Yom Kippur Readings

Description

A powerful collection of writings about Yom Kippur that will add spiritual depth and holiness to your experience of the Day of Atonement.

As Rosh Hashanah ends and you look ahead to Yom Kippur, what do you think about? The familiar melody of Kol Nidre? The long hours of fasting? The days of self-examination? You know that the Day of Atonement is the holiest on the Jewish calendar, but sometimes it just feels long, tiresome and devoid of personal meaning. The readings in this book are for anyone seeking a deeper level of personal reflection and spiritual intimacy—and a clearer understanding of just what makes Yom Kippur so holy.

Drawn from a variety of sources—ancient, medieval, modern, Jewish and non-Jewish—this selection of readings, prayers and insights explores the opportunities for inspiration and reflection inherent in the themes addressed on the Day of Atonement: sin, forgiveness, repentance, spiritual growth, and being at one with self, family, community and God. These readings enable you to enter into the spirit of Yom Kippur in a personal and powerful way while they uplift and inform. They will add to the benefits of your High Holy Day experience year after year.

Acknowledgments xvii
Introduction xix
First Reflections 1
Kol Nidre—Our Vows and Promises 15
Sin 27
Forgiveness 63
Hear, O Israel: God, Love and Learning 85
Avinu Malkenu 105
Roots and Themes from the Torah 111
T'shuvah, T’fillah, T’zedakkah (Repentance, Prayer and Acts of
Righteousness) 145
Faith and Beliefs 171
Yizkor—In Memoriam 183
Martyrology 203
The Service of the High Priest: In the Temple
Times and Today 227
Yom Kippur Customs 241
Jonah and Human Responsibility 267
Closing the Gates 287
Next Year in Jerusalem 303
Sources 313
About the Contributors 325
Credits 332

Sujets

• Philosophie et théologie
• High Holy Days
• List of Jewish prayers and blessings
• Yom Kippur
• Jewish holiday
• Judaism
• Religion
• Kol Nidre

Informations

• Publié par: Turner Publishing Company
• Date de parution: 26 juillet 2011
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781580234801
• Langue: English

