Rabbi Jason Fruithandler and Barbara Murphy talk about the strange story of the prophet Balaam and the Moabite King Balak and the donkey that saw the angel.

Episode Three: Balaam and the Talking Donkey - Numbers 22

This prayer that culminates the celebration of Rosh Hashanah is about the day of judgement for God's people, an "awesome and frightening" day in which humanity passes before God like sheep. At first distressing at its deepest spaces this prayer is one of hope, of forgiveness, charity and repentance. It holds within it the promise of God's love for his people and God's desire that we do not die in our sins but live in his great and glorious love. Below is the prayer, Una Tana Tokef:

"Let us describe the great holiness of this day, for it is awesome and frightening. On this day, Your Kingship is uplifted, and Your throne is established with kindness, and You sit upon it in truth. True that You are judge, admonisher, knower and witness; and You inscribe, seal, record and count, and recall all forgotten things. You open the book of records and it reads of itself; and the signature of every man is in it. A great shofar is sounded, and a silent, gentle voice is heard; and the angels are alarmed, pangs of fear and trembling seize them, and they declare, “behold the Day of Judgment.” The heavenly host is arraigned in judgment, for they are not guiltless in Your eyes in judgment. All mankind pass before You like young sheep. As a shepherd inspects his flock, making his sheep pass under his rod, so do You cause to pass, count, number, and review the soul of every living being, determining the life-span of every creature; and You record the decree of their judgment.

On Rosh Hashanah their decree is inscribed, and on Yom Kippur it is sealed, how many will pass away and how many will be created, who will live and who will die; who will come to his timely end, and who to an untimely end; who will perish by fire and who by water; who by the sword and who by beast; who by hunger and who by thirst; who by earthquake and who by the plague; who by strangling and who by stoning; who will be at rest and who will wander about; who will have serenity and who will be confused; who will be tranquil and who will be tormented; who will become poor and who will become wealthy; who will be brought to a low state and who will be uplifted.

For as Your Name, so is Your praise, You are slow to anger and easy to pacify; For You do not desire death [for the sinner] but that he turn from his evil way and live. And even until his dying day, You wait for him— if he repents, You immediately accept him.

True, You are their Creator, and You know their impulse that they are [but] flesh and blood. Man, his beginning is from dust and ends in dust; risking his life, he gets his bread, he is like a potsherd that is breakable, like grass that withers, like the flower that fades, like the shadow that passes, like the cloud that vanishes, like the wind that blows, like the dust that flies, and like a fleeting dream. But You are the King, the Almighty, the living and everlasting God."

Episode 81: Una Tana Tokef - the Silent, Gentle Voice

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Connecting Scripture and Life podcast explores the way God speaks in different times and places with the same wisdom that lead to a happy life. Scripture teaches us how to live. Through conversations with people who love, teach, and live it we will explore our own lives in the pages of the sacred.

Connecting Scripture and Life is a ministry of the Catholic Bible Institute, Office of Religious Education, Archdiocese of Los Angeles.

Episode 81: Una Tana Tokef - the Silent, Gentle Voice

Connecting Scripture and Life

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