The Ten Days of Awe – The In-Between Days

The Ten Days of Awe – The In -Between Days. (this post is in process and will be completed soon)

“Seek the Lord while He lets Himself be found. Call upon Him while He is nearby. Let the evildoers abandon their ways, and the sinful ones banish every evil thought. Let them turn to the Lord, and He will have merciful compassion on them.  Yes, let them return to God, for He will lavish forgiveness upon them.” (Isaiah 55:6-7).

While He is Near. This theme verse in Isaiah sets the stage for The Ten Days of Awe. Jewish believers considered these Ten Days to be a time when God drew especially near to His people. God is always near at hand, but it was believed he Lord was more intimate with them during these high holy days, and He expected His believers to draw close to Him for this yearly season of spiritual renewal.

The Ten Days: This season of high holy days started with two days of Rosh-Hashanah, the Jewish New Years. This was followed by a spiritual build-up of seven in-between days occupied with soul-searching, increased Torah study, a focus on performing good deeds, making amends and reconciling with others, reciting special prayers, and attending services to prepare for the holiest day of all… Yom Kippur… The Day of Atonement.

The Sabbath of Return. On the Sabbath day between Rosh-Hashanah and Yom Kippur, the special focus during the service is on repentance and return, highlighted by readings from the prophet Hosea, beginning with Hosea 14:1-2… “O Israel, return to the Lord your God, for you have stumbled and fallen, due to your iniquity. Your sins have been your downfall. Bring with you genuine words of repentance and return to the Lord. Say to Him, ‘Take away all our iniquity, accept what is good and receive us graciously; so will we give thanks and pay the confession of our lips.” 

Daily Synagogue Prayers: There are two particular prayers recited in daily services during these seven in-between days: the Amidah and Psalm 27:

The Amidah. It was common during Jesus’ time that rabbis would be asked about prayer. Since faithful Jews were such distinctively prayerful people, many would be naturally curious about the best way to pray and what the essence of prayer really was. A rabbi would often answer these kinds of questions by teaching the central Jewish liturgy of prayer called the “Amidah,” and by giving his own shortened summary of these prayers for use in an emergency. The Amidah, which means “standing,” because the prayers were to be said while standing, was a series of 18 benedictions. Many of the benedictions date back to Nehemiah, hundreds of years before Christ, and were prayed twice a day in every faithful Jewish home during Jesus’ day. He would have heard His foster father Joseph recite the Amidah every day without fail, and Joseph would have taught his Son to do likewise. In turn, there is no doubt that being an observant Jew, Jesus would have prayed the Amidah daily with His disciples.

Three Steps Forward. The Amidah remains to this day as the centerpiece of Jewish worship and prayer. It is the tradition for each person praying the Amidah to take three steps forward before beginning the prayer. As Rabbi Jonathon Sacks comments, “These steps symbolize a formal approach to the Divine Presence. It is as if we had been ushered into the innermost chamber of the palace, and we “drew close” to present our petitions before the supreme King of Kings.” These three steps refer directly to the three times in the Hebrew Bible when the phrase “and he drew close“/”he stepped forward” is used: (1.) When Abraham drew close to God as he questioned God’s decision to completely wipe out Sodom and Gomorrah, in Gen. 18:23-25; (2.) When Judah drew close to Joseph to humbly request that Benjamin’s life be spared, in Gen. 44:18; (3.) When Elijah stepped forward towards God to request fire from heaven to come down to reveal Himself as the one true God, in 1 Kings 18.

The Amidah and the Lord’s Prayer. So then, it is no surprise that, when asked by His disciples how to pray, Jesus responded with His own brief summary of many of the ideas and patterns found in the Amidah. That’s the sort of thing rabbis would do. That’s why it is thought by many that the Lord’s Prayer is, phrase-by-phrase, a deep and meaningful glimpse of the Amidah, the heart of Jewish devotion and faith, the core of how biblical believers have communicated with the almighty God for centuries. May we continue to sit at the feet of rabbi Jesus and learn to pray as He taught His disciples, saying…

Highlights of the Amidah:

