Who By Fire, Who By Water , livre ebook

Other Jewish Lights Books by Rabbi Lawrence A. Hoffman
My People s Prayer Book: Traditional Prayers, Modern Commentaries , Vols. 1-10
My People s Passover Haggadah: Traditional Texts, Modern Commentaries , Vols. 1 2
(Coedited with David Arnow, PhD)
The Art of Public Prayer: Not for Clergy Only , 2nd Ed.
(A book from SkyLight Paths, Jewish Lights sister imprint)
Rethinking Synagogues: A New Vocabulary for Congregational Life
Israel-A Spiritual Travel Guide: A Companion for the Modern Jewish Pilgrim
The Way Into Jewish Prayer
What You Will See Inside a Synagogue
(Coauthored with Dr. Ron Wolfson)

Who by Fire, Who by Water- Un taneh Tokef
2010 Hardcover Edition, First Printing 2010 by Lawrence A. Hoffman
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.
For information regarding permission to reprint material from this book, please mail or fax your request in writing to Jewish Lights Publishing, Permission Department, at the address / fax number listed below, or e-mail your request to permissions@jewishlights.com .
Grateful acknowledgment is given for permission to reprint Piyyut Layamim Hanora im ( Hymn for the Days of Awe ), 2009 by Evan Tzelgov. Reprinted with permission of the author.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Who by fire, who by water-unetaneh tokef / edited by Lawrence A. Hoffman. - 2010 hardcover ed.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references.
ISBN 978-1-58023-424-5 (hardcover)
1. U-netanneh tokef. 2. High Holidays-Liturgy. 3. Judaism-Liturgy. 4. Judgment of God. I. Hoffman, Lawrence A., 1942-
BM670.U25H64 2010
296.4'53-dc22
2010004067
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Manufactured in the United States of America
Printed on recycled paper.
Jacket Design: Tim Holtz
Jacket Art: Renovatio/Fotolia
Published by Jewish Lights Publishing
A Division of LongHill Partners, Inc.
Sunset Farm Offices, Route 4, P.O. Box 237
Woodstock, VT 05091
Tel: (802) 457-4000 Fax: (802) 457-4004
www.jewishlights.com
Contents
Acknowledgments
Prayers of Awe, Intuitions of Wonder
Rabbi Lawrence A. Hoffman, PhD
Un taneh Tokef as Poetry and Legend
Rabbi Lawrence A. Hoffman, PhD
The Legend of Rabbi Amnon
Translated by Rabbi Lawrence A. Hoffman, PhD
Un taneh Tokef: Translation
Dr. Joel M. Hoffman
Un taneh Tokef: Behind the Translation
Dr. Joel M. Hoffman
PART I THE MORAL CHALLENGE OF UN TANEH TOKEF : CAN THE PRAYER EVEN BE SALVAGED?
1. The Exodus and the Elephant
Rabbi Tony Bayfield, DD
2. Awe-full Thoughts on Words a Melody Cannot Save
Rabbi Andrew Goldstein, PhD
3. Is Un taneh Tokef Palatable?
Rabbi Delphine Horvilleur
4. From Text to Life to Text: The Un taneh Tokef Feedback Loop
Rabbi Noa Kushner
5. A Rationalist s View
Rabbi Charles H. Middleburgh, PhD
6. Universalism versus Martyrdom: Un taneh Tokef and Its Frame Narrative
Rabbi Marc Saperstein, PhD
7. Somehow Linked to God
Rabbi Daniel G. Zemel
PART II REINTERPRETING UN TANEH TOKEF FOR OUR TIME
8. A Biblical Perspective
Dr. Marc Brettler
9. God as the Ultimate Writer
Dr. Erica Brown
10. How Was Your Flight?
Dr. Joel M. Hoffman
11. Passing before God: The Literary Theme of Un taneh Tokef
Rabbi Elie Kaunfer
12. The Poetics of Prayer: How Un taneh Tokef Means What It Means
Dr. Reuven Kimelman
13. Death without Dying
Rabbi Lawrence Kushner
14. Laminated in the Book of Life?
Rabbi Ruth Langer, PhD
15. Un taneh Tokef through Israeli Eyes
Rabbi Dalia Marx, PhD
16. The Litmus Test of Belief
Rabbi Rachel Nussbaum
17. Meditations on the Poetry of Un taneh Tokef
Rabbi Margaret Moers Wenig, DD
18. Who by Fire: Contemporary Personal and Literary Reflections
Dr. Wendy Zierler
PART III UN TANEH TOKEF AND THE LIMITATIONS OF THE HUMAN CONDITION
19. Stark and Inescapable
Merri Lovinger Arian
20. At the Edge of the Abyss
Rabbi Sharon Brous
21. The Answer Is Me!
Rabbi Edward Feinstein
22. The Dance between Fate and Destiny
Rabbi Karyn D. Kedar
23. Empowering Human Beings to Challenge Fate
Rabbi Asher Lopatin
24. Who by Common Trial
Catherine Madsen
25. A Text in Context
Rabbi Jonathan Magonet, PhD
26. The Power of Vulnerability
Rabbi Or N. Rose
27. Mortal Matters: The Faith of Un taneh Tokef
Rabbi David Stern
28. Turning Fate into Destiny
Rabbi Avraham Weiss
29. Death Rehearsal
Rabbi David J. Wolpe
PART IV UN TANEH TOKEF AND ITS CALL FOR SANCTITY, TRANSFORMATION, AND RENEWAL
30. The Power of the Thin Whisper of Silence
Rabbi Ruth Durchslag, PsyD
31. Evoking Fear, Prescribing Hope: From Suffering to Service
Rabbi Elyse D. Frishman
32. The Four Holinesses of Un taneh Tokef : A Halakhic Understanding
Rabbi Daniel Landes
33. Trembling with Angels: The Power of Rehearsal
Liz Lerman
34. The Eternal and the Ephemeral: The Stark Contrasts of Un taneh Tokef
Rabbi Aaron Panken, PhD
35. Theology or Anthropology?
Rabbi Sandy Eisenberg Sasso
36. How Awesome and Dreadful: God Is Enthroned and Rules with Love
Rabbi Jonathan P. Slater, DMin
37. God s Hands
Rabbi Brent Chaim Spodek and Ruth Messinger
38. The Call to Turn Inward
Rabbi David A. Teutsch, PhD
39. Shattered Pottery-Unshattered Hope
Rabbi Gordon Tucker, PhD
40. Everything Has Consequences
Dr. Ellen M. Umansky
41. The Seven Questions You re Asked in Heaven
Dr. Ron Wolfson
Notes
Glossary

