Judgment and Compassion

Still no power. 5-1/2 days now. Getting a bit bitter. Moving on. I attended a shiur last night by Rabbi David Fohrman. I had been told that he is an amazing speaker and I have to say that I had been told correctly. Appropriately, he spoke about Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, about the attributes of each of the holidays and how they differ from each other, using the story of Jonah as an allegory for the traits of Hashem that each holiday represents. I can not even begin to give his shiur justice here, but the bottom line was this: Rosh Hashanah is a day of justice, where we are judged for our actions. Yom Kippur is a day of compassion, where we are given the chance to show our potential and given an opportunity to live up to that potential in the next year. Hashem is full of compassion for us, and He wants us to utilize our potential. He can see the potential in each of us, and He gives showers us with the ultimate compassion to help us reach that potential. May Hashem show each one of us His total compassion and help us reach our potential in the New Year. And may we show just a bit of that compassion to others.