As we move through these Days of Awe, we hope that these readings and excerpts from Sha’ar HaShamayim, our Stephen Wise Temple machzor, will deepen your worship and High Holy Days experience.
Most of our festivals begin with a particular series of blessings. We light candles, kindling light to mark a holy moment. We make Kiddush, sanctifying the time with the sweetness of wine. And we say the Shehechiyanu, offering a blessing of mindfulness and gratitude for the possibilities of the moment.
Tonight, of course, there is no wine. And tonight we say Shehechiyanu twice, once at the beginning of the service and once here, toward the end. This time it is not preceded by blessings, but rather, by a dialogue with the Divine.
Again and again over these 25 hours, we will ask God to remember the Divine promise of forgiveness, to fully welcome us back into relationship with open arms and with no grudges and to let us begin again.
And in this moment, God responds, “Salachti k’d’varecha—I will forgive you as you have requested.”
Our hearts are lifted in the hope that, for the transgressions we’ve sinned against God at least, we will be forgiven.
And so with a sense of possibility, with the promise that we will be able to begin again, we offer another Shehechiyanu, honoring the sense of rebirth and renewal we hope to feel.
— Rabbi Sari Laufer