About Jewish Lights
Copyright
Acknowledgments
A cknowledgments begin with the many High Holy Day worshipers for whom Un taneh Tokef has proved important. Knowing me as a liturgist, they have written me numerous letters over the years, calling this poem everything from creative, brilliant, and moving to banal, outmoded, and troubling. Either way, it is clear that Un taneh Tokef has entered the popular liturgical canon alongside such familiar staples as Adon Olam , Psalm 23, and Shehecheyanu . But with a passion! I begin by admiring this Jewish passion-the insistence that our prayers say something that matters, and that what they say be taken seriously as a guide to God and the human condition.
To these worshipers in general, I add the many colleagues, artists, composers, poets, philosophers, theologians, and critics who added more technical voices to the conversation. Many of them are included here. To them-to all the contributors whose commentaries found their way into this volume-I am grateful.
Particular thanks go to Dr. Joel M. Hoffman, whose expertise in translation became more and more evident with every line of Un taneh Tokef . He has been part of my liturgical partnership with Jewish Lights throughout the award-winning pilot series My People s Prayer Book: Traditional Prayers, Modern Commentaries and then again with My People s Passover Haggadah: Traditional Texts, Modern Commentaries . Particularly here, with this singular poem of enormous complexity, we are dependent on his linguistic competence. I also consulted with him at times in translating parts of the legend of Rabbi Amnon, although this translation (unlike Un taneh Tokef ) is my own, so that any errors in translating it are mine, not his.
I was blessed with colleagues who knew much more than I did about Un taneh Tokef . First and foremost, Dr. Susan Einbinder, master medievalist, directed me to relevant literature. Dr. Sharon Koren too shared her expertise in medieval history with me. Dr. Wendy Zierler drew my attention to Un taneh Tokef in Hebrew literature. Rabbi Margaret Moers Wenig has taught a class in High Holy Day liturgy for many years and shared her mastery of it with me. Others, who had already composed articles on the subject, are included as contributors here, and at least a partial list of scholars whose work I consulted (those writing in English) is represented in my bibliography.
In addition, I was blessed by conversations with prayer-book editors, who had faced the challenge of deciding what to do with Un taneh Tokef -Rabbis Andrew Goldstein, Jonathan Magonet, and Charles Middleburgh: they too are among the contributors here. For background on Christian liturgical parallels, I was able to communicate with Drs. Robert Taft and Stefanos Alexopoulos, who directed me to relevant sources.
Throughout the months of extensive research, I benefited from the work of student rabbi Rachel Shafran Steiner, my research assistant. Soon-to-be Rabbi Shafran Steiner was sufficiently moved by the material that she has since embarked on her own study, as a rabbinic thesis.
And of course, as always, there is my ongoing gratitude to Jewish Lights Publishing. Publisher Stuart M. Matlins first approached me with the idea, as suggested to him by Dan Adler in response to a High Holy Day program developed by Rob Eshman, editor in chief of The Jewish Journal of Greater Los Angeles . I was delighted to continue my long and warm relationship with Stuart, who shares my passion for Jewish liturgy and my insistence that it be presented to a reading public with the professional competence and personal commitment that it deserves. Emily Wichland, vice president of Editorial and Production, remains the very best editor with whom to work-profound thanks, as always, go to Emily for her abundant wisdom, skill, patience, and perseverance. For her copyediting, my thanks go to Debra Corman; and for proofreading, Miriam Aronin. I happily include as well all the others at Jewish Lights, especially Tim Holtz, director of Production, who designed the cover for this book; and Kristi Menter, who typeset the English text.
Prayers of Awe, Intuitions of Wonder
Rabbi Lawrence A. Hoffman, PhD
Unsettling Choices
Unsettling choices make up part of every prayer book-most especially the machzor for the High Holy Days. The word machzor denotes holiday liturgy in genera