Rabbi Sirkman’s Sermon for Kol Nidre 5787/2026

Ki Eyn Banu Ma’asim: The Holiness of Humility, Our Saving Grace…
Rabbi Jeffery Sirkman

WHAT’s the one prayer these High Holy Days could not do without? Nor we without it?…Kol Nidrei immediately comes to mind, of course. But I believe the singular sacred sentiment at the core of these Days of Awe Has to be AVINU MALKEYNU.

It’s the folk melody, the music to be sure, but even more, it’s the message conveyed by a meaning we are not certain what to make of. And as inegalitarian, male-centered as is its prayer-language is, The unaltered original intent helps impart its impact. Singing it moves us…But what are we actually saying?

The text itself is a contradiction. God is both “Our Father—AVINU,” [Isaiah 63:16] and “Our King—MALKEYNU,” [Isaiah 33:22] Which means diametric if not dueling images.

God’s love is unconditional. God’s Presence is intimate, Sitting with us at the edge of our bed, reading us a story, calming our nighttime fears…[AVINU]

AND,

God’s Presence is cosmic, far beyond our reach, Standing high above as we pass before the bench in judgment, Inducing high anxiety if not outright fear…[MALKEYNU]

Not one or the other mind you, but both simultaneously: Stern Sovereign & Compassionate Parent.

Never mind if you’re thinking “But I don’t believe in God.” Would you go see a Harry Potter movie proclaiming as you enter, “But I don’t believe in magic.” [Hogwarts!] Faith is far from a prerequisite. It is our plotline, and you are part of the story…

Avinu Malkeynu’s inherent contradiction is telling us, from the get-go, The connection between the Holy and the human is complicated. There is most often a chasm between them. But one phrase in the prayer ties them together, Bridging the gap. A surprising, sudden admission:

“KI AYN BANU MA-ASIM—For we have no [good] deeds.”

What a striking thing to say? We are unworthy of God’s goodness… because we don’t deserve it! Sounds almost un-Jewish?… As if no matter our mitzvah tally, the good deeds we daily do, Ultimately, we can only be saved by…God’s Grace?

What happened to “we are each created in the Image of God”…? Or “The essential thing is not study but mitzvah!” Doesn’t that make us all immediately, eminently worthy?

This otherwise overlooked phrase, “KI AYN BANU MA-ASIM” challenges our operative assumption, implying Whatever we have in our Mitzvah-Savings account it is not enough to cover the cost for our inclusion in the Book of Life.

Not that we are born with original sin. In fact, far from it. On the contrary, we are endowed with Amazing Grace…

I believe this alarming admission is the lifesaving takeaway these Days of Awe are trying to transmit, the “secret,” if you will, to our ‘sacred service,’whether you are the leader of a country, a company, a congregation, or are aspiring to make your way towards a healthier, even holier New Year, and new you!

So let’s do some decoding!

No matter how you translate it…Take your pick: “Though we plead no merit…” [UPB, 1945] “For we have so little goodness…” [Gates of Repentance, 1983] “For our deeds are wanting…” [Mishkan HaNefesh, 2015]

The upshot is: We Need Help! This key prayer snippet is saying: We cannot make it through this life on our own.

With all our big plans, with all our know-how, With all our efforts to effect change, to fix that problem, to make things better, life is still mostly, often, a mess. To keep on going, coping, we convince ourselves otherwise: “It’s a work-in-process…He’ll come around…Not to worry, I’ve got this.”

Then these Awe-filled days arrive and we stop fooling ourselves, Confessing a truth we customarily deny, acknowledging: “God…I got nothin!”

We hear the shofar’s broken cry, and as it pierces the pretense, we ‘go there,’ Not to despair, but to admit when it comes to making life right, We are largely at a loss…

Zen-Master Rabbi Alan Lew hears the Kol Nidre narrator gnawing at our kishkes, writing:

“You think you’ve been getting ready for days, weeks… But whatever it is you imagined might happen, this is much more intense, much stronger. For this is no mere metaphor…. And whatever preparation you think you’ve done seems suddenly inadequate… For as the Great Voice intones your name…you hear it reverberating… beyond the room…as the pages of one of the Great Books begin to rustle… And you don’t know which book it is.

…All our resolutions, all our attempts to manipulate reality, All our attempts to get cute with life are thin reeds in the face of this immensity. We reach this moment and realize we are utterly unprepared.”

