Chapter 120

The prayer leader then took his place for Mussaf. Before beginning the service itself, he chanted “Behold, I am poor in deeds” in the Uman melody and rite, with weeping and an awakening beyond estimation. I sat in my place with the tallis covering my face and whispered every word after him, all amid immense awakening and tears. In sum, the recitation of “Behold, I am poor in deeds” lasted approximately half an hour.

The immense awakening contained in its recitation and melody cannot be estimated. Coming immediately after the shofar blasts, when one has been awakened from sleep, it serves as the preparation for Mussaf, for this is the principal arousal to teshuvah of the exceedingly holy, awesome, and fearsome Rosh Hashanah.

The Kaddish preceding Mussaf was recited with tremendous awakening and in the melody distinctive to that moment. The clapping and spiritual arousal during the Kaddish, and during the responses “Amen” and “Amen, yehei Shemei rabba,” cannot be estimated.

We then stood for the silent Mussaf Shemoneh Esrei. The congregation’s stormy, resounding clapping, its sighs from the depths of the heart, and the awakening of each person as he recited his prayer in the familiar rite and melody continued for a long time. The shofar was sounded as stated above, and the entire congregation recited “Today the world was conceived” with awakening. So it was during Malchiyos, Zichronos, and Shofaros: after each section the shofar was sounded, and the prayer was then brought to its completion.

In sum, the silent Shemoneh Esrei continued for a considerable time. The emissary of the congregation had already begun the repetition before the amud, while I and several others had not yet completed our own prayers. The leader was R. Avraham, may his light shine, who prayed with great intent, awakening, and abundant spiritual vitality in the Uman rite. The Mussaf liturgical poems were recited, and I followed every word of the leader, whispering it after him with a great awakening to teshuvah. The entire congregation recited “Remember us for life” together with intent, as during Shacharis, and likewise the remainder of the service, including “Who is like You?” and so forth.

The entire congregation then recited “Unesaneh Tokef” together, amid noise like thunder, great awakening, and weeping, through the words “and who shall be raised.” The emissary of the congregation returned to the beginning of “Unesaneh Tokef” and chanted it with awakening and a sweet voice. I whispered each word after him amid awakening, shame, teshuvah, and a cry from the heart, until he reached “and who shall be raised.” His recitation of the entire poem continued for a long time. When he concluded it, the whole congregation cried together in a loud, resounding, awakened voice, “But teshuvah, prayer, and tzedakah avert the evil of the decree,” and continued through “and like a dream it shall fly away.” The leader then began aloud, “It is true that You are their Creator,” in his melody and sweetness. Especially stirring were the words, “Man’s origin is from dust ... he is likened to a shattered shard,” and so forth, chanted in a voice that awakened teshuvah and a melody that profoundly broke the heart.

The entire congregation then recited together, “But You are the living and enduring King,” and so forth, until the Kedushah of Kesser. The leader began “There is no limit to Your years” in the familiar joyful melody for that poem, continuing until Kesser. We then recited the Kedushah of Kesser with great awakening through “they praise and say.” We recited the liturgical poem; the leader then repeated it, as customary; and afterward came “His glory fills the world,” all in its familiar melody and rite. The congregation recited “Blessed is the glory,” together with its poem; the leader continued, “He shall yet remember for them the couch of Shechem, the One,” and so forth, followed by “From His place may He turn,” and so forth. The congregation recited “Hear, O Israel” and its poem, after which the leader repeated it as above. The congregation then said “I am Hashem,” “Mighty One, our mighty One,” and the associated poem. The leader continued, “to be known and revealed that He is King over all the earth,” after which all repeated, “Mighty One, our mighty One,” and so forth.

Thereafter came “You are holy” and everything associated with it, with the same great awakening described above concerning Shacharis. The prayer leader chanted “Have compassion upon Your works” in its particular melody, followed by “May He yet remember for us the love of the steadfast one” in its proper melody and rite.

The entire congregation then stood and recited with awakening and tears the alphabetic liturgical poem beginning “He Who holds in His hand the attribute of judgment,” with its refrain “and all believe.” It was composed by Ezra the Scribe together with the Men of the Great Assembly; it powerfully arouses teshuvah and is filled with holy Names and mysteries. The congregation recited the stanza corresponding to the letter alef with a loud, resounding voice, awakening, and weeping, and the leader repeated it in his sweetness and profoundly stirring melody. The whole congregation then recited the stanza of beis together with feeling and awakening, and the leader repeated it with a sweet voice and a melody that greatly broke the heart. The congregation next recited the stanza of gimmel amid noise and awakening, and the leader repeated it in his sweet, heart-breaking melody, as above. So the congregation, followed by the leader, completed every stanza from alef through tav, with awakening, fervor, teshuvah, and weeping. Its recitation occupied a long time.

The leader then continued with “And therefore, may Your Name be sanctified,” “And therefore, place Your fear,” “And therefore, grant honor,” and “And therefore the righteous,” in his stirring melody. Because of the awakening to teshuvah these words produced in me, I repeated them after him word by word, apart from the Divine Name. I derived greater satisfaction from reciting them with the leader than I had from my earlier recitation, whether alone or together with the congregation, because he said them calmly—“the words of the wise are heard when spoken calmly”—with settled thought and with melody, for melody and the traditional rite possess great power to break and awaken the heart.

The leader afterward chanted the liturgical poem “And all shall come to serve You” in its familiar joyful melody. The entire congregation sang after him and clapped. At the conclusion of the poem, “And those who are distant shall hear,” and so forth, everyone stood amid stormy clapping, as customary. The leader then returned to the prayer with “And You shall reign,” and so forth, reciting it with great awakening and the familiar stirring prayer melody. At the conclusion of “the holy King,” everyone rose together, clapped stormily, and answered “Amen.” He then recited “You have chosen us” in a prayer melody that deeply awakens the heart. As was my custom, I whispered it after him and was stirred by it far more than I had been during my earlier silent Shemoneh Esrei. He continued with “And You have given us,” and so forth, through “a remembrance of the Exodus from Egypt.”