YOM KIPPUR - The Day of Atonement. Attaining Atonement this Yom Kippur. The history of Yom Kippur stems from the sin of the Golden Calf.... Following which Moses pleaded with God to forgive the people - our fore parents. Finally on Yom Kippur, atonement was achieved and Moses brought the second set of Tablets down from Mount Sinai. (See Exodus 32, 33 & 34). From that day forward, every Yom Kippur carries with it a special power to cleanse our mistakes (both individually and collectively) and to wipe the slate clean. However, this forgiveness does not come empty. It comes with a precondition that the heart seeking for atonement MUST truly be contrite - in the words of the Psalmist, broken and contrite. And we can only achieve this through Teshuva - the process of literally returning to our God, His ways and the keeping of His eternal commands. Teshuva is not achieved by mere lip service. Teshuva is achieved by and through four stages of recriminations:- Regret – acknowledging that a mistake was made, and feeling regret at having squandered some of our potential. Cessation – Talk is cheap, but stopping the harmful action shows a true commitment to change. Confession – To make it more “real,” we admit our mistake verbally, and ask forgiveness from anyone we may have harmed. Resolution – We make a firm commitment not to repeat the harmful action in the future. When all these are in place, the next level is through the combination of Teshuva and Yom Kippur. when these two are combined, the combination effectively atones for transgressions against God. However, it does not automatically erase wrongs committed against other people. We must complete the circle by following the universal Jewish custom – of some time before Yom Kippur – to reach out, apologize and seek forgiveness from any friend, relative, or acquaintance whom we may have harmed or insulted over the past year. Yom Kippur is the heart of the year. It is a day of forgiveness and reconciliation in which we can fearlessly enter the forest within us to explore the deepest parts of our lives, the areas that are too shadowy for us to see or even want to see. When we examine ourselves honestly, inevitably we will find that we have at times blocked out our ability to see more that lifes superficial side. No one is perfect, and in fact one of the greatest problems that we have is that we have to at least fool ourselves into believing in our own perfection. We rationalize, reframe, and deny away our spiritual and moral failures. On Yom Kippur: we refrain from the following amongst others: Eating and drinking Marital relations; etc In so doing, we effectively silence our physical and personal needs, which are those things that many people focus on daily. Such things are food, work, material possessions, and superficial pleasures are de-emphasized with the fasting. We simply restore our priorities to what really counts in life - being at peace with God. *Please Note: Those who are sick and breast feeding mothers and babies are not obliged to do the fast. However, as much as they are able, sick people, in view of their medical conditions, can show a connection with the fast by eating and drinking in less amounts. Also children who are older than nine years of age, can fast for a few hours, while other older children above twelve and thirteen should do the full fast as much as possible. And to prepare for the fast, eat a festive meal before sundown in the hours before Yom Kippur. And take a final drink of water just before the fast begins. May we all have a meaningful Yom Kippur! And may we Be Sealed in the Book of Life! Shalom!
Posted on: Thu, 02 Oct 2014 21:01:35 +0000
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