[This is Real and You Are Totally Unprepared, A.Lew, pgs. 102-106]

Don’t get me wrong… You’re a good person, or at least most days, you try. You do what you can. You come through for your family. Take care of your kids. Save money for college. Give to that favorite cause. You’re cordial to guy behind the counter at The Corner Store You spoil your grandkids which is the purpose of having them. You’re there for your friends when you can be… Generally speaking, life’s all right…

Just don’t look behind you…

For if we zoom out, and up, we see the problems that still persist. Certainly, in this cut-throat, ego-driven, Machiavellian society where money is power, politics are a UFC fight, justice is relative and the little guy comes last…

But even closer to home, in your own circle where the same family arguments are decades old, generational divides require a toll bridge, relationships are…just what they are, and most friends are so caught up in their own stuff they hardly have the emotional energy to see or reach beyond it.

So, standing here in the ‘heavenly courtroom’ of this all-decisive moment, We recognize we have overestimated the impact of our efforts… That with all we’ve figured out…about just the right words to say, The right text to send…the right gesture to make… Reality comes ‘round, the defensive walls fall down, explanations fail… rationalizations relinquish their hold, And we hear a heartbreaking, vulnerable whisper:

KI AYN BANU MA-ASIM… “God, what can I do? What have I done?”

Hard as it is, it is just this voice we have to hear. For as it unnerves us…makes us feel small, even helpless, We must recognize it is the secret.

For it is this very realization, our affirmation of human inadequacy, of impending despair overcome by God’s grace, That is the inspired takeaway moving us to gifts of grace,, opening our hearts to hope and making tomorrow potentially more humane and even holy. Some say it is the missing ingredient that actualizes the core life-quality we require to live in God’s Image, to serve the Sacred and become who we must…

We call it, of course…HUMILITY, but not as most understand it.

Not self-abnegation nor self-degradation, But what the 19th century Lithuanian Jewish Mussar movement, Self-help character-building long before there was such a thing, Rightly viewed as the middle road.

“Being humble doesn’t mean being a nobody,” Mussar master Alan Morinis explains, “it just means being no more of a somebody than you ought to be.”

The English word comes from the Latin—HUMUS, or earth, and HUMILIS, lowly/on the ground. Having humility means being grounded, down to earth, Approachable, authentic.

The Hebrew adds a layer. ANAVAH, Humility comes from the root ANAH, whose dual meaning, to be low and to answer says something more… Anavah implies a life attuned to both listening and responding, In other words, being part of the human conversation, bringing your special contribution to the table and likewise being open to the insights of others.

Life, after all, especially in such a divided, wanting world, must be a dialogue of shared discovery… We can’t save ourselves nor our world on our own.

As Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks [talk about an un-humble title] understood: “Humility is more than a virtue…It is a form of perception…True humility lies not in undervaluing yourself, but in seeing the value of those around you.”

Now we all know people who have all the answers, Individuals who are so arrogant, we could call them self-righteous, who refuse to ever admit they might be wrong… People whose pride makes them not alone haughty, But at times hateful, blinding them to the plight and the interests of others. They have no need, after all, for they’re in it solely for themselves.

Their praise-seeking is pitiful. Their jealousy of others’ achievements makes them harshly judgmental, critical of everyone save themselves. They act as if morally superior which naturally makes them holier than thou. They’re as close to God as you can get. Just ask them.

…Now I am not alone talking about the current leader of the free world, Nor other international, in the public eye people you might put on the list… I am likewise referring to me and you.

Self-assuredness is a slippery slope. For all our clear competence and self-confidence, Our degrees, awards, and accolades…our CV’s and resumes, This moment reminds us they are feeble preparation… Addressing the overwhelming brokenness of our lives, our world…

That whisper echoes…KI AYN BANU MA-ASIM… “God, what do we have to offer? What can I do?”

Every year, so the tale was told, The Ba’al Shem Tov [founder of Hasidism] Held a competition to see who would be the shofar blower in his shul. To do so, you had to not simply learn the notes, all the shofar blasts, But the kavanot, the interpretive meanings of each… To reach that highest realm of holiness was not at all easy.

There was one fellow who wanted to blow the shofar for the Ba’al Shem so badly, he studied not for weeks but for months prior, so when it came time, he would be intricately prepared.

