Sound the great shofar for our freedom; raise a banner to gather our exiles, and bring us together from the four corners of the earth into our land. Blessed are You Lord, who gathers the dispersed of His people Israel. Restore our judges as in former times, and our counsellors as of yore; remove from us sorrow and sighing, and reign over us, You alone, O Lord, with kindness and compassion, with righteousness and justice. Blessed are You Lord, King of judgment. Let there be no hope for informers, and may all the heretics and all the wicked instantly perish; may all the enemies of Your people be speedily extirpated; and may You swiftly uproot, break, crush and subdue the reign of wickedness speedily in our days. Blessed are You Lord, who crushes enemies and subdues the wicked.

The Amidah prayer is to be said three times each day throughout the year. During the Days of Awe a few phrases are changed. These edits tend to punctuate the penitential potential leading up to Yom Kippur.

For example, during the remainder of the year the "King of Judgment," offered above, is the "king who loves righteousness and justice."

The difference in tone is pronounced. But we are fortunate this does not signal a shift in divine substance. The judgments of our king are expressions of righteousness and justice.

The prayer proceeds to seek swift and stark intervention against our enemies. I perceive these petitions reflect a too narrow understanding of righteousness, justice, and good judgment.

The last two days (and again on Thursday and Friday), I have worked with those assigned to protect us from our enemies. Our enemies are real. The threat is real. Fulfillment of our enemies intent would be awful.

But in the best judgment of many - myself among them - the most important work we can do to defeat our enemies is to reduce our self-made vulnerabilities. This requires being much more self-critical than we are usually inclined.

For these particular days of penitence and these days of awe, I offer the following seasonal adjustment in the language of the prayer:

Blessed are You Lord, King of judgment. Let there be no hope for the arrogant, and may all who deny what is real instantly be enlightened; may all of Your people speedily share your judgment; and may You swiftly uproot, break, crush, and subdue those hidden faults, wounds, and vulnerabilities that we have allowed to spread unseen. Blessed are You Lord, who enlightens our minds and encourages us to action.