Can You Be Inscribed in The Book of Change?

for many years, our family’s yom kippur, tradition to determine whether one’s fate concerning being inscribed in the book of life for another year was simple. we jaywalked across the busiest and dangerous street to get to synagogue. the successful crossing- with an occasional dodge of an oncoming speeder- was enough to cement that there would be another year of living- the traffic gods had so determined.

this year, my mother called me. aged and in not the best of health, she spoke of a diminished optimism as far as her likelihood to be inscribed in this coming year’s good book. this existential moment was spurred by the taste of ice cream combined with the predictable elevated blood glucose test. numbers tailspinned her towards mortality.

yom kippur, the day of atonement, is one in which we sit in judgment. as a lawyer, i spend my year sharing in many judgments with my clients. i share their victories. i feel their painful loses. i muster my skills to seek appeals to overturn unfairness.

for non-lawyers, the courtroom, its power, and the notion being held in judgment, is more overwhelming on this religious judgment day. for my mother, a woman who proudly avoiding traffic or parking tickets her whole life, the day of atonement has truly been her moment judgment.

in contrast, i possess some optimism that there is some pathway for redemption. a rabbit out of a hat, a clever argument, or perhaps a joke could cause a seismic shift in the halls of justice. a reversal is possible. to this, i hold to myself the notion that in a time of judgment one can be an agent of change.

with my mother, she received from me my best pep talk. she was told that she, given her circumstances, could be her own agent of change. food choices, in light of diabetes, are quite easy if one has the mindset and faith. i too went through her process and spent a half of this year reversing pre-diabetes. radically choosing to change my diet transformed my life.

thus, while we stand this year in judgment for our misgivings, do we also stand- as a defendant- as to whether we are capable of being agents of change? can we be held in judgment by our potential to change as well as our past dealings?

be well!!