Yom Kippur

Person wrapped in a white and gold prayer shawl, holding it close to their chest.

Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, falls ten days after Rosh Hashanah. When the Temple stood in Jerusalem, the High Priest effected atonement for the entire people through an elaborate ritual. Today, in the absence of the Temple, each of us stands, alone, together, naked as it were, before God. Yom Kippur is the dramatic culmination of the entire season of teshuvah, repentance. On Yom Kippur, Jews abstain from eating, drinking, bathing, sexual relations, and the wearing of leather (a sign of luxury) for 25 hours. Jews dress in white and traditionally spend most of the day in synagogue.

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“I leave my safe haven / this night of purity and sighs”
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I wish for you an Elul that is full of future-tense language.
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“How do you steer this thing? / Which end is helm and which is the stern?”
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The sacrificial goat shares a nuanced view of this Yom Kippur tradition.
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“But beat gentle, sinners and you, / you few righteous ones.”
man's fist on his chest
person with long hair facing away with black and rainbow kippah blowing shofar
“May my words be embodied. / May my life be lived as prayer.”
woman blowing a handful of confetti into the night

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