Q&A: Judgment on Yom Kippur and Rosh Hashanah
Judgment on Yom Kippur and Rosh Hashanah
Question
Hello Rabbi, it is hard for me to think about the judgment on Rosh Hashanah concerning life and death. I understand that one must repent if I did something bad, but it is hard for me to think that if I do not repent I will die, because the feeling is that this does not happen, and also the feeling is that this is not part of the general consciousness. Does the Rabbi think that one should be on Yom Kippur in anxiety about death?
Answer
That is my feeling as well—that it does not happen. During these days it is fitting to engage in self-examination, but as for the background idea of heavenly judgment and its consequences, I do not know its source or where they drew it from. See Column 27: https://mikyab.net/%D7%9C%D7%9E%D7%A9%D7%9E%D7%A2%D7%95%D7%AA%D7%9D-%D7%A9%D7%9C-%D7%A8%D7%9E%D7%96%D7%99-%D7%90%D7%9C%D7%95%D7%9C-%D7%90%D7%95-%D7%90%D7%9C%D7%95%D7%9C-%D7%91%D7%9C%D7%99%D7%98%D7%90-%D7%98%D7%95/