[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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