Extrait

Yom Kippur Readings:
Inspiration, Information and Contemplation
2005 First Printing
2005 by Dov Peretz Elkins
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.
For information regarding permission to reprint material from this book, please mail or fax your request in writing to Jewish Lights Publishing, Permissions Department, at the address / fax number listed below, or e-mail your request to [e-mail] .
Credits constitute a continuation of this copyright page.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Yom Kippur readings: inspiration, information, and contemplation / edited by Dov Peretz Elkins.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references.
ISBN 1-58023-271-X (hardcover)
1. Yom Kippur-Meditations. I. Elkins, Dov Peretz.
BM695.A8Y658 2005
296.7-2-dc22
2005017209
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Jacket design: Tim Holtz
Jacket art: S-2, Gates of Jerusalem, 1963 original color lithograph by Shraga Weil. Published by The Safrai Fine Art Gallery, Jerusalem, Israel. Copyright Safrai Gallery.
Manufactured in Canada
Published by Jewish Lights Publishing
A Division of LongHill Partners, Inc.
Sunset Farm Offices, Route 4, P.O. Box 237
Woodstock, VT 05091
Tel: [phone] Fax: [phone]
www.jewishlights.com
Contents
Acknowledgments
Introduction
First Reflections
And You Shall Afflict Your Souls .
A Techine for Yom Kippur
Is This the Fast I Have Chosen?-It Wasn t My Turn
What Is Life Without Teshuvah?
Returning to Ourselves
God s Book of Life
The Cab Ride
Preface to the Amidah
Introduction to the Amidah -God s Presence Vibrates on Our Lips
Spiritual Flutterings
Kol Nidre -Our Vows and Promises
Kol Nidre: Nothing Affects the Human Being More Than Music
Kavanah for Kol Nidre
Can a Sinner Dare to Pray?
Quoting God
The Jew Must Stand for Something
Our Vows Are Not Vows
Blessing the Children Yom Kippur Eve
Prayer of the Hidden Jews
Kol Nidre: Drawn into Heaven s Womb
Kol Nidrei: Why Three Times?
Whose Vows-Ours or God s?
Who Are the Avaryanim ? Permission to Pray with the Iberians (?)
Forgiveness on Kol Nidrei
Sin
The Capture and Release of the Yetzer Ha-Ra
Is Reciting Al Het Reason to Rejoice?
Don t Be Judgmental
Bold, Humble, Daring
Dibbur Peh Leshon Ha-ra -Even If True, Gossip Is Still a Sin
Gossip: A Chronic Infectious Disease
Al Het: The Need for Community
Ashamnu Bagadnu -Neither Repentance Nor Confession
The Power of Words
Can You Cross the River?
Recognize Our Own Flaws
Yetzer Ha-Ra -For the Sin of the Evil Impulse
Lashon Ha-Ra -Traditional Sources
Lashon Ha-Ra -Be Careful of Unnecessary Words!
On Justice, for All Children
Lashon Ha-Ra: Judaism Is, Above All, a Love of Language
Ve-Khof Et Yitzrenu Le-Hishtabed Lakh -Direct Our Impulses [ Yetzer ]
We Humans Are Cracked Vessels: Ashamnu, Bagadnu, Gazalnu -We Have Sinned, We Have Dealt Treacherously
Sweetening the Evil
Ashamnu -A to Z
The Consequences of Sin and the Meaning of Evil
Let Them Fix Their Errors
Al Chet
The Body/Mind Connection
What We Have Lost
Sins of the Tongue- B Dibbur Peh, B Siah Siftotenu, B Leshon Ha-Ra
Gossip
No Time for Sin
Ve-al Dibbur Peh Sins of the Tongue
An Interview with God
Watch Out for the Little Sins
Al Het for Our Age of Violence
God s Questions
Al Het -Is It Possible to Change?
Ashamnu -We Have Sinned
Al Het B timhon Levav -For the Sin of Confusion of Values
Sins Are Parts of Us Yet to Complete
How Do We Abolish Sin?
B Dibbur Peh -Leprosy of Irresponsible Speech
Al Het B timhon Levav -By Confusion of Values, by Spoiling Our Plane
B timhon Levav -By Confusion of Values
Alternative Al Het
Al Het -Yom Kippur, a Loving Laundromat
Forgiveness
What Forgiveness Is
Forgiving as an Essential Human Attribute-To Make Peace with Ourselves, and with Others, to Move Forward with Hope
Sweetening the Evil in Yourself
Forgive Yourself
Let s Forgive Each Other-Unlocking the Gates of Forgiveness: A Personal Prayer
Vidui -An Annotated Report
Pardon Our Iniquity and Our Sin (Exodus 34:9)-Can We Pardon Without Apology?
Forgiveness in Hebrew Scriptures
Forgiving Debts
Sources on Forgiveness
Adonai, Adonai -The Thirteen Attributes of God s Mercy: Why Is the Ineffable Name Repeated?
Forgive and Forget!
Getting Rid of the Mud
Day of Reconciliations
Hear, O Israel: God, Love and Learning
Can Love Be Commanded?
When Words Enter the Heart
Who Will Recite the Shema with Our Grandchildren?
Shema Yisrael
Radiance and Light- Pirkei Avot 2:13
Shema: God s Oneness
Sh ma
Shema: One Universe
Shema -The Lord Is One : Hear, O Israel, Adonai Is Our God, Adonai Alone
Shema -And You Shall Love Adonai Your God .
Ve-Shenantam Le-Venekha -The Tradition of Study
Teach Them Diligently to Your Children-Jacob and Esau
