Our High Holiday liturgy tells us that G-d opens the book of the living and reviews the record of our lives. Imagine what an exercise that would be? Every aspect of our lives would be scrutinized, including our thoughts, our intentions, and our actions.
I would hazard a guess that most of us would not welcome such a review. Yes, there is much that we have accomplished in the previous year. But there are other things we have done we might not wish to brag about When Adam sinned, G-d approached him with these immortal words, "Ayeka," Where are you? G-d wanted to see if Adam would bother to consider what he had done or whether, like many of us, he would attempt to pretend like it never happened.
I believe that G-d is less interested in a catalog of our daily lives than with the question, "How can we improve upon last year so that our lives will be even better during the coming year?" Have we the courage to say that we have not always acted wisely and purposefully? Do we examine our off-color, obsessive, and wrongful behavior and remark, “I need to improve upon these matters, reduce their relevance, or eliminate them entirely from my repertoire?” What G-d wishes when he reviews our lives is to see signs of honest contrition, promises that we will improve, and plans of action to rid ourselves of faults. That Is in fact why the record of our lives is reviewed in its final form once a year. We need the time to change the unhealthy course of our actions, to contemplate a better life and the possibility of becoming better human beings!
What G-d looks at on Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur is whether we are ready for change. G-d isn't interested in the details of our petty lives. G-d wants to know that we are willing to rededicate ourselves to finding meaning in life and to devote ourselves to that which is important to us as individuals, as a family, and as a people. During these High Holidays we are asked to enter into the states of Mindfulness, Awareness, and Self-consciousness tor the purpose of examining our own lives. If we are willing to open ourselves up to scrutiny, then G-d Will have no need to review the entire record of our past year because we will be offering G-d to do it for Him/Her. We need to be preparing to answer G-d's question, "Ayeka--Where is you?" If we all agree to focus on how we can better our lives for the coming year, we will save ourselves the embarrassment of G-d having to do it for us. Let us, therefore, use the time in Synagogue, or when we are coming to and from, wisely and dedicate ourselves to making real progress in improving our lives for this coming year.
My family and I wish that next year's "book of record” be filled with meaning, sweetness, health, and happiness for each one of us!