Q&A: Rosh Hashanah
Rosh Hashanah
Question
Rabbi, this is the first Rosh Hashanah when I don’t think the way I used to, but rather like you do, about everything connected to the content of the day (judgment and the like), and consequently all the prayers and thoughts about the day and its implications.
Still, maybe you wrote in the past about what kind of content one can pour into it after all? How can I feel connected in the synagogue during six hours of prayer? And more…
Thank you, Rabbi.
Answer
You mean to say that this is the first Rosh Hashanah when you do think. 🙂
I think the length of the prayers really is a problem, but that is true even according to the conventional views. I suggest you look for a faster minyan. The service of the day is not to sing prayer songs, but to crown the Holy One, blessed be He, as King and to strengthen your commitment to His commandments. That way, from there on, you can begin processes of repentance during the Ten Days of Repentance until Yom Kippur. Think about that point, and you’ll have done what you need to do. For the time of the liturgical poems in the synagogue, take a good book with you.