"This Rosh Hashanah Day of Old"

The rhythm of the past rings true

In rote fashion the days of awe

Return to haunt the pious Jew

Whose deeds have markedly broken the law.

The trumpet sounds the coming time

That reminds the world of God’s display

When in the judgment day a sign

To all who have chosen their own way.

The new year is no panacea —

Only false hopes and promises today

Save the man who proclaimed from Galilee to Berea

To provide a light along the way.

God sits in the lofty heights of heaven

Judging seeds that we have sown.

Should we be found corrupt with leaven

Your sure fate is engraved in stone.

Who shall die by fire and who by water?

And who to be strangled and shot by gun?

Yet God has erected a system of barter —

The substitutionary offering of His only Son.

This Rosh Hashanah day of old

Can make a new beginning wave

By entering into the faith of Abraham’s fold

And the understanding of God’s love He gave.

This poem was composed by MJTI CFO Rabbi Elliot Klayman. For more High Holiday and Rosh Hashanah articles, read Entering the Days of Awe, Rosh HaShana and Yom Teruah, or A Sweet Year and a Bright Future.

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“This Rosh Hashanah Day of Old”