From Rosh HaShanah to Yom Kippur we tremble in anticipation of judgment. We feel the fragility, the preciousness of life. We take stock of what we have said and done and we commit ourselves to a higher vision of who we can be. This is the blessing of the forgiveness of Yom Kippur.
But unlike the typical defendant in a trial, we stand, we wait in judgment with a sense of excitement and joy. We stand in awe of the possibility of renewing ourselves. We embrace the moment of judgment, knowing that our capacity for transformation grows out of this moment.
When we accept judgment then we no longer need it. The very acceptance fixes the cause of all our mistakes and sins because we realize that we are not independent of God and unaccountable. God does not need to decree upon us any corrective consequences to get us back on track because when we lovingly accept judgment we put ourselves back on track.
Therefore, when we enter the courtroom with excitement and joy, rather than dread and shame, we cause God, the Judge, to get up from the throne of judgment and to take the seat of compassion. With God reigning from his seat of compassion we are fully prepared to enter the z'man simchateinu the season of our joy. On Sukkot we are commanded to rejoice and only to rejoice:
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(drawing substantially from