Atonement and thanksgiving
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Today was Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, which for religious Jews is the holiest day of the year. Traditionally it is during this day that all Jews are evaluated by God and are earmarked for reward or punishment, prosperity or poverty, health or sickness, life or death. Observant Jews fast and spend the entire day in the synagogue praying for forgiveness and mercy before Lord of Hosts.
There is one particular aspect of the traditions of this day that I have embraced wholeheartedly for years. The first and most crucial step in the process of atonement is an honest, intensive and uncompromising introspective soul searching that has to be followed up with actively seeking out all those who you believe you had wronged during the course of the year and asking their forgiveness. Whether you wronged that person in business or spoke ill of them or lied to them or what-ever, you have to personally face them, admit your transgression and ask forgiveness. Only after you have squared yourself with your fellow man can you then begin to beg mercy for yourself from God. That to me is a very powerful idea.
Now I'm sure a number of you will remember that I am an atheist and will ask why I should be so profoundly moved by this tradition. The answer is that in it's essence it isn't so much a profound religious idea as it is an astounding social one. What we are basically looking at is the setting aside of one day in a year in which one is compelled to take a long hard look at ones-self and then go and do what is probably the most difficult thing for a person to do – to ask forgiveness. Not from a God who is believed to be infinitely loving and forgiving to begin with but from our fellow man, who we know is just as pig headed and stubborn and irrational as we are.
Traditionally Jews fast on this day as a sign of their willingness to suffer hardship in order to atone for their sins. I don't fast. The whole fasting thing strikes me as somewhat childish. Going without food or drink for a day is difficult? Please! There's nothing to it! Going a whole day without making excuses for yourself or rationalizing your misdeeds – now that's hard. You can go for days without food and months, even years, without sex. When was the last time you tried to get through one day, just one day, without excuses. Without a rationalization? It's next to impossible!
That's what makes this day so profound, so special.
There's only one other holiday that compares to it and that's Thanksgiving. It is equally important to set aside a day to truly count your blessings as it is to count your transgressions. For just one day a year you should stop your whining and complaining and bitching and generally feeling sorry for yourself and take a good look at how much you have to be thankful for.
As far as I'm concerned, if everyone all around the world would adopt these two special days you can chuck all the other holidays out and the world would be far better for it. -
Dear Gidon,
May I ask if you are of a Christian or Jewish family heritage? I'm curious to know whether you were raised in a religious home.
Best Regards,
Thomas
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Happy Yom Kippur, Gidon (and in fact to all it may concern), regardless of your beliefs.
I do agree with you that such a religious tradition can be an elevating experience even for the non-believers. -
@thoscon said:
Dear Gidon,
May I ask if you are of a Christian or Jewish family heritage? I'm curious to know whether you were raised in a religious home.
Best Regards,
Thomas
Hi Thomas,
I was raised in a Jewish home. My late father was vehemently anti religious while my mother always had clearly Conservative leanings. Nevertheless they were one of the most loving couples I had ever seen. My fathers anti religiousity was a direct result of having lived through the Holocaust. Curiously enough, so were my mothers conservative religious leanings. He was from Belgium and she was from Hungary. They were both pre-teens during WW-2. All during my childhood we observed the different holidays and it was only as an adult that my fathers feelings regarding religion were made known to us, his children. Before my father died, some 5 years ago, he made it clear that he would have no objection to a traditional religious burial ceremony so as not to hurt my mothers and my sisters (my sister being a ultra-orthodox)feelings.Gaieus, I think there are many things that non-religious people can learn from religious texts and traditions precisely because these texts were, first and foremost, written by people. All profound religious texts were written by profoundly wise human beings. These texts more often than not reveal the incredible depth and breadth which human compassion and understanding can reach.
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Gidon...profound, well put, and quite meaningful. I'm thinking when a day of Atonement becomes enough time, a day of Thanksgiving may then be seen as too short. Imagine that!
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@tomsdesk said:
I'm thinking when a day of Atonement becomes enough time, a day of Thanksgiving may then be seen as too short. Imagine that!
Excellent!
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Gidon
Very nice post and great message. I am not a religious person, but that does not mean I am not spiritual. I live in a country that does have a government mandated holiday in the name of thankfull reflection.
Unfortunately the message of thanks and reflection gets lost in the marketing and now the 'traditional' sporting events. -
Gidon, thank you for encapsulating the Day of Atonement as perfectly as you have.
