On Rosh Hashanah, we ask to be inscribed in the Book of Life. On Yom Kippur, it is sealed.
These 10 days are our last chance to show God that we plan to do better- and mean it! You would think that Yom Kippur (the Day of Repentance) would be a sad day for Jews- fasting, no washing or bathing, the rigor of shul all day- the self denial. It isn’t. Actually, it is both somber and celebratory. It is a day not only of repentance, but of reconciliation with God. There is a sense of peace and fulfillment when it is over.
Why do we fast? The actual commandment is “…on the 10th of the month you shall afflict yourselves…”
Although we are all concerned about our bodies and our health, the real importance is our soul. That is who we truly are. Yom Kippur is about the soul. Fasting serves to symbolically atone for sins against God. Tradition holds that disagreements between men are settled separately- before Yom Kippur if possible. God cannot forgive you for sins committed against another person. Only that person can. Fasting also serves to demonstrate control over our physical desires- elevating our spiritual side, the soul.
Atonement with God is somber, filled with introspection and prayer. It brings about a spiritual cleansing- a clean slate. Only then can we ask for forgiveness. Since God is merciful and forgiving, we are confident of His forgiveness. It is this combination of asking and being forgiven that creates a somber and but peaceful experience.
Some aspects of Yom Kippur you may find interesting: The flip side of atonement is just as important. If someone seeks your forgiveness (with sincerity and regret), it becomes your obligation to accept.
If you remember the story of the Exodus, Yom Kippur is the day Moses descended from Sinai the second time with the 10 Commandments. It signified God’s forgiving the Jewish people for the sin of the Golden Calf.
Al Chait: A prayer we recite on Yom Kippur. It’s the one where we tap our chests to symbolically rid ourselves of sins. It contains an almost endless list of sins. It goes: “Forgive us for the sin we have committed by….” Notice that the prayer is spoken in the 1st person plural- Us, we. It recognizes the traditional teaching that each Jew is not only an individual, but a part of a community of Jews. As such, we are at least partly responsible for the sins of others. Also, we ask forgiveness for those who cannot ask for themselves.
Atonement can be divided up: at one ment. The essence of Yom Kippur.
Kol Nidre: All vows. It’s the prayer Neil Diamond sang in Jazz Singer. It is a prayer sung the night prior to the day of Yom Kippur. It asks forgiveness for the promises we were not able to keep from last year. It has been used as an excuse for anti-semitism: see, those Jews never keep their promises. Actually, it was not part of the original Yom Kippur holiday. It was added later by rabbis in medieval Europe for those Jews who were victims of the inquisition and forced conversions.
In ancient Israel, during the time of the 1st Temple, the High Priest (Cohain Gadol) would confess all the sins of the Jewish people to a goat- that’s right, a goat! The goat was released into the desert symbolically carrying with it those sins. Thus we have the origin of the word ”scapegoat.”
In a nutshell, the High Holidays extend from the beginning of Rosh Hashanah to the end of Yom Kippur. During these 10 days, we concentrate on the meaning of our lives and how to improve ourselves thru repentance, introspection, and prayer. We take stock and take action.
