Q&A: The Nature of the High Holy Days
Originally published:
This is an English translation (via GPT-5.4). Read the original Hebrew version.
The Nature of the High Holy Days
Question
Greetings to the Rabbi!
How should one look at Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur if he believes that the Holy One, blessed be He, hardly intervenes in the day-to-day lives of individual human beings at all (at least there is no indication of that)? If so, the coming year is not really going to be determined by the intensity of our prayers and fervent intention, etc. So what, then, is the essence of the spiritual work?
With wishes for a good year
Answer
I have written more than once that accepting the kingship of the Holy One, blessed be He, on Rosh Hashanah, and soul-searching and self-examination during the Ten Days of Repentance, are important in and of themselves, regardless of whether this will determine our fate or not.