.jpg)
Yom Kippur, the holiest day of the year,
celebrates our relationship with G-d. It provides a special opportunity for
each of us to bond with our very essence, the part within us that forever
remains close to G-d. The day is the
most solemn of the year, yet an undertone of joy suffuses it. A joy that revels
in our connection with our Creator and expresses confidence that, as the doors
of judgment close, our prayers will be accepted and we will be granted a year
of goodness, life, health and happiness.
People wish for you to be sealed in the Book of Life for a good and
sweet new year! On the eve of Friday, October
3/Tishrei 9 began this, the most solemn High Holiday of Judaism and it went on
throughout Saturday/October 4/Tishrei 10.
Yom Kippur is the holiest day of
the year—the day on which we are closest to G‑d and to the quintessence‑d” (Leviticus 16:30). For
nearly twenty-six hours—from several minutes before sunset on 9 Tishrei to
after nightfall on 10 Tishrei—we “afflict our souls”: we abstain from food and
drink, do not wash or anoint our bodies, do not wear leather footwear, and
abstain from marital relations.
.jpg)
Yom Kippur is the holiest day of
the year—the day on which we are closest to G‑d and to the quintessence of our own
souls. It is the Day of Atonement—“For on
this day He will forgive you, to purify you, that you be cleansed from all your
sins before G‑d” (Leviticus 16:30).
Before Yom Kippur we perform the
Kaparot atonement service; we request and receive honey cake, in
acknowledgement that we are all recipients in G‑d’s
world, and in prayerful hope for a sweet and abundant year; eat a festive meal;
immerse in a mikvah; and give extra charity. In the late afternoon we eat the
pre-fast meal, following which we bless our children, light a memorial candle
as well as the holiday candles, and go to the synagogue for the Kol Nidrei
service.
In the course of Yom Kippur we
hold five prayer services: Maariv, with its solemn Kol Nidrei service, on the
eve of Yom Kippur; Shacharit—the morning prayer, which includes a reading from
Leviticus followed by the Yizkor memorial service; Musaf, which includes a
detailed account of the Yom Kippur Temple service; Minchah, which includes the
reading of the Book of Jonah; and Neilah, the “closing of the gates” service at
sunset. We say the Al Chet confession of sins eight times in the course of Yom
Kippur, and recite Psalms every available moment.
The day is the most solemn of the
year, yet an undertone of joy suffuses it: a joy that revels in the
spirituality of the day and expresses the confidence that G‑d will
accept our repentance, forgive our sins, and seal our verdict for a year of
life, health and happiness. The closing Neilah service climaxes in the
resounding cries of “Hear O Israel . . . G‑d is one.”
Then joy erupts in song and dance (a Chabad custom is to sing the lively “Napoleon’s March”),
followed by a single blast of the shofar, followed by the proclamation, “Next year in Jerusalem.” We then partake of a festive
after-fast meal, making the evening after Yom Kippur a yom tov (festival) in
its own right.
While Kol Nidrei—a prayer wherein
we release vows—is certainly traditionally seen as one of the most‑d
to forgive them for all the public statements they made in the previous year
which were contrary to Jewish doctrine. This is directly related to the days of the Inquisition.
.jpg)
While this is certainly a
romantic answer, the fact is that the Kol Nidrei prayer predates the
Inquisition by at least 500 years. It would seem that the simple answer to the
question is that Kol Nidrei is the opening prayer of the holiest day of the
year, and as such is said with great devotion—not because of its content. According to Kabbalah, Kol Nidrei is more
than a technical vow-annulment procedure. Rather, by releasing our vows we are
asking G‑d
to reciprocate in kind. In the event that He has pledged not to bring the
redemption just yet, in the event that He made an oath to bring harsh judgments
on His people in the following year, we ask that He release these vows and
instead grant us a year of happiness and redemption. Perhaps this is the reason for the solemnity
of the prayer.
Have a sweet and healthy new year, 5,775
Rabbi Naftali Silberberg,
for the Chabad.org editorial team
No comments:
Post a Comment