Nadene Goldfoot
Yom Kippur is one of the two High Holy Days, or Days of Awe alongside Rosh Hashanah (which falls nine days previously). According to Jewish tradition, on Rosh Hashanah God inscribes each person's fate for the coming year into the Book of Life, and waits until Yom Kippur to "seal" the verdict.
A great shofar will be blown in all synagogues, and a small still voice will be heard. The angels will make haste, and be seized with fear and trembling, and will say: "Behold, the day of judgment!"... On Rosh Hashanah it is written, and on the Yom Kippur fast it is sealed, how many will pass and how many will be created, who will live and who will die, who in his time and who not in his time... But repentance, prayer, and charity remove the evil of the decree... For You do not desire a person's death, but rather that he repent and live. Until the day of his death You wait for him; if he repents, You accept him immediately.
Our tradition was for the family to dress in new clothes for the new year. We don't wear leather shoes. On Yom Kippur, you should wear non-leather shoes, such as sneakers, canvas shoes, sandals, or plastic footwear, as leather is traditionally prohibited. This is part of the day's focus on humility and self-examination, as leather shoes are seen as a symbol of luxury or comfort that is set aside for this sacred day.
Jews Praying in the Synagogue on Yom Kippur (1878) by Maurycy Gottlieb
Yom Kippur is the most important holiday in Judaism. It is a day (25 hours) of Atonement described in the Torah under Leviticus 23:32, and a very solemn fast-day observed on the Jewish month 10. It's a Sabbath of Sabbaths.
.jpg%20Temple%20Mount%20Group.jpg)
It is different from other holidays as a man and woman must cleanse himself of all sin (Lev. 1 6:30. According to Rabbinic tradition,; it is the day on which Moses came down from Mt. Sinai with the 2nd set of tablets of the law and announced to the people the Divine pardon for the sin of the Golden Calf.. Besides cessation of all manner of work and abstention from food, drink, and sexual intercourse, the day was outstanding for the elaborate Temple ceremonial. This included the sending of the scapegoat to the wilderness "for AZAZEL (the goat)." Only on this the Day of Awe was the high priest allowed to enter the Holy of Holies clad not in his golden vestments but in white linen, symbolic of purity and humility.
On his appearance at the conclusion of the service, he was greeting with rejoicing by the people, confident that their sins had been forgiven.
An evening service called KOL NIDRE cancels rash vows between man and G0d and the ending service of NEILAH ends with the invocation of the prayer, (Shema) The first part of the Shema prayer is "Shema Yisrael Adonai Eloheinu Adonai Eḥad" in Hebrew, which means "Hear, O Israel: the LORD our God, the LORD is one" in English. The prayer continues with a silent blessing and a passage that commands the love of God with all one's heart, soul, and might, and the duty to teach these words to one's children.
There is also the declaration: "Next year in Jerusalem." However, Reform Judaism has retained the general structure of the traditional service. What is nice is to actually be in Jerusalem at this time. You are there ! After 2,000 years of praying.
No comments:
Post a Comment