There is a holiday spirit permeating the air. Every sensitive Jew is aware of it and is preparing himself for those great, awe-inspiring days when he must take into account all of his deeds, and must total up what he has done during the entire year. It is not the accounts of his books that he begins to revise; nor is it the records of his business that he begins to put in order. Throughout the year, the Jewish businessman runs his business according to the most modern methods of bookkeeping. He manages his business with clock-like precision; the most minute expenses and incomes are recorded with utmost accuracy.

The poor Jew also keeps accounts for the entire year. From his accounts he figures out when his rent is due, when it is payday, when payments are due on furniture, when the peddler has to be paid, and when the [Hebrew school] 2tuition is due.

But when the holidays approach, the Jew also begins to take an accounting of himself. He begins to review his deeds, i. e., has he been good to his fellow men, has he given succor to the needy, was he merciful to the stranger, the widow, and the orphan, did he conduct himself humanely, with regard for the purity of his soul--that spark of Divinity that was set into his heart.

If he knows that he has sinned throughout the year, and that he did not treat his fellow men as he should have, he beats his breast [with remorse] for his evil doings. He repents by uttering the following prayers:

[Forgive me, oh Lord], for the sin of not having shown any interest in the orphan! [Forgive me, oh Lord], for the sin of not having offered succor to the poor widow. [Forgive me, oh Lord], for the sin of having made no sacrifices for the forsaken. [Forgive me, oh Lord], for the sin of having had no compassion for the aged and feeble! [Forgive me, oh Lord], for the 3sin of having shown no interest in the Jewish education of my children! [Forgive me, oh Lord], for the sin of not having supported the Jewish Federation of Orthodox Charities.

But when the Jew enumerates the sin he committed against the war-sufferers, he will beat his breast even harder. He will then cry out with true repentance and with an inward, deep regret.

[Forgive me, oh Lord], for having committed the greatest sin of not having done enough for those unfortunate war-sufferers in European countries, who have endured want, hunger, and the sword. [Forgive me, oh Lord], for the sin of having made merry and amused myself in the free land of America, forgetting, at the same time, my moral obligation to those unfortunate and tormented war victims!

Yes, brothers and sisters, repentance is a great thing when we regret our sins and the gates of Heaven are opened to receive our prayers. Do you 4think, however, that by words alone, by merely reciting liturgic poems on fast days and before Rosh Hashanah [New Year], or by praying on Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kipur (Day of Atonement), one's sins will be forgiven?

Do you think that it will be enough merely to listen to a sermon delivered by a rabbi in a synagogue, in which he describes the trials and tribulations suffered by Jews abroad? Do you think that it will be enough merely to shed tears at the rabbi's sermon and to do nothing afterwards?

It is true that God is not indifferent to tears because they indicate that a person's heart has softened; that his better and nobler sentiments have been awakened, and that the tears of this person, as is affirmed in Jewish literature, are dearer to God than all the prayers.

But those prayers and tears are false unless we pour out vast sums of money for those unfortunates. Prayers and tears are ineffective if we don't help those unfortunates to keep alive. While they are drowning in a sea of 5blood, and crying out, "from whence cometh our help," we, the Jews in America, should answer, "your help will come from America! Your sisters and brothers in the New World, who are protected by the flag of the United States, will come to your aid in these critical times."

There are many ways to help those unfortunates. One of them is to impose upon yourself a tax, as well as upon your grocer, your butcher, your bread man, in short, upon all those who supply your home with food. Jewish housewives should urge all their food distributors, particularly their bakers, grocers, and butchers, to issue war stamps with each purchase that is made in their stores. No food should enter any Jewish home, especially for the High Holidays, which does not bear war stamps.

And do you know, dear brothers and sisters, what a war stamp affixed to each loaf of bread, each pound of meat, and each package of groceries means? It means that you are giving a small portion of your food to your hungry sisters and brothers abroad.

The bread will taste sweeter when you know that some of it is going to the hungry war-victims. So eat, drink, and be healthy, but when you go to your butcher, baker, and grocer, demand war stamps from them. You should not only recite the prayers of repentance--you should also demand and buy war stamps.