And if there is any one prayer common to both Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, which most aptly reflects the awe of these days, it is the "Un'taneh Tokef." The opening words of this prayer tell us, "we will observe the mighty holiness of this day for it is one of awe and anxiety " nora v'ayom."

Today I wish to share with you what has become for me a deeper and greater appreciation for the power of this prayer. So let's look carefully at the contents of this prayer.

Probably much of it is known to you already.

"B'rosh hashana yikatayvoon, u'vyom tzom kippur y'cha-taymoon "

on Rosh Hashanah, it is written and on the fast day of atonement it is sealed " how many shall pass away and how many shall be born; who shall live and who shall die; who shall attain the measure of man's days and who shall not attain it; who shall perish by fire and who by water; who by sword and who by beast; and so forth continuing with a list of many more perilous predicaments of a physical, spiritual, and mental nature any of which mightoccur in the coming year.

I know this prayer always creates a great amount of anxiety and places these days of awe in their appropriate context. I know that in every year, we can look backward, review the year, and determine with the 20/20 vision of hindsight, the major life-changing events we might have experienced since last Yom Kippur.

Yet, when I look out at the faces in the sanctuary this year compared to last, we're all pretty much the same.

Most faces look a little bit older, although surprisingly a few look a little bit younger. I wonder how that happened, or at least how much it cost.

However, thank God, most everyone who was here last year is back again.

So how does this prayer really relate to us?

Yes, it is possible that a few of us, will not be here next year. And we don't know exactly why that might be. Thinking about it is nerve wracking and right now there's maybe not too much we can do about it.

But since that is an unlikely scenario for most of us, what's the point of the prayer. What can be the point of the prayer for us today when we have a longer expected life span and truly are not as likely to suffer from many of the perils mentioned in the Un'tane Tokef prayer.

Here's how I now understand the prayer and how I think it can be more helpful in application to all of us. This prayer is a poem and is not necessarily to be understood and interpreted literally. It has a deeper and greater truth than literal truth.

The opening phrases of, "How many shall pass away and how many shall be born, who shall live and who shall die," do not need to be limited to their literal understanding or interpretation. Again, I'm not saying that the literal interpretation is wrong. The literal interpretation may indeed happen and it's scary, but it's not likely to happen to too many of us.

But each and every one of us will encounter experiences in the coming year that will either add a sense of life and vitality to our existence, or, we will confront experiences that will drain some of the life and vitality out of us.

This prayer is saying that the challenges of life in God's world force us to become transformed and often, in many ways.

Everyone will be transformed in this coming year, some by encountering physical challenges to us or to our property " some through births or deaths within our families " some through mental or emotional trials.

And this prayer tells us, directly, right to our faces, that not everything we will experience in the coming year will be pleasant. We wish it were so, we pray it were so, but we know it won't be so, not for each and every one of us.

That's why these days are called the Days of Awe. If you want to celebrate a holiday dominated by simcha - joy and happiness, come back in two weeks and join me for Sukkot.

Many of these life experiences, trials, challenges, will be quite difficult. Some might even call them harsh.

And it is that English word "harsh," which brings us to the traditional formulation of the antidote to this harshness.

The antidote is clearly and unequivocally proclaimed in the prayer

And teshuvah " repentence, tefila - prayer, and tzedakah - righteousness, ma-aveereen " transform, et roa ha-gezayrah " the harshness of the decree."

That translation comes from the new Rabbinical Assembly High Holiday Machzor which will be known as "Lev Shalem- The Whole Heart."

The translation of this statement from the old Silverman Machzor we currently use reads,

"But repentance, prayer and righteousness avert the severe decree."

Pretty good, but not good enough " better would be, "Avert the severity of the decree."

Better yet I think is what we now will have " "But repentance, prayer, and righteousness transform the harshness of the decree."

Please forgive me for what I am about to say " I am using language that I really feel is inappropriate, but it has become an accepted colloquialism and I think it will help make my point succinctly " I know you're in favor of that.

The truth of the matter is, sometimes, life sucks. And when it does, we believe, that repentance, prayer, and/or righteousness can help make it much better.

This past year has been an extremely difficult year for just about everyone, right? And we all know why "we have experienced the worst economic downturn, recession, since the Great Depression of the late 1920 and early 1930s.

Some of the words in the Un'taneh Tokef prayer have come true for almost all of us

Mee Yay-anee u'Mee Yay-asher

Who shall become poor, and who shall wax rich?

I don't think it's an exaggeration to say that almost all of us are probably economically poorer today than we were a year ago.

For some of us, it has been terrible. People have lost their jobs and are out of work. Finding a new job is far from simple. The decree has become severe in its harshness.

For many, the economic slowdown has meant that we must be more careful to protect that which is most precious in our lives. We are also learning to save more, spend less, be less wasteful, and more careful about securing and protecting our emergency funds.

Most of those practices are wise all the time. We know that many of our problems are a result of excess and greed in our society.

Bernie Madoff is a thief, a villain, and a shame to the Jewish people.

