is a way to do this and it's very simple.
It's about closing our eyes, opening our ears and our hearts and doing something that comes naturally.
Listening.
Shema Yisrael - listen Israel.
Listen to the plaintive, piercing and unforgettable voice of the Shofar. It will lead us into the space we are seeking. It will remind of us of who we are, where we came from and where we are going to.
It is simply, our unmatchable defense.
The Musaf that we will recite, both personally and publicly is made up of three distinct sections:
'Malchuyot - Kingship' - from the Aleinu prayer until the bracha of "Blessed are you, King over all the earth who sanctifies Israel and the Day of Remembrence"
The next section of 'Zichronot - Remembrences' until "Blessed are You who remembers the Covenant"
and finally 'Shofrot - the Shofarot that featured in our history - which ends with "Blessed are You....who listens to to the sound of your people Israel's trumpet blasts in compassion."
The first section 'Malchuyot', reminds us that today, the anniversary of the creation of Adam and Eve, we are crowning Gd as King of the Universe. We are categorically reinforcing Gd's position as the "Supreme King"....
….and how does every coronation begin? With the sound of a trumpet - or in our case, the Shofar.
It is our instrument, our way, to proclaim His Majesty. In Gd, we trust.
With the shofar, in our hands, we are enacting His coronation. We hear the shofar and it reminds us of who we are and who Gd is.
When we crown Gd on Rosh Hashanah, we enact our first defence. Will he really be that harsh on us when we remind ourselves and the world of His mastery?
We follow with Zichronot - remembrances.
Rabbi Lord Sacks writes in his Machzor that "the root 'Zachor' "remember" appears 169 times in the Tanach. All ancient cultures saw gods in nature, yet we Jews, were the first to see Gd in history and to consider memory as a religious obligation".
Gd made a covenant with Abraham that his descendants - namely all of us, would be as numerous as the stars in heaven and the sand on the sea. And Gd never forgot us. Through the great and not so great epochs in our history, He never abandoned us.
He remembered Sarah and Hannah as we just read in the Torah and Haftorah and even if, we, do stray, He will never forsake us. We call upon him, in this part the Musaf, to grant us compassion and salvation.
We end this section by citing the binding of Isaac, when the Shofar first made its entry into OUR story. The ram that Abraham sacrificed in his son's place held the first shofar that we know of. The shofar is therefore synonamous with the Akeida - the binding of Isaac, that we will read about tomorrow. It is our second line of defence.
And finally, the Shofar itself becomes embedded into the fabric of Musaf. We read about its pivotal role in the giving of the Torah - THE seminal event in our history.
"And the sound of the Shofar grew ever louder. Moses spoke and Gd answered him with a voice."
At Mount Sinai, the Shofar provided the musical backing to the giving of the Torah.
The Shofar will also herald the coming of the Messiah.
It is so buried deep into our psyche and history that, without it, we simply have no defence.
With it ringing in our ears and our drilling into our souls - we have the best argument that humanity can offer when we stand here, in the courtroom of Cheltenham Synagogue.
We are employing the Shofar to send a direct plea bargain into the stratosphere.
Conclusion
These special days are known as the "Yamim Noraim" -the 'Days of Awe' or 'The High Holidays'. They compel us to look inside ourselves and ask questions that can be uncomfortable and at times, unanswerable. They place into a position that many of us would rather avoid. It is much easier to move on, from day to day, month to month or year to year, without needing to examine ourselves.
Yet, if we consider it, would we really wish to have a world without Rosh Hashanah or Yom Kippur? Without the stirring tunes, beautiful white motifs and gathering of our people into shuls throughout the world. This Day of Judgement, where we all stand together as one nation, blowing our trumpets (quite literally) is awe-inspiring and though we may not be sitting inside an actual courtroom, in ourselves, we know that, by being here, by listening to the Shofar and trying to fathom the complicated prayers - we have provided the ultimate defence in our favour.
May we all be blessed with a year of good health, success in all of our endeavours and peace.
Shanah Tovah, Chag Sameach and may the Shofar herald the coming of Mashiach speedily in our days, bimhera beyameinu, Amen.