I so agree with you that there is so much to learn from religious texts even for "non-believers".When I think back to civilization in it's infancy and how brutal every day life was, it amazes me that there was a large faction that was thinking, considering, philosophizing and arriving at such profound, gentle, HUMANE, conclusions.
When I was in high school I took a history course about ancient civilizations. It was taught by an ex-minister who was now clearly a regular imbiber. But he was still clearly a devout man. I remember so many years later what he taught. He said that the concept of the ancient Hebrews that there was only a single God and that he was omnipotent was such a profound departure intellectually from the belief of the pagans that it represented and enormous developmental leap. The later writings and musings of the bible and Torah give us the system of law we practice in Europe and the West. How amazing. The concepts of fairness, forgiveness and of understanding your fellow man, again all born of a brutal times is nothing short of amazing. We should all be in awe of the wisdom of the ancients.
On religious note, I too am atheist, but I do go to the synogogue on the High Holidays. My father is orthodox. I go out of duty and out of a sense of connection to my roots. I was not ever trained in Hebrew school so I follow the English side and the many amzing little historical commentary tid bits at the bottom. While generally exceedingly bored, ( I do not stay the whole day as does my father: 85 years old fasting from 5PM the previous day, in the synogogue from 8:30AM to 8:30PM, on his feet for very long stretches when the Ark holding the Torah is opened and fasting, no food no water, all that time, easy but not so easy but certainly symbolic) there are parts that I have heard over and over again over the years that I find very comforting. The congregation in silence reading several pages outlining a litany of sins for which they wish to be forgiven. As they hit the word "sin" in each new line they gently knock their hearts with a fist.
Certain songs with ancient, vaguely oriental tunes, wafting and swelling up to the womens gallery upstairs. But especially Kol Nidrei. What a beautiful and plaintiff 'song' and start to the occasion. I'm sorry about the length of this, but I would wager most of you don't know any of this and I, for one, find it very interesting. I took a snippet from Wikepedia regarding Kol Nidrei:
Kol Nidrei (Hebrew: כל נדרי) is a Jewish prayer recited in the synagogue at the beginning of the evening service on Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement. It is written in Aramaic, not Hebrew. Its name is taken from the opening words, meaning "All vows".
Kol Nidrei has had an eventful history, both in itself and in its influence on the legal status of the Jews. Introduced into the liturgy despite the opposition of some rabbinic authorities, attacked in the course of time by some rabbis, and in the nineteenth century expunged from the prayer-book by many communities of western Europe, this prayer has often been employed out of context by antisemites to support their claims that Jews cannot be trusted.[1]
The name Kol Nidrei does not only refer to the actual prayer, but is sometimes used to refer to the entire Yom Kippur evening service.
[edit] Form of prayer
Before sunset on the eve of Yom Kippur ("Day of Atonement"), the congregation gathers in the synagogue. The Ark is opened and two people take from it two Torah scrolls. Then they take their places, one on each side of the cantor, and the three recite:In the tribunal of Heaven and the tribunal of earth, by the permission of God — praised be He — and by the permission of this holy congregation, we hold it lawful to pray with transgressors."
The cantor then chants the prayer beginning with the words Kol Nidrei with its touching melody, and, gradually increasing in volume from pianissimo (quiet) to fortissimo (loud), repeats three times the following words:
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.[2]
The leader and the congregation then say together three times "May all the people of Israel be forgiven, including all the strangers who live in their midst, for all the people are in fault." The Torah scrolls are then replaced, and the customary evening service begins.
Philip Birnbaum, in his classic edition of the Mahzor (High holy day prayer book) comments on this passage: "It refers to vows assumed by an individual for himself alone, where no other persons or interests are involved. Though the context makes it perfectly obvious that no vows or obligations towards others are implied, there have been many who were misled into believing that by means of this formula all their vows and oaths are annulled. In the eleventh century Rabbi Meir ben Samuel (Rashi's son-in-law) changed the original wording of Kol Nidre so as to make the Ashkenazi version apply to the future instead of the past; that is, to vows that one might not be able to fulfill during the next year." The Sephardi version still refers to the past year.
Some commentaries assert that Kol Nidre is not so much a prayer as it is a declaration before the Yom Kippur prayers begin. This view is derived largely from the fact that the text of Kol Nidre appears to request that the declarent be not held liable for failing to live up to the promises the faithful will make over the next 25 hours.
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Gidon, thanks for sharing your thoughts on this. A profound holiday indeed. I agree wholeheartedly with the power of forgiveness and reconciliation. As a Christian, I believe it is very important to keep a "short list" with God - we're never going to be perfect in this world, but the sooner you repent and receive forgiveness the sooner you are free from the burden of your sin.