He deserves for his body to rot in prison and his soul to rot in hell.

But the truth is, without the cooperation of many people like us, people who were looking for greater return than was reasonable to expect on investments, people who didn't ask questions when the reward was of direct benefit to us, Bernie Madoff would not have been able to succeed in his diabolical scheme.

We have to remember that next week, on Yom Kippur, when we confess our sins in the plural. Much of the harshness that occurs in the world does not occur in isolation and can only occur with cooperation on the part of many.

While there are critical people who are more to blame, the global economic downturn could not have occurred without at least the complicit cooperation of many of us.

John D. Rockefeller was once asked "How much wealth does it take to satisfy a man?"

And he answered, "Just a little bit more."

You know the Jewish answer is very different.

The Jewish answer to the question of what constitutes a wealthy person is the phrase, "Ha-samayach b'chelko " the one who is samayach in his portion, usually translated as content in his portion."

I believe that implicit in this statement of being content with your portion, one can find the concept of repentance. In its literal original meaning " Teshuvah means to return, to return to God, to return to the basics, to return to the essentials in life " to appreciate them, value them, and understand how when they are present, there is sufficient blessing in life.

When there is a gezayra ra-ah " a harsh decree, and life becomes more miserable, we return to the basics, stabilize them, protect them, treasure them, appreciate them and express gratitude to God for them.

We begin the process of recovering from the harshness of life by counting the blessings that remain whatever they may be - our family, our friends, our shul. Recognizing the basic blessings that remain in God's world, help to restabilize us and transform the harshness of the decree.

Let me tell you about a woman who ended up becoming a colleague of mine, a conservative rabbi. I met her only once several years ago when Sharon and I and our family attended the Greater Carolina Association of Rabbis summer retreat held at a retreat center called Wild Acres right near New Switzerland, North Carolina.

This woman's name is Cynthia Culpeper and she also attended the retreat that year. Life brought her a gezayra ra-ah and as you will hear, she used among other things, teshuvah, turning inward and turning to God, as the means to transform the harshness of the decree.

At age fifteen, Cynthia Culpeper was a student at a Catholic high school in San Francisco with an assignment due on comparative religion. She approached the rabbi at a synagogue to ask some questions. That meeting led to an insatiable curiosity about Judaism, and eventually, to a lifelong commitment. As an adult convert, she left the nursing profession to attend rabbinical school, ultimately becoming Alabama's first conservative female rabbi in 1995. Here are a few excerpts from an item she wrote several years ago "

"Why me? People frequently inquire if I ask that question. I was a hospital nurse in San Francisco before I entered rabbinical school, and now people wonder, "Do you ever ask yourself, or ask God, Why? While helping people in a hospital setting, why did you get AIDS?"

I think they're surprised or even disappointed when I respond that I've never even thought of asking the question. As others who struggle with illness and personal tragedy have said before me, if one were to ask such at thing, one would also have to question the good things in life, too.

When I do find myself in a reflective frame of mind, pondering my fortune in comparison to that of others, it's not to engage in self-pity or complaint. Instead, I count off how many of my friends have succumbed to this disease at such a young age, yet here I am, 8 years since my diagnosis, and I'm still ticking."

Rabbi Culpeper then proceeded to mention some of the blessing in her life and continues, "I am so mindful of how many people with my same diagnosis have lost their jobs as a result, or have felt compelled to leave their communities, yet I live in a community that has extended its support, that understands my limitations, and offers many creative opportunities for me to continue my work as a rabbi.

If anything, I find numerous occasions for me to quote from Ethics of the Fathers " who is wealthy, ha-samayach b'chelko, one who is happy or content with his lot.

Undeniably, I wouldn't choose this diagnosis or its accompanying burdens. Yet, when I truly think about my lot, my place in the world, I count myself as rich."

Rabbi Cynthia Culpeper is someone who was able to use teshuvah, turning inward and turning to God, as a means of transforming the harshness of the decree.

Cynthia Culpeper did not discover she was HIV positive until she was in her new pulpit for less than a year. Culpeper had continued to work as a nurse at San Francisco's General Hospital during her semester breaks from the Jewish Theological Seminary. It was there that she was accidentally pricked with a needle. She was tested immediately and six months later, with both tests negative.

Yet, later on she went from having HIV to being diagnosed with full blown AIDS in two weeks, a process that normally takes years.

Rabbi Ted Alexander, the rabbi she interviewed when she was 15, flew down to Alabama to be with her when she made her announcement to her congregation.

Her congregation embraced her, with 85 people showing up the next Shabbat service with red ribbons pinned to their lapels. They also set up a fund to help her.

Rabbi Cynthia Culpeper died four years ago at the age of 43.

Let me share with you now a story about how prayer, tefila, can help to transform the harshness of the decree. This example comes from my own family, from the past year. As many of you know, Sharon and I bought a new home near the synagogue. We're very happy to live nearby and to become residents of Annapolis. Last year, we rented a house in Arnold. One reason we rented was because we hadn't yet sold our home in Brookeville, MD. We put the house on the market at the end of May 2008, just when the market really started to slow down. Prices in the neighborhood kept falling and we had to continually lower our price.

