Guest Column: A Life Examined, a Day of Atonement on Yom Kippur

— by David Kobrin —

This year the Jewish holy day, Yom Kippur, begins Tuesday, September 22nd at sunset, and continues through sunset on Wednesday, September 23rd.

Yom Kippur is the Day of Atonement. Within the Jewish tradition, the ten days between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur are a time for close examination of one’s life. What is it that I have done (or am doing!) that needs to be modified, or stopped, or that needs atonement? Whom have I offended—purposely or inadvertently? Do I follow the ethical and spiritual principles of my faith in all my affairs – or do I reserve that for religious services only? Have I been sufficiently aware of my effect on others in my life?

During those ten days, according to the tradition, the Almighty judges and determines each Jewish person’s fate for the next year: who will live and who will die, who will prosper and who decline, who be bitter despite health and wealth, and who joyful whatever their circumstances. But whatever the decree, the judgment can be ameliorated by three things: prayer; charity (known as tzedakah, because giving to those in need is a responsibility, rather than a gift); and repentance.

On the Jewish calendar, each new day begins at sundown (rather than midnight). That is why Yom Kippur begins at sundown on one day, and ends just after sundown the following day. During that time observant Jews attend religious service the first evening, and then throughout most of the following day. In my experience, this is a demanding observance, spiritually, physically and emotionally. Or, at least it can be. Yom Kippur requires a complete fast – neither water nor food. (Those who are especially careful would not brush their teeth so as not to swallow water in the process.) As the sun descends, the tradition explains that the Book of Life, where our fate for the coming year is inscribed, slowly closes: the gates are never shut, yet, when three stars can be seen in the evening sky, the ten days of opportunity have come to a close.

I no longer observe Yom Kippur by fasting, nor by attendance at services all day. The Day of Atonement does still hold meaning for me. After all, Judaism is my faith and my life story. Since 9/11, with the increase in fundamentalist approaches among the three major faiths, increasingly I have turned away from adherence to a life that relies on a strict reading of the text. If we are to be literal, I ask myself, then what does it mean to leave the corners of your field for the poor; or to cancel debts on the jubilee year and return property to the earlier owners; or the command not to place a stumbling block before the blind; or to take care of the widow and orphan.

I am but one person and do not have the ability to answer these questions. So I take from Yom Kippur what seems most needed, or helpful to me this year. I am a Jew because Judaism is my life story.

I wish all of you the traditional greeting for Yom Kippur: May you be written for good in the Book of Life.