Shouldn't every day be a Day of Awe?

Tracy Arm Fjord - South of Juneau, Alaska

As many people are aware, the 10 days between the Jewish holidays of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur are called "The Days of Awe".  Awe seems like an interesting choice to describe the holy days.  To get a better understanding of what these days should mean, I googled the word "Awe" and found that it means "an overwhelming feeling of reverence, admiration, fear, etc., produced by that which is grand, sublime or extremely powerful."  When I think about the word "Awe", memories of our family trip to Alaska come to mind when we witnessed the majestic glaciers and mountains (see above photo).

Shouldn't every day be a "Day of Awe"?  Shouldn't we wake up with "an overwhelming feeling of reverence, admiration, fear, etc., produced by that which is grand, sublime or extremely powerful."  The simple answer is YES but the reality is that we don't.

While I was in Temple celebrating the two days of Rosh Hashanah, I spent a lot of time thinking about how can I be a better person, a better father, a better husband, a better friend.  I also spent a lot of time realizing that most people in Temple feel uncomfortable or at least unsure of what they are supposed to be doing during these days.

Maybe the religion part is what makes it difficult so let's take the religion out of it.  If I told you to take a few days to think about some of your goals and how you can achieve them, you probably would think that's a good idea.  I mean, most companies have some type of retreat for their managers to help them refocus and set goals.  Why can't we do it as people?  In my view, where religion comes in is that I feel a sense of connection and comfort in thinking that while I am racking my brain to become better, so is everybody else.  Consider it a big managerial retreat with every Jew in the world sitting around the table.  If we think about the "Days of Awe" in those simple terms, it may be more palatable.

I often think that a book picks a person instead of the person picks the book.  It kind of goes along with our "Live As If" theme that some energy or force brought the book and the person together.  I know it seems far fetched but I like the idea nonetheless.  Anyways, someone recommended a book to me that has helped during these High Holy Days so figured I would give it a shameless plug.  The name of the book is "Return: Daily Inspiration for the Days of Awe" and it is written by Erica Brown who I have had the pleasure of learning from several times.  The reason I like is because it gives you a different concept to think about each of the ten days.  From Faith to Humility to Gratitude to Joy to Holiness, these concepts are good for anybody to think about no matter whether you are religious or not.

We created this blog to start a conversation so please feel free to add your comments with your feelings on the subject.  You can even add your comment anonymously if you want.  Look forward to hearing from you.