The Secret Message of Unetaneh Tokef

Is there hidden meaning behind this Rosh Hashanah prayer?

By Susannah Schild | 9 September 2024 | 10 Minute Read

Unetaneh Tokef: The Climax of Rosh Hashanah Prayers

Each Rosh Hshanaha at shul, we arrive at the grand climax of our prayers during mussaf, with the awe inspiring liturgical poem  (piyut), Unetaneh Tokef. The Torah ark is opened and the congregation stands to hear it sung aloud in an awe-inspiring melody:

“On Rosh Hashanah will be inscribed 

and on Yom Kippur will be sealed 

how many will pass from the earth and how many will be created; 

who will live and who will die…” 

Many are familiar with the famous story behind Unetaneh Tokef. Tradition tells us that this prayer was written by a righteous Jew, Rav Amnon, who, during the time of the Crusades, refused to convert to Christianity. As a result, he was brutally disfigured in an act of sanctifying God's name. However, historical evidence shows that versions of Unetaneh Tokef existed long before this period, casting doubt on the accuracy of the legend. For many, though, this story is what gives the prayer its emotional power. But if we set the legend aside, a pressing question remains: why does this prayer hold such a climactic place in the High Holiday liturgy? What deeper meaning and insights about our relationship with God can we uncover by looking closely at the very words of Unetaneh Tokef itself?

What is Unetaneh Tokef About?

The Mussaf piyut itself is both frightening and intense. The words “Unetaneh Tokef” literally translate to “let us speak of the awesomeness.” What follows that opening is truly staggering.

We start with trembling angels, then encounter vivid imagery of God judging us, “like sheep passing before a shepherd,” to determine our fate for the coming year—for better or for worse.

We then read about numerous options of how we may be doomed to perish in the coming year. Some of the options are death  by fire, thirst, strangulation, or even by stoning. At what may be the most powerful part of the prayer, the congregation chants aloud the only possible solution for our certain demise: Prayer, Repentance, and Charity.

While other Rosh Hashanah prayers seem to emphasize our joy in God’s greatness, Unetaneh Tokef is solemn in contrast, and even downright gloomy. Here, the emphasis is on human weakness and insignificance; it’s not a particularly joyous prayer. 

Even the tone of the prayer evokes feelings of trepidation.  It’s chanted dramatically by the chazan, as he builds up to these terrifying lines:

' וּבְשׁוֹפָר גָּדוֹל יִתָּקַע וְקוֹל דְּמָמָה דַקָּה יִשָׁמַע מַלְאָכִים יֵחָפֵזוּן. וְחִיל וּרְעָדָה יֹאחֵזוּן. וְיֹאמְרוּ הִנֵּה יוֹם הַדִּין. לִפְקד עַל צְבָא מָרוֹם בַּדִּין’

And with a great shofar it is sounded, and a thin still voice shall be heard. And the Angels will be frenzied, a trembling and terror will seize them — and they will say, 'Behold, it is the Day of Judgment, to muster the heavenly host for judgment!'

The Climax of Unetaneh Tokef

As the tension of the scene builds, the prayer describes frenzied angels, celestial beings so terrified that they’re actually trembling. This angelic fear is a prelude to the judgment of man that the Unetaneh Tokef prayer goes on about in great detail. 

But why are the angels so terrified in the first place? If we look more closely at the words of the prayer, it seems that the sound of the shofar, accompanied by a קוֹל דְּמָמָה דַקָּה—a thin still voice, the voice of God—is what fills them with fear.

 But why does God appear this way? Wouldn't we expect something more dramatic, especially after the prayer has been building toward such a frightening climax? The “thin still voice” feels strangely anti-climactic. 

Perhaps the author of Unetaneh Tokef chose this “thin still voice" deliberately to evoke that tension. After all, this phrase didn’t originate in the prayer—it comes from Sefer Melachim (1 Kings 19:12), in the story of Elijah the prophet after his fiery confrontation with idolatry at Mount Carmel. To fully understand this striking choice in Unetaneh Tokef, we need to explore its deeper significance in its original biblical context.

The Still, Small Voice that Spoke to Elijah

In order to understand the significance of the “thin still voice” in Unetaneh Tokef, we need to understand what exactly happened in the Elijah story. Let’s go through it:

At Mount Carmel, Elijah had successfully proven that the idolatrous prophets of Ba’al were false.  He showed the subjects of Ahab and Jezebel that God was the one in charge.  This zealous demonstration of God’s dominion was followed by a long journey into the wilderness for Elijah.

Along the way, Elijah left his servant (na’ar) behind in Beersheba and traveled further into the wilderness.

Elijah then sat under the shade of a rotem tree and expressed his wish to die.  Strangely, he then went to sleep, until an angel woke him up.  Elijah ate, fell asleep again, and was then awoken one more time by the same angel (malach, in Hebrew).  This angel informed Elijah that he’d better eat up, because it was time to go on a long journey.

Elijah then traveled 40 days and 40 nights into the desert, fasting the entire time, until he reached Mount Horev.

In the last part of the story, Elijah saw a great storm (sa’ar), and a huge fire. And although he seemed to be searching for God in these magnificent forces, he couldn’t find God anywhere.  Then, a “still, small voice” emerged, the same one we read about in Unetaneh Tokef every year.

 And that’s where Elijah found God.

Biblical Echoes of Elijah’s Story

So Elijah found God in the still, small voice at the very end.  But to understand the significance of that Godly voice for Elijah - and for our prayer - we really need to understand the broader story. And when you look back with a birdseye view on the rest of the story, the thin still voice may be new and unfamiliar from other biblical stories, but a lot of the other events from Eliah’s story are actually pretty familiar:

1. Abraham and Akeidat Yitzchak – Abraham (from Beersheba) left his servant boy (na’ar) and traveled into the wild - just like Elijah.
2. Jonah the Prophet – Jonah hung out under a tree (the kikayon) which provided shade after delivering prophecy to Ninveh.  And Jonah ( very surprisingly) fell asleep in the hull during a massive, boat-rocking storm (sa’ar) until the head sailor( malach is the word for sailor in Hebrew) awakened him. This seems to evoke Elijah’s despair along his journey as well, and being awakened by the angel, just like Jonah.
3. Moses at Mount Sinai - There, he fasted for 40 days and 40 nights. Earlier, he also encountered God in the burning bush at Horev. Just like Moses, Elijah traveled for 40 days to Horev! 

So we  hear echoes of three stories in this journey of Elijah the Prophet.  But how do these parallels can shed light on the last part of the Elijah story, the “thin small voice”  that’s also in Unetaneh Tokef?

For a full analysis of the textual comparisons and an incredible perspective on Unetaneh Tokef, listen to this lecture on Unetaneh Tokef by Rabbi David Fohrman.While the audio might not be studio-quality, the content is deeply insightful, uncovering the mystery of the thin, still voice of God and highlighting the significance of Unetaneh Tokef as the emotional and spiritual climax of the High Holiday prayers.