'"
On New Year's day they recite in the synagogues the record of the
binding of Isaac for the same purpose. While God has mercy upon His
creatures He gives them a season for repentance, that they may not
perish in their wickedness, therefore as it is written in Lamentations
3:40, we should "search through and investigate our ways and return unto
the Lord."
During the year man is apt to grow callous as to his transgressions,
therefore the cornet is sounded to arouse him to the consciousness of
the time which is passing so rapidly away. "Rouse thee from thy sleep,"
it says to him; "the hour of thy visitation approaches." The Eternal
wishes not to destroy His children, merely to arouse them to repentance
and good resolves.
Three classes of people are arraigned for judgment: the righteous, the
wicked, and the indifferent. To the righteous the Lord awards a happy
life; the wicked He condemns, and to the indifferent ones He grants a
respite. From New Year's day until the Day of Atonement His judgment He
holds in abeyance; if they repent truly they are classed with the
righteous for a happy life, and if they remain untouched, they are
counted with the wicked.
Three sounds for the cornet are commanded in the Bible. A pure sound
(_T'kiah_), a sound of alarm or trembling (_T'ruah_), and, thirdly, a
pure sound again (_T'kiah_).
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