An Alternative Interpretation of Unetaneh Tokef

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.

Unetaneh Tokef 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, who by water and who by fire, who by sword and who by wild beast, who by famine and who by thirst, who by earthquake and who by plague, who by strangulation and who by lapidation, who shall have rest and who wander, who shall be at peace and who pursued, who shall be serene and who tormented, who shall become impoverished and who wealthy, who shall be debased, and who exalted. But repentance, prayer and righteousness avert the severity of the decree.

An alternative interpretation: On Rosh Hashanah it is inscribed, and on Yom Kippur it is sealed - how many shall flourish and how many shall wilt, who shall live and who shall die, who will reach ripe age and who taken all too soon, who will drown in waters of refuge as they desperately attempt to reach the shores of freedom, who amongst fires and rubble in the aftermath of bombs, who by senseless violence and who by malicious attack, who because they do not have access to healthy food and who because of contaminated water sources, who because of environmental disaster and who because of cancer and illness, who because of mental illness and who by gun violence, who will be at peace and who will struggle to find their place, who shall be comfortable and who driven by anxiety and fear, who will be at ease, and who agitated and tortured, who will turn their heads and who will stand up for justice, who will be punished by broken systems and who benefit by their privilege, who will be humbled and who lifted up? But action, organizing power and work towards tikun (healing) could chart a different course for such decree.

Disclaimer: I have a deeply rich prayer life and believe profoundly in the power of prayer. I also do not believe in a personal God; my relationship to the Divine is one that transcends a being who intimately knows my life's circumstance and has the power to intervene in a personal way. Rather, I believe in something much greater than anything we can comprehend. I believe that in order for human beings to operate with free choice and agency, the Divine has contracted itself and remains a surrounding presence beyond definition yet still willing us towards an ethical imperative to do good by the earth, by ourselves and by each other. For me, the Divine is the overarching womb in which the universe, (and human beings within it) grows and develops over time. I have always grappled with the liturgy of certainty that during the yamim noraim, a George Burns like god-figure is sitting atop the pearly white clouds making decisions about our fate as a collective and as individuals; checking off our names as if we are herding past as a flock of sheep, making decisions about whether or not we deserve more life. This theology has never worked for me, and yet I still seek to find the power of these days as a compelling time to reflect and renew. My desire to contribute this alternative translation is two-fold. First, to be able to reflect on the relevant ways in which people are confronted with death in our time; this liturgy is about confronting our own mortality. Second, to adjust the ending of the section to emphasize the role that human agency can play in altering the possibilities of our fate in the year to come. While I do not believe that my fate is sealed with no ability to be altered, I do believe that this time reminds us of the awesome power to change the course of things that need fixing in our world. That is the foundation for this reflection.