For anyone who has ever felt discouraged by failed resolutions or disappointed in their own progress, this reading offers a simple but powerful reminder: falling down isn’t what matters. What matters is getting back up and trying again. A meaningful reading for Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, and the days in between.
O Lord, sometimes I feel sad, useless. So aware of the times I have failed. Last Rosh Hashanah’s resolutions soon faded away. My bad habits remain unbroken. My good intentions remain unrealized. I can make no new vows, I can make no new efforts, so I give up.
And then, during the Kol Nidre, I heard your plea, “Get up! I only commanded one day for afflicting your soul. I gave you ten days for repentance, for turning over a new leaf in the Book of Life. Now you will have 50 weeks… to be renewed. Even if you don’t have faith in yourself, I have faith in you. Get up off the floor and get up quickly. Falling isn’t the worst sin. Staying on the floor is.”
-Rabbi Allen Maller