Notice, how the most serious Tefila of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, which talks about the fact we are being judged for: מִּ י יִּחְּ יֶה וּמִּ י יָּמוּת who will live, and who will die, etc. ends off with: וּמִּ י יָּרוּם who will become exalted and great and Shteig and go upwards! After all those morbid ways of dying: מִּ י בַ מַ יִּם. וּמִּ י בָּ אֵּׂ שׁ. מִּ י בַ חֶ רֶ ב. וּמִּ י בַ חַ יָּה. מִּ י בָּ רָּ עָּ ב. וּמִּ י בַ צָּ מָּ א. מִּ י בָּ רַ עַ שׁ. וּמִּ י בַ מַ גֵּׂפָּ ה. מִּ י בַ חֲ נִּ יקָּ ה. וּמִּ י בַ סְּ קִּ ילָּ ה who by water, who by fire, etc. the last concern is: מִּ י י רוּם will I become great or not!
The Alter of Novardok Zatzal says that the worst: ז ְּג ְּרְּד ְּין heavenly decree on a person is that he remains the same person after Yamim Nora’im. Of course, in our Dor this isn’t simple at all. But it’s still a big Inyan to hope and aspire to greatness, and to take it as seriously as a life-or-death issue.
