Secular reading
Our ancestors declared the dreaded power of this day.
Are we any less mindful of its important purpose?
They stood in judgment, their fates weighed in the balance.
Do we not stand in self-evaluation, our choices equally measured?
They implored and beseeched, and asked for atonement.
We introspect and reflect, and seek self-awareness.
They confessed before another.
We chastise before ourselves.
Like them, we stand poised before an ever-unfolding book of life.
We believe it is written by our deeds and by the events that befall us.
We strive to take responsibility for our lives and write the pages ourselves.
And accept, with courage and dignity, the pages over which we have no control.
from The City Congregation Rosh Hashanah service
Traditional reading
Let us proclaim the sacred power of this day; it is awesome and full of dread.
For on this day Your dominion is exalted. Your throne established in steadfast love;
there in truth You weigh. In truth You are Judge and Arbiter, Counsel and Witness.
You write and You seal, You record and recount.
You remember deeds long forgotten. You open the book of our days.
and what is written there proclaims itself, for it bears the signature of every human being.
from Gates of Repentance, The New Union Prayerbook for Days of Awe
Traditional reading
Let us proclaim the sacred power of this day; it is awesome and full of dread.
For on this day Your dominion is exalted. Your throne established in steadfast love;
there in truth You weigh. In truth You are Judge and Arbiter, Counsel and Witness.
You write and You seal, You record and recount.
You remember deeds long forgotten. You open the book of our days.
and what is written there proclaims itself, for it bears the signature of every human being.
from Gates of Repentance, The New Union Prayerbook for Days of Awe