Our Sages have noted that there is something odd about the order of the holidays of Tishrei. First we have Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, when we are judged for our sins of the previous year. Next we have Ten Days of Repentance to reflect upon our shortcomings and make amends with those whom we may have hurt. Finally, on the tenth day of the month we have Yom HaKippur, a day when we fast and confess our sins and beg God for atonement.

It would seem to be more logical (and to be more to our advantage) to have Yom HaKippur take place first - to first arouse God's quality of mercy through our fasting and sincere regret - and then, once we have gained His mercy, submit ourselves to judgement. So why did God, Who after all gave us this time of repentance as a supreme act of kindness, legislate that Rosh Hashanah should come first?

Rabbi Yissocher Frand, a well-known Torah educator of our own times, offers an interesting insight into this question.

In Pirkei Avot (Ethics of the Fathers) 2:13, the Mishna states: "Do not be wicked in your own eyes."

On Yom HaKippur we recite the Viduy (Confession of Our Sins) a total of ten times. In this prayer we acknowledge that we have stumbled and sometimes even fallen in many different ways: we have misused our power of speech and gossiped and slandered others; we have mocked our teachers and leaders; we have been dishonest in our business and personal dealings with others; we have rebelled against God's will, etc., etc.

Although the purpose of reciting the Viduy is to rouse us to sincere repentance, there is a danger that dwelling so long and hard on our misdeeds can make us "wicked in our own eyes." In other words, we might become so depressed by our shortcomings that we give up on ourselves and don't even try to do better.

However, despair and depression have no place in the work we must do during the Ten Days of Repentance in between Rosh Hashanah and Yom HaKippur. In fact, they are our two greatest enemies because they drain us of the hope, courage and energy we need to look at ourselves with an honest eye and chart a course of improvement.

This is why Rosh Hashanah precedes Yom HaKippur. The lesson of Rosh Hashanah is that there is a King and we are His servants. As servants of the King, we each have a unique and important role to play in His grand design for the world - otherwise God wouldn't have created us.

True, sometimes our "job performance" is lacking, which is why we need to go through this annual review that is called Rosh Hashanah. But we must always remember that we can never be fired from the job - or retire from it - for as long as we are alive on this earth.

If we can believe in our own self worth and use Rosh Hashanah to remind us of the important job that has been entrusted to us, we can look at the spiritual work of Yom HaKippur in an entirely new light.

On Yom HaKippur we don't ask for atonement because we are "wicked" - we ask for atonement because we have forgotten just how great we are and allowed ourselves to slip from our lofty position. The Viduy where we confess our sins is not meant to be a paddle to beat us into the ground. Rather, it is a propellant that can spur us upward to reach even greater heights.

For example, did I speak disparagingly about someone last year? Then this year's Viduy can remind me that I can do better than that. As a servant of the King - as someone created in God's image - I can use the power of speech to encourage others, make peace and spread wisdom. I can bring tremendous good into the world with just a few words, if I would only be aware of how much power I have been entrusted with.

May this Rosh Hashanah, therefore, be a time when each one of us comes to a greater understanding of the unique role we are meant to fulfill as servants of the King. And may we be judged favorably and be granted the wisdom and strength we need to better fulfill this role in the New Year.

Chasiva v'chatima tova - May you be inscribed and sealed for a good and sweet New Year.