For Yom KippurThe holiest day of the Jewish year and the culmination of a season of self-reflection. Jews fast, abstain from other worldly pleasures, and gather in prayers that last throughout the day. Following Ne'ilah, the final prayers, during which Jews envision the Gates of Repentance closing, the shofar is sounded in one long blast to conclude the holy day. It is customary to begin building one's sukkah as soon as the day ends. HaftarahThe portion of the books of the prophets read on Shabbat after the Torah reading. The two usually have parallel themes. reading
If we fast today
with no thought
of how we will meet tomorrow
and every day that follows
then this ritual fast is as hollow
as the dry shrunken gourd
from last year’s sukkahLit. hut or booth A temporary hut constructed outdoors for use during Sukkot, the autumn harvest festival. Many Jews observe the mitzvah of living in the Sukkah for the week of Sukkot, including taking their meals and sleeping in the Sukkah.,
barren, unmoored
from the lifeblood of meaning,
or, worse,
if our empty stomachs
fill us with the righteous illusion
that today’s hunger alone
makes us good Jews, good people.
We may fast for many reasons
but on this day only one matters:
that this fast, like the blasts of the shofarA ram's horn that is blown on the High Holidays to "wake us up" and call Jews to repentance. It is also said that its blast will herald the coming of the messiah.,
unmoor us
from the familiar place,
the stasis of our packaged selves,
making it impossible for us not to see
what is needed,
making it imperative for us
to share in some manner, in some measure,
the abundance that graces our lives.
If we fast today
with no thought
of how we will meet tomorrow
and every day that follows,
then today is as any other day,
and we might as well return home
and feast on a noonday meal.
