Yom Kippur worked its powerful magic on me this year. It’s just a few minutes after sundown, and I have had my first sip of water and bite of food (egg & pomegranate seeds) in 25 hours. I can say that this year the experience has profoundly affected me. I feel like I’ve been spiritually and mentally reset. I also feel a bit weak, woozy, and head-achy, but that will pass soon. Just before Kol Nidre last night, I turned off my Blackberry. I couldn’t resist the call to glance at work email one last time. I’d say it was stupid, but the email I saw is what caused the experience I had this year. It was a client email that basically said that she and I were on radically different pages. This surprised me and made me very, very sad. It also surfaced that my “shadow side” or ego, if you prefer, had clearly gotten control of late. I suddenly realized that I had been wanting praise simply for doing the job I’m paid to do, because others hadn’t been doing theirs. I had been buying into my own reputation instead of just being myself. The words of the Al Chet hit like a rock. I suddenly was aware of how cloudy my spirit has become in the last few months, and I didn’t like it. I threw myself into the experience of Yom Kippur to try and purge myself of this shadow, or at least return it to its proper place. I feel empty and whole, all at once. Tomorrow I return to the challenge of living truly and honestly to myself in an environment that prizes many things that I do not. I open my heart to this challenge, and know that as I have done the work of tikkun nefesh (reparing the soul) I am better prepared to do the work of tikkun olam (repairing the...
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Work of Artist Shoshana Bauer Instead of writing my own article for Yom Kippur this year, I’m opting to share some the really incredible work of my fellow bloggers and writers. The articles are all relating to Yom Kippur, but the subject range from the correspondence of Yom Kippur and the Autumnal Equinox to the ritual of Karporot to the Book of Jonah — and beyond. I wish you all a meaningful fast and may you be released from vows undertaken in good conscious that you were unable to honor this year. May we all become more aware of the vows we take and do our best to honor them. Yom Kippur and the Autumn Equinox: A Comparison (R’Jill Hammer – Telshemesh) Schrodinger’s Goat, scapegoats, and the goats of Yom Kippur (Nigel Savage – JCarrot.org) Swinging No More (Leah Koenig – JCarrot.org) Jonah — The Book of the Question (Alicia Ostriker – Jvoices.com) Before the Ecstasy – (Rachel Barenblat – The Velveteen Rabbi) Every Good Under the Sun Must Be Paid For (David Klinghoffer — The Forward) Yom Kippur: A Personal Journey (Jay Michaelson – The Forward) [tags]yom kippur, judaism, earth-based judaism,...
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All personal vows we are likely to make, all personal oaths and pledges we are likely to take between this Yom Kippur and the next Yom Kippur, we publicly renounce. Let them all be relinquished and abandoned, null and void, neither firm nor established. Let our personal vows, pledges and oaths be considered neither vows nor pledges nor oaths. May you be released from vows to YHVH that you could not meet. May you be inscribed in the Book of Life as you deserve. May your new year be a propserous and happy one, and may we all find...
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A quick post just before Yom Kippur eve. I’ve been asked what I’m doing for Yom Kippur this year. I know some were hoping I would lead a service of some kind. This year I am doing a solitary observance of the holiday. For the past couple of years, I have attended services at Capital Kehillah and Fabrangen. Both were nice, but neither was home. For the curious, here is my plan for this year: Kol NidreiI have both the Hebrew and English translation to read and study. I also have several audio versions including the phenomenal one by the Western Wind Ensemble. Yom Kippur DayI am planning to break the day in three segments. Replacing meals will be a little physical movement. Part of the meditations all day will be devoted to the name I inscribed at Rosh Hashanah. The names people inscribed were not their name, but rather a name by which they’d like to be known. One that symbolizes who they wish to be, what they want the world to be, how they’d like to be recorded in the Book of Life. MorningI’ll start the day with either my usual Yoga program or an extended one I’ve been meaning to try. The rest of the morning will be spent in prayer and meditation and reading the Torah passages. AfternoonA short meditative walk around the neighborhood, followed by meditation and reading “Man’s Search for God” by Abraham Heschel. Part of my meditation will involve the use of a singing bowl that I recently received as a gift. I also plan to do at least part of it outside in my circle space. Some of what I want to explore is a new ideas been rolling around in my mind which is “internal elemental personalities.” More on this later. EveningAnother walk or more Yoga, followed by a little creative spiritual exploration. I know many interpret “complete rest” as “no creating,” but for me the creative endeavor is a spiritual one and there will...
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