Ve-sheenantam Le-vanekha -Educate, Educate, Educate
Shema -Teach Them Well to Your Children
On the Doorposts of Your House-Two Approaches to Life
The Quality of Our Love
You Shall Teach Them Diligently to Your Children-Weaving the Loom of Future Years
How Fortunate Are You, Rabbi Akiva
Bless God Even for Evil
Widening Our Circle of Compassion
The Calming, Nourishing Effect of Shema Yisrael
Shema: God and God s World
I Will Love the Lord My God
Sh ma: Ve-shenantam le-vanekha -A Jew Must Learn!
Sh ma -Teach Them Diligently to Your Children
Avinu Malkenu
Live, Read, Grow, and Be a Mensch!
Avinu Malkenu, Kotvaynu Be-Sefer Z khuyot -Don t Just Ask-Tell God: Send Me!
Avinu Malkenu -A Tenacious Link
Avinu Malkenu
Roots and Themes from the Torah
Repentance as Halakhah
Teshuvah and the Sacred Year
Inclusion in the Covenant
Fasting: Who Can and Who Has To?
Yom Kippur and the Scapegoat -Seeking Meaning for the Strange Ritual of the Scapegoat
Azazel and Magic
The Goat s Journey to the Desert
Why Do We Fast?
Judaism and Atonement
Atonement in the Desert
Celebrating Yom Kippur in the Past
Kohen Gadol Could Not Enter Holy of Holies Wearing Gold
Where God Can t Enter
A Sabbath of Sabbaths
Parshat Nitzavim: Choose Life
Deciding for God or for Azazel
The Basis of Sin: Self-Deception
Celebrating and Revealing the Invisible-Yom Kippur Torah Reading
Torah Reading-Yom Kippur
Aaron s God-and Ours
Peace between People
When God Is High Above, Awe Comes; When God Is Close, Love Comes-Peace to the Far, Peace to the Close (Isaiah 57:19)
Is Not This the Fast I Have Chosen to Feed the Hungry, Clothe the Naked .
What Does God Ask of Women?
The High Priest: An Eager Servant Awaiting Rebirth
Just When . An Introduction in Poetry, to the Haftarah of Yom Kippur Morning
Shalom Shalom La-rahok Ve-la-karov
The Ritual of the Goats
T shuvah, T fillah, T zedakkah (Repentance, Prayer and Acts of Righteousness)
Maimonides Eight Degrees of Charity
I Am Canceling My Word and Fulfilling Yours-The Thirteen Divine Attributes
U-Teshuvah
Fund-Raising Story
Kedoshim Tih yu -Be Holy!
Atonement and Repentance
Like a Fading Flower, a Passing Shadow, a Fugitive Cloud and a Vanishing Dream
U-teshuvah -How to Cleanse Ourselves
U-Tefilah Can Prayer Heal?
How Prayer Leads to Morality
Teshuvah: A New Factor in the Divine Relationship
Homecoming and Teshuvah
U netaneh Tokef
Teshuvah Is Not Repentance, Tefillah Is Not Prayer, and Tzedakah Is Not Charity
Teshuvah, Tefilah and Zedakah -Judaism Is a Religion of Action More Than Thought
U-tzedakah -Make Your Home a Wellspring of Charity
Tzedakah: How Important a Value for Us?
Tzedakah Lines in Our Personal Budgets
Zedakah: Money, Money, Money
Penitence
The Chance to Repent
Remaking Yourself
U-tzedakah -There Is a Healing Power in Doing Good
U Tzedakah -God Makes Opportunities for Redemption
Acts of Lovingkindness
U Tzedakah
Ve-tiftah et Sefer Ha-Zikhronot -You Record and Seal, Count and Measure .
Repentance, Prayer and Tzedakah
Memory and Teshuvah
Man and Beast Will Be Saved by God
Repenting for Those Who Cannot
Faith and Beliefs
Ve-khol Ma-aminim -Emulating God s Attributes
Where Is God?
The Glory of Life
Ve-khol Ma-aminim -We All Hope We Trust
Saving God s Life
Ve-khol Ma-aminim -All Believe
Ve-khol Ma-aminim -Defining Faith, the Jewish Way
Ve-khol Ma-aminim -Trying to Believe
On Eagles Wings
Yizkor -In Memoriam
Yom Kippur and Memory
Time Out-Life Is Temporary
Death Does Not Exist
Together We Can Stand Anything
Driving Sorrow Out of Your Life
A Special Prayer for Those Not Saying Yizkor for Parents
The Plan of the Master Weaver
Still Warm from an Old Jacket
So Too Does the Soul Evolve .
Yizkor
From Beyond the Grave Our Loved Ones Reach Out and Touch Us
A Yizkor Guided Imagery Exercise
Good Grief
Lesson from the Titanic -Love Flows Continuously
Judaism s Advice for a Meaningful Life
The Rest Is Up to Me .
A Short Visit-For a Divine Purpose
The Common Lot of All of Us
Yizkor
Martyrology
Punished for Being Jewish
A Martyr s Prayer for the New Year
A Kaddish for the Children
There Is One Synagogue Left in Kiev
The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum: Opening Ceremonies
Remembering, Not Forgetting
We Will Outlive You, Globochnik!
Martyrology-The 614th Commandment
A Jew Cannot Be Without God
An Elegy for the Six Million
Remember Us unto Life
A Memoir of the Yom Kippur War
My People Are Being Consumed
Golden Silence
What Did We Lose?
Looking into Our Own Hearts
Zakhor -Never Forget
Why We Stay in Israel
Martyrology-9/11 and Lamentations
Before the Kaddish: At the Funeral of Those Who Were Killed in the Land of Israel
Musaf-V ye-e-tayhu
The Service of the High Priest: In