The time for his audition came just the week before Rosh Hashana. But standing in front of the Ba’al Shem Tov himself, the holy master, he couldn’t remember a thing. He could hardly remember why he was there. The man tried to sound the notes, but almost nothing came out…

Embarrassed, realizing he’d utterly failed, his heart broken, all the man could do was cry, his shoulders heaving, holding his head in his hands…Until the Ba’al Shem said: “All right. You’re hired.”

The man did not understand, so the Ba’al Shem explained, “If,” as the Psalms teach us “God is very close to the broken-hearted,” [Ps. 34:18] What better preparation for these Days of Awe can there be?

So, whatever you may have done to get ready, However sincere your spiritual attunement to help foster atonement, With all of your contrition, your resolve to mend your ways, realize, It is still not enough…

For humility starts…quite simply, with a broken heart. It is not at all about feeling worthless, just a little helpless.

And with the immensity of all we face, standing before the Great Book realizing that our inscription is written not on High but right here, by our responding to a call that is ever our quest… knowing, much as we try, it may never be quite enough. And yet we still keep trying, nonetheless.

Wouldn’t you know, 66 years ago, when our congregation’s founding mothers & fathers wanted to encapsulate the ultimate message, the hope LT embodies, they chose to emblazon above our entryway a singular truth, timelessly meant for all our comings & goings, most especially, this very moment.

The Prophet Micah [6:8] proclaiming the threefold mantra That may not save us but might make us worthy of being saved.

“What does the Holy One require of you? Only this: To do Justice—To love kindness—to walk humbly with your God.”

We think we’re here to reach the heavenly heights, To stand in judgement before the Holy One of Being in that Court on High. But that’s not how human judgment happens.

Don’t miss Micah’s redirection. The prophet is pointing the way. God is already walking right beside you, Waiting for you to fill your days with deeds of unconditional care, To create justice through open-hearted kindness, The goodness that manifests as God’s Grace and brings heaven down to earth.

Every year the Rabbi of Nemirov was late for Yom Kippur Services… The members of his shul would all speculate as to the reason.

‘Perhaps he is praying for each and every member as preparation?’ ‘Maybe he’s pondering the intricacies of the law, or meditating?’

There were two students who wanted to see just why… So, they decided to sneak into the Rabbi’s house the night before, and hide under his bed. They listened as the Rabbi of Nemirov snored away…

Until, before dawn broke, he awoke, put on a heavy coat, boots, Gloves then, taking a long rope and an axe from the closet, walked out of the house into the early dawn.

Naturally, the two boys followed in amazement. Where could he be going? Its Yom Kippur after all, and he’s the rabbi!

They watched from afar as the rabbi entered the forest, And chopped down a few trees with his axe. He then cut the trunks into smaller pieces and tied them together with the rope.

Slinging the wood over his shoulder, the rabbi walked quite a distance until he came to a dilapidated shack. The rabbi knocked at the door.

“Who’s there?” a faint voice asked from inside.

“It’s me, Lexi, the woodchopper. I have firewood for you on this very cold morning.”

“But I have no money for the wood. Just go away.”

The boys looked on as the rabbi opened the door. “Not to worry about money on such a bitter day.”

The rabbi then proceeded to go to the oven, place some wood inside, and light the fire… He even set the kettle on top so some water would boil.

“Now at least you can keep warm,” the rabbi said. Nodding with a smile to the old woman, he left without another word.

The boys looked at each other in astonishment, not believing what they’d seen. They followed the rabbi back home, where he washed, Then changed into his white robe and tallit…as he made his way to shul.

Entering, just a little late, he heard the usual chorus of questioners.

“Maybe he must study the entire tractate Yoma in the Talmud?”

“Maybe he bathes a purification bath for his spirit?” Then, one man conjectured, “Maybe the rabbi goes to heaven before coming to pray with us?”

To which one boy responded to the other with a knowing smile, “To heaven…if not higher.”

AVINU MALKEYNU…

God on High and so very near, walking alongside us, guide us To serve with humility offering the gifts of our hearts because they are broken, bringing our best to bear even knowing it’s not quite enough.

Seeing how small we are, empower us to great deeds of kindness Grant us Your Grace so we can give it away… Knowing we’ll never save ourselves, help us to save someone else, for in so doing, we honor your Name.

AMEN.