Yom Kippur - 5783

Yom Kippur - 5783

Rabbi Hal Miller

Angels will hasten, a trembling and terror will seize them and they will say

Behold, it is the Day of Judgment to muster the heavenly host for

judgment.

On both Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, during the Chazan's repetition of

the shemoneh esrei, we read a prayer widely known by the first two words,

unetaneh tokef. The first full phrase is, "Let us know relate the power of this

day's holiness, for it is awesome and frightening." That sets the tone for the

entire prayer. A few lines later, we find our verse.

Our common understanding is that Rosh Hashanah is the day of judgment for

the earth and all it contains, and Yom Kippur the day of sealing those judgments

that are decreed for the coming year. The basis is how well we acknowledge

and do teshuvah for our sins.

Angels do not sin, so why would they be in terror of these days?

There is a Midrash that describes a conversation between God and the angels

at the time He called Moshe up to Sinai to receive the Torah. The angels wanted

to know why God was giving this magnificent treasure to humans, who clearly

aren't qualified for the level of holiness that angels reach. God had Moshe

respond, and he demonstrated that the Torah was indeed intended for man, not

for heavenly beings. The point here is that the angels felt themselves superior

to man. But we also know that everything God created was made for the purpose

of serving man, and that includes angels.

It would be wrong to read our verse with an understanding that the angels were

in fear of a judgment upon them. Rather their fear is for judgment upon man.

Should God judge man to be so corrupt that He will destroy Creation, that would

include destruction of the angels. Having no way themselves to do teshuvah, as

man can, the angels find themselves in a very scary place for which they can not

do anything.

A more difficult question stems from the second part of the verse, that which the

angels say about mustering the heavenly host for judgment. Although I have not

seen a direct answer, there are writings that indicate two possible directions. The

first, we could understand that in fact angels do transgress and the heavenly host

of angels does need to be judged. The second, we could understand our verse to

say that all the heavenly host of angels will be assembled to stand with God during

the process of judgment as witnesses to His decrees.

If in fact angels do need judgment, R'Lopian suggests that should they receive a

bad decree, how could man hope to withstand what comes to them? And if the

angels receive a good decree but man is judged harshly, that will also impact the

angels. His answer is that all creations must at this point pray that God will use His

attribute of mercy in judging.

On the other hand, if we understand that the angels are called to stand and watch,

if man receives a bad decree, that is punishing the angels merely to watch, and this

would explain their terror. The summation is that we must pray for mercy, as do the

angels.