It was just a year ago, last October, right after the fall holidays, when Sharon and I went away as we usually do. It had been a very hectic summer and there had been much change in all of our lives. We went to dinner and as we were sitting together, catching our breath and reviewing everything that had occurred in our lives recently, I said to Sharon, "You know, we really have to sell the house in Brookeville so we can move ahead." And then I suggested that we offer a prayer, right then and there. So we held each other's hands and I said a prayer, asking God to help us, specifically with the sale of our house.

We finished dinner, returned to our hotel room, and within minutes of walking into the room, I received a phone call from my real estate agent. Good news, we just received our first real offer as a result of an open house held earlier that day.

Now the offer was less, considerably less, than what we were asking. And it was at that moment when I realized, that in my prayer, I should have stipulated a specific price. But I didn't really have the chutzpah to do that.

We began to negotiate and it looked like the negotiation might not bring us to a sale. Finally, I thought of that famous joke, the one where the man is waiting out the flood on top of a house, a boat goes by and he doesn't take it, a raft goes by and he doesn't take it, a lifejacket is thrown to him and he throws it back. Finally, he dies in the flood, goes to Heaven and asks God, "God, why didn't you help me?" And of course, the response is, "Who do you think sent the boat, the raft, and the lifejackets?"

Well, the offer we received might have been the equivalent of the boat, raft, or lifejacket. And I decided we better work with this offer until it became absolutely impossible to do so.

That offer, which came immediately after we prayed to God for help, eventually transformed into a completed sale for our home.

Was it less than what we had hoped for? Undeniably. Do we have any misgivings that we sold the house when we did? Not one. Do I think that prayer helped us directly in this case? To transform the harshness of the situation? In total faith I believe that.

So now for the third piece to this program of rehabilitation from harshness in our lives " tzedaka " charity, and more than that - doing the right thing, performing acts of righteousness, compassion and loving kindness.

On the one hand this makes the most sense. It is the most practical of the three. Helping others is something more concrete and specific than turning inward and turning to God in the form of teshuva, or even praying to God. Maybe that's because on the surface, acts of righteousness can be performed without even giving much thought to God, although God certainly does care for us to do so.

So on the one hand it makes the most sense but on the other hand, it may be the most difficult to actually perform, because sometimes we just don't feel like it. When I perform teshuva, repentance, turning inward, I know I'm helping myself. When I pray, I'm praying to God, but realistically, I'm hoping to help myself. But when I perform acts of tzedaka, how much am I helping myself?

And the answer to that question is, probably more than you are helping yourself by performing either of the other two.

When life is harsh, and our days are dark, and times are trying, there's no better and more successful way to transform the harshness of life, than by helping others. By performing a mitzvah of tzedakah, you are saying that you might be down, but you're not defeated. Things may not be working out perfectly for you, but you can make things better for someone else, who in turn might do the same for you.

Yes, right now, and in this last year especially, life might not have worked out in our favor as much as we would have preferred, but it doesn't always have to remain that way. Yes, we might not have as much money to extend to others " we may not even have enough for ourselves possibly. But kindness is never at a shortage. The ability to help someone in one way or another, never disappears. And as we all know, whenever we extend our hand to someone else in need, life is better for everyone involved.

A simple story and then a more profound one with which to conclude my comments. A few weeks ago, Hadar came home from school. We asked her if she had a good day and she said yes, she did. We were excited to hear this news and we wondered what happened? Could she share with us why she had a good day?

Hadar reminded us that she is now a 7th grader in a middle school where 6th graders are the newcomers. That day someone new to the school asked her how to get to the bathroom. Hadar helped her find her way. I'm sure very soon, that little girl felt better, and the amazing thing is, so did Hadar.

This next and final story I share with you comes from the latest Wayne Dyer book I read this past summer called Excuses Be Gone!

A woman once came upon a precious stone while sitting by the banks of a running stream in the mountains, and she placed this highly valued item in her bag.

The next day, a hungry traveler approached the woman and asked for something to eat. As she reached into her bag for a crust of bread, the traveler saw the precious stone and imagined how it would provide him with financial security for the remainder of his life. He asked the woman to give the treasure to him, and she did, along with some food. He left, ecstatic over his good fortune and the knowledge that he was now secure.

A few days later, the traveler returned and handed back the stone to the wise woman. "I've been thinking," he told her. "Although I know how valuable this is, I'm returning it to you in the hopes that you could give me something even more precious."

"What would that be?" the woman inquired.

"Please give me what you have within yourself that enabled you to give me that stone."

Should it be written on Rosh Hashanah, and sealed on Yom Kippur, that this coming year might bring you God forbid, harshness - remember,

teshuvah, tefilah, and tzedekah " repentance, prayer, and righteousness could make the difference, and turn even ha mar " the bitter, la-matok, to that which could be most sweet. Amen