1. Blessed are you, O Lord, our God and God of our fathers – God of Abraham, God of Isaac, and God of Jacob. The great, the mighty, and the awesome God, God Most High, who bestows lovingkindness and is the Creator of all. Who remembers the love of our fathers, and will lovingly send a redeemer for their children’s children, for the sake of Your name, O King, Savior and Shield. Blessed are You, Shield of Abraham.
2. You are mighty forever, O Lord, You resurrect the dead, You are great to save. Sustaining the living in lovingkindness, resurrecting the dead in abundant mercy, You support the failing and heal the sick, set free the captives,, and keep the faith with those who sleep in the dust. Who is like You, Master of mighty deeds, and who may be compared unto You? O King, who sends death and revives again, and causes salvation to sprout forth. You are surely believed to resurrect the dead. Blessed are You, O Lord, who revives the dead.
3. Responsive Reading: (Reader): We will sanctify Your name in this world just as it is sanctified in the highest heaven, as it is written by Your prophet, “They call out to one another and say… (Congregation): “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of Hosts; the whole earth is full of His glory.” ( 6:3); (Reader): Those facing them praise God saying, (Congregation): “Blessed be the Presence of the Lord in His place.” (Ezek. 3:12); (Reader): And in Your holy words it is written, saying, (Congregation): “The Lord reigns forever, your God, O Zion, throughout all generations. Hallelujah!” (Ps. 146:10); (Reader): Throughout all generations we will declare Your greatness, and to all eternity we will proclaim Your holiness. Your praise, O our God, shall never depart from our mouth, for You are a great and holy God and King. Blessed are You, O Lord, the holy God. You are holy and Your name is holy, and the holy ones praise You every day. Blessed are You, O Lord, the holy God.
4. You graciously give knowledge to mankind, and teach mortals understanding. Favor us with Your knowledge, understanding, and intelligence. Blessed are You, O Lord, who graciously gives understanding.
5. Lead us back, our Father, to Your instructions; bring us near, our King, to Your service, and cause us to return in perfect repentance before You. Blessed are You, O Lord, who accepts repentance.
6. Forgive us, our Father, for we have sinned; pardon us, our King, for we have transgressed, that you might pardon and forgive. Blessed are You, O Gracious One, who multiplies forgiveness.
7. Look upon our afflictions and fight our fight, and redeem us speedily for the sake of Your name, for You are a strong redeemer. Blessed are you, O Lord, the Redeemer of Israel.
8. Heal us and we shall be healed, help us and we shall be helped, for You are our joy. Grant full healing for all our wounds, for You, O God and King, are a true and merciful physician. Blessed are You, O Lord, who heals the sick of His people Israel.
9. Bless us, O Lord our God, this year, and all of its yield for good, and shower down a blessing upon the face of the earth. Fill us with Your bounty and bless our year that it be as the good years. Blessed are You, O Lord, who blesses the years.
10. Blow the trumpet for our liberation, and lift a banner to gather our exiles, and gather us into one body from the four corners of the earth. Blessed are You, O Lord, who gathers the dispersed of your people Israel.
11. Restore our judges as before, and our counselors as in the beginning, and remove from us grief and sighing. Reign over us, O lord, You alone, in lovingkindness and compassion, and clear us in judgment. Blessed are You, O Lord the King, who loves righteousness and justice.
12. May no hope be left to the slanderers, but may wickedness perish in a moment. May all Your enemies be soon cut off, and speedily uproot the arrogant. Shatter and humble them speedily in our days. Blessed are You, O Lord, who strikes down enemies and humbles the arrogant. (This benediction is a ‘late’ addition the Amidah, c. 180 AD).
13. May Your compassion, O Lord our God, be stirred over the righteous and over the pious and over the elders of Your people, the House of Israel; over the remnant of their scribes, over the new believers, and over us. Grant a good reward upon them who truly trust in Your name, and assign our portion with them forever. May we not come to shame because we have trusted in You. Blessed are You, O Lord, the stronghold and assurance of the righteous.
14. To Jerusalem Your city return in mercy, and dwell in her midst as You have promised. Build her speedily in our days as an everlasting structure, and quickly establish there the throne of David. Blessed are You, O Lord, the builder of Jerusalem.
15. May the descendant of David, Your servant, be brought forth speedily, and may he be exalted through Your salvation, for we hope in Your salvation every day. Blessed are You, O Lord, who brings forth the horn of salvation.
16. Hear our voice, O Lord our God, spare and have mercy on us, and accept in mercy and favor our prayer. For You are a God who hears prayers and supplications. Do not turn us away empty-handed, O King, when we come before You. For You listen to the prayers of Your people Israel in mercy. Blessed are You, O Lord, who hears prayers.
17. We acknowledge to You, O Lord, that You are our God as You were the God of our fathers, forever and ever. Rock of our life, Shield of our salvation, You are unchanging from age to age. We thank You and declare Your praise, for our lives that are in Your hands and for our souls that are entrusted to You. Your miracles are with us every day, and Your benefits are with us at all times, evening and morning and midday. You are good, for Your mercies are endless; You are merciful, for Your kindnesses are never complete; from everlasting we have hoped in You. And for all these things may Your name be blessed and exalted, always and forevermore. Let every living thing give thanks to You and praise Your name in truth, O God, our salvation and our help. Blessed are You, O Lord, Your name is good, and to You it is right to give thanks.
18. Grant peace, happiness, and blessing, grace, lovingkindness, and mercy to us and all Israel Your people. Bless us, our Father, every one of us, by the light of Your face, for by this light of Your face You gave us, O Lord our God, Your teaching of life, lovingkindness, and righteousness, and blessing and mercy, life and peace. May it be good in Your eyes to bless Your people Israel in every time and at every hour with Your peace. Blessed are You, O Lord, who blesses Your people Israel with peace.

(Benedictions adapted from www.jewishencylopedia.com and from En-Gedi Resource Center).