    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2001, Book II)]
    [September 26, 2001]
    [Page 1169]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Message on the Observance of Yom Kippur, 5762
    September 26, 2001

        The kindness of the Lord has not ended,
        His mercies are not spent.

                                                           Lamentations 3:22

        Yom Kippur is a day of holy awe--and a day of awesome hope. It is
    the day, Judaism teaches, on which God judges the world--and the day
    when humanity rediscovers the power of God's love and forgiveness. The
    Jewish tradition holds that all humans sin, but that atonement, prayer,
    and charity can avert God's decree.
        This is a year in which we were stunned by humanity's capacity for
    cruelty and violence. It is a year in which we were astonished by
    humanity's capacity for compassion and self-sacrifice. We have endured
    great loss. We have suffered great wrong.
        May God bring peace to all who mourn. May people of Jewish faith and
    heritage in this country and around the world be inscribed and sealed
    for a good year in the book of life. And may we be blessed with the
    strength and patience to pursue justice and defeat evil.

                                                              George W. Bush

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