Yom Kippur 2016/ 5777

The Book of Life.

Really?

Guess what, folks, we're all immortal.

That's right.

Your soul is eternal. You won't be going to hell.

We all will die - that's the end of this particular lifetime, a review period, and then the next lifetime.
That's what we do.

Whether we die tomorrow, this year, or 40 years from now, that's what we do.

And it's ok.

Why are we dying? So we can try something new - living in a different body, in a different time, in a different place.

We always have something unique to contribute, and that's what life is about. It's about living. Learning. And in that process, we contribute to the great knowledge of the ONE - that's God, or G-D if you're squeamish.

So here we are, on the eve of Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, worrying about whether we will be good enough to be written into the Book of Life and live another year.

Guess what?
I don't care if I live another year. I'm not suicidal. I just know that it's all ok, and part of the great process of this thing called life.

If I die, ok. It's not because I was a bad person, it's because we all die.
My kids will be ok. They'll grow up. They'll take whatever they learned from me and choose to use it or not. They'll remember me. And that's fine.

If I live to be an old woman, ok. It's not because I was a good person. It's because that's my time. I will make the most I can out of this span in this body, and I'll do all I can to make the world better somehow, despite the challenges.

And my kids will remember me for whatever I do, whatever I teach them, and how much I smothered love all over them, no matter what. They might also remember the times I took no bull. And that's ok too!

I'm fine. I'm not sick. I'm grateful for this lifetime.

But the Book of Life thing, with a Judge, and all the weighing - nah. That's not for me.

I will do the best with the time I have. And then I'll depart.

And that's ok.

I'm not fasting tomorrow. But I'll go to Temple. And I'll know the whole time, that I'm ok, this life is precious, and I'm going to do the most good with whatever time I have to do it.

Blessings and G'mar Tov.