Some thoughts on fasting: In my experience, the power of fasting comes not by the physical feat, but by the constant reminder of why you do it. One could also, for example, fast from media, internet, tv, radio, etc. The idea being that I will sacrifice the comfort that I get from this thing and intentionally turn my focus toward God during this time. Practically speaking, in the midst of a very busy world, simply taking the time I would normally spend eating and instead focusing on God (praying, etc.) can have a profound effect on my day. You're right, Gidon, going without food is not that hard. But if all I've accomplished is to not eat, my fast is pointless.
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Susan and others,
Small comment on an excellent discussion and discourse on the solemn day of Atonement.
For one, I have always been told that the repudiation of all vows etc. are between the congregant and G-d (as in I promise to come to services every day if I win the contract) as opposed to promises, oaths, vows etc between two or more people.
Neither G-d nor the spiritual leader of the group can absolve you of that condition only the individual(s) to whom you made the oath, promise or vow can do that. Otherwise, how could we conduct social intercourse? Of course, you forgive everyone who has caused you grief in the hopes they forgive you. After all, you cannot be sealed in the Book of Life with a major "tsimmes" hanging over your head, can you?
Secondly, there are five or six fast days in the Jewish calendar. Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement) is certainly a major day but not, as most believe, the MOST important day. Actually the Sabbath holds that honor since it is the day G-d rested and our requirement to observe that day comes real early in the Tanach (Old Testiment). Tisha b"av (the 9th Day of the Month of Av, is another major fast day and if you have the time, take a read of the events that day remembers, "Nightmare on Elm Street" is kid stuff
Anyway, too long a response. I wish and extend to you all a happy, healthy and joyeous wishes for the New Year. I forgive you all.
Allen
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At the risk of letting this discussion become something like a crash course in Jewish tradition, I think I should add a kind of foot-note to Alans post.
@unknownuser said:
After all, you cannot be sealed in the Book of Life with a major "tsimmes" hanging over your head, can you?
"Tsimmes" is thinly sliced carrots cooked with raisins and served rather sweet. Why is having to carry an irksome debt called "a tsimmes over your head" ? Go figure. It's probably a Yiddish thing.
@unknownuser said:
Tisha b"av (the 9th Day of the Month of Av, is another major fast day and if you have the time, take a read of the events that day remembers, "Nightmare on Elm Street" is kid stuff
It was on the 9th day of the month of Av in the Jewish calender that the First Temple in Jerusalem was destroyed. A Second Temple was eventualy built but it too was destroyed, and also on the 9th day of the month of Av. With the destruction of the Second Temple the Jews were exiled from the Land of Israel and were systematically scattered throughout the diaspora. The destruction of the Temple and the subsequent Diaspora is therefore understandably regarded as great tragedy by observant Jews.
Personaly I think it's one of the best things that ever happened to the Jews as a people. The exile became a focal point, an incredibly powerful adhesive ellement in the Jewish psyche. It forced the Jewish people to hold on to their collective identity with a fanaticism that would not have endured had they not been exiled. The Jews kept themselves apart and isolated themselves from the local population just as vehemently as they were shunned by the native cultures. The IDEA of the Land of Israel and Jerusalem became more powerful than the actual land and city. Jerusalem and Zion were idealised and described in poems and song and prayer as beautiful and bountiful, with milk and honey flowing freely, with the most lucious and succulent friuts growing in abundance etc. The real Jerusalem was never like that. The land was mostly arid. But ideas are not subject to drought or municiple missmanegement. The cohesive power of an idealised home-sickness and a ritualised yearning for a miraculous deliverence back to the sacred ancestral Land cannot be under-estimated. Had it not been for the Diaspora, I doubt the Jewish people and culture would have survived as the unique ethnic entity we are today. The political and social squabbling we see today in the independant State of Israel is a case in point. The single greatest cohesive factor in modern day Israel is not our history or religion or language but the thraet of an anihilating war. In other words, it is an external influence that is keeping us together more than some internal strength.
If anyone has any doubt as to the effectiveness of exile as a bonding and empowering agent, one simply has to read some Palestinian poetry. The descriptions of various places left behind when the Palestinians fled during the war of Independance are as romantic and removed from reality as those that appear in Jewish Diaspora writings. The Palestinian struggle in that respect **(and in that respect only!)**is almost identical to that of the Zionist struggle for independace before 1948.
Personally, I think the 9th of Av should be cellebrated rather than mourned. The Diaspora did us more good than most Jews are willing to admit.
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