Yom Kippur Readings: Inspiration, Information, Contemplation by Rabbi Dov Peretz Elkins, Editor; ISBN 978-1-58023-438-2 ©2011, $19.99, p. 311 plus Sources
By Fred Reiss, Ed.D.
WINCHESTER, California — Why is Yom Kippur different from all other holidays? On all other holidays synagogues have a meager attendance, but on Yom Kippur they are filled to over capacity. Perhaps this is so because Yom Kippur is the culmination of the Days of Awe, a time for reflection and change. Judaism does not have a concept of being “born again,” but if it did, Yom Kippur would be the holiday to commemorate that event. On Yom Kippur congregants enter as sinners and believe that they exit with a clean slate. Not bad for a day’s work.
The prayers recited on Yom Kippur are so extensive compared with the rest of the year that a special prayer book, a machzor, is required. The name of this prayer book tells something about the holiday. The word machzor comes from the Hebrew root meaning “to remember,” and that’s what Jews do—they remember the past year and they ask God to remember their good deeds and the good deeds of the Jewish ancestors.
Because Judaism is based on a lunisolar calendar system, days begin at sunset. Consequently, the actual day of Yom Kippur begins the evening before with the Kol Nidre service and fasting. In the morning Jews return to synagogues to recite a full day’s worth of prayers, which culminate in the blowing of the shofar, a ram’s horn.
Rabbi Dov Peretz Elkins has pieced together numerous stories and thought-provoking prose that reflect the full gambit of emotions inherent in the Yom Kippur holy day. A congregant who attends the entire Yom Kippur service wrestles with all of the emotions and concepts present in Elkins’ book. Among these are the ideas of making promises that can’t be kept, failure to live up to God’s laws, forgiveness of others, repentance and charity, faith and belief, and remembering ancestors as well as the recently deceased.
Yom Kippur Readings: Inspiration, Information, Contemplation is a book that will stir the heart and significantly enhance one’s introspection as Yom Kippur draws near. The readings, and there are nearly a hundred of them, set the mood for the Days of Awe.
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Dr. Fred Reiss is a retired public and Hebrew school teacher and administrator. He is the author of The Standard Guide to the Jewish and Civil Calendars; Ancient Secrets of Creation: Sepher Yetzira, the Book that Started Kabbalah, Revealed; and Reclaiming the Messiah. The author can be reached through his website, www.fredreissbooks.com.