Dates

2003 October 6 (Hebrew Year 5764)
2004 September 25 (Hebrew Year 5765)
2005 October 13 (Hebrew Year 5766)

Introduction

The week following Rosh Hashanah is spent in soul-searching and repentance, culminating in the Day of Atonement., Yom Kippur, which marks the end of the penitential period. The most significant aspect of the day is the twenty-four hour fast, in which every adult Jew is required to participate. Fasting, sincerely observed, helps to provide an exalted mood, enabling us to spend a complete day in the atmosphere of the synagogue. It helps us to solidify the people of Israel through a united act. It serves to strengthen us in our struggle to overcome temptation. It teaches us the necessity for self-denial, which is essential to self- improvement.

Moreover, the Day of Atonement reminds us that life is not wholly physical, nor is worldly enjoyment its real aim; that there are higher things by which we live. "Man does not live by bread alone, but by all that cometh out of the mouth of the Lord does man live."

The fast commences with the chanting of Kol Nidre by the cantor. This is a prayer in which the congregants ask God to release them from their unfulfilled vows. Though many attempts have been made to delete the prayer from the liturgy because some of the content is not applicable today, the prayer still remains an integral part of the service, largely because of the melody, which sets the solemn mood for the entire day.

The transgressions for which the Day of Atonement helps us to atone are not merely those of ritual character; in fact, greater attention is given to the moral laws which are applicable to all people. Judaism describes different degrees of sin that people are likely to commit, ranging from poor judgment (het) to open rebellion against God (pesha). God is prepared to forgive them all, provided that repentance is sincere and that those sins between individuals have been previously settled through mutual forgiveness.

At every service on the Day of Atonement the congregation repeats the Confessional, which contains a list of sins to which the average person is subject: lying, exploiting one's neighbor, stubbornness, etc.-for all these we ask God to pardon and forgive us. The Confessional is recited in the first person plural, indicating one of the basic concepts of Judaism: each of us is responsible for all the sins of our society, either by our own acts of commission or by our passively accepting conditions that lead to crime and lawlessness.

Yom Kippur is replete with historic memories. The Yizkor memorial service is recited, calling to mind the passing of dear ones; the Temple service as it was observed two thousand years ago is reenacted by the congregation. The cantor and, in traditional synagogues, the elders even fall to the floor four times in the same way as the community gathered in the ancient Temple used to prostrate itself whenever the Divine Name was pronounced at the service. The most solemn note of the Yom Kippur service is struck when the congregation recalls the martyrdom of ten great rabbis who died at the hands of the Romans in the year 135 C.E.

As the sun sets, the fast draws to a close with the Ne'ilah service, evoking an image of the gates of repentance that are being closed but reminding us that we still have the opportunity to reconcile ourselves with God through sincere atonement.